Jacob Blunden (bef. 1841 - 1911)

Born before 16 Oct 1841 in Kingsclere, Hampshire, England

Husband of Mary Ann (Housden) Blunden — married 11 Mar 1873 in Sandy, Bedfordshire, England

Died 22 Dec 1911 after age 70 in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England

Biography

Jacob Blunden was born in Hampshire, England.

Jacob Blunden, son of James Blunden and Mary May, was born 16 October 1841 in Kingsclere, Hampshire. ^[1] He was baptised in Kingclere on 7 November of that year. ^[2] The family moved to Newbury, Hampshire by 1851 and settled at Simmons Yard in the parish of St Nicholas. ^[3]

By the age of twenty, Jacob moved down to Totnes in Devon where he found lodgings at St Peters Quay while working as a sawyer. ^[4]

On 9 December 186? Jacob joined the Metropolitan Police at Great Scotland Yard, London. His police number was 11256 and he joined in the rank of Police Constable. ^[1] By 1871 Jacob was lodging with five other policemen at the police station on the High Street in Chipping Barnet, Hertfordshire. ^[5]

Jacob married Mary Ann Housden on 11 March 1873 in Sandy, Bedfordshire, the birthplace of his new bride. ^[6]

The couple set up home on New Road in Shenley, Hertfordshire ^[7] but within a decade had moved round the corner to Harris Lane. Throughout this whole time, Jacob continued to work as a Police Constable. Jacob and Mary Ann had six children - four girls and two boys. ^[8]

Jacob retired from the police on 8 January 1894, aged 52 on a pension of £52 11s 9d per annum ^[1] which is worth approximately £6,564.38 in 2018 money. A copy of his signature can be seen on this profile. ^[9] He had been working in S Division which was based on Albany Street, Regents Park, Hampstead, London. This Division was headed up by Superintendent William Harris with 29 inspectors, 44 sergeants and 506 constables, of which Jacob was one. ^[10]

A great deal of information about Jacob can be gleaned from his pension record. He is described as being, "5 feet, 8 3/4 inches, with brown hair, hazel eyes, fresh complexion, scars from cuts on palm of right hand and finger of the same." One only need watch the popular television series, Ripper Street, to get a feel for what his working conditions must have been like at the time. ^{[1] [11]} It is also worth keeping in mind that the Whitechapel Murders, made famous by the elusive Jack the Ripper, had occurred between 1888 and 1891 and while Jacob was working as a policeman. ^[12]

After Jacob's retirement from the police, the family moved to 9 Richmond Road, Ebenezer Terrace in Chesterton, Cambridgeshire where Jacob supplemented his police pension by working as a mail van driver. ^[13]

By 1911 Jacob had fully retired on his police pension and the family were living on Thoday Street in Cambridge with Mary Ann's aged mother. ^[14] Jacob died 22 December of that same year in Cambridge, aged 70, ^[15] and is buried in the St Andrew the Great plot of Mill Road Cemetery in Cambridge. ^[16]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3} Employment Record. London, England. BLUNDEN, Jacob. Collection: London, England, Metropolitan Police Pension Registers, 1852-1932. ancestry : accessed 5 December 2018.
2. ↑ Baptisms (PR) England. Kingsclere, Hampshire. 7 November 1841. BLUNDEN, Jacob. Film no. 1041210. familysearch : accessed 5 December 2018.
3. ↑ Census. 1851. England and Wales. Newbury, Hampshire. BLUNDELL, Mary [Head]. HO107. PN: 1685. FL. 211. p. 24. findmypast : accessed 5 December 2018.
4. ↑ Census. 1861. England and Wales. Totnes, Devon. BLUNDEN, Jacob [Lodger]. RG09. PN: 1418. FL. 40. p. 34. findmypast : accessed 5 December 2018.
5. ↑ Census. 1871. England and Wales. Chipping Barnet, Hertfordshire. BLUNDEN, Jacob [Lodger]. RG10. PN. 1332. FL. 12. p. 14. findmypast : accessed 5 December 2018.
6. ↑ Marriages (PR) England. Sandy, Bedfordshire. 11 March 1873. BLUNDEN, Jacob and HOUSDEN, Mary Ann. findmypast : accessed 5 December 2018.
7. ↑ Census. 1881. England and Wales. Shenley, Hertfordshire. BLUNDEN, Jacob [Head]. RG11. PN: 1368. FL. 41. p. 2. findmypast : accessed 4 December 2018.
8. ↑ Census. 1891. England and Wales. Shenley, Hertfordshire. BLUNDEN, Jacob [Head]. RG12. PN: 1052. FL. 42. p. 11. findmypast : accessed 5 December 2018.
9. ↑ CPI Inflation Calculator : accessed 6 December 2018.
10. ↑ Dickens, Charles. (1882). Dicken's Dictionary of London, 1882. Bedford Street, Strand, London: Macmillan and Co. p.221. archive.org : accessed 6 December 2018.
11. ↑ Ripper Street : accessed 6 December 2018.
12. ↑ Whitechapel Murders : accessed 6 December 2018.
13. ↑ Census. 1901. England and Wales. Chesterton, Cambridgeshire. BUNDEN, Jacob [Head]. RG13. PN: 1525. FL. 16. p. 23. findmypast : accessed 5 December 2018.
14. ↑ Census. 1911. England and Wales. Cambridge, Cambridgeshire. BLUNDEN, Jacob [Head]. RG14. PN: 9116. RD. 181. SD. 1. ED. 16. SN. 97. findmypast : accessed 5 December 2018.
15. ↑ Deaths index (CR) England and Wales. Cambridge, Cambridgeshire. 4Q. 1911. BLUNDEN, Jacob. Vol. 3B. p. 497. familysearch : accessed 5 December 2018.
16. ↑ Monumental records. UK and Ireland. Cambridge, Cambridgeshire. 22 December 1911. BLUNDEN, Jacob. Find A Grave: Memorial #188255822 : accessed 5 December 2018.

See also:

• History of the Metropolitan Police Service : accessed 6 December 2018.