My great great grandparents Robert Ord/Coulthard 1849–1914 and Esther Richardson 1851–1914

Coulthard 6th generation

Esther was born in Stanhope, Weardale on the 20th of April 1851, she was the third of five children. Her parents were Thomas Richardson, a blacksmith and Dorothy Bainbridge.

Robert was born on the 28th of December 1849 in Carville, Wallsend, Northumberland. He was the eldest of William Coulthard and Ann Ord’s four children. He was born illegitimately with no father registered on the birth certificate and so he had Ann’s surname of Ord. The place of residence given for Ann was Carville, a area on the edge of Wallsend.

Ann Ord (nee Chambers) was a widow with two children from her marriage to William Ord. William had been a copper plate printer working in Newcastle, he died in 1847 and Ann’s son, Robert Ord was born two years later.

In the 1851 census Ann was recorded as being the head of the house, she had two of her children living with her, William Ord who was five years old and Robert Ord who was one year old. Her oldest child, Ann Ord was living in Newcastle with her maternal grandmother. William Coulthard was also living in the house, he was 27 and was recorded as an unmarried lodger with no occupation listed.

In 1851 Esther’s family were living in Stanhope, 37 miles away, she was born twenty days after the census was recorded.

The following year in 1852, Robert’s brother Michael Ord was born, once again there was no father registered on the birth certificate and Ann’s residence was given as Carville. Later in the same month Michael was baptised in Walker, Northumberland but at his baptism he was called Michael Coulthard and his father was registered as William Coulthard. This makes me wonder if William and Ann didn’t want people to know that they weren’t married.

The Richardson family were living in Stanhope in 1851 but Esther’s brother Thomas Brown Richardson was born in Bishopwearmouth, Sunderland in 1853 so the family must have moved in the intervening two years.

In 1855 William Coulthard and Ann Ord had another son, he was called Thomas Ord. He was also illegitimate and born in Carville but like Michael he was baptised with the name Coulthard and William was the father on the baptism record. William’s job on the baptism records was described as a caulker, a person whose job it was to make a boat watertight by packing the seams with a waterproof material, such as oakum or pitch.

In 1856 William and Ann got married, I haven’t been able to find any reason that they couldn’t have been married before this time. The archivist at the Newcastle archives said that the most logical reason would be that one of them was already married but I can’t find any evidence of it. This could account for the legal birth certificates telling the truth but the baptism records giving the version that they wanted people to believe.

In 1858 William and Ann Coulthard had a daughter called Elizabeth Jane, she was the only one of their four children who was born after their marriage and therefore with the Coulthard surname.

In 1859 Ann’s daughter Ann Ord had a baby also called Ann. The baby was born in Easington, Durham and there was no father’s name registered. Ann returned to her mother and step father’s house in Wallsend with the baby.

In the 1861 census Robert was living with his parents at Heppels Cottages, Wallsend. His half brother William Ord was 15 and had left home to work in Bishopwearmouth but his half sister Ann Ord was living with them with her one year old daughter. Robert was ten and his siblings were Michael who was eight, Thomas who was five and Elizabeth who was three. All four of William’s children now had Coulthard as a surname.

In 1861 Esther was nine and living with her family in Varna Street, Cornhill, Southwick, her father Thomas was a blacksmith. Esther and her four siblings all lived at home, they were Sarah who was fourteen, John who was twelve and already working in the coal industry, Thomas who was seven and Dorothy who was one year old.

In 1865 Robert’s half sister Ann Ord left home with her daughter when she married a local man called John Gascoigne. They moved across the river to Bishopwearmouth and within two years had a son and a daughter. Four years later Ann was widowed and by the time the 1871 census was recorded she had returned to Wallsend and was living at 13 Heppels Cottages near her mother. She had three children to support and had two lodgers in the house.

