John Boulcott (1761 - 1833)

Born 4 Jan 1761 in Shadwell, Tower Hamlets, London, England

Ancestors

Husband of Mary (Crew) Boulcott — married 10 Feb 1782 in St Dunstan's Church, Stepney, London, England

Descendants

Died 12 Mar 1833 at age 72 in Stratford House, Stratford, West Ham, Essex, England

Family

John Boulcott was born in the City of London, England.

He was the only son of Anthony Boulcott and Hannah Illemaker.

Font at St. Paul's

In 1762, John's only sibling Elizabeth was baptised at eight days old at St. Paul's Shatwell, Tower Hamlets.^[1]

John was to grow up an only child after Elizabeth's death in infancy.^[2]

St Dunstan's parish church, Stepney, London

On 9 February 1782, John completed his Marriage Bond oath. He stated he was a bachelor of twenty-one years old. He intended to marry a spinster, Mary Crew, aged eighteen. He had the consent of his future father-in-law, Joseph, for the marriage to occur.^[3]

A day later, John married Mary Crew by license at St Dunstan's parish church in Stepney, London.^[4]

They had two sons

1. Joseph Crew Boulcott (1783-1850)^[5]
2. John Ellerker Boulcott (1784-1855)^[6]

On 3 Aug 1787, probate was granted for the Will of Sybella Ellerker of Doncaster. Sybella was John's great-aunt. John received a bequest of £2000 and was tasked with managing £800 of Bank Stock with dividends/interest going to Sybella's great-nieces/nephews^[7]

John had given the family name of Ellerker to his second-born son. This may have been a sign of his close relationship with his great-aunt.

Business

By 1790 John had established a timber yard at Narrow Street, Ratcliffe. This included a wharf alongside a small waterway linking the Thames to nearby Limehouse Basin. Later he used the Stort Navigation as an opportunity to expand his business by setting up at Bishop’s Stortford. Leasing a piece of land alongside Hockerill Cut from the Church Commissioners, John established a timber yard that he stocked with wood transported by barge from his London timber yard.^[8][9]

The primary traffic on the barges was malted barley downstream and timber, coal and grain as return loads. ^[10]

His eldest son, Joseph Crew Boulcott, later joined him in partnership, and both are recorded at the Narrow Street premises in 1810.

On 6th June 1810, an account was given in the trial at the Old Bailey by their foreman, Thomas Hawkins, concerning the stealing of 140 staves from their yard. Joseph gave evidence the value was half a crown each. The prisoner was found guilty and transported for seven years. ^[11]

William Hughes from Northgate End purchased a piece of land adjoining Boulcott’s timber yard at Bishop’s Stortford on which he set up an iron foundry. At the same time, he was appointed manager of Boulcott’s. ^[12]

Burial

Aged seventy-two, John was buried on 18th March 1833 at St Anne's Church, Limehouse, Middlesex, England.^[13]

Map of Limehouse

This map shows the location of St Anne, John's final resting place, and Narrow St, where his business was located for many years.^[14]

The lucrative timber trade made John Boulcott a wealthy man. When he died in 1833, he left his two sons property in London, County Durham, and Yorkshire.^[15]

According to the London Directory in 1835, the business, John Boulcott & Son continued to trade at Narrow St after John's death. ^[16]

Research Notes

No birth, marriage or death records are available at FreeREG. No birth or death records are listed at Family Search.

Searching the county parish records advises the parish records should be on Ancestry, but this is not the case.

The birth year is correct if taken from the marriage oath. A year later, Sister Elizabeth's baptism record confirms the likely place of birth.

Relationship History to the Ellerker name:

• Sibbella Lloyd married John Ellerker - John's great aunt and uncle.
• Sibbella and Hesther Lloyd were sisters
• Hesther married Joseph Boulcott - John's grandparents

The Oxford Dictionary definition of "stave" is a strong stick or pole.

