In 1685 Louis XIV, King of France, revoked the Edict of Nantes, which had granted religious tolerance towards Huguenots (French Protestants). I will write more about this elsewhere, but want to focus on one individual in this post.
John Samuel Mignot
1826 - 1908
John is my 1st cousin 5x removed. He was born in Bethnal Green, East London to Samuel Mignot and Elizabeth Maria Dear. He had 3 brothers and 3 sisters. It was John's grandfather, Alexis Mignot, who had come from Picardie, France and settled in the area. He was a silk weaver and this trade continued in the family.
The 1841 England Census shows John living with his father, and some siblings in Warwickshire; both father and son are listed as silk weavers.
On 03 March 1850 John married Esther Parsons in the Parish Church of West Hackney. The records indicate that, by this time, his father had also left Warwickshire and was working as a book binder; Esther's father was a baker.
The 1851 England Census shows John and Esther living at 38 Squirries Street, in Bethnal Green. He is working as a silk weaver and she as a dress maker. Sadly the couple had no children, as Esther died sometime before mid 1854.
On 15 October 1854 John married his 2nd wife, Margaret Ann Clark in St Barnabas, Bethnal Green. Margaret's father was also a silk weaver and John's father is again listed as one. About a year later John and Margaret have a son called John. In total they had 3 children: 2 sons and 1 daughter.
The 1861 England Census is difficult to decipher and John's occupation is unclear. Whatever he is doing, Margaret is doing the same. John is listed as a silk weaver, but his parents do not have the word silk next to them. By the 1871 England Census John has clearly been successful; he is now listed as a silk manufacturer employing 8 hands.
The London Gazette of 19 August 1873 provides information on a petition by John, made on 30 July 1873, in respect of improvements in the manufacture of twilled fabrics for covering umbrellas, sunshades and parisols [sic]
I have been able to get a copy of part of his petition which had sample of the fabrics.
The London Gazette of 10 October 1873 tells us that John's petition was approved on 20 September.
The 1881 England Census lists John as an umbrella maker, but the 1891 England Census again lists him as a silk weaver. It is interesting to note that Margaret does not have an occupation listed against her name in 1881, which perhaps indicates that she did not need to, due to John's success. Unfortunately Margaret died in 1887.
In 1900 John's success is obvious from the listing in the Post Office London Directory for that year. The company of John Samuel & Son Mignot are now listed at 1 Fell Street, Wood Street, EC. It should be noted that they are just one among a long list of umbrella and parasol makers listed in the directory.
Looking on a modern map we can see that Wood Street is a long road running from as far north as St Giles, Cripplegate (near the Barbican) to Cheapside in the south. I am not entirely sure where Fell Street is; I get a location near Baker Street or St Paul's Cathedral!
The 1901 England Census shows that the Mignots have moved up in the world, as they are living at 21 Colebrooke Road in Islington. John seems to have retired, with Alfred (the son from 1900) listed as umbrella maker, and Alfred's wife, Eliza [Woodham] as a book keeper. In 1904 the family have moved again as the Electoral Register lists John and Alfred as tenants in common, living at "Norfolk House", Chadwick Road, Leytonstone. 1 Fell Street is listed as the qualifying property. At the time Leytonstone would have been even more suburban and green, than their address in Islington. Chadwick Road today is still near large green areas and not far from Whipps Cross Hospital.
4 years later John Samuel Mignot died.
Normally the death of the main individual would mean the end of the post, but I wanted to complete the story of the family. The 1911 England Census shows that Alfred and his family (wife Eliza and daughter Eliza Dorothy) have moved again. They seem to like the name "Norfolk House" but are now living at 32 Poppleton Road in Leytonstone. Strangely Alfred is now listed as a glass bottle maker being assisted by Eliza Dorothy, who is listed as a clerk; presumably she has taken over this similar role from her mother.
Looking at a modern map Poppleton Road is actually at the end of Chadwick Road, so it may be that the family had not moved after all, but that their property stood at the end of Chadwick Road and had possibly been re-designated?
Alfred continues to be listed in various directories at Poppleton Road, until 1922 when he has moved to 66 Pall Mall in Essex. This appears to be near Southend on Sea and even further out from his Bethnal Green roots; it would also seem to explain another fact. On 12 April 1886 Alfred had been initiated into the Freemason Lodge of Confidence, with his profession listed as a silk manufacturer. He is still listed in their records up to 1922 when the family moved, probably indicating it was too far to travel to the lodge from Southend.
Eliza Woodham, whom Alfred had married in 1891, died in 1935 followed a year later by Alfred himself. The probate records confirm that the family had moved to Southend, as Alfred dies in the Southend Municipal Hospital in Rochford. By the time of her father's death, Eliza Dorothy, the couple's only child, was married to Henry Dunbar Pearson, an electrical engineer. Both Eliza Dorothy and her husband are named on the record. Alfred's effects are recorded as £7473 9s. 10d.
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