william, Harriet, Catherine Cates
Subject Names : William Cates (b 1844 – d 1890)
Harriet Cates (b 1874 – 1968)
Catherine Cates (b 1876 – 1953)
Researcher : Deborah Mandelli
Royal Marine William Cates was twice imprisoned during his time in service. He was then widowed with 2 young daughters, forcing them all into the Guildford Union Workhouse. William passed away there, but daughters Harriet and Catherine both progressed to raise their own families, one in Kent and the other in Canada.
William was born on 2nd March 1844, the sixth of ten children for agricultural labourer Charles and Sarah Cates née Stedman 1, 2. He was baptised in Merrow on 31st March.
William grew up with his family in Merrow, and at the time of the 1851 Census, the family was living in Merrow Street 3.
Ten years later, 17-year-old William had followed in his father’s footsteps, working as a farm labourer 4. He was still living with his parents, along with three of his siblings, in Merrow Street.
One Step Forward, Two Steps Back for William
In about June 1864, William decided to break away from the life of a labourer to forge a new path by enlisting in the Royal Marines. Although part of the Admiralty, the Marines had a different role to that of the Royal Navy 5. They were not trained in seafaring, being basically soldiers at sea. Their main roles were to guard the ships and to enforce and maintain discipline onboard.
This would appear to have been a step forward for William, but he soon ran into trouble when he was charged with being ‘drunk and absent from patrol duty at or about 10pm’ on 29th April 1865 at the Royal Marines Barracks in Forton, Hampshire 6. He was found guilty and sentenced to 35 days imprisonment with hard labour. This record noted that he had served 322 days in the Royal Marines and had no former convictions. His general character was described as ‘indifferent’ but his conduct in prison was ‘good’.
William remained in the Royal Marines, but over five years later, he faced a second court-martial, on 3rd January 1871, ‘for attempting to stab a Superior officer’ 7. At that time, William was onboard HMS Danae which was operating in the West Indies 8. He was found guilty and imprisoned for 2 years with hard labour.
The April 1871 Census showed that 27-year-old William, a ‘soldier Royal Marines’, had been brought back to England to serve his sentence in Winchester’s County Prison 9.
Marriage and a family
Following his release from prison, William was soon back in Surrey, as on 1st June 1873, he married spinster Harriet Steer at St Nicholas Parish Church, Guildford 10. He was noted as a labourer of St Nicholas, so his days as a Royal Marine were clearly behind him.
Harriet was already a mother as she had given birth to an illegitimate daughter, Eliza, in 1870 11. After the 1871 Census, Eliza disappeared from the records until July 1882, when she was sent by the Annie MacPherson children’s home to Galt, Ontario, Canada under the homes for children emigration scheme 12, 13.
William and Harriet settled in Smallpeices Gate in the centre of Guildford, a lane which ran parallel to Tunsgate 13. Their first child Harriet Sarah was born there on 16th May 1874 and baptised at Guildford’s Holy Trinity Church 15, 16.
A second daughter Catherine Mabel followed on 19th March 1876, with the family now living in Cline Road, just to the east of Guildford town centre 17. She too was baptised at Holy Trinity Church 18.
A son, William Charles, was born in 1878, but just 9 months later in February 1879, he died from measles and pneumonia in Swan Lane, central Guildford 19, 20.
If that wasn’t bad enough, William’s wife Harriet died aged 29 from tubercular consumption on 15th October 1879 21. She was buried at St Mary’s Church, where her son had been buried 9 months before 22, 23.
William was left to look after his daughters, 5-year-old Harriet and Catherine aged 3, while trying to earn a meagre wage as a labourer.
This would almost certainly have forced them into the Guildford Union Workhouse and although there are no records to show when this happened, they were inmates at the time of the 1881 Census 24. The girls were now of school age and would have received an education in the Workhouse if they had remained there, which seems probable. Whether William ever left the Workhouse is likely to remain unknown, but he passed away there on 11th November 1890 from heart disease and phthisis (tuberculosis) aged 46 25. He was buried in St Mary’s Church, Guildford, 2 days later 26.
Harriet Sarah Cates – A respectable life
Harriet was 16 when her father died in 1890. The 1891 Census five months later showed her working as a ‘nursemaid domestic servant’ in Bromley, Kent, for a wine merchant and his family 27. This could indicate that Harriet, like many Guildford Union Workhouse girl inmates, had received training there to enable her to go into service around her 13th birthday.
The Census of 1901 saw Harriet, 26, in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, recorded as a visitor to the Van de Pol family 28. Who or why she was visiting was not stated. Three years later Harriet was back in Bromley, where she married Charles Hubbard 29.
