William Henley, upholsterer

[silicondale]

Unfortunately I have only 3 facts about my ggg-grandfather William Henley: born Woburn, Bedfordshire in 1781, married Anne White in Woburn in 1805, and he was an upholsterer according to the marriage certificate of his son John in 1838 (in Brighton).

I don't know where he plied his trade. I would have thought that Woburn is too small a place for an upholsterer to work his whole life - and there's no death record for him there. His wife Anne was not from Woburn, but from London (St Clement Danes).

I have found no information about him from the Worshipful Company of Upholders (he probably wasn't a member anyway). Although I strongly suspect that he travelled around, and it seems reasonable to infer that he worked both in London and possibly in the Royal Pavilion in Brighton (explaining how his son ended up there) I haven't found any death record for him, or any other information at all.

Any clues where best to look for information on upholsterers ?

 

[Nightryder]

I dont know if it helps but have you thought of Railway Upholsterers

 

[silicondale]

Railway upholsterers? Now there's a thought. Unfortunately for most or all of his career, no railways. However, he could have been in coachbuilding. The big problem is a gap without any records at all. I have some evidence of him in Woburn until about 1816, then he vanishes. His son John, born Woburn 1810, reappears in Brighton about 1836, together with an aunt (Lettice White), his mother's unmarried eldest sister from London St Clement Danes, who then lived in Brighton until her death in 1858 - but no sign of either of John's parents. My interpretation is that William was probably travelling around the country from one contract to another, maybe as a subcontractor to one of the big furnishing contractors like Morel & Seddon - but I have no idea where to look for documentary evidence. Brighton makes sense in the 1820s because the Royal Pavilion was a very big project, and there were also plenty of other gentry setting up homes (or second homes) there.

 

[leefer]

http://www.woburn.co.uk/abbey/

Maybe he worked at the Abbey....i mean there would have been enough work there for sure!

I note also that Henley in Woburn seems to be derived from the sirname Endley

 

[silicondale]

Hi, Nightryder - thanks for the suggestions. Almost certainly he did work at the Abbey, as would at least half the population of Woburn. One of William's cousins, Catherine, was a housemaid, another was the Watchman, and another became head gardener. But the fact is that he left Woburn never to return, probably some time after 1816 - maybe to work on other properties owned by the Duke of Bedford (e.g. in the Tavistock Square / Russell Square area of London all of which was owned by the Duke), and maybe to work for other clients.

Yes - before 1755 all births, marriages, and deaths of all the Henley ancestors were recorded in the Woburn parish register as Endley. However, this is such a rare name and I have found no evidence for any other Endley families that could be connected, that I am sure it was just an error by a particular parish clerk who simply wrote the name as he heard it. I can trace all of the same individuals recorded before 1755 as Endley and after that year as Henley or Henly. All descended from one Andrew Endley (Henley) who married in Woburn in 1733. Where he came from is another mystery - but not for this thread!

 

[Nightryder]

Silicondale,im wondering if upholsterers in general lived a gypsy life going from job to job I have one I cant find in any census, I only know about him because of his marriage cert his daughters birth & Marriage cert & another daughters baptism record.

 

[silicondale]

Hi Nightryder - Think you most likely are right about that! It would explain a lot. By the way, note that you're in Canberra, I envy your nice spring weather! Starting to get cold here. Lived in Canberra (rented a house in Deakin) for a couple of years in early '70s, but the city has changed a lot since then. I visited again in 1996 and was shocked to see quite how much change by then. Still a beautiful place, though!