1817
Born
1817
1817, Hull (Census)— From Janet Brock’s research
Mum’s record Evidence
From Janet Brock’s research notebook.
John Houlton
1817 – 1901
✓ Validated against records · 2026-07-07
John Houlton was a shoemaker for fifty years and more — born, by his own account on every census, at Hull about 1817, the son of Joseph Houlton, a Lincolnshire farm labourer, and his wife Mary. What took the family to Hull for his birth is not yet known; by 1841 they were at Thealby, a hamlet of Burton upon Stather on the Lincolnshire bank of the Humber, and John, at twenty-four, held his own cottage there — a village shoemaker a few doors from his parents.
His Lincolnshire years held one marriage and one catastrophe. In October 1842 he married Sarah Dawson, a labourer's daughter, at Wrawby near Brigg — he signed the register, she made her mark, William Houlton (the brother Mum's research gives him) witnessed, and the register named his father: Joseph Houlton, labourer. Within two years the Burton upon Stather registers took them both: 'Sarah Wife of John Houlton Shoemaker', buried on 8 May 1844 aged 25, and the baby Christiana that 30 September, on the very same opening of the burial register. In April 1846 he remarried at Holy Trinity, Hull — Ann Fisher, a farmer's daughter; both signed — and their son George William was baptised back at Thealby in 1848. Ann died in Hull the following year. The 1846 register carries a wrinkle the records have not resolved: it marks John's father 'Late' — deceased — though the Thealby Joseph lived until 1851, and a Joseph Houlton witnessed John's next wedding. Either the clerk erred, or there was another Joseph; the page keeps the question open.
His third marriage settled him in Hull for good. On 24 March 1850, at the Primitive Methodists' Mill Street chapel, he married Mary Ann Temperton, a ballast-lighterman's daughter of twenty-four; both gave the same address, 33 West Street, and the certificate styles John — a lifelong cordwainer — a 'Butcher', a trade he shows nowhere else in the record. From then on the censuses track a shoemaking life through the Old Town courts: a cordwainer at 6 De la Pole Court in 1851, in a court that also held a second cordwainer and a shoemaker; 11 Winter Alley in 1861 with five children home; salesman at a shoe shop at James Place in 1871; a boot and shoe maker still at 2 Lock's Place in 1881, with Annie and Frederick feeding printing presses; and at 74, in 1891, a 'Shopman' in the same three rooms, a widowed Temperton mariner — probably Mary Ann's brother, as Mum noted — boarding with them.
Mary Ann died in 1895. The 1901 census found John, in his mid-eighties, boarding with his son Frederick's young family at 1 Southern Court, off High Street, and gave him the barest of epitaphs in the occupation column: 'Living on Parish'. He died before the year was out, aged 85. His daughter Alice had married Samuel David Frith in 1877, and through her this line runs on.
Composed from validated records · 2026-07-07
- Birth
- 1817, Hull (Census)
- Marriages
- 1. October 13th 1842, Wrawby, Lincolnshire to Sarah Dawson 2. April 28th 1846 to Ann Fisher, Holy Trinity, Hull 3. March 24th 1850 to Mary Ann Temperton, Mill Street Chapel, Hull
- Death
- December q. 1901, Hull (BMD) aged 85 years
- Parents
- Joseph Houlton and Mary
- Siblings
- John Houlton born about 1817, Hull William Houlton born about 1821, Hull
- Children
- Christiana Houlton baptised January 12th 1844, Burton upon Stather, Lincolnshire George William Houlton baptised November 1848, Burton upon Stather, Lincolnshire Henry (Harry) Houlton baptised September 14th 1851, Hull Thomas Houlton baptised May 8th 1853, Hull Alfred Houlton baptised April 29th 1855, Hull burial June 3rd 1856 Holy Trinity Eliza Jane Houlton born 1857, Hull Alice Houlton born 4th June 1859, baptised November 201869, St. Mary's, Hull Annie Houlton born December 7th 1862 baptised December 11th 1895 St. Mary's, Hull Frederick Houlton born 1864, Hull Albert Houlton born February 14th 1867, baptised November 28th 1869
- 1841c
- Living on his own in the hamlet of Thealby, Burton on Stather, Lincolnshire John Houlton, 24, Shoemaker, not born in Lincolnshire *Close neighbours were Joseph and Mary Houlton. (Parents?)