In 1867 Esther’s sister Sarah got married to a mason called George Moore and within a few years they also started a family making Esther an aunt. Three years later Robert’s half brother William Ord married Susannah Cowel, they moved to Penshaw in Durham where they settled.

When the 1871 census was recorded Robert was 21 and working as a labourer, he was still living with his parents at 13 Heppels Cottages, Wallsend. Their address appears to be exactly the same as that of Esther’s sister Sarah, this is possibly how Robert and Esther met. Robert’s father was 48 and working as an engine fitter and Ann was 52. His brother Michael was 18 and working as a hammerman, Thomas was 15 and working as a rivetter and Elizabeth was 13 and at school.

Esther and her family lived at 12 Southwick Row in 1871, her father Thomas was an engine fitter and her mother was working as a dress maker. Her brother John was an engine smith and Thomas was a hammerman. Her sister Sarah and her husband George were living at Tyne Street, Bishopwearmouth.

In a newspaper advertisement in 1919 Robert’s son John William was working as a chiropodist, the advert said that he had taken over from Robert (deceased) and the business had been going for 50 years. This would make the time that Robert started working as a chiropodist about 1871. At this time there was no formal recognition or training to work in this field but according to the society of Chiropodists, there was suddenly a lot of demand with men returning from the war.

1872 was a bad year for Robert and his family, his grandmother died in Wallsend and within a year of her death both of his parents had died of typhus leaving him as the senior member of the family.

The following year in 1873 on the 16th of August he married Esther Richardson, they married at the Parish Church in Sunderland. Robert was 22 and working as a miner, he lived at 55 Vine Street in the docks area on the south bank of the river. His father was recorded as William Coulthard, deceased. Esther was 22 and living at 3 Thomas Street in Bishopwearmouth. Her father was Thomas Richardson who was a mechanic.

A year later in 1874 Robert and Esther’s first child, John William was born in Washington, County Durham, and Robert’s brother Thomas married Elizabeth Forster.

In the early 1870s Esther’s brother John started up the pleasure beach at Roker on the Bathing Sands between the two piers, he owned the bathing machines, a wooden cafe and the pleasure boats. In his obituary he was credited with being the person who ‘laid the foundation of Roker as a Pleasure Resort’ in the 1870s and then being in business on the beach from the 1880s.

In 1877 on the 4th of April Robert’s brother Michael died in the Tynmouth Union Workhouse, he was 23 years old. The cause of death was not specific but he had been ill with a fever for two months. I can’t find any evidence that Michael married or had children and the witness to his death appears to be a member of the staff at the workhouse. At this time Robert was in Monkwearmouth and Thomas was in Middlesborough, only their sister Elizabeth Jane was still in Wallsend.

Three months after the death of her brother in 1877, Elizabeth Jane married John Beck.

Robert and Esther’s second child was born the following year in Monkwearmouth, she was called Emma Ann (aka Connie).

When the 1881 census was recorded, Robert and Esther were living at 73 Victor Street Monkwearmouth, Robert was working as ‘Ship rivetter (fitting)’.

They were living in the same street as his brother Thomas and his wife, his occupation was described as ‘a driller S Br’ , their address was 137 Victor Street.

Robert’s sister Elizabeth Jane was living with her husband and son in East Terrace, Walker.

Esther’s sister Sarah and her husband were living at Kirtley’s Boulevard, Bishopwearmouth with their four children.

Ether’s other three siblings were still living with their parents at 4 Brandling Street.

In 1881 my great grandfather Robert was born, he was Robert and Esther’s third and final child, he was born on the 9th of May at 73 Victor Street Monkwearmouth.

In the same year Robert joined the Boilermaker and Iron shipbuilder’s Union. On the birth certificate of his son Robert he was recorded as a ‘Holder up’* in the Shipyard.

In the 1881 census the other family sharing 73 Victor Street was the Dodds family. In 1883 Charles Dodds was killed in the Victoria Hall tragedy where 183 children died. He was just 6 and his 9 year older brother survived and gave evidence at the inquest. There were 2000 local children in the hall when the disaster struck but it is not possible to find out if the Coulthard children were there.

