Baptismal records from St Dunstan's parish, Stepney, 1826 to 1848, for children of Edward Bunton:

Entry No.	Birth date	Baptism date	First name	Surname	Father	Mother	Address	Occupation	Source Ref	Note
208		15/03/1829	Edward	Bunton	Edward	Catherine	Ratcliff	Mariner	X024/018
253		22/05/1831	John George	Bunton	Edward	Catherine	Ratcliff	Mariner	X024/018
896		29/12/1833	Charlotte	Bunton	Edward	Catherine	Ratcliff	Mariner	X024/018
2610		25/06/1837	John	Bunton	Edward	Catherine	Ratcliff	Mariner	X024/018
918	02/02/1841	20/07/1845	Henry	Bunton	Edward	Catherine	North Shields, Northumberland	Mariner	X024/020

1841 census for Stephenson Street, Tynemouth:

Name	Age	Occupation	Whether born in the county
Edward Bunton	40	Carpenter	Yes
Catherine Bunton	30		Yes
Edward Bunton	12		Yes
Charlotte Bunton	8		Yes
John Bunton	5		Yes
Henry Bunton	4 months		Yes

1851 census for 126 Bell Street, Tynemouth, North Shields:

Name	Relation	Age	Occupation	Where born
Catherine Bunton	Wife	45	Seaman's wife	Northumberland North Shields
Charlotte Bunton	Daughter	17	Dress maker	Middlesex London
John Bunton	Son	13	Scholar	Middlesex London
Henry Bunton	Son	8	Scholar	Northumberland North Shields

The two Edwards (father and eldest son) are absent, possibly at sea.

1861 census for Bell Street, North Shields (schedule no. 267; the closest prior identification of Bell Street is at schedule no. 205):

Name	Relation	Age	Occupation	Where born
Edward Bunton	Head	63	Seaman	Northumberland North Shields
Barabara(?) Bunton	Wife	50		Scotland (unclear)

Edward is described in the 1841 census as a carpenter. The St Dunstan parish registers describe him as a mariner from 1829 to 1845, and in 1851, 1861 and at his death he is described as a seaman. He may, of course, have been a ship's carpenter.

Edward's first wife, Catherine, died at Bell Street, Tynemouth in 1857. Edward married Barbara Malcolmson the following year at St. George in The East, Stepney, London.

Edward clearly had connections with Stepney, as all of his children were baptised there, and his address at most of these baptisms was in neighbouring Ratcliff. His first marriage was in Rotherhithe, directly across the Thames from Stepney. It seems likely that Edward and his family shuttled between North Shields and the Thames docks, probably following the ebb and flow of work.

An Edward Bunton died at Bell Street, Tynemouth in 1868 aged 73 years from "Bronchitus / asthma"; it is not certain that this is the same Edward Bunton whose family had lived in Bell Street in 1851. If the age at death is accurate he would have been born in 1794-95, and his age would probably have been recorded as 45, rather than 40, at the 1841 census. His age at the 1861 census suggests he was born 1797-98, and he would have been 43 at the 1841 census, which fits better with the rounded-down age of 40.

An Edward Bunton was born on 08/11/1897 to master mariner John Bunton and Catharine Wheatley and baptised on 25/03/1798 in either Heworth or neighbouring Jarrow. Although this date of birth fits perfectly with his age of 63 years in the 1861 census, and Edward's second marriage certificate identifies his father as John Bunton, mariner, Jarrow is south of the Tyne whereas he claims (in the 1861 census) to have been born in North Shields, north of the Tyne, and this is certainly where he appears in the 1841 census. It may be that he did not know with any certainty where or exactly when he was born.


Durham Records Online:
Baptisms, South Shields District - Record Number: 683277.0
Location: Jarrow
Church: St. Paul
Denomination: Anglican
25 Mar 1798 Edward Bunton, born 8 Nov 1797, 3rd son of John Bunton (master mariner, native of this Chapelry) by his wife Catharine Wheatley (native of this Chapelry), baptized at Jarrow.

My 3 x great grandfather.