John West |
= |
Anne |
|
Anne West (Chr
4-Apr-1759) |
|||
John West (Chr
12-Jul-1761) |
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Mary West (Chr
3-Feb-1763) |
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Frances West (Chr
27-Apr-1764) |
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William West (Chr
24-Nov-1765) |
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Jane West (Chr
25-Nov-1766) (Bur 14-May-1767) |
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Jane West (Chr
20-Jun-1768) |
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Hester West (Chr
20-Apr-1773) |
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Thomas West (Chr
30-Nov-1775) (Bur 26-Apr-1778) |
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William West (Chr
8-Jun-1783) (Died 28-Nov-1854) |
= |
? |
William West was born around 1783 at St Pauls, Covent Garden and was christened there on 8th June 1783, the son of John West and his wife Anne. According to the baptism records for St Pauls, Covent Garden, William was probably one of 10 children christened there between 1759 and 1783 to John and Anne West.
He started his own printing business at 13 Exeter Street early in the 19th Century and by around 1823 moved to 57 Wych Street, just off the Strand.
By 1841 he was still resident at 57 Wych Street. He lived alone with one domestic servant, Sarah Stokes. By this time William West had stopped creating new works and was effectively living off the proceeds of his earlier works. Sarah Stokes, his domestic servant, appears to have caught the bug of the Toy Theatre as she is credited with two works of her own, “The Olympic Revels” in 1831 and “Ivanhoe” in 1832. These works were created at a time when William West was believed to have too ill to work himself and he did not produce any more new plays after these were published.
Census Extract 1841
HO107-741-2 Folio 13 - Page 2a
Name |
Age
|
Occupation |
Born in County |
William West |
55 |
Printer |
Yes |
Sarah Stokes |
45 |
Domestic Servant |
No |
In 1851 he still
resided at 57 Wych Street, although his housekeeper
does not appear. She died in 1844 according to Speaight.
Census Extract 1851
HO107-1511 Folio 246/247 - Page ?
Name |
Relation
to Head of Household
|
Condition
|
Age
|
Occupation |
Where Born |
William West |
Head |
Widower |
68 |
Book and Print Seller |
Middlesex, St Paul, Covent Garden |
The 1851 Census
Return shows that William West was a widower.
As there was no wife living with him in 1841 I suspect she died sometime
before the 1841 Census was taken on 30th June 1841.
According to Speaight, William West died on 28th November
1854.
Parish Record (Page 3-Entry No.18) |
|||||
Type |
Church |
Name |
Address |
Date |
Age |
Burial |
St James the Less, Bethnal Green |
William West |
Wych Street, Drury Lane |
3rd December 1854 |
73 |