george mallandain + annie devine
George was born on 8 October 1863 in Finsbury, the youngest son of Frederick Mallandain and Sarah Vaughan. He was orphaned at age 9 but there is no record of who supported him or his siblings following his parents’ deaths. In 1881, George was living with his brothers on Bath Street in St Luke and working as a Barman. He married Anne Louisa Devine on 6 May 1884 at St Bartholomew, Bethnal Green.
and St Peter’s Church (bottom right) c. 1908
Annie Devine was born in Shoreditch on 15 May 1867, the daughter of James Devine and his wife Ann Pearson, and baptised at St Matthias on 9 June. Annie lived at 20 Abbey Street at the time of her marriage while George was living at 21 Essex Street and still working as a Barman.
Their first child, James William, was born on 24 January 1885 in Shoreditch and baptised at St Peter, Bethnal Green on 21 February 1886. At the time, the family was living at 33 Weymouth Terrace in Haggerston which bordered Bethnal Green to the north and although he was baptised in Bethnal Green, the church of St Peter was much closer to their home on Weymouth Terrace. The baptismal record also records George’s occupation as a Publican but there is no record of which public house he managed and maps of the time do not show a pub near their home.
Their daughter Edith Alice was born in Bethnal Green on 25 August 1888 but her baptism record has not been located.
In 1891, Annie was living with her parents and two young children at 21 Hassard Street in Bethnal Green but her husband George was not listed in the census with the family nor has he been found elsewhere. George was later diagnosed with cancer and may have been receiving treatment in a local infirmary when the census was taken. On 24 October 1892, George was admitted to the St Mary's parish infirmary in Islington and was discharged a week later at his own request.
Their daughter Annie Clara was born in Islington on 14 November 1892 but sadly, her mother died within days of her birth and was buried in Newham on 22 November. The family tragedy was compounded when George died at the family home on Fairbank Street on the same day his wife was buried. The cause of death was cancer of the tongue and his brother Edwin was with him when he died and acted as the informant on the death certificate. George's occupation was listed as Milk Carrier.
It seems that their children — aged 6, 4 and 1 — were taken in by their maternal grandparents, James and Annie Devine, and they all appear in the 1901 Census living at 34 Ravenscroft Buildings in Bethnal Green. Edith and Annie attended the local primary school on Halley Street beginning in January 1900 and it is likely James also attended school. James Devine supported his family by working as a Warehouseman in a rope factory and his 15 year old grandson James was also working but as a blind maker.
By 1911, the family had separated again. James left to marry Maud Porter in 1905 and Edith in 1908 when she married Abraham Banham. Ann Pearson died in 1910 and her husband moved to Walthamstow in Essex to live with their daughter Edith and her family. Annie Clara was living with her aunt, Clara Howard, who had also moved to Walthamstow and lived several streets away from her sister Edith and father, James.