They settled at 37 Cowper Road, Bromley, with Charles working as a gardener. Their first child, Charles Joseph, was born in 1905, but he died at just 10 months from dentition and diarrhoea in July 1906 30, 31. A second son, William Robert, was born in 1908, and at the time of the 1911 Census, the three of them were living at Cowper Road along with Charles’ widowed father, a retired police-inspector 32, 33, 34.
Ten years later, the four of them had moved just 200 metres from Cowper Road to 64 Pope Road 35. Now 47, Harriet was responsible for ‘home duties’, while 45-year-old husband Charles was a gardener for a local insurance manager. Their son William was 14 and still at school, while Charles’ father now had his elder widowed sister Emma Laycock for company as she was living there too 36.
Moving forward 18 years to 1939, Harriet and Charles were still at 64 Pope Road, caring for Harriet’s widowed uncle, 87-year-old Alfred Cates, so Harriet had clearly kept in touch with her Guildford family 37. In 1932, Harriet’s son William had married Margery Rapley in Guildford, choosing to settle in Carisbrooke Road, Bromley, a short walk from his parents’ home 38, 39.
Harriet’s husband Charles was still working as a gardener at this time, but just over a year later, he died aged 64 in November 1940 40. Harriet lived for almost another 28 years before she passed away on 23rd October 1968 in the Isard Care Home in Hayes, Kent, aged 94 41, 42.
Catherine Mabel Cates – A new life in Canada
William Cates’ youngest daughter Catherine was 14 when her father passed away but, unlike her sister Harriet, she has not been traced in the 1891 Census. Instead, the next record found for her showed that on 14th September 1893, 17-year-old Catherine, along with 57 other girls aged between 6 and 18, boarded SS Circassian at Liverpool bound for Quebec, Canada 43.
This had come about because Catherine had been an inmate of the Maria Rye Home in Peckham, Surrey. Maria Rye was a social reformer who wanted to improve the lives of ‘gutter children’, as she called them, bringing young disadvantaged girls from the streets and workhouses into her Avenue House home in Peckham 44. Here, up to 80 girls could be accommodated where they learnt the necessary skills to become a domestic servant before being sent to Canada. Maria was responsible for the migration of around 10,000 children from the early 1870s and was paid £10 by the local authorities for each child she took out of the workhouse and sent to Canada. The 1891 Census for Avenue House only showed Maria Rye’s sister Elizabeth plus three staff members there but none of the girls, so Catherine may well have been an inmate at that time 45.
Catherine’s voyage to Quebec lasted 11 days, but her journey was not over as she and the other girls then boarded a train to take them about 580 miles (930km) to Niagara where Maria Rye had a reception home called ‘Our Western Home’, where the girls would stay until they were placed with a family to live and work.
There are no records to show where Catherine was placed in Canada, but 2 years after arriving in the country, she married Englishman James Shoebridge in Toronto on 26th September 1895 46. 21-year-old James was a blacksmith from Tunbridge Wells, Kent, and had emigrated to Canada with his parents and two siblings in about 1887 47, 49.
Catherine was heavily pregnant at the time of the wedding, with their first child Daisy Augusta born in November 48. The 1901 Census showed Catherine and blacksmith James, both 25, living in Toronto, now with their four children – 5-year-old Daisy, Ada (4), William (2) and Bertha, just 2 months old 49, 50. Also boarding with them was James’ 19-year-old brother George.
James had become a chauffeur by the time their fifth and final child Charles Sidney was born in 1907 51. The family were now living at 14 Ivy Avenue, Toronto, but were at number 22 by the time of the 1911 Census 52. This showed Catherine, James and their five children, with four nephews and nieces aged from 7 down to 2 months. The nephews and nieces were recorded with the Shoebridge surname but who they actually were is not clear.
Ten years later, Catherine and James only had their two sons for company in Ivy Avenue 53. Catherine was 45 with no occupation while 46-year-old James was now an auto mechanic, as was his eldest son James, 22. Sydney, 14, was still a student. The 1921 Census gave even more details about the family, recording that they were renting their house which was constructed from wood, James senior had earned 1320 Canadian Dollars in the past year while his son earned just 400, and all four of them could read and write but could only speak English and not French 54. This was not a concern, however, as Toronto was a predominantly English-speaking city.
The 1931 Census requested yet another piece of information, which was whether there was a radio in the household 55. James and Catherine, still at Ivy Avenue, owned one of the 173,200 radios that had been sold since broadcasting began in 1920, although this meant that less than 8% of households had one 56. Still living with them was their son Charles Sidney and his wife Evelyn. Charles’ occupation was a ‘radio assembler’, so perhaps it wasn’t too surprising there was a radio in the house!