Sources

1. ↑ "London, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812"
   London Metropolitan Archives; London, England; Reference Number: P93/PAU3/003
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 1624 #4584161 (accessed 10 March 2022)
   Elizabeth Boulcott baptism on 6 Sep 1762, daughter of Anthony & Hannah, in St Paul, Shadwell, Tower Hamlets, Middlesex, England.
2. ↑ London, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812
   London Metropolitan Archives; London, England; Reference Number: P93/PAU3/035
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry au Record 1624 #1380768 (accessed 11 March 2022)
   Eliz Boulcott burial (died in Abt 1763) on 1 Dec 1763 in St Paul, Shadwell, Tower Hamlets, Middlesex, England.
3. ↑ "London and Surrey, England, Marriage Bonds and Allegations, 1597-1921"
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry au Record 2056 #144190 (accessed 13 March 2022)
   Name: John Boulcott; Age: 21; Birth Year: abt 1761; Event Date: 9 Feb 1782; Parish: St Dunstan, Stepney; County: Middlesex; Spouse's Name: Mary Crew; Spouse's Age: 18; Spouse's Parish: Shadwell, St Paul; Spouse's County: Middlesex; Event Type: Allegation; Reference Number: MS10091/147.
4. ↑ "England, Middlesex Parish Registers, 1539-1988", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6ZRJ-PJK9 : 14 June 2021), John Boulcott, 1782.
5. ↑ London, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812"
   London Metropolitan Archives; London, England; Reference Number: P93/DUN/005
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry au Record 1624 #2999432 (accessed 11 March 2022)
   John Ellerker Boulcott baptism on 19 Aug 1785, son of John & Mary, in St Dunstan and All Saints, Stepney, Tower Hamlets, Middlesex, England.
6. ↑ London, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812"
   London Metropolitan Archives; London, England; Reference Number: P93/DUN/005
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry au Record 1624 #4191702 (accessed 11 March 2022)
   Joseph Crew Boulcott baptism on 10 Feb 1783, son of John & Mary, in St Dunstan and All Saints, Stepney, Tower Hamlets, Middlesex, England.
7. ↑ Will of Sybilla Ellerker accessed 11th March 2022. Note incorrect spelling of Christian name.
8. ↑ Guide 8 at Stortford History accessed 10th March 2022
9. ↑ Wikipedia entry for son John
10. ↑ Grand Union Canal accessed 11th March 2022
11. ↑ Old Bailey Proceedings: Accounts of Criminal Trials accessed 9th March 2022
12. ↑ Guide 8 at Stortford History accessed 10th March 2022
13. ↑ London, England, Church of England Deaths and Burials, 1813-2003
    London Metropolitan Archives; London, England; London Church of England Parish Registers; Reference Number: P93/ANN/056
    Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 1559 #8717981 (accessed 10 March 2022)
    John Boulcott burial (died in Abt 1833) on 18 Mar 1833 in St Anne, Limehouse, Tower Hamlets, England.
14. ↑ "U.K. and U.S. Directories, 1680-1830"
    Ancestry au Record 3877 #1528159 (accessed 13 March 2022)
    Name: John Boulcot; Dates: 1776-1800, 1761-1770; Location: London; Occupation(s): timber merchant; Gender: Male; Address(es): Narrow street, Limehouse; Source Date: 1790; Source Info: Listed in, Holden’s London Directory 1790 [no t.p.], 1790, HOLDEN, London.
15. ↑ Will of John at National Archives accessed 11th March 2022
16. ↑ London, England, City Directories, 1736-1943"
    London Metropolitan Archives; London, England; London City Directories
    Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry au Record 61265 #14549241 (accessed 11 March 2022)
    Name: John & Co Boulcott; Residence Date: 1835; Residence Place: London, England.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Christine Clement, who provided the base information for this profile on

• http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=sooty&id=I8209

This profile has been improved by a member of the England Project's Orphan Trail.