The Dunkley Line

This page is part of Irene Gladys Whiteman's web-site.

Mary Ann Dunkley nee Whiteman was an elder sister of Rene's Grandfather Henry William Whiteman. She was the 4th child of James Whiteman (1816/17-1899) and Caroline Wagstaff (1820-1893). A separate page contains the Upper Whiteman line.

Mary Ann Whiteman, b. Houghton Conquest 5 Apr 1846 - 22 Dec 1846
m. William DUNKLEY, 22 Dec 1865 (Cert)
Mary Ann was 19 years of age, hence born 23 Dec 1845 to 22 Dec 1846
[William was also 19, consistent with the Census entries of 1851 and 1861. He was the 2nd child of Thomas Dunkley, Labourer, and Jane, of How End (2km west of Houghton Conquest).]
Their first child, born 18 months to 2 years after their marriage, appears to have been brought up by Mary Ann's parents.
Before the 1871 Census, Mary Ann and William had moved 40 miles south to Walthamstow, then on the north-eastern edge of London. By the 1881 Census, they are elsewhere in Walthamstow, with 5 children, their 2nd to 6th, between 6 months and 9 years. And in the 1891 Census, they are in another part of Walthamstow with 7 children, their 3rd to 9th, the youngest born when Mary Ann was 42.

  1. Thomas Dunkley, b. 30 Jul 1867, Houghton Conquest (Caroline has a copy of the cert.)
    Thomas' parents appear to have left him in Houghton Conquest when they moved south to the outskirts of London, because Thomas is in the household of his grandparents James and Caroline in both the 1871 and 1881 Censuses, at 3 and 13.
    m. Emily SMART, Sep qtr 1896 (Ampthill, 3b, 795) (Caroline has a copy of the cert.)
    Emily was b. 26 Jan 1868 (Cert, Ampthill, 3b 379)
    [Emily's parents were Henry Smart, Farm Labourer b. 1833/34 and Ann formerly WEBB b. 1836/37. The Smart family also lived in Houghton Conquest.
    [Here's the Smart family's 1861 Census entry and extract. Henry Smart died between the ages of 48 and 58, and Ann not earlier than the age of 55, because Ann is a widow in the Census entry of 1891.
    [As shown in the Census entries for 1871 and 1881, Emily was the 5th of 8 children. Emily's elder sister Mary Ann (Polly, b. 1860) married Thomas Dunkley's uncle, Henry William Whiteman (no. 8 below). Although Henry was Thomas' uncle, Henry was only 7 years older.
    [According to Eva Dunkley when talking to Irene Dunkley and Caroline Dickens (c. 1990?), Kate married a Mason, Jane married a Brightman, Elizabeth (Bess) lived in Wilstead, and Alice [?] died young. Eva knew of Charlie, George and Joe but without any details.]
    Thomas and Emily lived in Mill Lane Houghton Conquest, and had 2 children by the time of the 1901 Census.
    Emily d. 1 Apr 1937, aged 69. Thomas d. 9 Aug 1952, aged 85.
    Click on the thumbprints below to see the fully-sized image. In photo on the left (c. 1928?), Thomas and Emily are seated in front, with daughters 1. Liz top-left, 2. Carrie top-right, and 3. Eva second from the left, and son 4. William second from the right. Carrie's husband Tom Hullat is in the centre at the back.
    In the photo on the right, taken in 1933, Emily is on the right, aged 64/65:
    1. Elizabeth (Lizzie) Dunkley, b. 15 Jun 1897 (RD Ampthill 3b 368)
      Maid in Walthamstow, with Eva, never married, retired to Bedford.
      She is very probably the younger woman on the left of the above photo, in 1933, aged 35/36.
    2. Caroline (Carrie) Dunkley, b. 5 Nov 1898 (RD Ampthill 3b 365)
      m. Edward Thomas (Tom) HULLAT, who worked on the railways
      1. Ken Hullat, Despatch Rider in WWII, killed at Arnhem
    3. Eva Dunkley, b. 5 Jan 1902
      Maid in Walthamstow, with Lizzie, never married, retired to Bedford.
    4. William Henry Dunkley, b. 13 May 1905 (RD Ampthill 3b 339)
      m. Lily May SHARPE, 1942, Bedford
      Lily was b. 30 May 1918.
      William worked at Cranfield during the War, assembling aeroplane wings, and moved to Wellingborough after the War. He d. 24 May 1995, at 90.
      Lily d. 8 Oct 2005, at 87.
      1. Irene Sylvia Dunkley, b. 1943, Bedford, moved to Wellingborough, printer
        m. Roger Raymond DICKENS, b. 1944 Wellingborough, printer
        1. Caroline Dickens, b. 1968, printer (artwork), Wellingborough
      2. Janet Dunkley, b. 1949, Wellingborough
        m. Leslie Carter, children 1 and 2, divorced
        m. Sheridan, divorced
        1. Andrew Carter, b. 1980
        2. Matthew Carter, b. 1982
      3. Robin Dunkley (M), b. 1954, Wellingborough
    5. Alice Rose Dunkley, b. 1 Dec 1908 (RD Ampthill 3b 303)
      m. Fred WALSH (but d. young?)
      1. Marion Walsh
  2. Henry Dunkley, b. 1871/72, Walthamstow, d. >1881
  3. Ernest W. Dunkley, b. 1874/75, Walthamstow, d. >1891
  4. Albert J. Dunkley, b. 1875/76, Walthamstow, d. >1891
  5. Walter Dunkley, b. 1878/79, Walthamstow, d. >1891
  6. Archibald Dunkley, b. Oct 1880, Walthamstow, d. >1891
  7. Elizabeth Dunkley, b. 1882/83, Walthamstow, d. >1891
  8. Rose Dunkley, b. 1883/84, Walthamstow, d. >1891
  9. Arthur Dunkley, b. 1888/89, Walthamstow, d. >1891

This a page within Roger Clarke's Family Web-Site

The information about the Dunkleys comes from Caroline Dickens (who made contact in October 2008 after seeing the web-page), plus research by Anne Kratzmann. Until then, none of my line knew that Thomas Dunkley (who we knew of) had married Rene's grandmother's sister!

Contact: Roger Clarke

Created: 2 September 2006; Last Amended: 20 October 2008