Catherine and James moved to 303 Chisholm Avenue in about 1945 around the time that James retired 57. At the time of writing, no official death records for Canada were available, but Ancestry.com public Family History Trees indicate that Catherine died on 23rd February 1953, just a few weeks before her 77th birthday, and that her husband James passed away the following year on 4th March aged 78.
Eliza Steer
Catherine and Harriet’s half-sister Eliza Steer had gone to Canada in July 1882 under the Home Children emigration scheme when she was 12 years old, but what became of her after that has not been traced. As Eliza had not been living with her half-sisters back in 1881 in the Guildford Union Workhouse, Catherine and Harriet may not even have been aware of Eliza at all.
December 2023, updated January 2025
References
Note: the source is Ancestry.co.uk (UK) and Ancestry.com (Canada) unless otherwise specified
photograph of Harriet Cates from Ancestry Public Family Tree “Carol16097”
- James Cates Baptism 8 December 1833
Surrey History Centre, Woking; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Guildford, St Mary; Reference Gum/4/1-3 - Caroline Cates Baptism 15 February 1835; Birth 12 January 1835
Emma Cates Baptism 30 October 1836; Birth 5 October 1836
Charles Cates Baptism 17 October 1838; Birth 17 October 1838
Moses Cates Baptism 16 August 1840; Birth 29 July 1840
George Cates Baptism 1 May 1842; Birth 8 April 1842
William Cates Baptism 31 March 1844; Birth 2 March 1844
John Cates Baptism 12 October 1845;
Harriet Cates Baptism 2 April 1848
Alfred Henry Cates Baptism 30 November 1851; Birth 14 October 1851
Surrey History Centre, Woking; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Merrow, St John; Reference MER/4/1 - Charles, Sarah, James, Charles, Moses, George, William, John, Harriet Cates; Harriet Budd 1851 Census, Merrow Street, Merrow, Surrey. Reference H0107; Piece: 1594; Folio: 312; Page: 11
- Charles, Sarah, George, James, William, Alfred H Cates 1861 Census, Merrow Street, Merrow, Surrey. Reference RG09; Piece: 426; Folio: 119; Page: 10
- Royal Marines in the Nineteenth Century Gloucestershire Genealogy glosgen.co.uk
History of the Royal Marines Wikipedia.org - William Cates Trial Date 1 May 1865 The National Archives of the UK, Kew; Courts Martial Registers; Series: Adm 194; Piece 011; Portsmouth Division Royal Marines (1865-1867) Ancestry / Fold3.com
- William Cates Trial Date 3 January 1871 The National Archives of the UK, Kew; Courts Martial Registers; Series:Adm 194; Piece 181; Sentences of Courts Martial: All Ranks Vol Ii; Quarterly Returns of Naval Courts Martial (1865-1872) Ancestry / Fold3.com
- Barbadoes sic arrived Dec. 23 HMS Danae from Dominica 17 January 1871, Lloyds List, page 5 FindMyPast.co.uk / British Newspaper Archive
- William Cates 1871 Census, County Prison, Winchester Class: RG10; Piece: 1212; Folio: 98; Page: 4
- William Cates, Harriet Steer Marriage 1 June 1873 Surrey History Centre, Woking; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Guildford, St Nicholas; Reference GUN/3/3
- Eliza Steer Baptism 10 July 1870 Surrey History Centre, Woking; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Guildford, St Nicholas; Reference GUN/2/2
- Francis, Harriet, Eliza Steer 1871 Census, Wheeler’s Row Mount, Guildford St Nicholas, Surrey. Reference RG10; Piece: 813; Folio: 32; Page: 13
- Eliza Steer Arrival in Canada 27 July 1882 Library and Archives Canada; Home Children Records; bac-lac.gc.ca
Miss Annie McPherson British Home Children in Canada; The Sending Organizations canadianbritishhomechildren.weebly.com - Guildford Town Centre Map from the 1960s 18 Feb 2016 Where is this? The Guildford Dragon News Guildford-Dragon.com
- Harriet Sarah Cates Birth 16 May 1874 England & Wales Civil Registration Birth Index; Guildford, Surrey; volume 2A; page 76 Digital copy from General Register Office GRO.gov.uk
- Harriet Sarah Cates Baptism 21 June 1874. Surrey History Centre, Woking; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Guildford, Holy Trinity; Reference GUHT/4/3
