Martha Horton was the fifth child of William Horton & Elizabeth Hale christened January 27th, 1864 at Lower Gornall, Sedgley, Staffs.
In 1871 Martha, her parents & brothers & sisters were living at 4 Prices Rd, Lower Gornall, Staffs.
By 1881 the family had moved to Graveyard, Lower Gornall, Sedgley & Martha was working as a nail maker.
Martha gave birth to a son, Henry, who was christened on February 1st, 1882 at Lower Gornall.
The children of Martha Horton were:
h.1.4.3.5.1 Henry Horton christened February 1st, 1882 at Lower Gornall
Martha married Isaac Hickman on July 29th, 1883 at St Thomas’, Dudley. Isaac was christened May 24th, 1857 at St Chad & All Saints Roman Catholic Church, Sedgley, Staffs, the son of Selina & Samuel Hickman, a nail maker.
In 1891 Isaac & Martha were living at 24 Jew Lane, Upper Gornall, Sedgeley & Isaac was a carter. They had 2 children by this time – Eliza Jane (3) & Eli (2). Also with them was Martha’s son Henry (9) listed as Henry Hickman.
Isaac died in April-June 1900, aged 42, his death being registered at Dudley.
The children of Martha Horton & Isaac Hickman were:
h.1.4.3.5.2 Eliza Jane Hickman born at Gornall Wood & christened July 20th, 1887 at Lower Gornall, Staffs
h.1.4.3.5.3 Eli Hickman born at Gornall Wood & christened January 30th, 1889 at Lower Gornall, Staffs
h.1.4.3.5.4 Nelly Hickman born February 21st, 1891 at Upper Gornall, Staffs
h.1.4.3.5.5 Leonard Hickman born April 28th 1896 at Upper Gornall, Staffs
On February 24th, 1901 widowed Martha married widower Isaac Silvers at Eckington, Derbyshire. Isaac was born February 24th, 1860 at Dudley, & christened March 19th, 1860 at St Thomas, Dudley, Worcs, the son of Fanny Jackson & Thomas Silvers, a nail forger. Isaac was in fact Martha’s brother-in-law as he had been married to Martha’s older sister Ann [h.1.4.3.3]. Ann had died in Jan-March 1901. (There is some question about the marriage having taken place as the entry for the marriage banns is crossed out & written as cancelled.)
At the time of the 1901 census Isaac Silvers & Martha were living at 54 Sitwell St, Eckington & Isaac was described as a coal miner hewer. Eleven of the 12 children from Isaac’s first marriage were still at home. The 3 oldest sons all worked in the coal mine - Thomas was a road man below ground, Samuel was a pony driver & William worked as lamp man. Also with the family were 4 children from Martha’s first marriage, namely Eli Hickman (12), Jenny (Eliza Jane) (13) & Nelly Hickman (10) & Leonard Hickman (4).
Martha’s son Henry was now listed as Henry Horton in 1901& living with his grandparents, Elizabeth & William Horton, at Dawley Brook, Kingswinford. Henry was a general labourer.
An advertisement in the Sheffield Evening Telegraph of August 3rd, 1901 states that ‘Isaac Silvers of 54 Sitwell St, Eckington will not be responsible for any debt or debts my wife, Martha Silvers, may contract’. Obviously the marriage had not run smoothly & by 1903 Martha & Isaac had presumably divorced as both married again. For the continuation of Isaac’s story see Ann Horton [h.1.4.3.3].
Martha, who gave her name as Martha Hickman not Silvers, married for the third time in July-September 1903, the marriage being recorded at Stourbridge. Her third husband was Samuel Hadley, born Jan-March, 1863 at Black Heath, Worcs. Samuel, a blacksmith, had previously been married to Fanny who died sometime between 1891 & 1901. In 1901 widowed Samuel was boarding at Kingswinford, Dudley with his children Isaac (16), Agnes (13) & Benjamin Samuel (9).
Daughter Eliza Jane married John Evans, an iron worker, in 1906 in Stourbridge.
Son Eli married Sarah Elizabeth Hickman in 1907 in Stourbridge.
In 1911 Martha & Samuel were living at 45 Parkes St, Brierley Hill, Staffs where Samuel continued to be a blacksmith in the iron works. They had a 10 month old daughter Doris. Also with them were Martha’s son from her earlier marriage, Leonard Hickman, & her daughter Nellie, an unemployed wiper at the glass works, who had married Edward Jones, a stoker at the steel works, earlier in the year.
Son Leonard married Druscilla Page in 1920 in Dudley.
Daughter Doris married George March in 1925 in Sheffield, Yorks.
The children of Martha Hickman (aka Silvers) (nee Horton) and Samuel Hadley were:
h.1.4.3.5.6 Doris May Hadley born May 7th, 1910 at Parkes St, Brierley Hill, Staffs; died June 19th, 1984 at Shiregreen, Sheffield