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TUFFT family (Wolverhampton)
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The surname is variously spelled Tufft, Tuft, Tafft, Taft and Toft
(left) Emma Tufft, eldest child of William & Mary Jane Tufft, born 1887. She worked as housemaid to George Ramsay, the celebrated secretary-manager of Aston Villa football club, and disappeared in mysterious circumstances following the sinking of the Titanic in 1912.
My Tufft forebears came originally from the area of Tettenhall Wood, on the western edge of Wolverhampton.
John Tufft married Hester Hendrick at Tettenhall in 1692, and one of their children was Richard, born in 1708, who married Sarah Thomason at neighbouring Codsall in 1733.
Their children included Richard (1743) and Thomas (1746).
In 1765 Richard jnr married Ann Huff at St Peter’s, Wolverhampton, and among their children was my direct forebear, William (1779) – see below.
Richard’s brother Thomas, a steel goods maker of Tettenhall Wood, married Margaret Offley at St Peter’s in 1767. One of their sons, James, born in 1777, served in the Napoleonic Wars and married for a second time in 1840 when he was 62. His bride – who was considerably younger - was Mary Southall of Tettenhall Wood, daughter of Stephen Southall, and their children were Margaret (baptised at Tettenhall 21 Mar 1841), Ann (4 Dec 1842) and Susan (23 Feb 1845) - see end note.
On the 1841 census the family are recorded as James Tufft, 60, steel toymaker, Mary, 20, and three-month-old Margaret.
On the 1851 census they appear as:
James Tufft, aged 73, (Chelsea pensioner) steel worker, born Wolverhampton
Mary, wife, aged 34, laundress, born Tettenhall
Margaret, daughter, aged 10, scholar, born Tettenhall
Ann, daughter, aged 8, scholar, born Tettenhall
Susan, daughter, aged 6, scholar, born Tettenhall.
James Tufft’s cousin was my direct forebear (see above) William Tufft, a cabinet lock maker, born in 1779. He married Susanna Parker at Tettenhall Regis, Wolverhampton, on 29 December 1803. Their witnesses were Sarah Tufft (possibly his sister) and Benjamin Dalton.
• Susannah Parker was baptised at Tettenhall on 28 May 1780, daughter of William Parker and Dinah née Bennett, who married there on 16 Sept 1779. On some records she appears as Sukey – a diminutive of her forename. She was buried at St Michael & All Angels parish church, Tettenhall, on 2 November 1814, aged 34.
William & Susanna’s only known surviving children were Louisa, bp 23 February 1807 (she married Thomas Seager at Tettenhall on 31 December 1826 - see end note) and my great-great-great-grandfather, Thomas Tufft, a locksmith, who was baptised at Tettenhall on 8 September 1811.
William remarried on 19 June 1815 at Tettenhall to Sarah Dovey. The witnesses were Thomas Ecclesor and John Smith.
On the 1841 census the family was living at Tettenhall Wood:
William Tuft (60), locksmith, born Staffordshire
Sarah, (50), not born Staffordshire
William, (22), born Staffordshire.
Their daughter Ann was baptised at Tettenhall in 1816, but probably did not survive into adulthood.
In the 1834 Directory of Staffordshire, William appears as Wm Toft, cabinet lock maker, living at Tettenhall Wood in Seisdon Hundred. White’s Directory of 1851 describes Tettenhall Wood thus: “several handsome houses and a great number of cottages have been built…. the cottages are mostly occupied by lock makers”.
William Tufft died of bronchitis aged 63 on 16 March 1844. Present at the death was his son William. On the census for 1851, his widow and son were still living at Tettenhall Wood:
Sarah Tufft, widow, aged 62, born Alveley, Shropshire
William, son, aged 31, police officer, born Tettenhall.
William jnr was appointed to the Staffordshire police force in 1849. He died at Wolverhampton in March Q 1866, aged 47.
William snr’s son from his first marriage, Thomas, married Martha Evans, (bp 25 February 1816 Tettenhall, daughter of John & Sarah) on 11 July 1836 at St Bartholomew’s church, Penn, Wolverhampton. Their witnesses were Josiah Blakemore and Marianne Brew.
Thomas & Martha’s children were John (1836), *George (1838, married Eliza Perry at St Luke’s 29 Feb 1864), William (bp Bushbury 21 Mar 1841; still unmarried in 1891), Hannah (bp Bushbury 13 May 1844, died in infancy), Thomas (bp Bushbury 2 Nov 1845, died in infancy), James (1847, married Elizabeth Hope 5 Feb 1872), Henry (1849 - see below), Edward (1852, married Sarah Ann Turner at St Luke’s 14 Feb 1875,) and Mary Ann (1859).
