Thomas Birks 1823- 1881
Crate Maker for pottery . Born and lived nearly all his life in Stoke, dying there as a pauper in the Workhouse
Found on Ancestry trees - Alison Birks- email contact
1823.Thomas Birks was baptised in St John, Longton on 7/12/1823 to John Birks & Mary Poulson, his father a potter .
1841C. Maybe Thomas Birks 20, potter? living Edensor Place, Stoke. with John Birks 15 . Both born Staffs . But other possiblities . Edensor Road had a large crate making yard in it. Slight problem in that a presumed brother John aged 10 is living with presumed parents in Market Street Stoke in this census?? So maybe the Thomas here is not ours! But John could have been recorded in 2 different places- this not unknown
Quote, ~1974, from Harold Locker who worked at the old crate making centre in Edensor Road : "I did enjoy making the crates, and it was a lot of skill, but the main aim I had was to make a living. The pay was never very good, but I liked what I was doing. I fashioned crates from hazelwood to transport precious pottery items around the world".
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1846. Thomas Birks, crate maker, marries Sarah Brantnell, laceworker, -. This marriage, 7/9/1846 in Caverswall gives his father as John , crate maker, hers as George Brantnell, collier. Both are residing Adderley Green . Both of full age -FMP. One of the witnesses was Phillis Birks, a younger sister. No one could sign their name..
Caverswall ~ 10 k SE of Stoke. Adderley Green ~4 k NW of Caverswall .
1851. William Birks born Stoke Mar 1851 to parents Thomas & Sarah
1851C. Thomas Birks Vauxhall Road, Stoke
| Thomas | Birks | Head | Married | Male | 28 | 1823 | Crate Maker Master (2 Men) | Fenton, Staffordshire, England | |
| Sarah | Birks | Wife | Married | Female | 26 | 1825 | - | Derbyshire, England | |
| George | Birks | Son | - | Male | 2 | 1849 | - | Longton, Staffordshire, England | |
| William | Birks | Son | - | Male | 0 | 1851 | - | Longton, Staffordshire, England |
1854-1861. For some unknown reason Thomas Birks has moved to Birkenhead . But back in Stoke by 1865 at the latest
1861C. Thomas Birks, 38, Harelock Street, Poulton cum Seabourne, Birkenhead, Cheshire
| Thomas | Birks | Head | Married | Male | 38 | 1823 | Crate Maker | Fenton, Staffordshire, England | |
| Sarah | Birks | Wife | Married | Female | 34 | 1827 | - | Derby | |
| George | Birks | Son | - | Male | 12 | 1849 | Scholar | Longton Staffs | |
| William | Birks | Son | - | Male | 10 | 1851 | Scholar | Longton | |
| Ann Mary | Birks | Daughter | - | Female | 8 | 1853 | Scholar | Longton | |
| James | Dial | Boarder | Unmarried | Male | 30 | 1831 | Potter Packer | Leicester | |
| Samuel | Robinson | Boarder | Unmarried | Male | 17 | 1844 | Crate Maker | - | |
| Mary | Tyson | Boarder | Widow | Female | 36 | 1825 | - | Ireland |
1862 or 1865. His wife, Sarah, could die Stoke, before ages are stated on records . No burial on FMP
Thomas & Sarah had just 3 children who survived infancy: George Birks 1849, William Birks 1851 & Ann Mary Birks 1853
1871C. Thomas Birks, 48, widower, potters crate maker, living Boltons Court, Stoke
| Thomas | Birks | Head | - | Male | 48 | 1823 | - | Staffordshire, England | |
| Albert | Birks | Nephew | - | Male | 6 | 1865 | - | Staffordshire, England | |
| Amelia | Burton | Servant | - | Female | 38 | 1833 | - | Lancashire, England | |
| George | Burton | Son | - | Male | 0 | 1871 | - | Staffordshire, England |
1881C. Thomas Birks, 58, widower, pauper, potter platemaker, is in Stoke on Trent Workhouse, Penkhull Street
1881. Thomas Birks, stated age 58, dies Stoke, Dec 1881. He is buried in Holy Evangelists Anglican church, Normacott, abode Stoke Parish , on 17/12/1881- so obviously died in the Workhouse