Generation 2: Richard Smith Toft, 1838-1908

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Joseph Toft > Richard Toft (1805-1871)> Richard Smith Toft (1838-1908) > Thomas Longland Toft (1884 - 1967) > Norman Peter Toft (b. 1920) > Richard Toft (b. 1949) > Zoë Toft (b. 1973) > Mathilde Jansen-Toft (b. 2004)

Richard Smith Toft, the son of Richard Toft (1805-1871) and his first wife, was born in Abbots Ripton, probably in the autumn of 1838 (he was baptised in October 1838). The Smith part of his name may come from the maiden name of his mother – in the 19th century it was quite common for at least one child of a couple to receive the mother's maiden name as a middle name. For example, later on in the family we have Thomas Longland Toft, where Longland was Thomas' Mother's maiden name.

Richard Smith Toft's baptismal record

In the 1851 census Richard Smith Toft is described as a Farmer's son. By 1861 he is no longer living with his parents, but had moved to a different part of Huntingdonshire – the parish of Alwalton, where he was working as an agricultural labourer whilst lodging with the Vine family. Alwalton lies in the extreme north of the old county of Huntingdonshire, now on the very SW outskirts of Peterborough and at that time was about the same size (in terms of population) as Abbots Ripton. Alwalton's main claim to fame is that Henry Royce, co-founder of the Rolls-Royce Motor car, was born here (in 1863) and is buried in the Church.

Map of Huntindonshire, showing location of Alwalton

huntingdonshirecombined

In 1865 Richard married Avis Whitney Longland (Whitney was the maiden name of Avis' mother, Sarah). They were married in the Hardingstone district of Northamptonshire, quite possibly in the village of Yardley Hastings (about 8km ESE from Northampton), where Avis was born in 1844 (for more on Avis' family background see below). Within a year of their marriage they had their first child, George Frederick Toft. George was born in Northampton, but whatever Richard and Avis were doing there, they did not stay long, for by the time of the 1871 census they were living in Wellingborough, with their second child Ellen Mary Smith Toft. Richard is described as an Agricultural labourer, whilst Avis' occupation is given as dressmaker.

A map of the county of Northamptonshire

northamptonshire county

This map shows the location of Northampton and Wellingborough. Note too the location of Peterborough and Huntingdon. Huntingdon is just south of Abbots Ripton, where Richard Smith Toft was born, and Peterborough is just north of Alwalton, where Richard was working in 1861.

Map showing location of Northampton, Wellingborough and Yardley Hastings

Yardley Hastings, where Avis Longland was born, is approximately south of Wellingborough and south-east of Northampton.

Avis and Richard settled in Wellingborough, although they moved several times over the next 30 years. In 1881 they were living in 15 Strode Road, in 1891 at 70 Newcomen Road, and in 1901 at 51 Winstanley Road, all of which were very close to each other.

Map of Wellingborough in 1888, showing location of Strode Road, Newcomen Road and Winstanley Road

Wellingborough 1888

Modern map of Wellingborough, showing location of Strode Road, Newcomen Road and Winstanley Road

Strode Road, Newcomen Road and Winstanley Road are all in the central quadrant of this map.

modern wellingborough map

In addition to Ellen and George Frederick, Richard and Avis had at least 8 more children whilst living in Wellingborough, though several of them died in infancy; Emma Jane (b. 1872), Arthur Toft (b. 1873, d. 1874), George William Toft (b. 1874, d. 1874), Harry Smith Toft (b. 1877), Arthur Toft (b. 1880), Daisy Toft (b. about 1883), Thomas Longland Toft (b. 1884) and Ada Toft (b. 1886, d. 1886).

Throughout their time living in Wellingborough, Richard appears to have worked on the railways (in 1881 he is described as a Railway servant, in 1891 as a general labourer, and in 1901 as a Railway labourer). After her first two children, no occupation is given for Avis.

