The Wilkes family in Castleford

I have previously researched the history of my Wilkes ancestors back to around 1800 in West Bromwich. I have yet to fill in some gaps in what happened to my more recent Wilkes ancestry - in the pedigree shown I've added in the extra information I've acquired recently in red.

According to the 1901 & 1911 census, John Thomas Wilkes and his wife Eliza Beatrice Wilkes had three children (John Thomas, Pollie and Elsie) in West Bromwich before moving to 5 Grafton Street, Glasshoughton (Castleford) between 1907 and 1911. They had a second son, Albert, in 1912 born in Castleford although I have yet to get the birth certificate. Albert was the only son to survive infancy.

It appears that John Thomas Wilkes died aged 39 in Castleford in late 1916 as I have found a death record for this event though I have yet to get the certificate. Eliza Beatrice Wilkes remarried a John White in early 1919 - I knew she remarried a White as my grandfather remembers Eliza Beatrice as being called 'Granny White'. I don't know yet what happened to Eliza Beatrice and John White after this time.

Of the three surviving children, Elsie Wilkes who is my great-grandmother married David Hughes and moved to York. I do not know very much about Albert Wilkes and his family though there is a family story that while he was young Albert saved some boys from drowning in a lake or brick pond. It will be interesting to search local newspapers to see what happened. I'd also like to find out more about Albert Wilkes' life.

I know more about Pollie Wilkes as I have a copy of both her birth and marriage certificates. The birth certificate (born 4th May 1902, West Brom) is not one that contains any family information, so I think it was not the official birth cerificate but simply a register of a birth certificate entry (it is a copy obtained in 1971 for what reason I don't know).

The marriage certificate is interesting and shows that she married a William Haigh, a miner, son of Amos Haigh, a miner, on the 26th March 1921. The witnesses are Harry Haigh and Lena Crosswaite. The Haighs live at 25 Temple Street Castleford and Polly Wilkes at 65 Grafton Street - presumably with her mother Eliza Beatrice and step-father John White.

John Thomas Wilkes in 1911

My great-grandmother was Elsie Wilkes (b1908), the daughter of John Thomas Wilkes (b1878) and Eliza Beatrice Evans (b1881). The Wilkes and Evans families were living in West Bromwich for the second half of the nineteenth century, and I have previously traced the Wilkes line back to the beginning of that century in that area (click on the Wilkes tab for more information). I knew that there were also two older children - John Thomas b1900 who died in infancy, and Polly (b1902). I also believe there to be a youngest son called Albert who I had thought to be born pre 1911. I also knew that the family moved at some point between 1902 and 1911 to Castleford, but I was not sure when.

In the 1911 census, I find John Thomas and Eliza Wilkes living at 5 Grafton Street, Glasshoughton, in a house with 4 rooms. It is a traditional terraced house that the majority of coal miners would have lived in - John Thomas is working as a coal hewer. They have been married for 11 years, which tallies with the marriage certificate that I already have - they also have had 3 children with only 2 surviving. Both Polly and Elsie are listed as having been born in West Bromwich, meaning that the Wilkes family must have moved to Castleford after 1908. This also means that Albert Wilkes must have been born after 1911 and in the Castleford area - there is a reference to an Albert Wilkes being born in the June Qtr of 1912 in the Pontefract district (which includes Castleford) so it is likely that he was born then. I shall also do a post sometime soon about Albert Wilkes's namesake and John Thomas' elder brother Albert Wilkes , a footballer who played for Aston Villa and England.

Evans & Oakley of West Bromwich

Eliza Beatrice Evans was the mother of Elsie Wilkes - my great-great-grandmother.

She came from West Bromwich originally, but moved with her husband John Thomas Wilkes to Castleford at some point after the turn of the last century.

Her father was Thomas Evans and her grandfather William Evans. They were all miners from West Bromwich, but perhaps from Wales before that.

Her mother was called Mary Ann Oakley, and her father was called John Oakley, also a miner.

I have pieced this together from marriage certificates, but I do not have much census information as the names Evans and Oakley are very common names in the census and I cannot be therefore completely sure of uniquely identifying them.

Wilkes 1800-1850

The Wilkes family 1800-1850




So, I had discovered that Elsie Wilkes' father was John Thomas Wilkes and that his father was Samuel Wilkes (b1852). I found that Samuel Wilkes' parents were Samuel Wilkes and Jane Wilkes (nee Cox) as I was able to get his birth certificate. I was then able to follow this family by getting their marriage certificates and census records.