- Catherine Mabel Cates Birth 19 March 1876 England & Wales Civil Registration Birth Index; Guildford, Surrey; volume 2A; page 69 Digital copy from General Register Office GRO.gov.uk
- Catherine Mabel Cates Baptism 14 May 1876 Surrey History Centre, Woking; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Guildford, Holy Trinity; Reference GUHT/4/3
- William Charles Cates Birth Apr-May-Jun England & Wales Civil Registration Birth Index; Guildford, Surrey; volume 2A; page 76
William Charles Cates, Baptism 7 July 1878 Surrey History Centre, Woking; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Guildford, St Mary; Reference Gum/4/1-3 - William Charles Cates Death 12 February 1879 England & Wales Civil Registration Death Index; Guildford, Surrey; volume 2A; page 67 Digital copy from General Register Office GRO.gov.uk
- Harriet Cates Death 15 October 1879 England & Wales Civil Registration Death Index; Guildford, Surrey; volume 2A; page 50 Digital copy from General Register Office GRO.gov.uk
- Harriet Cates Burial 21 October 1879 Surrey History Centre, Woking; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Guildford, St Mary; Reference Gum/5/2
- William Charles Cates Burial 17 February 1879 Surrey History Centre, Woking; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Guildford, St Mary; Reference Gum/5/2
- William, Harriet, Catherine Cates 1881 Census, Guildford Union Workhouse, Stoke Next Guildford, Surrey. Reference RG11; Piece: 813; Folio: 32; Page: 13
- William Cates Death 11 November 1890 England & Wales Civil Registration Death Index; Guildford, Surrey; volume 2A; page 54 Digital copy from General Register Office GRO.gov.uk
- William Cates Burial 13 November 1890 Surrey History Centre, Woking; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Guildford, St Mary; Reference Gum/5/2
- Harriet Cates 1891 Census, 58 High Street, Bromley, Kent. Reference RG12; Piece: 628; Folio: 90; Page: 56
- Harriet Cates 1901 Census, 46 Bishop St, Shrewsbury Holy Cross and St Giles, Atcham, Shropshire. Reference RG13; Piece: 2538; Folio: 111; Page: 24
- Harriet Cates, Charles Hubbard Marriage Jul-Aug-Sep 1904 England & Wales Civil Registration Marriage Index; Bromley, Kent; volume 2A; page 1131
- Charles Joseph Hubbard Birth Jul-Aug-Sep 1905 England & Wales Civil Registration Birth Index; Bromley, Kent; volume 2A; page 558
- Charles Joseph Hubbard Death 14 July 1906 England & Wales Civil Registration Death Index; Bromley, Kent; volume 2A; page 307 Digital copy from General Register Office GRO.gov.uk
- William Robert Hubbard Birth Jul-Aug-Sep 1908 England & Wales Civil Registration Birth Index; Bromley, Kent; volume 2A; page 534
- Charles, Harriett, William, Charles Hubbard 1911 Census, 37 Cowper Road, Bromley, Kent. Reference RG14; Piece: 3650; Schedule: 163
- Presentation to an ex-Police Inspector at Bromley 11 December 1891 Bromley & District Times, page 6 FindMyPast.co.uk / British Newspaper Archive
- Charles, Harriet Sarah, William Robert, Charles Hubbard; Emma Laycock 1921 Census, 64 Pope Rd, Bromley, Kent Reference RG15; District: 42; RS 1; ED 29; Book: 03802
- Emma Rudd Hubbard, James Laycock Marriage Jan-Feb-Mar 1869 England & Wales Civil Registration Marriage Index; Bethnal Green, London; volume 1C; page 443
- Charles, Hariett D sic Hubbard, Alfred H Cates 1939 Register, 64 Pope Rd, Bromley, Kent. Reference RG101/1239E/018/8
- William Robert Hubbard, Margery Rapley Marriage 3 September 1932 Surrey History Centre, Woking; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Guildford, Christ Church; Reference Gucc/3/4
- William R, Margery Hubbard 1939 Register, Carisbrooke Road, Bromley, Kent. Reference RG101/1238I/024/1
- Charles Hubbard Probate 24 February 1941 Death 23 November 1940 Principal Probate Registry, London; Calendar of the Grants of Probate and Letters of Administration made in the Probate Registries of the High Court of Justice in England
Charles Hubbard Death Oct-Nov-Dec 1940 England & Wales Civil Registration Death Index; Bromley, Kent; volume 2A; page 1757 - Harriet Sarah Hubbard Probate 8 August 1969 Death 23 October 1968 Birmingham Archives; England and Wales Probate Calendar; Reference: 1969H