- 1842
- Marries Sarah Dawson in Wrawby John Houlton , aged 26, Batchelor, Cordwainer of Thealby and Sarah Dawson, aged 23, Spinster of Wrawby were married in this church by banns, in the presence of William Houlton and John Tivied(?) Fathers: Joseph Houlton, Labourer John Dawson, Labourer John signed his name; Sarah made her mark (x)
- 1844
- Birth of Christiana Houlton
- 1844
- May , burial of Sarah in Burton Stather "Sarah, wife of John Houlton, Shoemaker, Thealby, May 8th 1844 aged 25 years"
- 1844
- September 30th death of Christiana Houlton aged nine months
- 1846
- Marriage to Ann Fisher in Hull John Houlton, Widower, of full age, residence Burton upon Stather, Cordwainer, and Ann Fisher, of full age, residence, 3 East Cheap were married after banns on April 28th 1846, in the presence of William Houlton and Mary (x) Fisher Fathers: Joseph Houlton, Labourer, (Late); Philip Fisher, Farmer Both John and Ann signed their names
- 1848
- Baptism of George William Houlton November 5 1848 at Burton upon Stather, Lincolnshire (Parish Record)
- 1849
- Death of Ann Houlton September q. 1849, Hull (BMD)
- 1850
- Marries Mary Ann Temperton in Mill Street Chapel. John Houlton, Widower, aged 33, Butcher, and Mary Ann Temperton, Spinster, aged 24, both of 33, West Street, were married on the 1850, according to the rites and ceremonies of the Primitive Methodists, in the presence of Joseph Houlton and Eliza Temperton Fathers: Joseph Houlton, Cordwainer; Thomas Templeton, Ballast Lighterman
- 1851c
- Living in Hull John Houlton, Head, born 1817, Hull Mary Ann Houlton, wife, born 1827, Hull George Houlton, Son, born 1849 Thealby, Lincolnshire Address: 6 De la Pole Court, Manor Street Occupation: Cordwainer* *Cordwainer: originally a term used for a person working with Cordovan, a special soft leather from Spain. Later it became the term used for a shoemaker
- 1861c
- Living in the parish of St. Mary, Hull John Houlton, Head, born 1817 Hull Mary Ann Houlton, Wife, born 1827, Hull George William Houlton, Son, born 1848 Tealby, Lincolnshire, Errand Boy Harry Houlton, Son, born 1851 Hull, Errand Boy Thomas Houlton, born 1853, Hull Eliza Jane Houlton, Daughter, born 1857, Hull Alice Houlton Daughter, born 1859, Hull Address: 1 1 Winters Alley, Manor Street, Hull Occupation: John Houlton - Shoemaker
- 1871c
- Living in the parish of St. Mary, Hull Jno (sic) Houlton, Head, born 1818, Hull Mary Ann Houlton, Wife, born 1827, Hull Thomas Houlton, Son, born 1853, Hull, Oil Miller Eliza Houlton, Daughter, born 1857, Hull Alice Houlton Daughter, born 1859, Hull Annie Houlton, Daughter, born 1861, Hull Frederick Houlton, Son, born 1864, Hull Address: 8 James Place, Winters Alley Occupation: Salesman at Shoe Shop
- 1881c
- Living in the parish of St. Mary, Hull John Houlton Head, born 1817, Hull Mary Ann Houlton, Wife, born 1827, Hull Annie Houlton, Daughter, born 1862, Hull Frederick Houlton, Son, born 1865, Hull Albert Houlton, Son, born 1867, Hull Address: 2 Lock's Place, Chapel Lane Occupations: John Houlton, Boot and Shoe Maker Annie Houlton Printer Feeder Frederick Houlton, Printer Feeder
- 1891c
- Living in the parish of St. Mary, Hull John Houlton Head aged 74 born Hull Mary Ann Houlton Wife aged 64 born Hull H. Temperton*, Boarder, aged 57 widower, Marine seas Address: 2 Lock's Place (3 rooms) Occupation: Shopman *H Temperton was probably Mary Ann's brother, Henry George.
