Thomas Kyte was born on 1st January 1823 in Smalley, Derbyshire, the son of Thomas and Sarah Kyte. He was baptised on 22nd August 1830 at St John the Baptist’s Church, Smalley.
On 11th October 1847, Thomas married Jane Woolley at St Matthew’s Church, Morley. Their marriage was witnessed by Thomas’ brother John and his sister Jane.
Jane Woolley, the daughter of Thomas and Mary Woolley, was born in Smalley in 1826. Before her marriage she worked as a servant, but became a dressmaker by 1851.
Thomas and Jane had twelve children, all of whom were baptised at St John the Baptist’s Church in Smalley, on the following dates:
- William, 2nd December 1849
Charles Henry, 2nd December 1849
Thomas, 17th November 1850
Walter, 25th April 1852
Sarah, 25th December 1853
Octavia Jane, 29th April 1855
Mary Jane, 6th September 1857
Robert, 31st October 1858
Catherine, 15th July 1860
Elizabeth, 15th June 1862
Annie, 31st March 1864
John, 2nd December 1866
Thomas Kyte worked as a joiner from the 1840’s to the 1860’s, and the family lived at Smalley. On the 1871 census, he was described as a ‘carpenter occupying 16 acres of land’, with an address on the Derby-Mansfield Road, Smalley. Also listed as being at the house was his widowed father.
Thomas died in 1887. He was likely buried in the churchyard of St John the Baptist’s Church, Smalley, although due to the negligence of Reverend William Bradshaw, few burials were recorded in the parish register between 1881 and 1890.
Jane continued to live in the village. In 1891 she was living at Derby Road and described herself as a ‘retired laundress’. Also at the house was her married daughter Annie and her family, including two grandchildren. Annie died in 1900 at the age of 36, and in 1901 Jane was still at Derby Road with her widowed son-in-law.
Between 1901 and 1911, Jane moved to Yew Tree Farm, Upper Hartshay, Ripley, the home of her married daughter Octavia Jane and her family, where she continued to live until her death in 1913, aged 87.
Thomas and Jane Kyte were my great-great-great-grandparents.