My paternal grandmother, Eveline Hulme, was born in Hulme, a district of Manchester, Lancashire, May 31st 1896. Her parents were John and Ada Hulme (nee Vernon). The picture on the right is of Eveline and her sister Bertha. I would guess the year to be around the outbreak of the First World War when Eveline would have been about eighteen and Bertha nineteen. Eveline is on the right of the photo. Sadly, Eveline contracted TB and died at the age of 35, leaving five young children, one of whom was my then nine-year-old father. My Aunt Joyce told me her mother-in-law had described Eveline as a remarkable woman, who brought up her children well under very difficult circumstances. My father has fond memories of his Aunt Bertha, who gave him a home after a quarrel with his father.

Please click here for the HULME FAMILY TREE.

Eveline's father, John Hulme (b. Jan 5, 1853, Colne, Lancs), was a cab driver as recorded in the 1881 UK Census. This, of course, would have been a horse drawn hansom or hackney cab. In the 1901 Census, his occupation was listed as a Coachman (not domestic), which meant he was not in domestic service, so he must have worked for a company.

I found it odd that John Hulme should be born at Primet Bridge in Colne, which is not far from Burnley, when his parents, grandparents and siblings were all born in Manchester. On John's birth certificate his father's occupation is listed as a mechanic. In the 1861 Census, John was aged seven and living with his parents, John and Esther Hulme at 14 Broadie Street, Ardwick, Manchester and John Hulme the elder was now a stationer, presumably living and working in his own shop. Although it was typical for daughters to go back to their mother's to have their babies, possibly Esther had been visiting friends or other relatives in Colne when she gave birth to John.

John Hulme and Ada Vernon were married at the Holy Trinity Church, Manchester between July and September 1877. Four years later, at the time of the 1881 Census, they were living at 20 Victoria Street, Hulme, and had their first child, then 2-year-old Martha Annie Hulme, and later that year their eldest son Ernest was born. Sadly, only a year later Martha Annie died, aged three.

John and Ada had nine children in all, but only six lived to adulthood, which was probably very typical of the times. Their children were; Martha Annie (1879-1882), Ernest (b. 1881), John E. (b. 1883), Ada E. (Cissie) (b. 1885), Irving (1888-1891), May (1890-1891), Mabel (b.1892), Bertha (b.1895), Eveline (1896-1931)

At the time of the 1891 Census the family were living at 27 Hancock Street, Hulme. Mabel, Bertha and Eveline were not yet born, and Irving and May were the two youngest. These two children did not appear on the next Census in 1901, so I checked the Deaths and found that both of them died right after the 1891 Census was taken, as May was 11 months old on the Census and less than one-year-old on her death certificate. It is likely that they died of an illness such as smallpox or diphtheria.

My Grandmother, Eveline was the baby of the family. Bertha was only a year older than Eveline and the two were very close.

At the time of the 1901 Census, her oldest brother, Ernest was a tram conductor, and John was a lurryman for a Carriers company. A lurryman was the driver of a lurry, which was obviously where the more modern English term, lorry comes from (for North American readers - a truck). Of course, both these occupations involved horse-drawn vehicles! There is an excellent list of old occupations at:

Hall Genealogy Website

Eveline's older sister, Ada was an underclothing machinist when she would have been aged 15 or 16. On this Census, a Joseph Hulme, aged 26, lived right next door with his wife and son, which tempted me to think he might have been the eldest child of John and Ada, but he would have been born two years before they married, and he wasn't living with them at the time of the 1881 Census. It's possible he was either John's younger brother or a nephew, but it may just be a coincidence that they have the same name.

Previous Generation: Eveline's mother, Ada, had been born Ada Vernon, December 22nd 1852. More information on Ada and the Vernon branch can be found on the VERNON-RILEY PAGE.

John Hulme's parents were John and Esther Hulme (nee Willett). Please go next to the HULME-WILLETT PAGE.