Thomas Bogg (1868-1936)

Thomas Bogg, my great-grandfather, was born on 25 January 1868 in Toynton All Saints, a small village in Lincolnshire.

His parents were Francis Bogg and Elizabeth Mary Briggs, who had married in 1861, also in Toynton All Saints. Thomas was their fourth child, after Bridget, Henry and Elizabeth. After him came Sarah.

Just three years later, in 1871, the census shows that Francis and his family had moved to Thornton le Fen, about ten miles south west of Toynton All Saints.

In 1881 the 13 year old Thomas Bogg had moved again, and is recorded as living in Sibsey with his parents and siblings, four miles east of Thornton le Fen.

Two significant changes occurred between 1881 and 1891. Thomas moved from Lincolnshire to the Manchester area and he became a butcher. I have no idea what motivated either of these changes, nor whether they were linked.

Thomas Bogg married Sarah Rowson on 14 September 1891 at the Roscoeplace Chapel in Leeds. Aged 23, the marriage certificate states he was a butcher and lived at 177 Stretford Road, Manchester. On the census taken earlier that same year the head of the household is shown as Benjamin Atkinson, also a butcher, who was married to Thomas' sister, Bridget.

His bride's address is given as 34 Tramway Street, Leeds. However, on the night of the 1891 census, just six months previously, she is recorded as also being at 177 Stretford Road.  The census records show that the Tramway Street address was the home of her married sister.

In 1911 Thomas Bogg and Sarah were living at 48 Alexandra Road in Moss Side, Manchester. He was still a butcher, aged 43, with two children, Frank Rowson and Florence Mary.

Thomas Bogg is listed in trade directories for the 1920s. In 1929 his name appears in Kelly's directory for Manchester and Salford, at 62 Burton Road, West Didsbury.

By 1934 Thomas Bogg has retired to Wilmslow, according to the newspaper article describing his daughter's marriage to my grandfather, Vincent Edward Knowles.

On 15 August 1936, aged 68, Thomas Bogg died at 189 Church Road, Saint Anne's on the Sea, Lancashire, according to probate records. However, his home at the time was 'East Keal', Knutsford Road in Wilmslow. He had named his house after a Lincolnshire village close to where he was born.