William Edward Etherington was born in Tanworth in Warwickshire in 1831, the son of Henry Etherington an agricultural labourer from Lancashire and Hannah Forrester from Tanworth, Warwickshire. There is no record for any baptism for William, therefore his age has been estimated from census returns. William was the second of five siblings, with John born in 1828, Geoge born in 1833, Mary Ann born in 1839 and Frederick born in 1848 (see family tree, below).

William Etherington (1831 - 1873

William Etherington's Immediate Family

The 1841 census [1] shows five members of the Etherington family living in Cleobury Lane, Tanworth-in-Arden, Warwickshire. The household comprises William's father Henry, an agricultural labourer aged thirty-five and born outside the county of Warwickshire; his wife Hannah, also aged thirty-five form Warwickshire, William and his siblings John and Mary.

Little is known of William's early family life, as there is no sign of any of the Etherington family members on the 1851 census. William's mother, Hannah, died during the birth of her son Frederick in 1848, and Frederick himself died in Solihull workhouse the following year. William's father, Henry died in Preston, Lancashire in 1850.

On Thursday 26 June 1856 William Etherington, aged 25, married Mary Wright Jeffery aged 19, at the church of St Mark, Kennington, South London. [2]. It is very likely that they met on the canal, as Mary's father, William Jeffery, was a lock-keeper at Marsworth in Buckinghamshire, part of the Grand Junction Canal of which William would have passed through many times during his working life.

During the 1861 census [3] William was living and working on a barge, 'The Manchester', moored at Bossington Lock, Linslade, Bedfordshire, on the Grand Junction Canal. The cesus shows that William, aged 30 from Tanworth, Warwickshire was the captain of the vessel, and that Thomas Etherington, aged 20 also from Tanworth was a boatman. It is likely that Thomas was William's cousin. Whilst William was away working on the canal, his wife was living in 1861 census Islington [4].

William spent most of his working life on board canal boats, employed as a dredgerman on the Grand Junction canal,which runs from Braunston in Northamptonshire to the River Thames at Brentford. The Grand Junction canal was built between 1793 and 1805 to improve the route from the Midlands to London, by-passing the upper reaches of the River Thames near Oxford, reducing the journey by some sixty miles. In 1927 the canal was bought by the Regent's Canal Company and, since 1929, has formed the southern half of the Grand Union Main Line from London to Birmingham, which today is maily used by leisure traffic. Sometime around 1867, life takes a turn for the worse, in that his health begins to suffer. During an accident, he receives a heavy blow which damages his kidneys and sees him admitted to St Bartholomew's Hospital in Farringdon, London. After teatment, he managed to return to work, but developed chronic diabetes which, some fifty years before the discovery of insulin, would eventually prove to be fatal.

The 1871 census<[5] shows William, a canal dredgerman aged forty-three, living with his wife Mary, a dressmaker aged twenty-nine and his daughter Anna, aged four. Not long after the birth of his son and whilst working on the canal in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, William was arrested on suspicion of stealing a quantity of copper rivets.

During September 1873, William Etherington, John Nichols and three others were indicted for stealing and / or receiving 90 lbs. of copper rivets, part of cargo in transit from Wolverhampton to London on a canal barge of which William Etherington was the master, and John Nichols a boatman. The committal proceedings were reported in the Bucks Herald [6]. William Etherington was arrested in Hemel Hempstead at the beginning of September 1873, and transferred to the County Goal at Hertford on the fourth of September 1873. He was in very bad health when admitted to the Goal, and his health steadily deteriorated over the next four weeks due to his inability to take food, and he died from diabetes on the thirtieth of September 1873 [7]. A coroners inquest was held the day after his death, on Wednesday the first October 1873, at the Plough Inn, Hertford (see transcript) [8], where a verdict of 'Death by Natural Causes' was returned. There is also a report of the inquest in the Herts Advertiser, 11 Oct 1873 [9].

After William's death, the trial of the other defendents went ahead in October 1873, see Herts Advertiser, 18 Oct 1873 [10] and the Hertfordshire Mercury, 18 Oct 1873 [11]. Although William Etherington was not put on trial, the aforementioned accounts do contain some details of the last few weeks of his life. In particular, there is some speculation at the start of the proceedings that had he been put on trial he would certainly have been found guilty on the basis that 'nothing happens aboard a boat without the full knowledge of the master'. However, this can be considered as idle speculation, as the only evidence against him was that some time prior to the event he was seen from a distance handing a bag, the contents of which where unknown, to some persons unkown. Taking into accont that the bag of rivets reportedly stolen weighed 90lbs (45kg), heavy enough to need transporting by wheelbarrow, it is highly unlikely that someone who was very sick and weeks away from death could actually lift 90lb.

