| John Henry Thomas and Family |
| This photograph of John Henry Thomas and family was taken outside North Lodge in 1904 by J H Bosanko of Cornwall. Henry was employed as the Clerk of Works to the Wimpole Estate).
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| (left to right): Curly the dog (on the doorstep), daughter Olive Mary Thomas (born 1894)(later Rowe by marriage) on bicycle, wife Mary Thomas (née Hosken), son Basil Thomas (born in 1903) and John Henry Thomas.
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| The photograph was kindly donated by Mel Pettyfer, the grand-daughter of Olive, the girl sitting on the bicycle. The family oral history is that John Henry Thomas was a carpenter at the Lanhydrock Estate in Cornwall working for Lord Robartes. Lord Robartes took over Wimpole and the estate in settlement of the 5th Earl of Hardwicke's debts, and he bought John Henry Thomas to work at Wimpole. The move from Cornwall was between 1895 (Olive's birth) and the 1901 Census, when they were recorded as living at 'The Woodyard'. Mary's younger sister Ada Hosken also lived with the family and later with Olive in Devon. |
| John Henry Thomas can also be identified in the c1905 photograph of the Estate Workers at Cobbs Wood Sawmill, Wimpole. |
1901 Census: The Woodyard, Wimpole Estate
John Henry Thomas, Head, 33 (c1868), Clerk-of-Works, born Mullion Cornwall
Mary Thomas, Wife, 34 (c1867), born Mawgan Cornwall
Olive Mary Thomas, Daughter, 6 (c1895), born Hayle Cornwall
Ada Hosken, Sister-in-Law, 27 (c1874), living on own means, born Mawgan Cornwall |
1911 Census: North Lodge, Wimpole Estate
J H [John Henry] Thomas, Head, b1865, 46, Married, Clerk Of Works, born Mullion Cornwall
Mary Thomas, Wife, b1864, 47, Married, born Mawgan Cornwall
Olive [Mary] Thomas, Daughter, b1895, 16, Single, born Hayle Cornwall
Basil Thomas, Son, b1903, 8, at School, born Wimpole, Cambridgeshire
Gertrude Hooker, Niece, b1895, 16, Single, born Holloway, London |
| John Henry Thomas (d1929) and Mary Thomas (d1930) are buried in Wimpole Churchyard. Also buried in Wimpole Churchyard is Elizabeth 'Lizzie' Hosken (born 1858, Mawgan Cornwall), elder sister to Mary Thomas and Ada Hosken. |
Image courtesy of Mel Pettyfer. |