On the 28th of October 1887 The Sunderland Daily Echo and Shipping Gazette reported on the St John’s Ambulance Competition between 18 groups of their members. Robert’s detachment, the second one from Monkwearmouth shared the third place. Two years later in a newspaper article his son John William said that Robert had saved many lives.

In 1887 Esther’s mother died at 4 Brandling Street, Roker and was buried at Mere Knolls Cemetery, she was 64 and Esther was 36.

Robert’s sister Elizabeth was widowed in 1891, and lost her youngest child the following year leaving her as a 33 year old widow with three surviving children, the youngest was only five years old.

When the 1891 census was recorded Robert and Esther were living at 34 Millum Terrace, Monkwearmouth. It was a long street where most of the men were employed in the ship business. Robert was a coach wagonwright age 41 and Esther was 40, their son John William was 16 and had a job as a stock keeper, Emma was 13 and Robert was 9.

In 1891 Esther’s brother John was living in Brandling Cottage, Gosforth Street with his family, and her sister Sarah was living at 35 Covent Garden Street with hers. Esther’s sister Dorothy was in Stanhope with their maternal aunt Jane Bainbridge.

Robert’s brother Thomas and his wife Elizabeth were living at 8 Bloomfield Street, Monkwearmouth and his sister Elizabeth Jane was living in Hedley Street.

In 1893 Robert and Esther’s son John William was awarded the Humane Society’s bronze medal and Robert spoke at the presentation. John William was a keen and sucessful competitive swimmer and his race results were often recorded in the newspapers. He worked on the pleasure beach looking after the boats for his uncle John Richardson.

In 1895 there were two marriages in the family, Robert’s sister Elizabeth Jane married her second husband, his name was Frederick Westphal and he was a German man who was working as a cartman. Esther’s brother John married Mary Cronin.

In 1897 Robert and Esther’s son John William married Catherine Pace in the Dock Street Chapel, Sunderland. John William gave his address as 121 Roker Avenue and gave his father’s occupation as Rivetter.

The following year Esther’s youngest sister Dorothy got married to Oliver Elsom who was a general labourer. Oliver already had a daughter called Elizabeth who was ten years old when the marriage took place.

In 1898 on the 16th of February Robert took over the license of the Gladstone Inn at 28 Hendon Street previously called the Moulder’s Arms. The following year in 1899 The Gladstone Inn was sold giving a full description of it, I assume that this was when Robert took the business over.

1899 was a year of mixed fortune for Robert’s sister Elizabeth Jane, she had a baby boy with Frederick Westphal but in the same year her 18 year old son William Coulthard Beck died. It was also the year when John William and his wife Catherine had their first child, and Robert and Esther became grandparents.

In 1900 Robert and Esther’s daughter Emma Ann married Richard Butler in the Sunderland Parish Church.

The 1901 census recorded Robert and Esther living at 28 Hendon Street, they only had their son Robert living at home, he was 19 and working as a plater’s apprentice.

The 1901 census showed Esther’s father living with his second wife Margaret at 15 Horatio Street but a year later he died at there. The newspaper article gave his address as ‘late of The Cottage, Brandling Street’, Monkwearmouth Shore. He was buried at Mere Knolls cemetery.

In 1901 Robert and Esther became grandparents again when John William and Catherine had a second son called George and in 1902 Emma and her husband Richard had a son who they called Richard.

In 1903 on the 31st of October there was a newspaper advertisment giving the address for ‘Coulthard at Gladstone Terrace’ selling a bagatelle table. Presumably this is The Gladstone Inn in Hendon Street.

On the 21st of April in 1904 Robert put a Fish and Chip shop up for sale at 28 Hendon Street.

