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George Brown
11 Princes Street
7 Broad Street- later 9 Broad Street
Occupation: Servant, Locomotive Stoker & Photographer
George was born in the village of Woodchurch, near Ashford, the son of a Barn Thatcher. In 1861 he was a servant at Folkestone’s Grove House Academy though being a servant may not have suited him as by the time he married, Mary Annie Amos, in 1864 he had become an Engineers Assistant then by 1871 a Locomotive Stoker. George may have gained an interest in all things mechanical while working on the railways which might have led him to admire and study the workings of a camera as from 1874 onwards became a successful photographer in Deal. Maybe being influenced by his brother-in-law William Arthur Sawyer.
7 Broad Street
When the couple first moved into Deal they lived in Princes Street but on setting up as a photographer they moved, with their family, to 7 Broad Street which at the time had a large garden or at least a piece of open ground alongside it, though, whether this was attached to number 7 or to number 6 we don’t at present know. We do know that with later street renumbering number 7 became number 9 and much later George’s former home and studio first became the Nelson House Restaurant then after its demolition Deal’s Library was built on its site.
George’s Family
George and Mary married in Hythe’s St. Leonard’s Church by Superintendent Registrars Certificate which means that the three Sundays of ‘Reading of the Banns’ were not necessary for a legal marriage to take place. Why the haste to marry? We simply don’t know.
Their first child George Charles was registered in the East Ashford district so either Mary had gone home to her parents to give birth or the couple were living in the area at that time. Unfortunately, we can find no baptism records for any of their children except for their last child, Sydney Amos, who was baptised in St. Andrew’s, Deal in 1885.
Henry Thomas Skinner
When George married Mary Alice Amos, she brought with her, her illegitimate daughter, Annie who had been baptised in St. Leonard’s Hythe in 1861. In 1884 Annie married Henry Thomas Skinner and gave birth to a daughter. In 1889 Skinner was tried at Maidstone Court for ‘ carnally knowing a girl under 13.’ At his trial the girl is identified as being Annie’s 5 year old daughter, Alice Maud, Skinner’s step-daughter. He was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment, some of which, he served on a Convict Ship in Portsmouth Harbour. Annie’s daughter lived with her Skinner grandparents during this time, eventually marrying. Our research suggests Annie changed her name and disappeared.
None of George’s children followed him into the photography business, but George Charles became a Manager to one of the town’s cinemas. Walter set up as a Jeweller trading from number 8 Broad street opposite his father’s shop.
George and Mary continued to live in Broad Street where Mary died in 1912. George outlived her dying in 1929. Both are buried in Hamilton Road Cemetery.
Images taken by George Brown
Name | Born | Baptised | Married | Died | Buried |
George Brown | 1843 Woodchurch, Kent |
Unknown | Mary Alice Amos 14 May 1864 St. Leonard’s, Hythe Born 1845 Saltwood, Kent |
1929 9 Broad Street, Deal |
10 December 1929 Hamilton Road Cemetery |
The Children of
Name | Born | Baptised | Married | Died | Buried |
Annie A (Illigitimate) |
1861 Elham |
12 June 1861 Hythe |
Henry Thomas Skinner 1884 |
Unknown | |
George Charles | 1865 Ashford |
Mary Elizabeth Kemp 1888 |
1934 11 Grove Terrace, Deal |
12 November 1934 Hamilton Road Cemetery |
|
James | 1867 Deal |
Emily Charlotte Weller 1888 |
Unknown | ||
William John | 1868 Deal |
Elizabeth Jackson 18 October 1891 St Mary of Charity, Faversham |
1956 Faversham |
||
Frederick H | 1871 Deal |
Emily Elliot Wooley 1892 Milton District |
Unknown | ||
Wallis (Walter) Ashley | 1873 Deal |
Florence Mabel Crofts 26 December 1900 St. Mary’s Eastry |
1936 8 Broad Street |
14 July 1936 Hamilton Road Cemetery |
|
Arthur Ernest | 1877 Deal |
1893 9 Broad Street |
9 December 1893 Hamilton Road Cemetery |
||
Gertrude Eleanor (Ellen) | 1879 Deal |
Robert George Smith 10 November 1917 Saint Thomas, Streatham Hill |
Unknown | ||
Sydney Amos | 1885 Deal |
31 May 1885 St. Andrew’s, Deal |
1891 9 Broad Street, Deal |
28 November Hamilton Road Cemetery |
Census
Year | Address | Name | Relationship | Occupation |
1851 | Warehorne Village, Kent | James Brown | Head | Barn Thatcher |
Celia | Wife | |||
George | Son | |||
Mary | Daughter | |||
Harriet | Daughter | |||
James | Son | |||
Elizabetyh | Daughter |
Census
Year | Address | Name | Relationship | Occupation |
1861 | Grove House School, Dover Street, Folkestone | George Brown | Servant | Scholar |
Census
Year | Address | Name | Relationship | Occupation |
1871 | 13 Princes Street | George | Head | Locomotive Stoker |
Mary A | Wife | |||
Annie A | Daughter | |||
George | Son | |||
James | Son | |||
William | Son | |||
Frederick | Son |
Census
Year | Address | Name | Relationship | Occupation |
1881 | 7 Broad Street | George | Head | Photographer |
Mary A | Wife | |||
George C | Son | |||
James | Son | |||
William J | Son | |||
Frederick H | Son | |||
Walter A | Son | |||
Arthur E | Son | |||
Gertrude | Daughter |
Census
Year | Address | Name | Relationship | Occupation |
1891 | 7 Broad Street | George | Head | Photographer |
Mary A | Wife | |||
William J | Son | Scholar | ||
Walter A | Son | Scholar | ||
Arthur E | Son | Scholar | ||
Gertrude E | Daughter | Scholar | ||
Sydney A | Son | Scholar | ||
Sarah E Drayson | Servant | General Servant |
Census
Year | Address | Name | Relationship | Occupation |
1901 | Missing for Deal |
Census
Year | Address | Name | Relationship | Occupation |
1911 | 9 Broad Street | George | Head | Photographer |
Mary Alice | Wife |
Trade and Street Directory
Directory and Year | Trade or Occupation | Address |
Kelly’s Directory 1875 | Photographer | 6 Upper Queen Street |