Edmonds | familydixon

The Edmonds & Abrams Families

Once upon a time there was a very poor family living in a beautiful little town nestled against the banks of the river Thames. Great Marlow is a beautiful place and this is where we find our first Edmonds.

But from here the story gets really interesting. We find the Edmonds, on the whole are hard working, hard living people, at the lower socio-economic end of the social scale, doing it really tough until the mid 1950s. They stayed mostly in north London. But one branch found its way to California! And that's a really interesting story. Only discovered this 28 Aug 2018. More info to come from our cousins across the pond.

Generation 1 Henry and Sarah Edmunds

The patriarch of this family is Henry Edmunds (or Edmons) b abt 1770. He was probably an agricultural labourer working on the farms that surrounded Great Marlow. He married a girl called Sarah Harding. The family probably lived there for generations. Children:

Samuel Edmonds christened 30 Mar 1817

A row of houses in Dean Street where the Edmonds family lived for generations

Generation 2 Samuel Edmonds 1816 - 1894

Samuel was born and lived his whole life in Great Marlow, Buckinghamshire. He was born in 1816. For the remainder of his life he worked as a road labourer. He married Charlotte Crew (daughter of Henry and Sarah Crew) baptised 9 Mar 1817 in Great Marlow, married 31 Jul 1836. They lived in and around Great Marlow. In 1841 we find the family of Samuel, Charlotte and their first two children Sarah and Henry are living in Dean Street with the family of Edward Archery aged 40, his wife Ann also aged 40, their three children aged 10, 9 and 6. Also in the house is Anne Wayman aged about 70. Phew! - and these were small houses.

Quote from Great Marlow Ancestors: "Poverty unfortunately was endemic to Dean Street and there can be no escape from the conclusion that for many, life was wretched. Reports expose wife-beating (and the occasional husband-beater), fist fights between families, an old man freezing to death and a family failing to bury their dead children amongst other sad things."

Dean Street is Marlow’s main street. There is an interesting web page about Marlow, and Dean Street in \

There are no buildings left on Dean Street that date back to this period. Dean Street was once known as the City, because of the three inns there, named the Royal Exchange, The Mint and the Bank of England. The latter is the only one remaining today, but the original inn has now been demolished to make way for more modern premises.

Living with Samuel and Charlotte is their daughter Sarah, and although aged only 13 was already working as a satin stitch maker. Also Charles aged 2 and George just 2 months old. Next door lived a skewer maker. Marlow was famous for its fine needlework as well as for its lace, and part of the trousseau for Queen Victoria's eldest daughter was made here.

Charlotte died in the winter of 1862. Samuel died in April 1894 aged 77. Their children lived for a time in Marlow, but within a few years they will all have left and moved to the metropolis of London. They left the beauty of the English countryside and clean air for better wages and the smog of London. Children:

Sarah Edmonds baptised 4 Mar 1838. In 1851 aged 13 she was also working at the Station Hotel. She married Henry Bluett and in 1871 she, her husband and her father in law (William Bluett) were all living with Samuel. Henry Bluett was a general labourer in 1881 and a parish road worker in 1891. Sarah died in the autumn of 1895 aged 57. Sarah and Henry Bluett had:
- Charlotte Blewett bc 1857
- Sara Blewett bc 1868,
- Jane Blewett bc 1871. In the 1891 census she is a paper finisher in a paper mill
- Henry Bluett bc 1884 is a painter apprentice in 1891

