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From an email received 7 December 2018.
John Beeney, licensee of the "Fishermans Arms" in Maidstone in 1881 was my great
great grandfather.
John William Beeney was born on April 23, 1843 in Hadlow, Kent. His
mother was Elizabeth Beeney, unmarried. It is possible she was a Romany
but I have not been able to confirm this. There were Romanies with that
name in the area around that time.
From later census information, he had a son, John, at Maidstone in
1863, but I have not been able to trace his address at that time.
In 1871 he was living at 41 Gabriel’s Hill, Maidstone. John, aged 27,
is listed as a master greengrocer, born Hadlow. His wife, Eliza, aged
26, is listed as born at Ulcombe. With them are John 8, my great
grandmother Emily 6, William 4, Eliza 2 and Walter, under five months,
The children were all born in Maidstone.
Later children were Ada Jane, Laura, Bertha, Alice, Frances, Mabel
and George.
The Handy Directory for Maidstone published in 1872 listed John
Beeney as greengrocer and general dealer at 41 Gabriel’s Hill.
Directories for 1878 and 1882 have John as a greengrocer at 40 Stone
Street, Maidstone and the 1881 Census lists him as a beer seller and
greengrocer in Stone Street, Maidstone.
40 Stone Street was the "Fisherman’s Arms," reputed to be one of the
oldest buildings in Maidstone and haunted by the ghost of “Black Jack” a
Roundhead soldier who tried to hide there when he was shot during the
Civil War. The building dated back to the 1430s and was occupied by beer
retailers from the 1700s.
In the 1881 census John’s age is given as 40, but this may have been
just rounding off to the nearest 10. (The 1901 census gives his age more
accurately at 57). With him in 1881 were Eliza, Emily 16, William 14,
Eliza 12, Walter 10, Ada 9, Bertha 7, Laura, 5, Alice 2, Frances 1.
In 1891, the year before Eliza died, they were living at 39 Lower
Stone Street, Maidstone. John was the licensee of the “Monks
Head” but does not appear to have been there for more than a year.
The hotel had two more licensees before closing in 1894.
Eliza died in Maidstone in 1892 and John Beeney married Charlotte Ann
Smith in Maidstone in 1893. She then died, aged 54, in 1899 in Maidstone
and he married Rose Jures in 1900.
In 1901 John was a fruitier and shopkeeper living at 38 Union Street
with Rose.
A directory for 1911 has John Beeney operating as a greengrocer at 38
Union Street and in 1927 these premises were operating as R.H.Beeney and
Son. As these are Rose Hannah Beeney’s initials I assume John had died
by then. He would have been over 80.
I hope this information is of use to you.
Mike Murphy. |
