London
 

Ancestors of present day CROTON families have lived in London for centuries. Numerous others have worked there for periods of time, and no doubt most from the mid-twentieth century onwards will have visited. This is not surprising since for a long time it was the largest city in the world and the centre for English speaking peoples. As a great international commercial, industrial and artistic centre, there were those from our family, like Dick Whittington, went there to seek their fortune or simply in search of a better life. Some of these individuals and families will be detailed as the site develops.

Newspaper reports from 1809 describe the bankruptcy of Joseph Croton, a liner draper of Drury Lane. The Morning Post of June 1814 contains an advertisement from Mr Croton, a cheesemonger of 17 Camden Place, Camden Town. In January 1829, James Croton of Homerton, a warehouse-keeper for the East India goods in the service of the Customs for the Port of London, is described as an insolvent debtor.   

My own great great grandfather, John Croton was recorded in the 1871 Census as living at 4 Medway Street, Westminster and working as a coachman at the Wesleyan Training College on Horseferry Road. In 1881 he was still in London, now at 6 Mendora Road, Fulham, when he was recorded as a carman. He later left to live and work in Oxford. Don Croton’s father, also John, was born in Fulham, London from where, after fighting in France in WW1, he eventually made his way to the U.S.A., where he married and Don was born.

In the one hundred years after national registrations began in 1837 there were 110 CROTON births recorded in 25 districts of London, predominantly Hendon (11), Chelsea (11), Fulham (13) and Bethnal Green (16). A total of 59 marriages took place in 23 districts, the most popular locations being Hendon (7), Fulham (7) and Bethnal Green (7). 78 deaths were recorded in 27 different places. They occurred most frequently in Paddington (5), Islington (5), Chelsea (7), Fulham (7) and Bethnal Green (13).