1861 England Census for Richard Smith Toft

1861 census Richard Smith Toft 1838

Transcription of 1861 England Census for Richard Smith Toft

The undermentioned Houses are situate within the Boundaries of the
Parish [or Township] of Alwalton		City or Municipal Borough of				Municipal Ward of		Parliamentary Borough of				Town of	Hamlet or Tything &c., of		Ecclesiastical District of
No. of Schedule	Road, Street, &c., and No. or Name of House		Houses		Name and Surname of each Person		Relation to Head of Family		Condition	Age of		Rank, Profession, or Occupation		Where Born		Whether Blind, or Deaf-and-Dumb
			Inhabited	Uninhabited (U) or Building (B)						Age of
			Inhabited	Uninhabited (U) or Building (B)						Males	Females
29			1		John Vine		Head		Mar	45		Gardener		Hunts ?Walemerton
					May Do		Wife				45			Northampton Peterborough
					Mary Do		Daur		Un		23			Hunts Alwalton
					Maria Do		Daur		Un		21	Ag lab		Do do
					Mathew Do		Son			16		Do do		Do do
					John Do		Son			14				Do do
					Sarah Do		Daur				11			Do do
					Harriet Do		Daur				8	Scholar		Do do
					George Do		Son			6		Scholar		Do do
					Bosa Do		Daur				4	Do		Do do
					William J Do		Grandson			9	m	a		Do do
					Richard Toft		Lodger		Un	23		Ag Lab		Hunts Wennington
					Joseph Porright		Do					Do Do		Beds Cardington

1871 England census for Richard Smith Toft

1871 census Richard Smith Toft

Transcription of 1871 England census for Richard Smith Toft

The undermentioned Houses are situate within the Boundaries of the
Parish [or Township] of Wellingbro'		~~City or Municipal Borough of~~				~~Municipal Ward of~~		~~Parliamentary Borough of~~				Town of Wellingbro'	~~Village or Hamlet &c., of~~		Local Board, or [Improvement Commisioners District] of Local board of Health	Ecclesiastical District of Peterbro'
No. of Schedule	Road, Street, &c., and No. or Name of House		Houses		Name and Surname of each Person		Relation to Head of Family		Condition	Age of		Rank, Profession, or Occupation		Where Born			Whether (1) Deaf-and-Dumb (2) Blind (3) Imbecile or Idiot (4) Lunatic
No. of Schedule	Road, Street, &c., and No. or Name of House		Inhabited	Uninhabited (U) or Building (B)	Name and Surname of each Person		Relation to Head of Family		Condition	Males	Females	Rank, Profession, or Occupation		Where Born
291	L*** Lodge				Richard Tofts		Head		mar	33		Agric Labourer		Wennington Hunts
					Avis W Tofts		Wife		mar		27	Dressmaker		Yardley Hastings Northants.
					George F Tofts		Son			4		Scholar		Northampton
					Ellen M S Tofts		Daur				2	months		Wellingbro' Northants

1881 England Census for Richard Smith Toft

1881 census Toft wellingborough

Transcription of 1881 England Census for Richad Smith Toft

The undermentioned Houses are situate within the Boundaries of the
Civil Parish [or Township] of Wellingboro		~~City or Municipal Borough of~~				~~Municipal Ward of~~	~~Parliamentary Borough of~~		~~Town or Village or Hamlet of~~ WELLINGBOROUGH			Urban Sanitary District of Wellingboro		~~Rural Sanitary District of~~	Ecclesiastical Parish or District of All Saints
No. of schedule	ROAD, STREET &c. and No.or NAME of HOUSE		HOUSES		NAME and Surname of each Person		Relation to Head of Family	Condition as to Marriage	Age last birthday of		Rank, profession, or OCCUPATION		WHERE BORN		If (1) Deaf-and-Dumb (2) Blind (3) Imbecile or Idiot (4) Lunatic
			Inhabited	Uninhabited (U) orBuilding (B)					Age last birthday of
			Inhabited	Uninhabited (U) orBuilding (B)					Males	Females
235	15 Do [ie Strode Road]		1		Richard Toft		Head	Mar	43		Railway serv		Abbots Ripton, Hunts
					Avis Do		Wife	Mar		37			Yardley Hastings Northants
					George Do		Son		15		Apprentice (undefd)		Northampton
					Ellen Do		Daur			10	Scholar		Wellingboro Northants
					Harry Do		Son		4				Do Do
					Arthur Do		Son		5 mo				Do Do
					Emily Chapman		Boarder			9	Scholar		Do Do
					William Saddington		Lodger	Mar	27		Cordwainer		Ringstead Do
					Mary A Do		Lodger	Mar		26			Wellingboro Do
					Minnie Do		Lodger			7	Scholar		Do Do
					Mary E Do		Lodger			2			Do Do

