Plaistow and Canning Town, mid 19th-mid 20th century home of my maternal forebears

My nan was born in Plaistow and grew up in Canning Town, so when I started on my family history journey, that was where I began. Growing up, she had told me stories of her childhood, so I felt like I knew some of the places she spoke of. I also remember her taking me to her parents grave in the East London Cemetery, the bus ride and ensuing walk to get there, and - stuck in my mind - a narrow cobble stoned street with a cobbler shop on the corner, that we'd pass as we walked.

She had worked at Achille Serre's dry cleaning company, and is shown 2nd from the left, in this picture.

It's where she met my granpop, who (obviously) she later married.

My nan was born Rose Poyser on 9th January 1908, and was the eldest of 5 children, her siblings being sisters Ivy, Lily and Alice, and brother Harry. 

Her parents were Samuel Poyser, known as Sam, and his wife Mary Ann (nee Hunt) who was known as Polly. In those days apparently, many girls named Mary Ann were known as Polly. My nan was christened February 7th in St Luke's church, Canning Town, which was known locally as "the Cathedral of Canning Town". Later she went to Sunday School there, and to school.

My great grandmother died suddenly in 1936, of  a stroke. She was only 50. Sam never remarried and died 17th October 1955, when I was just a few months old. They were buried together.

Sam had worked hard all his life. He was one of 8 siblings and began his working life at the Thames Ironworks, the 1901 census showing him aged 15 as a "carrier for a rivettor" there. He worked there until the shipyard closed, and in later years was known as a carpenter and a wheelwright. Apparently, he had a little yard off Fox Street (behind Rathbone Street) where he made the wheels for the costermonger's barrows, and also for the Romany vardoes (there being quite a large gypsy population in Canning Town down at Cherry Island).

My nan spoke of us being related to the famous Queen of the Gypsies, Rose Lee, and so I had always thought we were descended from her and had Romany blood, particularly as Sam making the wheels for the vardoes was often mentioned as "retaining his connection to" them. Further investigation though provided that Polly's younger brother, Danny, married Urania Lee's (Gypsy Rose Lee) granddaughter, Louisa. I know my nan spoke highly of Urania, so it seems that much of the non-gypsy family members were accepted into Louisa's family.

I am certain that Danny is among the mourners here and, because of the respect held for her, I have wondered whether my nan, Sam and Polly are here, too.

I had struggled to figure out how Danny and Louisa had met. Danny's father, at that time, having a shop at #1 Rathbone Street in Canning Town, and previously had conducted business out of a smaller location off Hallsville Rd on Satterton Street, my original thoughts had been that they must have met there. However, later research of my family's addresses showed Forty Acre Lane, which led down to Cherry Island, so I began to surmise that maybe the lads from Forty Acre Lane and Cherry Island may have hung out together, and thus Danny met Louisa through Sam (after Polly had married him). Sadly, the truth will never be known as all who would have known are now long gone.

Danny and Polly's father was Charles Hunt, whose business was listed in the 1912 Kelly's Directory as a "bird shop". Although we have no definite information, there was a huge preoccupation with imported songbirds in the Edwardian era, so my assumption is that it was that, somewhat of the beginnings of a pet shop as we now know them.