Thomas Strangward 1854- 1930

Thomas Strangward, born on June 10th 1854, grew up in Huntingdon, one of the younger members of a large family. His father Benjamin Strangward had married a widow, Hannah Quince, nee Cook , who was 10 years older than himself and who already had five children when they met.

Benjamin seems to have brought up Hannah's older children and then the couple themselves had five more children. Thomas lived at High Street Huntingdon with his some of his step-brothers and sisters, until they left home, and three elder brothers, Henry Strangward (born 1848), Benjamin Strangward (born 1850) and Charles Strangward (born 1852), and two younger sisters, Elizabeth Cook Strangward (born 1856) and Hannah Strangward (born 1859).

Thomas' father was a publican at the Sun Inn in Huntingdon for a while and later a groom and coachman but Thomas became a fellmonger, probably immediately after leaving school

Thomas in the 1861 census

Thomas Strangward first appears in the census records in 1861:

1861 census: Orchard Lane, St Mary's, Huntingdon RG9/975/8/page 10 

Benjamin Strangward	35	Married	Head	Groom	Born Spaldwick, Huntingdonshire
Hannah Strangward	43	Married	Wife		Born Lidgate, Suffolk
John Quince	17	Single	Son	Shoe maker's apprentice	Born Huntingdon
Henry Strangward	13	Single	Son	Scholar	Born Huntingdon
Benjamin Strangward	11	Single	Son	Scholar	Born Huntingdon
Charles Strangward	8	Single	Son	Scholar	Born Huntingdon
Thomas Strangward	6	Single	Son	Scholar	Born Huntingdon
Elizabeth Strangward	4	Single	Dau	Scholar	Born Huntingdon
Hannah Strangward	1	Single	Dau		Born Huntingdon

 

 Thomas in the 1871 census

In 1871, the family are still in Orchard Lane, and Thomas is already working as a fellmonger, the trade he followed for the rest of his life:

1871 census: 34 Orchard Lane, St John, Huntingdon

Benjamin Strangward	45	Married	Head	Coachman	Born Spaldwick, Huntingdonshire
Hannah Strangward	55	Married	Wife		Born Lidgate, Suffolk
Charles Strangward	18	Single	Son	Tin plate worker	Born Huntingdon
Thomas Strangward	16	Single	Son	Fellmonger	Born Huntingdon
Elizabeth Strangward	14	Single	Dau	Dressmaker	Born Huntingdon
Hannah Strangward	11	Single	Dau	Scholar	Born Huntingdon

 

Marriage to Lucy

Thomas Strangward married Lucy Campbell, daughter of Joseph Campbell, a local fishmonger, on Feb 11th 1875, just a few months before his 21st birthday. The wedding took place at St Mary's Church in Huntingdon and the marriage certificate shows that both Thomas and Lucy could sign their names, as could their two witnesses, Joseph Campbell (Lucy's father, or possibly Lucy's brother) and Elizabeth Strangward (Thomas' younger sister).

Their first child, Charles Frederick was born on July 15th 1875, suggesting that Lucy was pregnant when she married Thomas, a fact that belies her later strait-laced image. The early years of their marriage, from 1875 to 1900 were full of hardship. They had 10 children in total - find about more about Thomas and Lucy's family by following the links on Thomas and Lucy's main page.

Memories of Thomas

Thomas was a quiet, softly spoken man who was dominated by his strong-willed wife. He was gentle and two of his grandchildren, Ronald Strangward and Anne Senior remember sitting on his knee when they were very small children. Only one photograph of Thomas survives; this was taken with Lucy around 1900 and could have been taken to celebrate their 25th Wedding Anniversary. The family were closely connected with All Saints Church and an obituary for Oliver Strangward, after he was killed in WW1 tells how the family, particularly Thomas, were well thought of in local society.

Thomas died on February 4 1930 in Pontefract and Ronald Strangward, Arthur's son, remembers that there was not a great deal of fuss. Leslie Strangward, Ernest’s son remembers his grandfather lying in state in the front room of Weeland Terrace before his funeral. A few days later he, about 7 at the time, remembers sitting in his grandfather’s chair and saying to Lucy that she could pretend he was Thomas. She then smiled and that was the only time Leslie ever remembers her doing so.