Samuel Wilkes

Samuel Wilkes was born in about 1829 in West Bromwich and married Jane Cox on Monday, 17^th July 1848. They had at least 11 children although not all survived. His father according to his marriage certificate was a Joseph Wilkes, miner, and Samuel was also a miner. Jane Cox’s father was John Cox a miner, and all lived in Tipton.

I won't put all the census images for Samuel and his father Joseph on here, but here is the earliest census return for Joseph Wilkes in 1841:

Elsie Wilkes (The Wilkes 1850-1900)

The Wilkes side (1850-1900):
Click here for a good description of the history of the areas of interest for this family.


Again, all of this information was gained from looking at the online available census records, sending off for the marriage certificates, and monumental inscriptions from Castleford cemetery. My great-uncle Jack, my grandad's brother, was able to show me the original birth-certificate of Polly Wilkes (his mother Elsie's sister) which gave me the names of her parents and enabled me to find them in 1901.

Elsie Wilkes
Elsie Wilkes was the third child of John Thomas and Eliza Wilkes. She was born on the 10^th November 1907. We believe that she was born in Castleford – her parents moving from West Bromwich to Castleford between 1902 and 1907.

Her elder brother was John Thomas Wilkes who was born in 1900 in West Bromwich but died in infancy. Her elder sister was Polly Wilkes who was born on 4^th May 1902 in West Brom, and who married William Haigh in Castleford parish church on 26^th March 1921. Her younger brother, Albert, was born in 1909. We believe this is the Albert Wilkes who was awarded a bravery medal for saving some boys from drowning in a brick pond in Castleford.

Elsie’s father was John Thomas Wilkes and her mother was Eliza Beatrice Evans (see here), who were married in 1899 in West Bromwich.

In 1901 John Thomas was working as a coal miner driver underground living at 68 Walsall Street, West Bromwich and had had his first child, also John Thomas, with his wife Eliza Beatrice (nee Evans). . The houses on Walsall Street have now been partly demolished and the A41 now intersects where it once stood.

In Castleford cemetery, John Thomas Wilkes' grave says that he died in 1916. He was recorded as a miner (deceased) on the marriage certificate of his daughter Polly Wilkes to William Haigh. Sometime after 1916, Eliza Beatrice Wilkes remarried, becoming Eliza Beatrice White, marrying Jack White. His MI in Castleford cemetery says that he died in 1933, Eliza living until 1954.

Prior to 1899, John Thomas Wilkes was living with his parents Samuel and Susannah Wilkes in West Bromwich, to whom he was born in 1878. Before being a coal miner hewer, he also worked as a 'hollaware caster' when he was 13 (in 1891), which I presume was involved a job given to boys involved in the mining process.

The parents of John Thomas Wilkes
His father, Samuel Wilkes was born on 20^th July 1852 to Samuel and Jane Wilkes (nee Cox), and they lived at Wood Lane, West Bromwich. I obtained his birth certificate which showed that his mother was the informant of birth and that she was illiterate (she did not sign her name). His father's occupation was a miner (like nearly everyone else who was living in this part of West Bromwich at this time).

Samuel Wilkes married Susannah Baggott on 19^th May 1872 in West Bromwich. She was three years older than him. Samuel had at least 11 children, although not all of them survived infancy. Susannah Baggott’s family has been researched by someone else See here for more Baggott information.

Baggott and Wilkes are very highly concentrated surnames in the West Midlands area, and it is likely that they have long roots in this area. See here or here for example.

Samuel worked as a coal miner between 1871 and 1901, living at 32 Wood Lane in 1881 and 40 George St. between 1891 and 1901, all in West Bromwich. In 1871 he was living unmarried at home with his parents in the Wednesbury district of West Bromwich. He worked below ground between 1871 and 1891, but in 1901 he was working above ground as a colliery watchman.

Samuel Wilkes in 1871

Samuel Wilkes in 1881
(Wood Lane, West Bromwich)

Samuel Wilkes in 1891 (GeorgeSt, West Brom)
(this census entry was over two pages)

Samuel Wilkes in 1901 (George St, West Brom)

Samuel stayed and worked in West Bromwich, even after his son John Thomas Wilkes had left to Castleford, presumably to find more coal mining work.

Follow these links for more information about Eliza Beatrice Evans (Elsie Wilkes’ mother) and Samuel Wilkes (Elsie’s grandfather).