- Post War 1946 to Today Hayes (Kent) History, A History of a Kentish Village HayesKentHistory.org.uk
- Cathee Cates Departure 14 September 1893 The National Archives; Kew; Board of Trade: Commercial and Statistical Department and Successors: Outwards Passenger Lists; Reference Number: Series BT27-
Catherine Cates Arrival in Canada 25 September 1893 Library and Archives Canada; Home Children Records; bac-lac.gc.ca - Child Emigration to Canada Video Podcast and Transcription 9 January 2009 The National Archives, Kew; media.nationalarchives.gov.uk
Papers relating to Maria Rye’s Emigration Home for Destitute Little Girls 1863-1915 JISC Archives Hub archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk
Maria Susan Rye (1829-1903) Peckham Personalities, Peckham Heritage PeckamHeritage.org.uk
Maria Rye Wikipedia.org - Elizabeth Rye 1891 Census, The Avenue (Miss Rye’s Home), Peckham, Camberwell, London Reference RG12; Piece: 474; Folio: 121; Page: 12
- Catherine Mabel Cates, James Shoebridge Marriage 26 September 1895, York, Ontario, Canada. Archives of Ontario; Toronto; Ontario; Canada; Series: Registrations of Marriages, 1869-1928; Reel: 88
- James, Augusta, James, Daisy, George J Shoebridge 1891 Canada Census Toronto (West/Ouest) (City/Cité) Ward/Quartier No 4; Page: 9; Family No: 105
- Daisy Augusta Shoebridge Birth 18 November 1895 York, Ontario, Canada Archives of Ontario; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Series: Registrations of Births and Stillbirths, 1869-1913; Reel: 130; Record Group: Rg 80-2
- James, Catherine, Daisy, Ada, William, Bertha, George Shoebridge 1901 Canada Census St Patrick’s Ward, Toronto City, Ontario; Roll T-6371; Page: 12&13; Family No: 59
- Ada Lora Shoebridge Birth 18 November 1896 York, Ontario, Canada Archives of Ontario; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Series: Registrations of Births and Stillbirths, 1869-1913; Reel: 136; Record Group: Rg 80-2
James William Shoebridge Birth 15 October 1898 York, Ontario, Canada Archives of Ontario; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Series: Registrations of Births and Stillbirths, 1869-1913; Reel: 141; Record Group: Rg 80-2
Bertha Isabel Shoebridge Birth 24 January 1901 York, Ontario, Canada Archives of Ontario; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Series: Registrations of Births and Stillbirths, 1869-1913; Reel: 153; Record Group: Rg 80-2 - Charles Sidney Shoebridge Birth 3 June 1907 York, Ontario, Canada Archives of Ontario; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Series: Registrations of Births and Stillbirths, 1869-1913; Reel: 184; Record Group: Rg 80-2
- James, Catherine M, Daisy, A, Ada L, James W, Bertha I, Charles Shoebridge 1901 Canada Census Toronto (West/Ouest) (City/Cité) Ward/Quartier No 4; Page: 9; Family No: 105
- James, Catherine M, Daisy, A, Ada L, James W, Bertha I, Charles Shoebridge 1911 Canada Census, Place: 5 – Ward 1, Toronto East, Ontario; Page: 26; Family No: 273
- James, Cathrine, James, Sydney Shoebridge 1921 Canadian Census for 22 Ivy Avenue, Toronto City Reference Number: RG 31; Folder Number: 99; Census Place: Toronto, York East, Ontario; Page Number: 21 & 22
- James, Catherine, Charles, Evelyn Shoebridge 1931 Canadian Census for 22 Ivy Avenue, Toronto East; Library and Archives Canada; Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Seventh Census of Canada, 1931; Folder Number: T-27298; Census Place: Toronto East, Ontario, Canada; Page Number: 15
- Early Commercial Radio Broadcasting in Canada, 1918-1932 National Historic Event, Government of Canada parks.canada.ca
Description of Canadian Homes Housing in Canada, a Study based on the Census of 1931 and supplementary data; published 1941; page 12; 2,252,729 households - Jas Shoebridge Might’s Greater Toronto City Directory, Toronto Public Library. Internet Archive archive.org
1935, page 1152: Jas Shoebridge garage mech 22 Ivy Ave
1940, page 1266: Jas Shoebridge mech 22 Ivy Ave
1945, page 1508: Jas Shoebridge mech 303 Chisholm Ave (EY)
1946, page 1312: Jas Shoebridge 303 Chisholm Ave (EY)
1950, page 1416: Jas Shoebridge 303 Chisholm Ave (EY)
1954, page 1190: Jas Shoebridge 303 Chisholm Ave