- 1895
- Death of Mary Ann Houlton aged 68 years
- 1901c
- Living with son Frederich in the parish of St. Mary, Hull Frederich Houlton, Head, aged 31, born Hull, Warehouse Porter Mary Jane Houlton, Wife, aged 33, born Hull Eliza Jane Houlton,Daughter, aged 13, born Hull Henry Stanley Houlton, aged 11, born Hull Edith Houlton, Daughter, aged 8 born Hull James Wilson Houlton, Son, aged 3 born Hull Nora Houlton, Daughter, aged 1, born Hull John Houlton , Boarder, aged 86, born Hull Address: 1 Southern Court, High Street John Houlton is said to be subsiding on parish
- 1901
- John Houlton dies aged 85 years
In your grandmother’s words · from her notebook
Family
Parents
Marriages
The children of John & Mary Ann
The children of John & Sarah Dawson
The children of John & Ann Fisher
Life
Confirmed — anchored to a recordEstimated — inferred
1841
A shoemaker with his own cottage — Thealby, aged 24
1841
John Houlton | 24 | — | Shoemaker | no [born in county: no] — [own household mark and '1' in houses-inhabited; the last entry of page 12]— 1841 census — Thealby, his own cottage
Read at the image record Evidence
Confirmed against the original record, read at the image:
- 1841 census — Thealby, his own cottage — TNA HO 107/629, book 17 (Burton upon Stather, Thealby), folio 24, page 12; sub-district Winterton, district Glanford Brigg; read at the image on findmypast, 7 Jul 2026. His parents' household is on page 13 of the same book read at the image
1842
Married Sarah Dawson
13 October 1842
No. 70 |
October 13 [1842] | John Houlton | 26 | Bachr | Cordwainer | Thealby | Joseph Houlton | Labourer — Sarah Dawson | 23 | Spinster | Wrawby | John Dawson | Labourer — by me, Ezekiel Speake Offg Minr — This Marriage was solemnized between us: John Houlton [signs] · Sarah Dawson her ✗ mark — in the Presence of us: William Houlton [signs] · John Tu?ee [uncertain]
— Marriage register — Wrawby (1842), naming his father
The record image is with the family — family sign-in
Read at the image record Evidence
Confirmed against the original record, read at the image:
- Marriage register — Wrawby (1842), naming his father — Lincolnshire Archives, Wrawby parish register, marriages, page 35, entry No. 70; read at the image on findmypast (Lincolnshire Marriages and Banns), 7 Jul 2026 read at the image
1844
In 1844
1844
[1844] Jany 12th | Christiana Daughter of | John / Sarah | Houlton | Thealby | Shoemaker | C. Sheffield Vicar | No. 821— Baptism register — Christiana, Burton upon Stather (1844)
Read at the image record Evidence
Confirmed against the original record, read at the image:
- Baptism register — Christiana, Burton upon Stather (1844) — Lincolnshire Archives, Burton upon Stather baptism register, entry No. 821; read at the image on findmypast (Lincolnshire Baptisms), 7 Jul 2026 read at the image
1844
In 1844
1844
No. 385. | Sarah Wife of John Houlton Shoemaker | Thealby | May 8th | 25 | Aug. W. Wetherall Curate— Burial register — Sarah Houlton, Burton upon Stather (1844)
Read at the image record Evidence
Confirmed against the original record, read at the image:
- Burial register — Sarah Houlton, Burton upon Stather (1844) — Lincolnshire Archives, Burton upon Stather burial register, 1844, entry No. 385; read at the image on findmypast (Lincolnshire Burials), 7 Jul 2026. Mum's quotation of this entry was character-exact read at the image
1844
In 1844
1844
No. 392. | Christiana Daughter of John & Sarah Houlton | Thealby | Septr 30th | Infant | C. Sheffield Vicar— Burial register — Christiana, Burton upon Stather (1844)
Read at the image record Evidence
Confirmed against the original record, read at the image:
- Burial register — Christiana, Burton upon Stather (1844) — Lincolnshire Archives, Burton upon Stather burial register, 1844, entry No. 392 — the same register opening as her mother's burial; read at the image on findmypast, 7 Jul 2026. The register's age column reads 'Infant'; 'nine months' was Mum's computation from the January baptism read at the image
1846
Married Ann Fisher
28 April 1846
No. 175 |