*George was born at Tettenhall Wood on 15 August 1838. His birth certificate gives his father as Thomas Tufft, locksmith, and his mother as Martha Tufft formerly Evans. His marriage certificate (1864) names his father as Thomas Tuft, Dudley Road, a merchant’s clerk. George died in 1874 aged 36.
St Luke’s register entry for Edward’s marriage (1875) describes his father as Thomas Tuft, Dudley Road, locksmith.
By the time of the 1841 census the family had moved from Tettenhall Wood and were living at Moseley Road, Bushbury:
Thomas (25), Martha (25), John (4), George (3) and William (4 months).
On the 1851 census they were at 83 Sedgley Road, Wolverhampton, and are recorded as Thomas (39), Martha (35), John (14), George (12), William (10), James (3) and Henry (2). The census does not show occupation or place of birth.
On the 1861 census they had moved to live along Dudley Road in the Blakenhall area of Wolverhampton:
Thomas Tufft, head, aged 49, warehouseman; born Tettenhall
Martha, wife, aged 45
George, son, aged 23, miner
William, son, aged 20, miner
James, son, aged 14, tubemaker (born at Compton on 1881 census)
Henry, son, aged 11
Edward, son, aged 10 (at 56 Chapel Street on 1881 census)
Mary Ann, daughter, aged 1 (with brother James on 1881 census).
Martha Tufft died of bronchitis aged 46 on 6 January 1862. The death certificate shows that she was living at Blakenhall, and her husband Thomas, who was present at the death, is described as a factor’s (ie manufacturer's) packer.
On the 1871 census the family were still living along the Dudley Road in the Blakenhall area:
Thomas Tuft, head, widower, aged 59, packer…. born Tettenhall
William, son, aged 26, coal miner, born Bushbury
Edwin, son, aged 19, coal miner, born Blakenhall
Mary, daughter, aged 11, born Blakenhall.
Thomas Tufft himself died aged 61 on 19 November 1872. The death certificate gives his occupation as factor’s packer, place of death as Dudley Road, and cause as bronchitis. Present at the death was his daughter-in-law Emma, of Dudley Road.
His son, my great-great-grandfather Henry Tufft, was born 12 August 1849 at Wolverhampton Road, Sedgley. On 31 March 1867 at St Mary’s church, he married Emma Whitehurst (née Johnson) a widow with two sons. The marriage certificate shows his age as 19, his occupation as collier, and his father as Thomas Toft (sic) locksmith.
In 1871 the family were living at 10 Chapel Street, Blakenhall:
Henry Tuft aged 22, coal miner, born Sedgley
Emma, wife, aged 32, born Buckley Hill, Cheshire (actually, Bucklow Hill)
Job, son, aged 13, coal miner, born Stoke-upon-Trent
Peter, son, aged 10, scholar, born Stoke-upon-Trent
William, son, aged 3, born Wolverhampton
Mary, daughter, aged 1, born Wolverhampton.
By the time of the 1881 census they had moved to 44 Chapel Street:
Henry Tufft, aged 33, coal and hurdle waggoner, born Wolverhampton
Emma, wife, aged 45, born Buckley Hill, Cheshire
Job Whitehurst, stepson, aged 22, coal miner, born
Stoke-on-Trent, Staffs
Peter Whitehurst, stepson, aged 20, coal miner, born
Stoke-on-Trent, Staffs
William Tufft, son, aged 13, tube screwer (iron), born Wolverhampton
Mary J., daughter, aged 11, scholar, born Wolverhampton
Frederick, son, aged 9, scholar, born Wolverhampton
Martha, daughter, aged 7, scholar, born Wolverhampton
George, son, aged 4, scholar, born Wolverhampton.
Henry Tufft died at Chapel Street on 21 July 1884, aged 36. Cause of death was liver disease, with jaundice and exhaustion as secondary causes. Present at the death was his wife Emma, and his occupation was shown as iron labourer.
Their son William Thomas Tufft was my great-grandfather, born 18 October 1867. His birth certificate shows his birthplace as Dudley Road, Wolverhampton, and his father’s occupation as coal miner.
(Chapel Street, where they were living in 1881, is just off Dudley Road.)
William Thomas married Mary Jane Evans on 15 February 1886 at St Matthew’s Church, Wolverhampton. Both gave their address as Frost Street, where Mary Jane’s grandmother and aunt had been living in 1881. Their witnesses were Annie Caine and Mary Ann Minton, the bridegroom’s aunt.
