Charles Albert Hobbs
Headstone GPS Coordinates: Burial Location Unknown
Birth: 06 Jan 1857, Enfield, Middlesex, England
Death: 05 Sep 1931, Bremerton, Kitsap County, Washington
Relatives in Seabeck Cemetery: Cecilia Mary Hobbs, Elizabeth Margaret Hobbs,
Edward Hobbs
American Revolutionary War Patriots*: None
Charles Albert Hobbs was born on January 6, 1857, in Enfield, Middlesex, England, to William Thomas Hobbs, a tailor, and Jane Hobbs (née unknown), originally of Marylebone, London. He was baptized at St. Andrew’s Church in Enfield on February 28, 1858.
According to the 1861 England census, Charles was living in Enfield with his parents and three siblings—Edward, Eleanor, and Matilda—as well as his paternal grandmother, Hannah Hobbs. Charles was the third of at least six children. By the time of the 1871 census, the family had expanded to include two additional children, Annie and William. Hannah Hobbs remained part of the household, and the family continued to reside in Enfield.
In 1881, at the age of twenty-four, Charles was employed as a journeyman carpenter and was still living with his parents and younger siblings. On August 6, 1882, he married Eliza Morris at Holy Trinity Church in Tottenham. This was the first marriage for both parties. Charles was described in the marriage record as a “joiner,” a skilled tradesman specializing in the construction of wooden components such as doors, windows, and staircases. Eliza’s father, William Morris, was already deceased at the time of the marriage. Witnesses included Charles’s father, William Thomas Hobbs, and J. E. Hobbs, likely his mother, Jane.
Shortly after their marriage, tragedy struck. Eliza died in the Edmonton registration district between April and June of 1883, at only twenty-one years of age. Before her death, the couple had a son, Charles Albert Hobbs Jr. Charles Jr. later reported his birthdate as April 23, 1881, suggesting he may have been born prior to his parents’ marriage or that the reported date was inaccurate.
By 1886, Charles appeared in the London Overseer Returns, residing on Baker Street in Enfield, where he rented two unfurnished rooms from his father. On September 11, 1890, Charles married for a second time. His bride was Elizabeth Margaret Allison, née Fulcher, a widow and the daughter of James Fulcher, a deceased master mariner. Elizabeth was born on January 13, 1851, making her four years older than Charles.
The 1891 census shows Charles, Elizabeth, and Charles Jr. still living in Enfield. In 1892, Charles and Elizabeth welcomed a son of their own, whom they named Edward. Soon after Edward’s birth, the family emigrated to the United States, settling in Washington Territory. Charles’s siblings, William and Annie, had already emigrated around 1888 and were living in Washington. Charles declared his intention to become a U.S. citizen, completing the naturalization process in 1900.
Charles’s brother William was likely living in Seattle when Charles and his family arrived. In 1897, William married Mary, and the couple later settled in Seabeck. Their first child, Cecilia Mary Hobbs, was born on November 14, 1899. Sadly, Cecilia died just eleven days later, on November 25, from “convulsions,” and was buried in Seabeck Cemetery in an unknown location.
In 1903, Charles was granted 127 acres of land in Kitsap County. By the 1910 census, Charles and Elizabeth were farming in Seabeck, living on Stavis Bay Road. Their eighteen-year-old son Edward was employed at a nearby logging camp, likely connected to the Port Gamble Mill.
Later that year, the family suffered another devastating loss. On October 21, 1910, Edward Hobbs died from acute anterior poliomyelitis (polio). His death certificate does not list parental information, suggesting that he may have died away from home—possibly at or near the Port Gamble Mill, where he may have been taken for medical treatment. Edward was buried in Seabeck Cemetery.
Charles and Elizabeth continued to live in Seabeck, operating a poultry farm. During the 1920s, they sold off portions of their land. Elizabeth Hobbs died in Bremerton on January 29, 1927, at the age of seventy-six, following surgery for breast cancer. She was cremated, and her remains were likely placed near those of her son and niece in Seabeck Cemetery. A probate case followed in September 1928 in Kitsap County, in which Charles successfully petitioned to be appointed administrator of Elizabeth’s estate. The land they had held jointly was assigned to him as his homestead exemption, likely avoiding property or estate taxes.
Charles remained on his farm in Seabeck until his death on September 5, 1931, at Olympic Hospital in Bremerton. He was seventy-four years old, and the cause of death was chronic myocarditis. His son, Charles Jr., then living in Everett, served as the informant on the death certificate. Charles’s remains were likely buried in Seabeck Cemetery alongside other members of his family, though the exact burial locations remain unknown.