More info is available at a couple of ancestry.com members tree pages

Henry Edmonds bc 1840 Great Marlow
Charles Edmonds bc 1849 Great Marlow - see Generation 3
George Oliver Edmonds bc 1851 Great Marlow. In 1871 he was a bricklayer still living at home. In the 1891 census he is living right next door to his dad (and his sister Sarah Bluett). He married Mary Ann (bc 1851). The children were:
- Emily Ellen Edmonds 1877-1932 married William Thomas Margrove 1851-1920. They had Queenie Alexandra Margrove b 1902 Rochford d 1980 Southend. She married William A Baldock
- George Oliver Edmonds b 1879 md Ada and became a lockman then a postman in Marlow. By 1911 he had two children – George Lionel Edmonds (1901) & Frank Stanley Edmonds (1903)
- Arthur S Edmonds b 1881 became a housepainter in 1911. Md Caroline and had Florence Edmonds, Arthur Edmonds and Frank Edmonds. Lived in Victoria Road, Marlow
- Mary S Edmonds b 1881
- Harry Edmonds b 1885 md May Sophia and in 1911 he is a carpenter living in York Road, Marlow. He has 2 children - Doris May Edmonds 4 and Stanley Joseph Edmonds
- Joseph Edmonds 1887-1905
- Annie Edmonds b 1890
- Kate Edmonds b 1892
- Ada Louise Edmonds b 1895
Sidney Edmonds bc 1854 Great Marlow - in 1871 he was a tailor living at home. He died in April 1915 in Maidenhead
Emily Edmonds bc 1856 Great Marlow and married Elijah Russell (1844-1902)

Generation 3 Charles Edmonds 1849 -1903

We have seen that Charles grew up in the family home, born circa 1849 in Great Marlow. But we also know that unlike brother George, he trained to be a bootmaker and left home and we find him in the 1881 census living at 110 Clarendon Street, Paddington.

On the 10 Aug 1874 he married Mary Ann (Annie) Stepney. Annie, bap 2 Feb 1851 at St Marylebone was the daughter of Walter and Elizabeth Stepney, of 20 Grove Street. Note that Annie was baptised at the same time as her brother William Stepney. Walter was a servant in 1851 and a bottle dealer 1883.

In 1883 the Edmonds lived at 142 Kilburn Park Road, Paddington, but they moved to 4 Chippenham Mews. I can't find the family in 1891.

They were still there in 1901 and William Stepney, (brother in law 51, a widower, greengrocer warehouseman in Camden) was living with them. Charles is missing from the 1871 census. He died in 1903 aged 57. Annie died Dec 1919 aged 61 in Paddington. The children include:

Emily Edmonds bc 1878 Paddington
Edith Sarah Edmonds bc 1879; married 1 Aug 1904 to William ‘Bill’ Faulkner Abram (1876-1948), a farrier and warehouseman (father, commercial traveller).

Edith and Bill moved to Croydon and had issue:

Winifred Florence Edith Abram 1905-1983 Gosport. Married Charles Robert Eade b 1902 in Kent
Lilian ‘Lily’ Alice Abram b 7 Apr 1907 Harlesden married George William Waddell b about 17 Dep 1904. They were married in the spring of 1929 in Croydon. George was an electrician and at the time of their marriage Lily lived at 23 Malcolm Road, Woodside and George at 51 Brough Hill, Croydon. In 1939 they lived at 22 Manor Road, Beckenham, Kent
Florence Gwendoline Abram b 1908 Harlesden d 1962 Croydon married Frederick Unwin 1907 – 1987. They were married in 1932
William George Abram 1909-1910.
Annie Maud Mary Abram b 1910 Woodside Croydon d 2015

Charlotte Edmonds bc 1882 Paddington
Charles Adolphus Edmonds was baptised 21 Dec 1883 at 92 Clarendon Street, Marylebone - See Generation 4 Charles Adolphus Edmonds
Alice Maud Edmonds b 28 Nov 1885 at 92 Clarendon Street, Paddington bap 23 May 1888 St Augustine Paddington. The parents registered the birth 14 Jan 1886. Our line descends through Alice Maud, who had a colourful history. See Generation 4 Alice Maud Edmonds.
Florence Lilian (Florrie) Edmonds born 4 January 1888, bap 23 May 1888 St Augustine Paddington. A family member, Jo Fitzgerald in the USA told me that she thinks Florrie married and then may have divorced Leonard Henry Wright. Jo suggested that Leonard and Florrie may never have formally divorced - working class people often didn't due to the expense and need to prove infidelity. He died in 1956. Jo also told me that Leonard was living with his sister, Marion Gouriet at 20 Jersey Avenue, which is right off Kenton Lane. Was there a hospital nearby? Marion has a lovely story - fell in love with her mother's cousin and ran away to marry him in Dublin where the legal age to marry without consent was 18. He was in the Army and when they returned to England, they lived in Gravesend where he worked at the Fort. When he died, she moved up to Stanmore and stayed in Jersey Avenue until her death in St Andrews hospital, Dollis Hill. Her daughter, Winifred, lived around the corner in Larkfield Avenue with her husband, Claude.
William Henry Edmonds b 5 Sep 1889 Paddington. Bill is also fascinating and needs his own section so see Generation 4 William Henry Edmonds