Notes and Abbreviations:

  1.  National Archives, 1841 Census for England and Wales, Ref. HO107/1134/9 f58 p16
  2.  GRO, Marriage Certificate for William Etherington and Mary Wright Jeffery, 1856
  3.  National Archives, 1861 Census for England and Wales, Ref. RG9/1006 f80v
  4.  National Archives, 1861 Census for England and Wales, Ref. RG9/149 f83 p17
  5.  National Archives, 1871 Census for England and Wales, Ref. RG10/399 f32r
  6.  Bucks Herald, 06 Sept 1873
  7.  GRO, Death Certificate for William Etherington, 1873
  8.  Inquest on death of William Etherington, 01 Oct 1873
  9.  Herts Advertiser, 11 Oct 1873
  10.  Herts Advertiser, 18 Oct 1873
  11.  Hertfordshire Mercury, 18 Oct 1873
  12.  'W Eth'gton' stands for 'William Etherington'

Notes and Abbreviations:

  1.  National Archives, 1841 Census for England and Wales, Ref. HO107/1134/9 f58 p16
  2.  GRO, Marriage Certificate for William Etherington and Mary Wright Jeffery, 1856
  3.  National Archives, 1861 Census for England and Wales, Ref. RG9/1006 f80v
  4.  National Archives, 1861 Census for England and Wales, Ref. RG9/149 f83 p17
  5.  National Archives, 1871 Census for England and Wales, Ref. RG10/399 f32r
  6.  Bucks Herald, 06 Sept 1873
  7.  GRO, Death Certificate for William Etherington, 1873
  8.  Inquest on death of William Etherington, 01 Oct 1873
  9.  Herts Advertiser, 11 Oct 1873
  10.  Herts Advertiser, 18 Oct 1873
  11.  Hertfordshire Mercury, 18 Oct 1873
  12.  'Wm Eth'gton' stands for 'William Etherington'

Notes and Abbreviations:

  1.  National Archives, 1841 Census for England and Wales, Ref. HO107/1134/9 f58 p16
  2.  GRO, Marriage Certificate for William Etherington and Mary Wright Jeffery, 1856
  3.  National Archives, 1861 Census for England and Wales, Ref. RG9/1006 f80v
  4.  National Archives, 1861 Census for England and Wales, Ref. RG9/149 f83 p17
  5.  National Archives, 1871 Census for England and Wales, Ref. RG10/399 f32r
  6.  Bucks Herald, 06 Sept 1873
  7.  GRO, Death Certificate for William Etherington, 1873
  8.  Inquest on death of William Etherington, 01 Oct 1873
  9.  Herts Advertiser, 11 Oct 1873
  10.  Herts Advertiser, 18 Oct 1873
  11.  Hertfordshire Mercury, 18 Oct 1873
  12.  'Wm Eth'gton' stands for 'William Etherington'

Notes:

  1.  National Archives, 1841 Census for England and Wales, Ref. HO107/1134/9 f58 p16
  2.  GRO, Marriage Certificate for William Etherington and Mary Wright Jeffery, 1856
  3.  National Archives, 1861 Census for England and Wales, Ref. RG9/1006 f80v
  4.  National Archives, 1861 Census for England and Wales, Ref. RG9/149 f83 p17
  5.  National Archives, 1871 Census for England and Wales, Ref. RG10/399 f32r
  6.  Bucks Herald, 06 Sept 1873
  7.  GRO, Death Certificate for William Etherington, 1873
  8.  Inquest on death of William Etherington, 01 Oct 1873
  9.  Herts Advertiser, 11 Oct 1873
  10.  Herts Advertiser, 18 Oct 1873
  11.  Hertfordshire Mercury, 18 Oct 1873

Notes:

  1.  National Archives, 1841 Census for England and Wales, Ref. HO107/1134/9 f58 p16
  2.  GRO, Marriage Certificate for William Etherington and Mary Wright Jeffery, 1856
  3.  National Archives, 1861 Census for England and Wales, Ref. RG9/1006 f80v
  4.  National Archives, 1861 Census for England and Wales, Ref. RG9/149 f83 p17
  5.  National Archives, 1871 Census for England and Wales, Ref. RG10/399 f32r
  6.  Bucks Herald, 06 Sept 1873
  7.  GRO, Death Certificate for William Etherington, 1873
  8.  Inquest on death of William Etherington, 01 Oct 1873
  9.  Herts Advertiser, 11 Oct 1873
  10.  Herts Advertiser, 18 Oct 1873
  11.  Hertfordshire Mercury, 18 Oct 1873

Notes:

  1.  National Archives, 1841 Census for England and Wales, Ref. HO107/1134/9 f58 p16
  2.  GRO, Marriage Certificate for William Etherington and Mary Wright Jeffery, 1856
  3.  National Archives, 1861 Census for England and Wales, Ref. RG9/1006 f80v
  4.  National Archives, 1861 Census for England and Wales, Ref. RG9/149 f83 p17
  5.  National Archives, 1871 Census for England and Wales, Ref. RG10/399 f32r
  6.  Bucks Herald, 06 Sept 1873
  7.  GRO, Death Certificate for William Etherington, 1873
  8.  Inquest on death of William Etherington, 01 Oct 1873
  9.  Herts Advertiser, 11 Oct 1873
  10.  Herts Advertiser, 18 Oct 1873
  11.  Hertfordshire Mercury, 18 Oct 1873

Notes:

  1.  National Archives, 1841 Census for England and Wales, Ref. HO107/1134/9 f58 p16
  2.  GRO, Marriage Certificate for William Etherington and Mary Wright Jeffery, 1856
  3.  National Archives, 1861 Census for England and Wales, Ref. RG9/1006 f80v
  4.  National Archives, 1861 Census for England and Wales, Ref. RG9/149 f83 p17
  5.  National Archives, 1871 Census for England and Wales, Ref. RG10/399 f32r
  6.  Bucks Herald, 06 Sept 1873
  7.  GRO, Death Certificate for William Etherington, 1873
  8.  Inquest on death of William Etherington, 01 Oct 1873
  9.  Herts Advertiser, 11 Oct 1873
  10.  Herts Advertiser, 18 Oct 1873
  11.  Hertfordshire Mercury, 18 Oct 1873
 

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