Sidney Frederick Barnett

Sidney Frederick Barnett was born March 10, 1881 at 15 Preston Street, Bethnal Green, London.

Birth certificate

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He was a 'Boot Operator' (boot/shoe maker) by profession, but it is known that he was also involved in the business of 'money lending'.

Though I can't find any documented evidence, there has been some speculation in my family that Sidney "may have been in some kind of trouble with the law". We know that Sidney's father, Sydney Snr., changed his 'Barney' family name to 'Barnett' sometime before he married in 1880. Also, he and his family are conspicuously missing from the 1881 Census. So I think it possible that it was Sidney's father who was 'in trouble with the law', and Sidney, along with all his siblings, inherited the 'Barnett' name. This is pure speculation, and I can also speculate that the family name change may have more to do with the exploits of Sidney's grandfather, Edwin Frederick Barney, particularly with regard to his abandoning his wife and family for a new life in Australia. (See Edwin Frederick Barney's page).  
 

In the 1901 census, Sidney is found in Mare Street, Hackney with his parents and four sisters - all using the surname of LILLIE. This however may simply be an error on the part of the enumerator because a 'LILLIE' family were also living at the same address.

Sidney married Mary Green* (b. February 14, 1883 at 60 Treadway Street, Bethnal Green) on December 26, 1903 at Christ Church, South Hackney, London.

Marriage certificate

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*Mary Green's ancestry - at the bottom of this page

Sidney and Mary had one daughter, Mary Ellen Barnett, my grandmother.

In the 1911 Census, Sidney (as 'Sydney) was living at 105 Mansfield Street, Haggerston with wife Mary, and daughter Mary (Mary Ellen Barnett - my grandmother)

Sidney was affectionately known in the family as 'Pots' after an occasion when his granddaughter Mary, my Mother as a little girl, apparently hit him on the head with a pot!

Sidney died on September 26, 1954 at Orsett Lodge Hospital, Orsett, (Thurrock), Essex.

Death certificate

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Mary died some years later on April 19, 1970 at Rochford General Hospital, Essex.

Mary Green's Ancestry

Mary was born b. February 14, 1883 at 60 Treadway Street, Bethnal Green.

Birth certificate

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Mary's lineage is traced in the chart shown below.