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William Carter profile

William Carter

Born: 3/29/1841Died: 10/31/1865Your Relationship: Great-Great-Great-Aunt/Uncle

Biography & Notes

William was born on 30th March 1841 in Leyton, christened in the parish church of St Mary the Virgin on 25 April 1841 and captured on the 6 June 1841 census living with his parents at St John's Place, Battersea. In the 1851 census taken on 30 March, he is living at 9 Marlborough Terrace, Battersea with his parents and 2 other siblings, Robert Boileau Carter and Hannah Elizabeth Carter. The 7th of April 1861 was a Sunday and the census form was filled out. It would be the last time William would be mentioned on a census. By now William had spent some years learning his trade of carpentry. In 1861 he was living at 1 Mendip Road, Battersea. At some time between 1861 and 1865 he moved to 25 Union Street, Battersea. On the afternoon of 31 Oct 1865, at around 2.15pm, Gasometer No 1, the London Gaslight Company's major facility in Nine Elms Lane, which contained a million cubic litres of gas, started to leak. Several workers at the site, including William, bravely attempted to stem the leak but despite their attempts, the facility exploded killing at least 11 people, destroying and damaging houses within a mile radius and even affecting the boat ferries on the Thames. William was only 24. The coroner declared that he had suffocated from the amount of material that fell upon him

Timeline Events

1841 - BirthSt John's Place, Battersea, Surrey

1841 - BaptismSt Mary the Virgin Church, High St, Leyton, Essex

1841 - CensusSt John's Place, Battersea, Surrey

1851 - Census9 Marlborough Terrace, Battersea, Surrey

1861 - Census1 Mendip Road, Battersea, Surrey

William is a Carpenter

1865 - Residence25 Union St, Battersea, Surrey

William's last address

1865 - DeathLondon Gaslight Company, Nine Elms Lane, Nine Elms, Surrey

At 14:15 hrs, the Gasometer No 1 at the Nine Elms site of the London Gaslight Company exploded, killing several people instantly, one of which was William Carter, a carpenter at the site. William was suffocated by a large quantity of building materials falling on him at the site. In the evidence he gave to the inquest, the surgeon Mr Kempston of Oak House, Battersea, said that he went to see the bodies at the London Gas Works. There were seven in their coffins, each with a numbered label attached. He assisted in "extricating three other persons, numbered 5, 6 and 7." No 6 was O'Donnell who was "perfectly dead. The body was compressed by bricks and mortar upon him, and he evidently died from suffocation". I quote this to show that the circumstances would probably have been the same for William Thomas Carter who was also described as having suffocated. Earlier in the inquiry it was suggested those that died had bravely attempted to stop the leak The report in the Morning Advertiser mentions those that identified the bodies: William Carter, a timekeeper at a wharf at 25 Union Road, York Road, Battersea, identified body no. 2 as that of his son William Carter, who was a carpenter and would have been 24 had he lived to his next birthday

Immediate Family

SpouseNone Recorded
Children (0)No recorded children

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