The 1891 census records William and his family living at a cottage at Cockshuts Colliery, St George’s, Wolverhampton:
William Tuft, head, aged 23, road labourer (Corporation)
Mary J., wife, aged 24
Emma, daughter, aged 4
William, son, aged 2.
A daughter, Mary, was baptised at St Matthew’s church on 17 June 1891. She was always known as Polly.
The same census shows Henry Tufft’s widow Emma and family living at 57 Chapel Street, Blakenhall:
Emma Tuft, head, widow, aged 60, born Buckley Hill
Frederick, son, aged 19; screw (i.e. tube screwer)
George, son, aged 14; screw
Martha, daughter, aged 16; enameller
Stephen Baugh, son-in-law, aged 27; tin plate worker
Mary Jane Baugh, daughter, aged 21; enameller
Thomas Worley, boarder, aged 22; finisher
Arthur Worley, boarder, aged 20; screw
(all except Emma born at Wolverhampton.)
On the 1901 census, Emma was living with her daughter and son-in-law at 56 Baker Street, St Paul’s, Wolverhampton:
Stephen Baugh, head, aged 38, tin plate worker
Mary J., wife, aged 31, bowl enameller
Emma, daughter, aged 10
Martha, daughter, aged 5
Florence M., daughter (no age given)
Emma Tufft, mother-in-law, aged 67 (birthplace marked ‘not known’).
Emma died aged 80 in the autumn of 1913.
The 1901 census records my great-grandfather William Tufft’s family living at 30 Steelhouse Lane, All Saints, Wolverhampton (his in-laws, John & Mary Evans, had a shop at this address on the 1891 census):
William Tuft, aged 36, labourer in ironworks
Mary Tuft, wife, aged 34
Emma, daughter, aged 14
William, son, aged 12
Polly, daughter, aged 10 } all born Wolverhampton
Florrie, daughter, aged 8
May, daughter, aged 7
Martha, daughter, aged 5
Ernest, son, aged 3
Comfort, daughter, aged 5 months.
There were two more children, Harold born 1902, and Minnie born 1906.
My grandmother, May Tufft, was born at this address on 8 January 1894. Her sister Florrie (born here on 20 August 1892) married Samuel Garland on 8 January 1922, and died about 1948, four years before her husband; Martha married Walter Ford in 1918; Comfort married Harry Eccleston in 1922; and Minnie married Alf McCavigan in 1928.
By the time of the 1911 census the family had moved a short distance to 1a Gordon Street, Wolverhampton, and were recorded there as William Thomas Tufft, 43, tube worker (foreman), his wife Mary Jane, 44, and children William Thomas, 21, tube worker (screwer), May, 16, Martha, 14, Comfort, 12, Ernest, 10, Minnie, 10, and Harold, 3.
(The ages of the younger children are not accurate.)
The eldest daughter, Emma, was working as housemaid to the secretary-manager of Aston Villa football club, George Ramsay, who lived at 15 Hampton Road, Handsworth.
On my grandmother May’s birth certificate (1894) my great-grandfather is described as a general labourer, and on her first marriage certificate (1918) as an inspector. Her second marriage certificate (1923) gives his occupation as a tube fitter. He separated from his wife Mary Jane because of his adultery, and he re-married at least once, perhaps twice, his last marriage taking place in 1941, to Harriet Slater (she died five years later). William Thomas Tufft died at the age of 83 on 12 April 1951 at 68 Bush Street, Wolverhampton. My grandmother, May Finch, was present at the death, which was due to a stroke and cerebral haemorrhage.
My great-grandmother was Mary Jane, née Evans, daughter of John and Mary Evans (see EVANS family). Mary Jane was recorded at 30 Steelhouse Lane in the 1921/2 Borough Register and must have been separated by this date as she is shown as sole head. She had a sweet shop on the premises. My mother remembered her as being small and stout, dressed in black, and very strict, especially towards her daughters.
Her husband William used to go fishing at weekends, taking one of the younger boys with him. He had an accident at work – falling into some kind of large tank – and was taken to hospital. When Mary Jane arrived to visit she discovered another female at his bedside – and this turned out to be his ‘fancy woman’ whose cottage he’d been visiting at weekends while supposedly fishing. His son, who had been paid to keep quiet about his father’s little secret, was prevailed upon to admit the truth to his mother and the Tuffts subsequently separated.
