Children of William & Hannah Birks
1911C for Hannah Birks: Married 40 years, 12 children, 4 of them dead .
1. Emma Birks 1874. Marries ? Jarvis. In 1911C with 2 children Annie Jarvis 1898 & Phyllis May Jarvis 1911, living with her parents
2. William Henry Birks 1877 . Also a crate maker. Married Alice ? - in 1901C with his parents
Had William Thomas Birks 1905-1929 [ threw himself out of a hospital window] , who had a son ?? Birks 1929 :
My dad’s dad was William Thomas Birks ( 1905 – 1929 ), he never knew him as he died 3 weeks before my dad was born. When I was growing up I knew there was a bit of a mystery surrounding him, it was never talked about. It was only 3 years ago that I finally decided to find out about him.
I decided to purchase my dad’s birth cert which had William Thomas Birks as his father. I then purchased William T ‘s death cert and discovered he died about 3 weeks before my dad was born. From the info on the death cert there was some questions over what led to his death and there was an inquest. I travelled to Stoke, I live in Lancashire, and visited the archives to view microfiche copies of The Evening Sentinal newspaper which published details of inquests. Basically it said that he had been admitted to hospital with Pneumonia, his family were interviewed and they said he was fit and well before this. While his mother, Annie Birks nee Harding and one of his sisters were visiting him, he got out of bed, opened a window and jumped out. He died later of his injuries. The Coroner could not say whether he had done this deliberately to take his own life, if so why ?? or whether he was delirious and did not know what he was doing. I got the impression that due to the stigma attached to a suicide, the Coroner was trying to protect the family by saying he may not have known what he was doing. Having found out what happened, it still leaves unanswered questions. I wonder if he couldn’t face the responsibility of becoming a father OR had he found out the baby wasn’t his and maybe the name on my parent’s marriage cert ( William T’s brother ) is a clue to this being the case. I will never know.
The above from Alison Walker with who I am in contact - -
Peter Walker <pw001g2036@blueyonder.co.uk>
Family lore regards the 1929 death as suspicious- there was an inquest - maybe the son soon to be born was not his but his brother's?!
3. Flora Birks 1878
4. Frances F Birks 1881
5. Samuel T Birks 1886. Also a crate maker. In 1911C with his parents
6. Lillian Birks 1887. Baptised Longton, Stoke on 18/12/1887 at 22 Caroline Street, her father a Crate maker . Living with sister Ada and their aunt, Emma Crutchley, nee Birks, in 1911C . Could she marry Norman Fenton in Stoke 1941 - Pat?
7. Ada Birks 1892
I do not know who the 8th surviving child is- likely born after 1892?