George Hornett, probably in the 1890s
George was the 7th child of Charles and Elizabeth, being born on 24th November 1844 at 25 Houghton Street, Strand. He appeared in the 1851 census as a 6 year old, living with his family in Wych Street, and in 1861 as a 16 year old in Drury Lane, employed as an errand boy.
In November 1867, George married a young woman from Newcastle, Jane Ann Earsdon, who was probably no more than 18 at the time. She had been baptised in Newcastle in June 1849, her father apparently being a butler and then a publican; the family was recorded at the 'Blue Bell' in Jesmond Vale' in 1861, Jane's father being the landlord. When she married George, Jane was living in Kentish Town, London, and that is where they married; it seems probable that Jane had a relative living in the vicinity, a few doors along from where she was staying. By the time of the 1871 census, when George and Jane were living at 16 Wych Street, they already had 2 children, Charles and John, though the next did not arrive until 1875.
At some point between 1871 and 1875 George and Jane, with their 2 children, emigrated to the United States. In 1880, they were living in Lincoln Street, Gloversville, in New York State, and they had 2 new children, Alfred and Anna. Anna died in 1886 while Charles and John both married in 1893, quite possibly with the attendance of their cousin from England, William Charles Hornett, son of George's older brother William. There were 4 more children born between 1880 and 1900, though 2 of these died in infancy, William born in 1887 and Richard in 1890. The other 2, Janet and George, were recorded living with their widowed father in 1900, along with their older brother, Alfred. They were still in Gloversville, living in Willow Street, but Jane had died in 1896, probably aged 47 though the Gloversville records state 46.
By 1910, George was living alone at 35 Wilson Street, Gloversville, (there may be some confusion between Willow Street and Wilson Street), and was working as a painter doing 'odd jobs'. There is evidence that George visited his family in England in 1910, as he seems to appear in a passenger list of the 'Adriatic' sailing from Southampton on 5th October 1910 and apparently arriving in the US on 13th. There is, however, no information relating to an arrival in the UK or to an address or next of kin in that country.
George had clearly worked as a painter and decorator for many years and was recorded as such in the Gloversville Directory during a prolonged period. In 1920, he was living in East Fulton Street, the record stating that he'd entered the US in 1870 and been naturalized in 1875; neither of these dates seem likely and it must be more probable that the events referred to were somewhat later. George was then a widower and was a lodger along with a significant number of other people in the same house, and was still described as being a decorator. He died of heart disease only a few months later, on 7th November 1920, and was buried in the Prospect Hill Cemetery in Gloversville, where his wife and pre-deceased children also lay, on 10th.
An oddity of the 1920 census entry for George is that is states that his father was of French origin, this being the only record of any sort that makes such an assertion. There have been other suggestions from family members to the effect that there is French ancestry somewhere in the Hornett line but where and when remain a mystery. The registration of George's death, by his son Charles, states that George's father was born in England, adding to the confusion.
Of George's 5 surviving children, the 4 sons married while his daughter Janet (also known as Jennie) remained in Gloversville and died there in 1959, aged 78. Details about the 4 sons will be added later.