In 1905 Robert and Esther became grandparents twice more, Emma and Richard had a son called Robert Coulthard Butler and John William and Catherine had a daughter called Annie.

In 1906 Thomas’s wife Elizabeth drowned in the River Tyne, there was an inquest and it was recorded as an accidental death.

In the same year, Robert and Esther’s youngest child, Robert (my great grandfather) married Susannah Ethel Bell (aka Ettie) at the Grange Congregational Church in Sunderland and the following year their first child was born, she was my grandmother and her name was Florence May.

In 1910 Esther’s sister Dorothy left Sunderland and emigrated to Canada with her husband, son and step daughter. Esther and Robert were still at 28 Hendon Street, the 1910 Kelly’s Directory listed Robert as a beer retailer at this address.

In 1911 Robert’s brother Thomas died, he was 56 and had been working as a Ship Rivetter and living with his daughter Bertha in South Shields since the death of Elizabeth. He was buried in Harton Cemetery, South Shields in the same plot as his wife.

In 1911 Robert and Esther’s son Robert and his wife Susannah had another child, a son called Robert Leslie

When the 1911 census was recorded Robert and Esther were still living in Hendon Street at number 28. Robert was a publican age 63 and Esther was 59. At the same time their son Robert and his wife Susannah were living at 65 Nile Street Sunderland just a few streets away, Robert junior was also a hotel keeper at the Hertford Hotel.

In 1913 Esther’s sister Sarah died when she was 67.

The consolidated licensing act of 1910 seems to have affected the pub in 1914

Robert died in 1914 on the 17th of June just a week after the Gladstone Inn was denied a license, he was only 64. He died of a cerebral haemorrhage and cardiac dilation. His son John William was the witness. Robert died at The Gladstone Inn, 28 Hendon Street and his funeral left from this address for the cemetery on the 19th of June.

In his will he left 34 Millum Terrace to Esther and then after her death to the three children equally. He and Esther gave 28 Hendon Street as their address and in his will Robert gave this as his home. Robert wrote his will on the 5th of March 1914 just a few weeks before his death. Probate was granted on the 8th July 1914.

In 1914 history repeated itself, Robert had lost his parents within a few days of each other and then his own children were in the same situation in 1914. Less than two months after Robert died, Esther died on the 5th of August, she was 62 years old and she died of cirrhosis of the liver. (Their son Robert did not drink or have alcohol in the house when he was older and his granddaughter said that she was told that this was because of troubles when he was young) John William was the witness and the funeral took place at Sunderland Cemetry.

Both Robert and Esther were buried in Ward 11 Section A unconsecrated grave no. 6935 there is a gap in a row of graves where there must have been a headstone but it isn’t there any more.

Esther wrote her will on the 17th of June, which was the day of Robert’s death. She also left all her property equally divided between her three children and made Robert and John William her executors. John William’s address stayed the same in both wills but Robert must have moved into the Gladstone shortly before his father’s death because he was living there as a licenced victualler.

In April of 1915 Robert Coulthard’s furnishings and fittings from the pub were sold by auction. The contents of the auction contained indications of what the pub was like including a concertina, a zither, pictures, books, microscope, binoculars and a camera.

Robert and Esther were outlived by three of Esther’s siblings and one of Robert’s. All three of their own children outlived them, they had 19 nieces and nephews and seven grandchildren.

*The term ‘holder-up’ (or ‘holder on’), refers to a member of a gang of riveters, a gang of from 3 to 5 members. Red hot rivets (a bolt-like piece of steel with a head and a smooth shank instead of a thread) were picked up by the ‘holder-up’ with tongs, & inserted into a hole drilled through the plates of steel that are to be joined. There he held the head of the rivet in place using a heavy steel pneumatic tool, termed a ‘dolly’, which jammed the rivet in place, while on the other side of the steel, the rivet was pounded with a riveting gun (or in the old days by hammers). And was flattened or domed to create essentially a second flattened head on that side.