April 28 [1846] | John Houlton | full | Widower | Cordwainer | Burton upon Stather | Joseph Houlton / Late | Labourer — Ann Fisher | full | Spinster | 3 East Cheap | Philip Fisher | Farmer — This Marriage was solemnized between us: John Houlton [signs] · Ann Fisher [signs] — in the Presence of us: Wm Houlton [signs] · Mary ✗ Fisher, mark
— Marriage register — Holy Trinity, Hull (1846), with the 'Late' wrinkle
Read at the image record Evidence
Confirmed against the original record, read at the image:
- Marriage register — Holy Trinity, Hull (1846), with the 'Late' wrinkle — Holy Trinity, Hull, marriage register, entry No. 175; read at the image on findmypast (Yorkshire Marriages), 7 Jul 2026. The next entry on the page uses the same 'Late' convention for another deceased father — it is deliberate, and unresolved against Joseph's survival to 1851 read at the image
1848
In 1848
1848
[1848] Novr 5th | George William Son of | John / Ann | Houlton | Thealby | Shoe Maker | C. Sheffield Vicar— Baptism register — George William, Burton upon Stather (1848), naming his mother Ann
Read at the image record Evidence
Confirmed against the original record, read at the image:
- Baptism register — George William, Burton upon Stather (1848), naming his mother Ann — Lincolnshire Archives, Burton upon Stather baptism register, entry No. 940; found by paging the register at the image on findmypast, 7 Jul 2026 — the entry is missing from the index. The mother's name settles George William as Ann Fisher's son read at the image
1849
In 1849
1849
Ann Houlton | quarter 3 | 1849 | Hull | Yorkshire— GRO death index — Ann Houlton, Q3 1849, Hull
Confirmed in index record Evidence
Found in an index or transcript — the original page not yet read:
- GRO death index — Ann Houlton, Q3 1849, Hull — England & Wales Deaths 1837–2007 (GRO index via findmypast), checked 7 Jul 2026: the only Ann Houlton death registered 1849 index entry — original not yet seen
1850
Married Mary Ann Temperton
24 March 1850
No. 64 | The twenty fourth day of
March 1850 | John Houlton | 33 | Widower | Butcher | 33 West Street Kingston-upon-Hull | Joseph Houlton | Cordwainer — Mary Ann Temperton | 24 | Spinster | — | 33 West Street Kingston-upon-Hull | Thomas Temperton | Ballast Lighterman — Married in the Mill Street Chapel according to the Rites and Ceremonies of the Primitive Methodists — This Marriage was solemnized between us: John Houlton · Mary Ann Temperton — in the Presence of us: The mark of Joseph ✗ Houlton · Eliza Temperton
— Marriage certificate — Mill Street chapel (1850), Mum's copy
Read at the image record Evidence
Confirmed against the original record, read at the image:
- Marriage certificate — Mill Street chapel (1850), Mum's copy — GRO certified copy of an entry (AB 220387, issued 29 Jan 2007 — Mum's certificate), Registration District Hull, Mill Street Chapel, entry No. 64; her full-resolution scan read this pass, 7 Jul 2026. Corroborated by the GRO marriage index, Q1 1850 Hull read at the image
1851
Census · 1851
1851
72 | 6 Do [De la Pole Court] | John Houlton | Head | Mar | 34 | Cordwainer | Yorkr Hull — Mary Do | Wife | Mar | 24 | Cordwainers Wife | Do Do — George Do | Son | U | 2 | Do's Son | Lincolnr Thealby— 1851 census — 6 De la Pole Court, a shoemakers' court
Read at the image record Evidence
Confirmed against the original record, read at the image:
- 1851 census — 6 De la Pole Court, a shoemakers' court — TNA HO 107/2362, parish St Mary, Kingston upon Hull, schedule 72; read at the image on findmypast, 7 Jul 2026. No. 5 held another cordwainer and no. 7 a shoemaker read at the image
1851
The courts off the Old Town streets
The Hull addresses in this family's censuses — De la Pole Court, Winter Alley, James Place, Lock's Place, Southern Court — were courts: short blind alleys of small houses packed behind the street fronts of the Old Town, entered by a passage and named, often, for a landlord or a vanished building. A court held a dozen households within earshot of each other; the 1851 leaf shows De la Pole Court with a cordwainer at no. 5, John at no. 6 and a shoemaker at no. 7, and the 1861 leaf runs from Winter Alley straight into the Land of Green Ginger. The family never left this quarter-mile of courts in sixty years.
