The Sweet Factory Willetts of Blackheath

[mumbles]

Just a snippett of info for those researching this family:-
By strange co-incidence I met a lady of about 85 with a Black Country Accent living two streets away from me in Swansea.
She is a direct descendant of the Hobbs family of Blackheath and Shell Corner who owned Hardware and Ironmongers there.
She had researched her family history before computers and has comprehensive paper records of her family which she showed me.
Whilst we were talking she identified that she knew of the Sweet Factory Willetts family well . Subsequently she sent me a message as follows :-
Regarding the Willetts Sweet Shop , the family of Edward Willetts lived at 107 High Street ,and made sweets in a shed at the bottom of the long yard which was shared with 108 next door where my Grandma Hobbs and family lived (my mother was born there) . In 1906 the Willetts family moved to otherr premises ( I believe also in High Street) and Grandma's daughter , my Aunt Hetty ,got married and moved into 107 next door where she also had a sweet shop. Her daughter Marion was borm there and lived there until her death in 1993.

I then looked on 1901 Census and found what she said about two families living at 107 and 108 was correct.
On bcc we have very few Hobbs recorded and I will follow up as they had shops all over Blackheath.

[Northern Lass]

I would like to add that in the notes for Edward Willetts do we have him on Bcc?
do we have a dob from the census?

[mumbles]

This is the Edward Willetts :-
http://bcconnections.tribalpages.com/tr ... =645350393

[mumbles]

To confirm what Maisie Hayman (decendant of Hobbs family Noted)
1901 Census 108 , High Street Rowley Regis Dudley Staffs.
Henry Hobbs Head 50 Hawker b.not known Somerset
Ellen Hobbs wife 48
Margaret Hobbs dau 18
Laura A. Hobbs dau 12
James H. Hobbs son 8
Ellen Hobbs 9
William E. Hobbs
Rest born Rowley Regis Staffs.

1901 Census 108 , High Street Rowley Regis Dudley Staffs.
John T. Willetts Head 27 Wholesale Confectioner Horse Driver
Sarah J. Willetts wife 26
Mabel Willetts dau 2
All born Rowley Regis Staffs.

John Thomas Willetts is on bcc

1911 Census 107 High Street Blackheath Rowley Regis Dudley Staffs.
Frederick William Woolvin Head 32 Iron Tube Tester born Quarry Bank Worcs.
Henrietta Woolvin wife 30 born Old Hill Staffs.
Marian Henrietta Woolvin dau 2

Henrietta is a daughter of Henry Hobbs and is the Hetty noted by Maisie

1911 Census 58 High Street Blackheath Rowley Regis Dudley Staffs.
John Thomas Willetts Head 36 Confectioner's Salesman
Caroline Willetts wife 32 born Halesowen Worcs.
Mabel Willetts dau 12 School
Mary Willetts dau 6
George Willetts son 4
Frank Willetts son 2
Fred Willetts 4mths.
Rest born Blackheath Staffs.

[Northern Lass]

Mumbles can you add and connect any of this if you got time?

[mumbles]

Will do Nl,
I am working on this and will have Woolvin,Hobbs families on also.
I think I can link the various Hobbs families back to a George Hobbs who came from Somerset and all the hardware shops in area evolved from him. Maisie did tell me they were all related.
The Sweet factory was a big thread in past as Edward Willetts and Hannah Tromans were related to a lot of our families.

[Northern Lass]

Do you want this left here Mumbles or archive?

[mumbles]

Nl, you can archive as I have added Census details and have followed up on Hobbs family