Willie Waterlow Was Not Posh

Willie Waterlow was an English-born man who travelled to India and married Jane Maria Marshall who came from an Anglo-Asian family.

Early life in London

Charles Booth's 1888 Poverty Map of London (Black 'Lowest class. Vicious, semi-criminal.' Dark blue 'Very poor, casual. Chronic want.' Light blue 'Poor.'
Charles Booth's 1888 Poverty Map of London (Black 'Lowest class. Vicious, semi-criminal.' Dark blue 'Very poor, casual. Chronic want.' Light blue 'Poor.'

Charles Booth's Poverty Map of London shows the scale of poverty in East London around 40 years after Willie lived there. Black 'Lowest class. Vicious, semi-criminal.' Dark blue 'Very poor, casual. Chronic want.' Light blue 'Poor.' Willie lived around the "CHRIST CHURCH Spitalfields" area. His father lived just north of "ST SIMON Zelotes".

Willie Waterlow c.1870 around the time of his marriage to Jane Maria Marshall. Notice that the photo was at some point "enhanced" by drawing directly onto the photo:

Willie Waterlow c.1870 around the time of his marriage to Jane Maria Marshall
Willie Waterlow c.1870 around the time of his marriage to Jane Maria Marshall

Life in India

Willie Waterlow c.1890. Although this photo was identified as "Willie Waterlow" (I think by the grandmother of Rob Bellamy, Janet Dobson nee Waterlow) there has been some discussion if this is the same man as in the photo above (who we know for certain was Willie Waterlow). Even though the older photo shows a clearly slimmer man, the features are clearly the same - one eye a little larger than the other, the ear lobs, the light eye colour with a strong line at the edge of the iris, the balding hairline. It seems safe to assume that this photo was correctly identified as Willie Waterlow.

Willie Waterlow c.1890
Willie Waterlow c.1890

Why the name changes?

I think that Willie's official name was "Thomas". So he used "Thomas" on official records, especially those records within the first years after his arrival in India. His father's name was also Thomas so it is not unusual for a son named after his father to have a nickname. Perhaps "Willie" was his childhood nickname.

Why did he leave London?

Silk-weavers were desperately poor in the mid-1800s. In the East London Observer from 1881 there is an short article about Philip Waterlow (a very distant relative but also a silk weaver in the Bethnal Green area of east London).

Mr. John Humphreys held a second inquest at the Two Brewers' public-house, Spital-street, Bethnal-green, on view of the body of Philip Waterlow, aged 55 years. Ann Waterlow, of No. 18, Carter-street, said the deceased was her husband, who was a weaver. He had been out of work for several months, and they had been starving for want of the common necessaries of life. They had had trifling relief from the parish, and on Wednesday last she went out at six o'clock in the evening to sell a looking-glass to make a little money, and when she returned, about ten o'clock, she found the deceased suspended by a cord which had been fastened to a hook in the ceiling. She ran out screaming, and called for aid, when one of the lodgers cut the deceased down. Dr. Edmunds, of Spital-square, was called, and promptly attended, but the vital spark had fled. The deceased had threatened to destroy himself on account of his misfortunes, and the rope was used in his business. He had been strange in his manner for three days, and would open the windows and close them again grequently. His brother had commited suicide about four years' since. After further evidence, The Jury returned a verdict of "Temporary Insanity, brought on through want and starvation."

Was "Willie Theodore Waterlow only son of the late Captain Waterlow RN" as reported in the Times Of India newspaper in 1901?

He was the only son. His father died in 1874 so he was "late". Willie's father Thomas was a very poor silk weaver and certainly not a captain in the RN (Royal Navy).

What is the link to Sir Sydney Waterlow, the Lord Mayor of London 1872-73?

Distant. The connecting person is Walran Waterlo(w) - born in Canterbury 31 Aug 1634 and died in Spitalfields Sep 1712. Walran (http://www.thepeerage.com/p40895.htm#i408949) is the 4x great grandfather of Willie and the 3x great grandfather of Sir Sydney Waterlow (b. 1 Nov 1822, d. 3 Aug 1906), making Willie and Sir Sydney third-cousins-once-removed (i.e. distant). Walran Waterlo has been traced back to Walleran Waterlo (b 1590) from Lille, France. From Wikipedia: "Huguenot Weavers were French silk weavers of the Calvinist faith. They came major silk-weaving cities in southern France, such as Lyon and Tours. They fled from religious persecution, migrating from mainland Europe to Britain around the time of Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, 1685."

What is the link to Scotland?

Willie's son Frederick Cuthbert Alfred Waterlow noted "Forres" as his "town of origin". Frederick's 1914 "Colloquial Hindustani" examination (for the EIR) shows his parents as "Scotch" (father) and "English" (mother). Maybe, possibly, but unlikely, the link comes from Sir Ernest Albert Waterlow, an English painter and distant relative, who spent time in that area of Scotland. This Scotland link is a mystery to me. I even paid a professional researcher for that part of Scotland to search records for me and he did not find anything in the area relating to "Waterlow".

Why was he not "posh"?

The word "posh" supposedly comes from POSH - Port Outward, Starboard Home - on the shaded and hence more expensive side of the passenger boat. So it refers to people with enough money to afford the more expensive tickets. From Snopes https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/posh/ "a charming yet false backstory about the word’s having sprung to life as an acronym for 'Port out, starboard home'".

Are his descendents part Indian?

Absolutely, 100% yes. Willie married Jane Maria Marshall who was around one quarter/eighth Indian. Jane's great grandparents were Jacob Johnstone and "Lucky" (probably Lakshima). It is difficult to confirm the connection but this Johnstone family has most likely originated from the harem of John Johnstone (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Johnstone_(East_India_Company)).

Jane Marshall c.1870 around the time of her marriage to Willie Waterlow
Jane Marshall c.1870 around the time of her marriage to Willie Waterlow

What was Willie's life like in India?

Willie was an engine driver with the East Indian Railway (EIR). He moved stations sevral times around north-east India. He remained employed throughout his entire time in India and he was accepted into Freemason lodges, so it is reasonable to assume that he was financially secure.

On the map you can see some of the locations from Willie's timeline:

Imperial Gazetteer Atlas of India - General Map of Railways 1909
Imperial Gazetteer Atlas of India - General Map of Railways 1909