Generation 4.1 Charles Adolphus Edmonds

Charles Adolphus Edmonds, son of Charles Edmonds and Annie Stepney is an absolutely fascinating man, and we are beginning to find more about him because I have managed to contact various descendants from him and his wives and his wive's husbands. Is it complicated? It certainly is.

Charles Adolphus was baptised 21 Dec 1883 at 92 Clarendon Street, Marylebone. My thanks to Tina for supplying a copy of this certificate.

He married firstly to Emily Josephine Hall b 1880 (her father was William Joseph Hall, a plumber) at St Peter's Church, Paddington 28 Mar 1910. By 1911 they were living at 6 Mozart Street Paddington and Charles was a shop assistant to a cheese monger. He then became a dairy foreman but was naughty with a milkmaid called Alice Charman. In 1931 Emily sued for divorce. They had a daughter:

Evelyn Anna Edmonds 28 Oct 1911. Evelyn married a Frederick A Tubbs in Paddington in 1936. Frederick was b 11 Jun 1909 and was empolyed as the assistant to the secretary of the Royal College of Physicians.In 1939 we find that she Evelyn is doing unpaid domestic duties and Frederick has also been appointed ARB Warden of the Abbey Division, Westminster. Arthur Tubbs was a gilder - furniture and decorator. They lived at 106 Droop Street, Paddington. Emily, Evelyn’s mother moved in with them after her divorce. They were at 42 Goldney Road, Paddington (1933), 56 Warlock Road (1935), 100 Salisbury Rd (1948-61. Evelyn and Frederick are on the Willesden electoral roll at 51 Fernhead Road, Paddington (1938); 100b Salisbury Rd (1948-1962)

In 1931 Charles committed adultery with a milk maid. This led to a divorce from Emily. Charles married the errant milkmaid in 1932 in Fulham, Alice Elizabeth Charman (1910 - 2000), Alice was the daughter of Thomas Charles Charman (1881 - 1936) of Shoreditch, at times a carman and/or labourer (he served in WW1) and Emily Louise Robinson (30 Sep 1899 - 1929).

Leeds Mercury - Thursday 15 October 1931

The photograph shows Emily Charman, Alice’s mother.

Stephen Frayer (a relative) knew Alice much later in her life and he states that “With regard to Emma Louisa Robinson it is my understanding she walked out on her husband and children when Alice was a young girl. Alice did not know why and never had any contact with her mother again but before her death she asked my father if we could find anything about her mother and what happened to her. All we found was a death certificate with the correct name and about the right age listed in Harrow in December 1969, we have not obtained the certificate.” Emily Louisa Charman died in October 1969 in Harrow.

Charles and Alice lived at 6 High Street, Willesden (1934, 1935), 40 South Road, Hendon, Stable Lodge, Express dairy, Hendon 1939. We find the family at 20 De Beauvoir Road, Hackney in 1938, sharing the house with three other families. The road is still there but the houses are long gone.

Charles died - and was buried 26 Jul 1944 aged 61 in at Harrow Weald Cemetery. Details: Harrow Weald Cemetery grave no D177 8'6" deep).

Charles and Alice had five boys. We know this because we find them living at 63 Wyndhurst Road Birmingham in 1945 and 2 of them are buried in the same plot as their father at Harrow Weald Cemetery - D177:

Alexander John Edmonds b 6 Mar 1930 buried 24 May 1948 in 1948 in Harrow. Issue:
- Charles Beaumont Geoffrey Edmonds b 7 Feb 1933 d 2011. Charles married Marjorie Agnes Green in 1956 in Southwark. She was b 1933 in Marylebone (mum's maiden name was Fryer). They migrated to the US and became citizens on 25 Aug 1972. But they divorced (date unknown). I believe she remarried to a Mr Cliff. Marjorie died in San Bernadine in 2011.

