Helen's Family Trees - DEVINE

Descendants of 'unknown' DEVINE (to contribute information, please email Helen@HelensFamilyTrees.com)

Second Generation

3. Michael DEVINE ('unknown' ) was born about 1797 in Co. Kerry. He died on 28 Jun 1851 in 2 Market Court, Kensington, London.

Michael was a shoemaker. On the birth certificate of his daughter Elizabeth Michael has signed his name with an 'X' indicating that he was unable to read or write.

Michael's death certificate tells us he died of bronchitis, the duration of which was three weeks.

Michael married Catherine JONES, daughter of Robert William JONES (caution: not verified) and 'UNKNOWN', about 1820 in Ireland. Catherine was born about 1798 in Co. Kerry. She died on 4 Feb 1874 in 7 Holland St., Kensington, London.

It appears that Catherine and her husband, Michael Devine, emigrated from Ireland (probably from Kerry) to England in the 1820s with at least one child (Daniel). At least three more children were born in the parish of St. Giles-in-the-Fields in London prior to the family's move to Kensington in the late 1830s. They were living at 19 Young St. in Kensington in 1839 when their daughter Elizabeth was born; and according to the 1851 census they were living at 2 Market Court, also in Kensington. The 1961 census tells us that a widowed Catherine was still at 2 Market Court and living with her unmarried sons, Michael and John, and Michael, the 10-year-old son of her other son, Daniel who had probably died by that time. Catherine's occupation at the time of the 1861 census was "Small Shop Keeper". Given the approximately seven-year gap below between the births of the first and second of their children listed below, I think it likely that Catherine and Michael had more children between 1822 and 1829.
Built in the 1770s, Market Court, no longer in existence, was one of a number of slums or 'rookeries' located off the south side of Kensington High St. Young St. is also located off the south side of Kensington High St. and very close to Market Court so it is possible that Young St. too was a slum. There was a high concentration of Irish people living at this time in the slums of Kensington, most of which, Market Court included, were eventually demolished in the late 1860s.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, St Giles, where Catherine, Michael and their family lived before they moved to Kensington, became one of the main areas of Irish settlement in London. One of London's most notorious rookeries was located there and was known as 'Little Dublin' and 'The Holy Land' because of the large number of Irish who lived there. Given that the Devine family lived in a slum in Kensington after their move from St. Giles, it seems likely they lived in the rookeries when they lived in St. Giles.

According to her death certificate Catherine died of bronchitis and senile decay. The certificate shows the informant to have been an Ellen Cummins of 7 Holland St.

They had the following children.

+ 4 M i Daniel DEVINE was born about 1822. He died in between 11 Sep 1854 and 27 Oct 1877.
5 M ii

Michael DEVINE was born about 1829 in St. Giles, London. He died on 28 Nov 1873 in 7 Holland St., Kensington, London.

From the 1871 census of England we know that Michael, aged 40, was unmarried and living at 7 Holland St., Kensington. He was a bootmaker. Listed with him in the census return are his widowed mother, his unmarried brother John, and a widowed aunt, Irish-born Elizabeth Bellinger who was a 68-year-old retired laundress.

Michael's death certificate tells us he died of "sudden syncope, natural causes", the word "syncope" meaning a fainting spell, usually related to a temporary insufficient blood flow to the brain, most often occurring when the blood pressure is too low and the heart doesn't pump a normal supply of oxygen to the brain. The certificate states that an inquest was held on 1 December 1873. Michael was only 44 years of age when he died. He left an estate of "under £100" to his sister Agnes.

+ 6 F iii Agnes DEVINE was born about 1834. She died on 17 Apr 1913.
7 M iv

John DEVINE was born about 1835 in St. Giles, London. He died on 27 Oct 1877 in 96 High St., Kensington, London.

According to the 1851 census of England 15-year-old John was a shoemaker. At the time of the 1871 census he was a letter-carrier, unmarried, and appeared to be living with his elder brother Michael at 7 Holland St., Kensington. According to his death certificate John died in 1877 at 96 High St., Kensington which, because we know his sister Agnes moved to this address with her husband sometime between 1871 and 1881, indicates he may have moved in with his sister's family towards the end of his life. John, whose occupation is given on his death certificate as "post office pensioner" (although in his will he is described as a shoemaker), died of liver disease and toxaemia. He was only 42 years of age. He left an estate of "under £200" to Agnes, his "only next of kin".

8 F v

Elizabeth DEVINE was born on 3 Mar 1839 in 19 Young St., Kensington, London. She died on 5 May 1852 in 2 Market Court, Kensington, London.

Elizabeth died at the age of 13 of 'variola' or smallpox. Her death certificate states that she had been suffering from the disease for 12 days and was 'not vaccinated'.

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