Mary Jane died on 7 February 1932 at 30 Steelhouse Lane. The death certificate gives her age as 65 and describes her as ‘wife of William Thomas Tufft, formerly electric cable joiner’s labourer’. Cause of death was acute bronchitis, and present at the death was her son Ernest, who was living with her. Ernest married Ethel Fletcher in 1937, and died in 1949 aged 47.
My grandmother May Tufft was born 8 January 1894 at 30 Steelhouse Lane, Wolverhampton. She married Thomas Nixon Fowler at St Leonard’s Church, Bilston, on 13 October 1918. On the certificate she is described as a domestic servant, living at 4 Fletcher Street, Wolverhampton. (This street no longer exists, but on OS maps of 1902 and 1919 is shown in Bilston, at the junction with Wellington Road, joining Prouds Lane further up.) My mother was their only child. At the time of my grandfather’s death (2 June 1920) the family were living at 6 Vine Street, Bilston.
My grandmother subsequently married William Edwin Finch on 2 December 1923 at All Saints church, Wolverhampton. The marriage certificate shows her as May Fowler, aged 28, a widow of 130 Steelhouse Lane, father William Thomas Tufft, tube fitter; and the bridegroom as aged 32, a haulier of 103 Gordon Street, father William Finch, farmer.
They had a daughter, May, born late in 1924, and continued to live in Gordon Street, off Steelhouse Lane, before moving out to Merry Hill, and then to 6 Maple Road, Bradmore. My grandmother died here of cancer on 16 July 1955, aged 61. William Finch died on 28 February 1968.
My mother, Gwendoline, born at 4 Fletcher Street, Bilston, on 21 March 1919, died at Blaenmarlais, Narberth, Pembrokeshire, on 21 December 1999.
My mother’s aunt, Emma Tufft, was employed for a time as housemaid to George Ramsay, the renowned captain and then secretary-manager of Aston Villa football club, 1884-1926. In 1912 she entered the employment of a family sailing to New York on the Titanic, and sent home a postcard of the ship from Southampton, saying she was about to embark. After the sinking the Tuffts went down to Southampton to try and discover what had happened to her, but her name was not on the passenger list. They never heard of or from her again. My mother believed that she had met a young man and decided to alter her plans; though that wouldn’t explain why she never afterwards contacted the family.
LOUISA TUFFT AND HER CHILDREN:
Louisa Tufft, born 1807, sister of my forebear William, married Thomas Seager at Tettenhall on 31 December 1826. Their children included Mary (bp Tettenhall 5 July 1829), Emma (16 Oct 1835), Sarah (16 Apr 1837), Christopher (1840), Susan (11 Dec 1842 – died 1843), Martha (23 Mar 1845), Harriet (1847), and Mary Ann (2 July 1848 – died soon afterwards).
On the 1841 census Louisa was recorded at Tettenhall, aged 30, with Emma 5, Sarah 4, and Christopher, one. She died in 1848, following the birth of her last child. Her husband Thomas Seager, a key stamper, was recorded at Tettenhall on the 1851 census with his daughters Sarah 14, and Harriet, six. In 1861 he and Harriet were living with his married daughter Emma in Wolverhampton. Thomas Seager died in 1877 aged 69.
Emma had married Isaiah Fisher in 1856. Christopher married Emma Parton in 1863, and in 1881 was living in Bilston, a master japanner employing six men, two boys, eight girls and seven women. He died at Christchurch, Hants, in 1908 aged 68. Sarah remained unmarried, and in 1881 was working as a domestic servant at Wake Green, Moseley, Birmingham.
CHILDREN OF JAMES AND MARY TUFFT (née Southall):
Margaret, baptised at Tettenhall 24 March 1841, married Henry Westwood in 1859. Their children were Amy 1860, Joseph 1863 (died 1928), Henrietta 1865, Evelyn 1872, Harold 1874 – all born at Yardley, Worcs; Frederick 1877, Kate 1880, Harry 1882, and Hilda 1886 – all born at Bickenhill, Warks.
Ann, baptised at Tettenhall 4 December 1842, married Thomas Clemens Williams (born Ledbury, Hereford, 1826) in 1870. Their children included Thomas James 1873, born at Wolverhampton, and Clementina 1875 and George 1878, born at Shifnal, Shrops.
Susan, baptised at Tettenhall 23 February 1845, was still unmarried in 1881, working as a domestic servant in the household of a Baptist minister on Compton Road, Chapel Ash, Wolverhampton.
Their father James Tufft died before 1861. In 1871 his widow Mary Tufft was working as a domestic servant in Hall Street, Wolverhampton. She died towards the end of 1876, aged 61.
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