Photo below from Melanie Zepeda’s facebook page showing her mum Marjorie Edmonds

Charles and Marjorie had two daughters:

Lorraine Edmonds who married Alex Montoya (dec). Lorraine and Lawrence have
- Heather Montaya who married Dennis Mullenix and they have a daughter,
  - Harper Mullenix
Melanie Edmonds married Martin Zepeda (div) and have children:
- Alyssa Zepeda. Alyssa is not married
- Kihani Zepeda. Kihani is married to Brandon and has a daughter
  - Noema
- Lauren Zepeda. Lauren is married to Sam and has a son,
  - Easton
- Sarah Zepeda. Sarah has a daughter,
  - Dylan

Charles and Alice's second child was

Douglas James Edmonds. Doug was married to Celia S Billing ‘Pips’ in 1958 in Harrow and had two sons:
- Roland Edmonds. Roland, b 1951-53 in Hemel Hempstead, married Jane L Oliver in 1976 in Dacorum, Herts.
- Colin Edmonds
Robert Bruce Edmonds b 6 Jan 1939 married Thelma J Hobdell in 1962 in Harrow and has a daughter Tina Edmonds who is giving us all this info. They live in Santa Barbara in California. They had:
- Tina Edmonds. Tina married Rick Probst
Edward Glynn Edmonds b Dec 1939 Hendon. He married Joan S Batstone in Brent in 1965 and moved to Santa Barbara, California. He died in 1991 in Santa Barbara. They have two sons
- Martin Edmonds
- David Edmonds

Charles was an Air Raid Warden during WW2 and he died on 25 Jul 1944 at the Allotments in Dennis Lane Stanmore and was buried 26 Jul 1944 aged 61 at Harrow Weald Cemetery. Details: Harrow Weald Cemetery grave no D177 8'6" deep). Thanks to Tina for the death certificate below. He died of chronic interstitial myocarditis which is a long term inflammation of the heart muscle. The certificate below was filled out to enable Alice to claim a war widow's pension.

After recovering from her husband's death, Alice threw herself back into life by marrying Edward William (Ted) Fayer in 1965 in St James church, Bushey. Ted had been married to Ethel May Rayment, but after Ethel died in 1964, Ted met Alice and they became friends. Ethel had a son with Edward Fayer – but I don’t know his name.

Unknown male Fayer had a child:
- Stephen Fayer. The Fayers came from St Albans. Stephen wrote this (29 Aug 18) "Alice and three of her sons, Charles, Robert and Edward, were already living in California by this time, I am not sure when they emigrated but were well established by 1965. I believe Alice and Ted knew each other and when my grandmother died in 1964 they exchanged several letters then married and retired to California. I visited them with my parents in 1971 and 1974 and met all the family there and they came back to the UK on at least one occasion in the 1970s. Ted died in 1982"

Stephen also described that he was born in his grandfather Edward William Fayer's house in Rudolph Road, Bushey and his parents still live in Glencoe Road. He (Steven) joined the RAF soon after school and met his wife in Suffolk while he was stationed at Wattisham. On leaving the RAF they lived near Ipswich for several years until he got a job that required a move to the Midlands and they moved to the edge of the Northamptonshire, Warwickshire and Leicestershire borders and have lived there for about 30 years.

I've also just made contact with Tina Probst who lived in Palm Springs, USA. Alice Charman was her grandmother. She said "Charles Adolphus is my dad's father but he died when my dad was around five I think. He (my dad) has no memory of him. My dad is one of five brothers. John, Charles, Douglas, Robert and Edward. I know for sure that Charles Adolphus is the father of Charles through Edward. Not sure about John, though he is on John's death certificate as his father. John died at 18. I also know where Charles Adolphus is buried, have been there. He's buried with two of his sons. John and Doug. Alice moved to California because two of her sons and their families moved here. My dad and mum, came after. I was born here."

