Annie Maria Meredith (one of my 2nd great grandmothers) was born on 12th November 1853 in Clerkenwell, Middlesex. She was born to William Meredith and Emma Taverner, one of their ten children. At the time, Clerkenwell was the heart of London’s watchmaking trade, and Annie grew up right in the middle of it. Her father, William Thomas Meredith, worked as a watch spring maker at 44 Spencer Street. She was baptised a few weeks later, on 7th December 1853, at Saint Luke Old Street.
By the time she was seven, the family had moved to 68 Middleton Square in Clerkenwell. However, Annie’s teenage years were marked by significant loss. Her mother, Emma Taverner, passed away in 1864 when Annie was only ten years old. Two years later her father William married again, this time to his maternal 1st cousin Jane Smart who was also a widow. Just seven years later, in early 1871, her father William also passed away. By the 1871 census, 18-year-old Annie was living at 31 Loraine Road in Holloway with her stepmother Jane and four of her younger siblings.
On 18th August 1877, Annie married Henry Francis Dyer at Holy Trinity Church in Islington. Henry worked as a “Press Corrector,” a vital role in the Victorian printing industry, ensuring that newspapers and books were free of errors before they went to print. The wedding was witnessed by John Ellis Hughes and Henry’s sister Jane Dyer.
Annie and Henry spent much of their married life in Islington, specifically at 100 Church Road. Between 1878 and 1883, they had five children:
- Henry Francis (1878–1883)
- Sydney Meredith (1879–1928)
- May (1881–1895)
- Edgar Percy (1882–1953)
- Ernest Frank (1883–1974)
Tragically, like many Victorian families, Annie and Henry dealt with the heartbreak of losing children young. Their eldest son, Henry, died at age four of Pneumonia and Diphtheritic paralysis, and their daughter, May, passed away at age 1 of Diphtheria Syncope (reaction to vaccination).
By 1901, the family had moved to 92 Mayfield Street in Hackney. Annie’s life came to an end on 19th July 1904 at the age of 50. She passed away at 183 Wightman Road in Hornsey, which was her son’s home. Her death record notes she had suffered from a renal abscess for 21 years. Annie was laid to rest on 22nd July 1904 at Chingford Mount Cemetery. She is buried in Section D10, Grave number 66021.
Burial Register
not just any family 