Amelia Wright Binks

Born February 23, 1797 in Woolwich and christened at Saint Mary Magdalene, Woolwich on March 26, 1797. There is little doubt that 'Emilia' (as her name is handwritten in her christening record is actually the 'Amelia' Binks who on July 27, 1815 married John Harrowsmith at St Nicholas Church, Plumstead. Further unclear handwriting in the marriage register makes the 'Harrow' in John's name look like 'Harry' or 'Harvey'. I have opted for 'Harrowsmith' due to the fact that a John & Amelia HARROWSMITH were witnesses at the wedding of Henry Thomas Binks in 1837. The registrar at John & Amelia's wedding probably just wrote the name as he heard it. (i.e. 'Harrowsmith' became 'Harry Smith'). Adding weight to this theory is the fact that on November 2, 1857, Victoria Alexandrina Binks (daughter of Joseph David Binks) married a JAMES HARROWSMITH. On their wedding certificate it is stated that James' father's name is JOHN HARROWSMITH. It is therefore possible that James was the son of John & Amelia Harrowsmith. This can never be proved, but due to the rarity of the name, and the fact that it features more than once in the Binks family tree, it does seem likely. It should also be noted that John and Amelia's children appear in the I.G.I. with the name variant 'Arrowsmith'.

John & Amelia's children were:

Benjamin John Arrowsmith – Born: November 30, 1818 - Christened: December 20, 1818 (Presumably died in 1st year)

Benjamin Arrowsmith - Born: November 26, 1819 – Christened: February 20, 1822

Caroline Arrowsmith - Born: January 29, 1822 - Christened: February 20, 1822

Elizabeth Ann Arrowsmith - Born: January 18, 1825 - Christened: February 13, 1825 (Died: February 17, 1828)

James John Joseph Arrowsmith - Born: September 2, 1827 - Christened: September 23, 1827

Martha Elizabeth Arrowsmith - Born: November 12, 1828 - Christened: December 7, 1828

William Samuel George Arrowsmith - Born: October 8, 1831 - Christened: October 30, 1831

Harriet Sarah Arrowsmith - Born: May 27, 1834 - Christened: June 22, 1834

James Edward Arrowsmith - Born: September 7, 1838 - Christened: February 6, 1839

In the 1861 census, John & Amelia give their ages as 70 & 69, respectively. Amelia would have been born between 1791-1792 if this were true. Also, the death indexes show the death of an Amelia Harrowsmith in Woolwich in 1874 aged 86. So, there is some confusion here that needs to be investigated further.

At the time of the 1861 census, John & Amelia were living at 9 Parson's Hill, Woolwich.

Nothing more is known.