After Ted died in Alice married again in 1990 to Robert W Bower (1906 - d 10 Feb 2000 El Cajon, San Diego). Steve Fayer was at the wedding. Alice died 21 Nov 2000 at La Mesa in California

So to recap, because I’m sure you are confused by now about Alice. Alice Charman – married first to Charles Edmonds and secondly to Edward Fayer and finally to Robert Bower. And thus from this branch alone we have Edmonds in the UK and the USA. She flitted back and forth from the USA to England and sounds like a right character. And below we find that she died in Kentucky – surely that’s some way from California where she was buried? Pity we have no pictures.

Generation 5.2 William Henry Edmonds

William Henry Edmonds, known as Bill, became a butcher and in 1901 was living with his two sisters Alice and Flo. Bill married Marie Copplestone nee Stanhope. Pamela (Smith) and Christine (Smith) knew her as Great Aunt Marie. Marie was b 19 Feb and bap 3 Apr 1887 at St Augustine's church, Paddington). She had previously been married to Matthew Walton Copplestone (b 16 Jul 1883 Southampton) on 25 May 1907 at St Matthews church, Willesden, Matthew was a professional soldier, a gunner in the British Army - son of Captain Matthew Coppleton. Matthew and Marie had four children:

Lionel George Copplestone b 1911. He died 11 Jul 1983 in Brockville, Leed, Ontario, Canada.1983
Gertrude Kathleen Alice Copplestone 1913-1994, married Stanley Frank Ball (1903-66) and Arthur James Warren (1910-1990)
Stanley E Copplestone 1916-1917
Maud May Copplestone 1919-2006

Vic Edmunds (son of Alice Maud Edmonds) wrote: “During the 1950s I met Aunt Marie who was married to Bill Edmunds. Marie had two daughters by a previous marriage. One was Gert and the other Maud."

They must have divorced because we find that Marie married William Henry Edmonds in the summer of 1925 in Willesden. In the 1939 register - his occupation was a bullion refiner van attendant and they lived at 108 Roundwood Road, Willesden. After the war they lived at 34 Redmore Road and Oldfield Road, also in Willesden. I recently discovered a living relative - Shirley of Clacton-on-Sea. She tells us that Flo Rixon lived with them. As children Shirley and her siblings would visit and Flo gave them threepence each. She was a big lady.

Shirley has also supplied a photo. I don't have the names of the people in the photo below and they don't half look like East Londoners, particularly the lady in the hat.

Photo: William Edmonds and Great Aunt Marie;

Above: Nan, Grandad Bill Edmonds and Flo; Isle of Wight September 1947. Supplied by Shirley

Right: Nan, Maude & Grandad Edmonds Margate 1934; from Shirley

Shirley reported that William and Marie moved down to Jaywick in Essex to join the family. William died there, date unknown. She told me that William was a diabetic and he had a big toe removed as it had gangrene. She said that "he was once a bullion driver for Hatton Garden jewellers in London. Also I was told he was a butcher in earlier years. I do have a photo of him on a horse and cart supposedly doing his rounds."

Shirley has supplied a copy of his obituary:

Matthew (Copplestone) died 10 March 1951 in Hammersmith Hospital. Marie Stanhope died 15 Sep 1975 at 10 Park Square West, Jaywick, near Clacton on Sea. That's so sad because Pamela and I were living in Clacton at that time, but her family have never been good at keeping in touch.

Generation 5.1 Alice Maud Edmonds 1886 - 1960

We don’t know very much about Alice. Yes, she was born in 1886 in Paddington (baptised 28 Jan 1886) to Charles and Annie who worked hard in Paddington in the shoemakers trade. We see her being baptised on the same day as her sister Florrie. Family tradition says they were twins but the records don’t bear that out.

In the 1891 and 1901 census as we have seen she was living at home. But in 1911 she was house sharing with her brother William Henry who worked in a butchers shop, and her sister Florrie who worked in the shop of a boot manufacturer at 72 Fortune Gate Road, Harlesden. It’s interesting that the two other siblings were working, but Alice has no occupation.

Then came the First World War, an absolutely horrible time for that generation. We don’t know what Alice did between 1911 and the birth of her first child.