1891 England Census for Richard Smith Toft

1891 census Thomas Toft

Transcription of 1891 England Census for Richard Smith Toft

Administrative County of Northampton						The Undermentioned Houses are situate within the Boundaries of the
Civil Parish of Wellingborough		~~Municipal Borough of~~			~~Municipal Ward of~~		Urban Sanitary District of Wellingborough		Town ~~or Village or Hamlet~~ of Wellingborough			~~Rural Sanitary District of~~			Parliamentary Borough or Division of East Northants			Ecclesiastical Parish ~~or District~~ of All Saints
1	2		3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11		12	13		14	15		16
1	2		3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11		12	13		Neither Employer nor Employed	WHERE BORN		If (1) Deaf-and-Dumb (2) Blind (3) Lunatic, Imbecile, or Idiot
No. of Schedule	ROAD, STREET, &c. and No. or NAME of HOUSE		Houses		NAME and Surname of each Person		RELATION to Head of Family	CONDITION as to Marriage	AGE last Birthday of		PROFESSION or OCCUPATION		Employer	Employed
			Inhabited	Uninhabited (U) or Building (B)					AGE last Birthday of
			Inhabited	Uninhabited (U) or Building (B)					Males	Females
64	70 do [ie Newcomen Road]		1		Richard Toft		Hd of family	Married	53		General Labourer			x			Hunts Huntingdon
					Avis do.		wife	do.		46							Northants Wellingborough
					Ellen do.		daughter	single		20	Machinist (Shoe)			x			do. do.
					Harry do.		son		14		Scholar						do. do.
					Arthur do.		do.		10		do.						do. do.
					Daisy do.		daughter			8	do.						do. do.
					Thomas do.		son		6		do.						do. do.

1901 England census for Richard Smith Toft

1901 census Avis Toft

Transcription of 1901 England census for Richard Smith Toft

Administrative County Northampton					The undermentioned Houses are situate within the boundaries of the
Civil Parish of Wellingborough		Ecclesiastical Parish of All Saints					~~County Borough, Municipal Borough, or~~ Urban District of Wellingborough		Ward ~~of Municipal Borough or~~ of Urban district of South			~~Rural District of~~			Parliamentary Borough or Division of East Northants			Town ~~or Village or Hamlet~~ of Wellingborough
1	2		3	4	5	6	7	8		9	10	11	12	13		14	15	16	17
No. of Schedule	ROAD, STREET &c. and No. or NAME of HOUSE		Houses				Number of Rooms occupied if less than five	Name and Surname of each Person		RELATION to Head of Family	Condition as to Marriage	Age last Birthday of		PROFFESSION OR OCCUPATION		Employer, Worker, or Own account	If Working at Home	WHERE BORN	If (1) Deaf and Dumb (2) Blind (3) Lunatic (4) Imbecile, feeble-minded
			Inhabited	Uninhabited		Building						Age last Birthday of
				Uninhabited								Males	Females
				In Occupation	Not in Occupation							Males	Females
188	51 do [ie Winstanley Road]		1					Richard Toft		Head	M	63		Railway labourer		Do [ie Worker]		Abbot Ripton Hunts
								Avis do		Wife	M		56					N'hamptonshire Yardley Hastings
								Ellen do		daugh	S		30	Boot closer		do		Do Wellinboro
								Daisy do		do	S		18	do		do		Do do
								Tom do		son	S	16		Grocer's porter		do		Do do

Avis Longland's Family

Avis Longland was born in Yardley Hastings in 1844. Yardley Hastings (with a population of about 1200 in 1851) is about 10 Km approximately south-east of Northampton, and about 50 km SW from Abbots Ripton.

Avis's father was a blacksmith (as was his son George), and her mother was a lace maker (as were some of their daughters). At the age of 16, Avis is described as being a teacher (1861 England census), as are two of her sisters, Emma and Elizabeth (1861, 1871, 1881 censuses). Avis's mother's family, the Whitneys, also came from Yardley Hastings. William Whitney was an agricultural labourer and Elizabeth, his wife, and all their daughters were lace makers.

Lace-making was a cottage industry at its height in the mid 19th century, with centres in Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Northamptonshire in the East Midlands, and also in Wiltshire. It was the Flemish Protestants who brought lace making to England during the 1560's. Many of these immigrants were lace makers and as they moved out of the overcrowded ports they began to settle into areas now regarded as the historic centres for the craft of lace making. During the following decade the Huguenots fled France and a great many French lace makers also settled in this area. In 1586 Lord William Russell, son of the Duke of Bedford, owned property near Cranfield, Bedfordshire. He was married to Rachel, daughter of the Huguenot Marquis de Rivigny, and invited many refugees to settle under his protection. Another English gentleman, who had fought for William of Orange, was George Gascoigne: he invited other Huguenots to settle near his manor at Cardington, Bedford.

