isaac mallindine + amelia ann blackstone
Isaac was born on 12 August 1790 to William and Frances Kelsee, and baptised one month later at St Matthew in Bethnal Green. He came from a long line of silk weavers with his paternal line working in the trade from the time his great-grandfather David, a Master Weaver from France, sought refuge in England in the early 1700’s. Isaac likely learned the trade from his father and may have served an apprenticeship but no records confirming this have yet been found.
He married Amelia Blackstone and although the marriage record has not been found, a record of the banns called at St Dunstan in Stepney on three consecutive Sundays between 26 January and 9 February 1817, points to a wedding date shortly afterwards. The banns record Isaac as a bachelor and Amelia, listed as ‘Emma’, as a spinster and they were both living in Mile End New Town.
Mile End New Town became known as a distinct hamlet within the parish of Stepney following the period of rapid growth in the 18th century while Mile End Old Town was some distance to the east. It was bordered by the parish of St Matthew Bethnal Green to the north, Christ Church Spitalfields to the west and St Mary Whitechapel to the south. The hamlet lay just to east of Brick Lane with Spital Street forming the western boundary, Old Montague Street the southern boundary and the London train line which ran from the present day Shoreditch High Street station to Whitechapel station.
Little is known about Amelia Blackstone as no available records list her parents’ names and the only reference to her age is in the 1841 Census where ages were rounded up or down. She is recorded as being 40 years old, or born in 1801, at the time of the census and there are two possible baptism records; the first and most likely is for Amelia Ann Blackston, the daughter of James and Isabella, baptised at St Matthew in Bethnal Green on 15 September 1799. The second Amelia Ann Blackstone was baptised at St Olave in Southwark on 27 January 1799 and was the daughter of Thomas and Mary Ann.
Isaac and Amelia were living on the Hackney Road where their first daughter, Martha, was born on 21 October 1820 and he was working as a Weaver. Martha was baptised at St Leonard Shoreditch on 12 November 1820 but there are no subsequent record of her so she may have died in infancy.
Son William was born on 15 November 1822 at Great George Street in Bethnal Green and baptised at St Matthew on 8 December 1822 but he died only weeks before his second birthday and was buried at the Gibraltar Row Burial Ground on 24 October 1824.
In 1825, they were living in Carter’s Rents, a small court off Brick Lane between Spicer and Pelham Streets that was built in 1791. As the population of the area increased in the 18th century many landowners built new courts, like Carter’s Rents, in the gardens of existing houses. Their daughter Amelia was born there on 29 April 1825 and baptised at St Leonard Shoreditch on 15 May 1825.
No birth record has been found for Elizabeth, born about 1829, but she has been linked to Isaac and Amelia based on the information in the record of her marriage to John Brand. They had another daughter, Sarah, born about 1833 and although no birth record has been found, she appears in the 1841 census with her family.
They were still living in Carter’s Rents, renamed Carter Street, in 1836 when daughter Fanny was born but died as a result of ‘inflammation of the bowels’ on 25 July 1838 at the family home. Her death was registered by Amelia, who could only make her mark, and on 5 August, little Fanny was buried in the church yard of St Matthew Bethnal Green.
John was born on 4 January 1839 at 1 Carter Street and Amelia registered his birth. Two years later, they moved around the corner to Spital Street but only Isaac, Amelia, Sarah and John were living in the household and 16 year old Amelia and 12 year Elizabeth have not been found elsewhere. Their eighth child, George, was born on Spital Street on 13 September 1841 he was not baptised until just before he died in 1898.
Daughter Amelia married On 20 October 1846, their daughter Amelia married William Newall at St Mary in Whitechapel and their addresses were listed as Plummer’s Row which was several streets to the east from the church. There is no evidence that any family attended as the register lists the witnesses as James Newall, William’s father, and Mary Ann Hayden.
By 1851, Amelia had died and Isaac was listed in the census as a widower. He was still living at 1 Spital Street along with sons John and George, and working as a Weaver. His daughter Sarah was lodging nearby at 60 Brick Lane and working as a Paper Colourer while Amelia and her family were living on Oxford Street in Stepney. Elizabeth hasn’t been found in the census but on 17 March 1853, she married John Brand and at the time, they were both living in Clare Hall Gardens near her sister’s home on Oxford Street.
Three years later, Isaac was admitted to Bethnal Green Workhouse and the reason for his admission was listed as ‘destitution’. His youngest sons were only fifteen and thirteen at the time of his admission but there is no record of whether they entered the workhouse with him or stayed with other family members. Isaac remained in the workhouse for seven years until his death from ‘natural decay’ on 26 June 1861.
Both John and George later married and had families of their own but there is no further record of daughter Sarah.