Sometime before 1918 she had moved to Willesden and taken up with Harry Smith (no marriage records exist). Harry was a master hairdresser and when we come across them they are living at 36 Victor Road, Willesden.

On 11th May 1918 she gave birth to

6.1. Victor John Smith. That’s interesting because we know that Harry and Alice did not marry, but the birth certificate says that the mother was Alice Maud Smith, formerly Edmonds. Also interesting is that Victor changed his name back to Edmonds at some stage. Victor was not born at home, he was born at Twyford Lodge, Acton Lane, Willesden. I believe Victor is named after the road where Alice and her partner were living. Twyford Lodge was the Willesden Workhouse. See the Smith Disconnection (ask editor for password)

6.2. Cyril Leslie John Smith b 14th October 1919, was born to Harry and Alice. He was born at the Municipal Hospital, Dog Lane, Willesden. See the Smith Disconnection (ask editor for password)

So Harry and Alice did not marry. No marriage or divorce records have been found. Their children were born illegitimate. The records of all the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches in the area have been checked and there is no baptism record for the boys. Cyril served in WW2 but an extensive search by the Ministry of Defence failed to find him. I believe he may also have gone under the name Edmonds – but with a U as in Edmunds, as the records show him living in Widegate Street in 1945

For more information on the Smith Family see Connections: Smith - note a password is required contact Chris.

By 1924 Harry had abandoned his family and the children were placed in St Mary’s Catholic orphanage at Heston. This is the first reference to the Roman Catholic church.

Meantime, Alice decided that she needed a new life. After the children were taken to the orphanage she moved away from Willesden and changed her middle name to Mary.

In 1927 she was living at 50 Crispin Street (also known as the Providence Row Night Refuge). It was originally a Catholic night refuge for homeless women and children and was opened in 1868. It provided accommodation for 300 women and children, and 50 men, as well as a convent for the Sisters of Mercy who ran the refuge. Annexes in Gun Street and Artillery Lane were opened as hostels for working girls. For over one hundred and forty years, Providence Row offered refuge to the poorest and most vulnerable of Londoners.

Providence Row sits on Crispin Street. Running perpendicular to Crispin street is an unnamed alley. This alley used to be Dorset Street, which was widely known as “The Worst Street in London,” and inspired Jack London to write his book People of the Abyss.

Just behind Providence Row was Miller’s Court - the site of the final Jack the Ripper murder. Miller’s Court is gone, but the Providence Row Night Refuge and Convent – a place where Mary Jane Kelly once worked and many men, women, and children stayed a night when they had nowhere else to go – still exists. Now it’s a dorm for the London School of Economics, called Lilian Knowles.

This dosshouse on the corner of Crispin Road and Raven Row still stands and the lines here were a familiar sight. It was replaced by Providence Row in Wentworth Street in the nineteenth nineties. Today it is a dormitory for the London School of Economics.

Above – now the Lilian Knowles house.. Easy to imagine it as a workhouse.

On 27th Dec 1927 Alice married Joseph Henry Turner. Joseph was a packer (retired) and lived at 21 Widegate Street (just one city block from Providence Row). They were married in the Catholic church of St Mary Moorfields. Alice and her family had all been Church of England. At the wedding the witnesses were her older sister Edith Susan Abram and Charles Henry Rixon (not sure where he ties in).

Joseph was born 18 Dec 1872 at 31 Felix Street, Lambeth but the birth was not registered until 1929 after he married Alice. This could be because the law on birth registrations was not tightened up until 1875 and so was not registered, He may have needed to apply for a birth certificate for some sort of allowance. He was baptised at All Saints Church, Lambeth 19 Sep 1873.

Joseph Turner was a tinman born in Plumstead in Kent. He moved to Lambeth, as so many country people did. He married Emma and they lived in the most appalling squalor in Lambeth and by 1881 Emma was dead and he was a widower living at 31 Felix Street. Joseph Turner was previously married to Emily Chambers. She was illiterate. They had a son

Joseph Henry Turner b 18 Dec 1872 at 31 Felix Street, Lambeth. The birth was registered 22 January 1873 and the copy I have was obtained 9 Oct 1917. Joseph Henry Turner was baptised at All Saints Church, Lambeth Sept 19th 1873.