Families of agricultural workers and the more lowly artisans supplemented their income by working at the lace; men and boys as well as women and girls. In good times wages for lace makers were much better than the wages of agricultural labourers. Most lacemaking villages had so called "lace schools". The term 'school' is something of a misnomer, as they seem to have been used more as a source of cheap labour. Children would start learning to make lace at the age of seven. By the age of ten they were likely to be working every day from 8.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. The heyday of these schools was the early to mid 19th century and their purpose was to teach young children how to make lace and earn a little money for their parents. In addition some reading and writing was taught. The quality of such teaching varied considerably from school to school. It may be that the reference to Avis being a teacher meant that she was a teacher at such a lace school.

Two Acts of Parliament influenced the decline of the bobbin lace industry:

the Education Act (1870 in England & Wales, 1872 in Scotland and elsewhere) providing free, compulsory, elementary education for all children up to the age of 13;
the Workshops Act setting out minimum requirements for hours worked and conditions of employment.

These Acts, together with the competition from machine lace and from imported lace, put the industry into terminal decline by the late 19th century.

1841 England Census for the Longland family

1841censusLonglandfamilypage1edited
1841censusLonglandfamilypage2edited

Transcription of 1841 England Census for the Longland family

Place	Houses		NAMES of each Person who abode therein the preceding Night	AGE and SEX		PROFESSION, TRADE, EMPLOYMENT, or of INDEPENDENT MEANS	Where Born
	Houses						Whether Born in same County	Whether Born in Scotland, Ireland or Foreign Parts
	Uninhabited or Building	Inhabited
	Uninhabited or Building	Inhabited		Males	Females
Do [ie *** of the Brook running through Yardley Hastings]		1	Thomas Longland	35		Blacksmith	y
			Sarah do		25		y
			George do	7			y
			Mary do		5		y
			Elizabeth do		3		y
			Emma do		1		y
			Sarah do		35		y

1851 England census for Avis Longland

1851censusavislonglandedited

Transcription of 1851 England census for Avis Longland

Parish or Township of Yardley Hastings									Village of Yardley Hastings
No. of Householders Schedule	Name of Street, Place or Road, and Name or No. of House	Name and Surname of each Person who abode in the house on the Night of the 30^th March 1851	Relation to Head of Family	Condition	Age of			Rank, Profession, or Occupation	Where born	Whether Blind, or Deaf-and Dumb
No. of Householders Schedule	Name of Street, Place or Road, and Name or No. of House		Relation to Head of Family	Condition	Male		Female	Rank, Profession, or Occupation	Where born	Whether Blind, or Deaf-and Dumb
47		Thomas Longland	Head	M	46			Smith	Northamptonshire,Chadertone Castle Ashby
		Sarah do	Wife	M		37		Smiths wife	Northamptonshire Yardley Hastings
		George do	Son	*	17			Smith	Do do
		Mary do	Duar	*		15		Lace ***	Do do
		Elizabeth do	Duar			13		do	Do do
		Emma do	Duar			10		do	Do do
		Avis do	Duar			6		Scholar	Do do

1861 England census for Avis Longland

1861censusAvisLonglandedited

Transcription of 1861 England census for Avis Longland

The undermentioned Houses are situate within the Boundaries of the
Part of the Parish ~~[or Township]~~ of Yardley Hastings		~~City or Municipal Borough of~~				~~Municipal Ward of~~		~~Parliamentary Borough of~~				~~Town of~~	~~Hamlet or Tything &c., of~~		Ecclesiastical District of
No. of Schedule	Road, Street, &c., and No. or Name of House		Houses		Name and Surname of each Person		Relation to Head of Family		Condition	Age of		Rank, Profession, or Occupation		Where Born		Whether Blind, or Deaf-and-Dumb
No. of Schedule	Road, Street, &c., and No. or Name of House		Inhabited	Uninhabited (U) or Building (B)	Name and Surname of each Person		Relation to Head of Family		Condition	Males	Females	Rank, Profession, or Occupation		Where Born		Whether Blind, or Deaf-and-Dumb
49	Do [ie Part of Yardley Hastings Pa**]		1		Thomas Longland		Head		Mar	56		Smith		Chadson
					Sarah do		Wife		Mar		48	Lace maker		Yardley Hastings
					Emma do		Daur		Un		20	Teacher		do
					Avis W do		Daur		Un	16		do		do
					George W do		Son				6	Scholar		do

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