Historical context Evidence
Background composed for this site from published history. It frames the family’s world; it is not one of Mum’s records.
1861
Census · 1861
1861
John Houlton | Head | Mar | 44 | Shoemaker | Do Do [Hull, Yorks] — Mary Ann Do | Wife | Mar | 34 | Do Do — George Wm Do | Son | 13 | Errand Boy | Thealby Lincoln — Harry Do | Son | 10 | Do Do | Hull Yorks — Thomas Do | Son | 8 | Scholar | Do Do — Eliza Jane Houlton | Daur | 4 | Scholar | Hull Yorks — Alice Do | Daur | 2 | Do Do
— 1861 census — 11 Winter Alley
Read at the image record Evidence
Confirmed against the original record, read at the image:
- 1861 census — 11 Winter Alley — TNA RG 9/3588, folio 120, pages 21–22, schedule 132; ED 12, sub-district 1 Humber, Hull (parish header: Holy Trinity); read at the image on findmypast, 7 Jul 2026. The index drops George Wm's birthplace; the leaf clearly reads 'Thealby Lincoln' read at the image
1871
Census · 1871
1871
Jno Houlton | Head | Mar | 53 | Sale[s]man at Shoe Shop | Hull Yorks. — Mary Ann Do | Wife | Do | 44 | Hull — Thomas Do | Son | Unm | 18 | Oil Miller | Hull — Eliza Do | Daur | 14 | Ser | Hull — Alice Do | Daur | 12 | Scholar | Hull — Annie Do | Daur | 10 | Do | Hull — Fredrick Do | Son | 7 | Do | Hull — Albert Do | Son | 4 | Do | Hull
— 1871 census — James Place ('Jno', as Mum noted)
Read at the image record Evidence
Confirmed against the original record, read at the image:
- 1871 census — James Place ('Jno', as Mum noted) — TNA RG 10/4787, folio 112, page 16; ED 12, Whitefriars Ward, parish St Mary, Kingston upon Hull; read at the image on findmypast, 7 Jul 2026. Mum's extract listed seven; the leaf has eight — little Albert, 4, is present read at the image
1881
Boot and shoe maker — 2 Lock's Place
1881
35 | 2 Do [Lock's Place] | John Houlton | Head | Mar | 64 | Boot & Shoe Maker | Yorkshire Hull — Mary A. Do. | Wife | Mar. | 54 | Do. Do — Annie Do. | Daur. | 19 | Printers— Feeder | Do. Do — Frederick Do | Son | 16 | Do. | Do. Do. — Albert Do | Son | 14 | Scholar | Do. Do— 1881 census — 2 Lock's Place, boot and shoe maker
Read at the image record Evidence
Confirmed against the original record, read at the image:
- 1881 census — 2 Lock's Place, boot and shoe maker — TNA RG 11/4767, Sheet K, schedule 35, 2 Lock's Place (off Chapel Lane), Hull; read at the image on findmypast, 7 Jul 2026 read at the image
1891
Census · 1891
1891
46 | – 2 – [Lock's Place] | 1 | 3 [rooms] | John Houlton | Head | M | 74 | Shopman | X [employed] | do do [Yorks, Hull] — Mary Ann do | Wife | M | 64 | do do — H Temperton | Boarder | Widr | 5[7] | Mariner sea[s] | X | do do— 1891 census — 2 Lock's Place, three rooms
Read at the image record Evidence
Confirmed against the original record, read at the image:
- 1891 census — 2 Lock's Place, three rooms — TNA RG 12/3935, schedule 46, 2 Lock's Place, Hull; read at the image on findmypast, 7 Jul 2026 read at the image
1895
In 1895
1895
Death of Mary Ann Houlton aged 68 years— From Janet Brock’s research
Mum’s record Evidence
From Janet Brock’s research notebook.
