Mark Samuel Milliner

Occupation: Shipwright

Comments: His name is taken originally from the IGI entry for his daughter Elizabeth's birth/christening. Here his surname is spelt Milliner.

It appears Mark was born in Chatham, and assumedly lived there until some time in the 1860s. His first daughter Elizabeth, was born in Chatham but his second daughter Jane was born in Sheerness,  so he probably left Chatham some time between 1862 and 1866. After leaving Chatham he moved to Sheerness, where it seems he spent the rest of his life.

Presumably, given his occupation, whilst living in Chatham he would have worked at Chatham Dockyards. After his move to Sheerness it seems logical that he continued to work at Sheerness Dockyards.

On his son George's birth certificate, his occupation is entered as "Shipwright Hill Dockyard" - although the word "Hill" is a little hard to read, and could be Mill perhaps.

Mark would probably have still been working in Chatham Dockyards at the time the HMS Achilles was built there between 1861 and 1863, in which case it is possible he may have worked on this ship. At the time this was the biggest sail ship in the Royal Navy. It was later known as the Hibernia (1902), the Egmont (1904), the Egremont (1918) and finally the Pembroke (1919). It was sold for scrap in 1925.

Mark Milliner appears in the 1871 census, aged 30. Here his occupation is given as shipwright and his placed of birth given as Chatham Kent.

He is also then mentioned on the following webpage:

http://home.freeuk.com/g7iau/cards/emm.htm

...as being the father of George Milner. The following entry, also from the above webpage, may also relate to him:

S/WRIGHT.BETHEL CHAPEL MEMBER.TEACHER IN SUN.SCH.LEAVES WIDOW+5 CHILDREN.SEE 27TH RE FUNERAL.DIED.

This seems quite likely to apply to him, as we know he had died by the time of the 1881 census, and we know of five children.

He is also mentioned on the following webpage:

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~penney/cemetary/cm.htm

Here Mark Samuel Milner is listed as having been buried at Halfway cemetery in Sheerness. His age is entered as 39, and the date of his death 25/09/1879. His address is also given - Victory Street - matching the address the remaining family members were residing at during the 1881 census. Here his occupation is entered as shipwright.

Mark's Family

Spouse: Sarah Rickwood (Married 1860)
Children: Elizabeth Sarah Milner, Jane Milner, George Milner, Alfred Milner, Florence Ada Milner
There appears to be an entry in the GRO indices for the marriage of a Mark Samuel Milliner in Poplar in Jan/Feb/Mar 1860. Unfortunately the page and volume numbers are almost impossible to read on the index page. The volume may possibly be 1c and the page number appears to begin with 8.

There is also an entry in the GRO indices for the marriage of a Sarah Rickwood in Poplar in Jan/Feb/Mar 1860. This index page is slightly easier to read, and it seems most likely that the volume is 1c and the page number 867.

Interestingly, an entry appears in the GRO indices for the birth of a Mark Samuel Milliner in Oct/Nov/Dec 1860 in Poplar (volume 1c, page 658). It seems possible this could have been Mark and Sarah's son, who perhaps died at a very young age.

At the time of the 1871 census the family are living at 8, Bell Alley, Mile Town, Sheerness, Kent. This is also the address entered on George's birth certificate, - in fact he was born just a short while before the census.

At the time of the 1881 census the family were living at 45, Victory St, Minster In Sheppey, Kent. Mark, the father, does not appear in this record, which may imply he had died by this time.

At the time of the 1891 census the family were still at the same address. Here Sarah's marital status is entered as Widow, confirming that the father had died some time previously.

At the time of the 1901 census, Sarah, the mother and Florence, her daughter, were still living together. Their address was 52 Berridge Rd.

There seems to be some inconsistency in the spelling of the family's surname. In some place it appears as Milner, and in others Milliner.

Mark's Heritage

Parents: Samuel Milliner, <NoName>
Siblings: