Tabitha Dunn / Kimberley

I can’t help but be attracted to the interesting women in my family tree.  And probably the women who are most “interesting” are those that have things happen to them; migration, murder and other bits of mayhem!  Tabitha is not such a woman, but she still has significant appeal.  Her name hints at excitement for one thing!  And it is relatively easy to find (there aren’t many Tabithas - at least compared to Jane or Mary!). 

Tabitha lived her life within a six kilometre radius around the town of Kingswinford, in the West Midlands of England, historically in the rural district of Staffordshire.  It was a very typical life for the time!  What I like about her, as I write in 2014, is that she was in all currently published English Census from 1841 to 1911, which gives a great ‘structure’ to her long life!

Tabitha Dunn was born in about 1822 at Stourbridge and she was baptised in the Old Swinford Parish Church.  She had at least three older sister and her parents were James and Sarah Dunn.  It is possible that there were other children older than these girls - I think there was a son.  At least a further five children (two more girls and three sons) were born to the couple.  In the 1941 Census Tabitha is living with her mother, father, and these eight siblings!  

On Christmas Day 1843, when Tabitha was 21, she married John Kimberley at the Parish Church, Old Swinford.

They had seven children – and we know that for sure because it was included (in error!) on her 1911 census document (thanks Tabitha!).  The children were:

•       Ebenezer – born abt 1845
•       Charles – 1846
•       John Henry – 1848
•       Josiah – 1850
•       Elizabeth – abt 1853
•       Emma – 1854
•       Joshua – 1856

In the 1851 Census the family lived at High Street, Kingswinford.  In 1861 Tabitha John and their seven children lived at Broad Street, where they were to remain for some time.  They are still at the house in Broad Street in 1871.  By this stage Ebenezer had married, been bankrupted and then died!  But the other six children are in the household.  John Kimberley is working as a peddler, and it is possible that they may have already started a small shop at their home.

John Kimberley died on 17 June 1880.  His probate shows that he had less than 100 pounds.  That was OK, because Tabitha, who had grown up with a green grocer for a father, operated a grocery store in their Broad Street house.

Tabitha was operating the Grocer’s shop in the 1891 Census – at the age of 70!  She was on her own but at least two of her children lived nearby with their families. By 1901 she had retired and the store was run by John and Sarah Bradley (it is possible that they were related to the family in some way).  Tabitha was living with them at the Grocer’s shop.  At the 1911 census Tabitha was living with her son Charles and his second wife, Elizabeth – they had only been married for a year.  Tabitha’s age is suddenly listed as 92!  In this form she (or perhaps Charles) included the information that she had seven children of which three are still living.  As mentioned above, Ebenezer had died.  We know Charles was still alive – he died in 1925.  John Henry was also alive; he had immigrated to Australia in 1874 with his wife.  Josiah had also immigrated to Australia, but he died in Cowra, Australia in 1887.  Elizabeth was also alive: she had married George Meanley in 1875 and she lived in Kingswinford.  Details of the lives and early deaths of Emma and Joshua are not known…

Tabitha Kimberley died in 1912 in Kingswinford.

[Relationship to SNR = Great-great-great-great grandmother]