1901
'Living on Parish' — Southern Court, High Street
1901
129 | 1 Southern Ct | Fredrich Houlton | Head | M | 3[1] | Warehouse Porter | Worker | Hull — Mary Jane do | Wife | M | 33 | do — Eliza Jane do | Daur | 13 | At School | do — Henry Stanley do | Son | 11 | do — Edith do | Daur | 8 | do — James Wilson do | Son | 3 | do — Nora do | Daur | 1 | do — John Houlton | Boarder | Widr | 8[6] | Living on Parish | do
— 1901 census — boarding with Frederick, 'Living on Parish'
Read at the image record Evidence
Confirmed against the original record, read at the image:
- 1901 census — boarding with Frederick, 'Living on Parish' — TNA RG 13/4497, schedule 129, 1 Southern Court, High Street, Hull; read at the image on findmypast, 7 Jul 2026. The age is written 86 (he was 84); the occupation column carries the census's own words for his means read at the image
1901
In 1901
1901
John Houlton dies aged 85 years— From Janet Brock’s research
Mum’s record Evidence
From Janet Brock’s research notebook.
1901
Died
December 1901
John Houlton | birth year [derived] 1816 | quarter 4 | 1901 | Hull | Yorkshire— GRO death index — Q4 1901, Hull
Confirmed in index record Evidence
Found in an index or transcript — the original page not yet read:
- GRO death index — Q4 1901, Hull — England & Wales Deaths 1837–2007 (GRO index via findmypast), checked 7 Jul 2026: the only John Houlton death registered 1901 in Hull district index entry — original not yet seen
Our research
What stands open on John, and where each answer lives:
- His own baptism (~1817, Hull) is missing on both services — fmp's Yorkshire Baptisms and Non-Conformist sets, and FamilySearch, all searched with variants, 1812–22. The family's 1850 Primitive Methodist wedding hints at chapel; Hull History Centre's unfilmed registers are the round-two route.
- The 1846 'Late'. The Holy Trinity register marks his father Joseph deceased in April 1846, yet the Thealby Joseph lived to 1851 and a Joseph Houlton witnessed the 1850 wedding by mark. Register error, or a second Joseph (an unrecorded brother?). Any Hull-area record of a second adult Joseph Houlton in the 1840s would decide it.
- His brother William (b. ~1821, Hull, per Mum) signs as witness at both the 1842 and 1846 weddings — a real, literate man not yet built into the tree because no record states the parentage. His own marriage or a census would earn him a page.
- Christiana and George William — John's children by Sarah and Ann — now sit under the right marriages, and their baptisms (and Christiana's burial) were read at the image this pass. Each is a promotion candidate: George William's later life (he leaves the household after 1861) is an open trail.
- Sons' registers to read: Mum's dates for Harry (bapt 14 Sep 1851), Thomas (8 May 1853) and Alfred (bapt 29 Apr 1855; buried 3 Jun 1856, Holy Trinity, 'aged 14 months') are from her register work — quick image reads next time the Hull registers are open would green them, and Alfred could then be promoted with his dates.