Life History

31st Oct 1836	Born in Marylebone, Middlesex
22nd Feb 1837	Baptised at St. Pancras
12th Sep 1874	Married Eliza Laws at St Paul's, Paddington
1875	Birth of son Charles James S. Drewry in London, Paddington
27th July 1876	Birth of daughter Edith Laurentia M. Drewry in London, Paddington
28th Dec 1878	Birth of son Julian Stewart Drewry in Brixton, London
1880	Birth of daughter Vere S. Drewry in Clapham, Surrey
1884	Birth of daughter Vera Theodora Drewry in Brixton, London
1884	Death of son Julian Stewart Drewry
1885	Birth of daughter Amy Cecil Stewart Drewry in Clapham, Surrey
1887	Birth of daughter Violet Maud May Drewry in Brixton, London
1895	Died in Middlesex Surrey
24/10/1895	Buried in Teddington Cemetery

Notes

In the 1851 and 1871 censuses, William is 14 and 34, recorded in his parents' home.

In the '51 census he is a Scholar and

in the '71 census his occupation is Clerk.

William, aged 24, does not appear in the 1861 census. He must have been at sea.

On the 18th August, 1857, William was at sea.

He was off the Malabar coast, 200 miles from Bombay (Mumbai).

The cutting on the right is from Google Books

William Tillotson's son Julian was born at 38 Crawshay Road in 1878, the year before this article was published.

A Story of Stowaways on the Tinto

William, Second mate, 1863

William's Employment Record, 1877 - 1895

The service record of William Tillotson Drewry with the London & South Western Railways shows that he started with them in 1877 as a clerk, aged 41, and stayed with them until he died in 1895.

The records are from two ledgers, one called "Weekly Paid" and the other "Clerical Staff Character Book No 3".

Marriage

William married Eliza in 1874, 3 years before he joined the London & South Western Railways.
Had he already finished his sea-going career?
Did Eliza make him stay ashore?

In the marriage certificate:
Eliza is 20 years younger than William
The Witnesses are:
Charles Stewart Drewry Junior
Mary Ann Laws
Mary ..? Blott? (unreadable)
William's occupation is Railway Clerk
His father's occupation is Barrister-at-Law.
Eliza's father, John Laws is a Shoemaker,

The Marriage Allegation

The Document is dated the 31st August, 1874, and signed by William.
A Marriage Allegation was required in an application for a marriage licence (required when one of the partners is under 21 years of age. It says that Eliza was "a minor of the age of Seventeen years and upwards but under the age of Twenty one years."

As a Witness

In 1875, William was witness to his brother Charles's marriage to Margaretta.
In 1878, he was witness to Charles's marriage to Julia.

In 1878 William's son Julian was born at home, at 38 Crawshay Road, Brixton.
On the birth certificate, William's occupation is 'Railway Clerk'.

In the 1881 census, the family is living at 81, Stockwell G; Lambeth.
(The census also shows an 81A Stockwell G. containing another family.)

William's occupation in the 1881 census is curious. While his employment record (above) shows that he was working as a Railway Clerk, his census entry records him as a 'General Printer'. Could this have anything to do with his sisters' occupations? (In the 1881 census, Georgina is a 'Novelist & Press Writer, Author Corrector Of Press'; and Laurentia also is 'Author Corrector Of Press'.)

William T. Drewry	Head	44	General Printer	b. Marylebone
Lisa Drewry	Wife	24		b. Notting Hill
Charles J.S. Drewry	Son	5		b. London Paddington
Edith L.M. Drewry	Daughter	4		b. London Paddington
Julian S. Drewry	Son	3		b. Brixton, Surrey
Vere S. Drewry	Son	1		b. Clapham, Surrey
Annie Hargreaves	Boarder	24	Confectioner	b. Lancs, St. Helens

In the 1891 census, living at 22 Coburg Road, Teddington.
Charles J. S. may have left home - or died, as he is not found in later censuses;
Julian S. and probably Vere S. have died.

William Drewry	Head	54	Railway Clerk	b. London, St. Pancras
Eliza Drewry	Wife	54		b. London, Kensington
Edith L. Drewry	Daur.	14		b. London, Paddington
Vera T. Drewry	Daur.	7	At school
Amy Cecil Drewry	Daur.	6	At school	b. London, Brixton
Violet Maud Drewry	Daur.	4	At school

William died 1895, aged 58.

By the 1901 census, Eliza has remarried and the household at 126, Graham Road, Wimbledon is:

W J Mansbridge	38	Railway clerk, L&SW Railway
Eliza Mansbridge	44
Edith L M Drewry	24	stepdaughter
Vera T Drewry	19	stepdaughter

William Mansbridge is almost certainly a work colleague of her late husband.

In Google Books there is a reference to "Death-bed Apparitions published by W T Drewry."

W T Drewry wrote a letter to the editor of the London Standard in May 1874.

The address on the letter is the same as that used in his marriage certificate in the same year.

From freeBMD

Marriage: Sept 1874 Drewry William T, London, Middlesex, 1a, 349

Death: Dec 1895 Middlesex Surrey, 2a, 202
Burial: 24/10/1895 William Tillotson Drewry 58 Years Teddington Cemetery Gc Border grave 17

Was William in the army for a while?

[In 1860 the British and French Governments went to war with China for the third time to 'secure satisfactory trading facilities'; i.e. the right to sell opium to the Chinese.]

See also The Edinburgh Gazette where William is shown in the 39th Company of the Staffordshire Militia. This might suggest that this William is one of the Staffordshire Drewrys.