Joseph was a freeman of the City of London – Cyril had a copy of the old parchment scroll. “JOSEPH Henry Turner of 13 Widegate Street in the City of London, packer and the freedom aforesaid and made the declaration requested by law in the Mayorality etc”

The 1911 census shows us that there was a Joseph William Turner aged 2 living at home in Southwark with his parents Joseph Turner and Alice Maud. Not sure if he is related. London Electoral registers Alice M Turner, Doris I and Walter J at 10t or 10p Peabody Estate Battersea 1945

Joseph and Alice continued to rent a flat at 21 Widegate Street. This picture, left,shows what it would have looked like and right, as it is today.

The picture below is of Widegate Street from the opposite direction. The house on the corner of White Rose Court, is considered to be the oldest shop in London, having been established in 1710! I don’t know when it closed. Here we are in the heart of the nineteenth century Jewish quarter. Widegate Street is just across the road from Liverpool Street – and with a bit of imagination you can picture it then. In fact much of London was built in this way with narrow streets.

They disappear from the records until the 1939 census.. They are living way out at a place called Briggington, on the edge of Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire. Now Alice is described as incapacitated and married to Joseph H Turner who is blind. Also in the house is a Sophia J Rascoe, b 5 Nov 1868 a retired unmarried housekeeper.

Vic told me that Alice died in hospital 9 Aug 1960 and is buried in Tooting Bec.

The Abram Connection

You will recall that Generation 3 was Charles Edmonds 1849-1903. One of Charles’ daughters was called Edith Sarah Edmonds bc 1879. She married on 1 Aug 1904 to William ‘Bill’ Faulkner Abram (1876-1948), a farrier and warehouseman. Bill was the son of Robert Stephen Abram, a commercial traveller. The Abram family were from Lancashire and can trace their family back to the mid sixteenth century.

Gen 1 James Abram 1780 - 1871

James Abram bap 9 Apr 1780 North Meols, Lancs; died 24 Jan 1871 North Meols. Over the course of his life he tried his hand at many things. He was ahead of his time as he was more like a Gen Z. In 1814 he was a weaver living in Raw Lane; by 1841 he was a fisherman and in 1851 he was a farmer of 3 acres in Snuttering Lane, North Meols (Now St Lukes Road, Southport). He married to Ellin Rhymer/Rimmer on 10 Aug 1802 at North Meols; The 1841 census lists his wife as Elizabeth bc 1780 North Meols. Children:

Peter Abram 1814,North Meols
Robert Abram b 1805 North Meols
Joseph Abram b 1821 North Meols
James Abram bc 1821 North Meols
William Abram bc 1833 North Meols

Gen 2 Robert Abram 1805-1851

Robert Abram baptised 16 June 1805 at North Meols was, in 1851, the independent minister of Tockholes chapel living in Silk Hall. The row of cottages in Silk Hall were built during the 17th century to accommodate silk weavers and the old weaving rooms are situated in the rooms at the top of the stone staircase the roof windows are still to be seen. Photo below shows the Silk Hall.

Robert married Mary Faulkan 26 Sep 1832 at North Meols – she was b Manchester. The family were living in Witton at 30 Redlam Brow. Robert died in 1861 just before the census was taken.

Children:

Helen Abram b c 1833

William Alexander Abram, born 18 Jan bap 6 Feb 1835 Southport Independent chapel (congregational) Lydiate apprenticed to be a printer. Living at home in 1861 and working as a librarian at Blackburn Free Library. In 1861 – 25 Alma Street, Blackburn. In 1881 he lived at 42 Adelaide Terrace, Blackburn and he was an author and newspaper editor. 1891 at 52 Adelaide Terrace Blackburn; married to Elizabeth (Birtwhistle?) (b Blackburn).

William was Blackburn’s first librarian and in 1875 he became editor of the Blackburn Times. He became a councillor, a member of the library committee and then its chairman; he was a great enabler of that town’s working class literacy culture. William wrote A history of Blackburn; Blackburn characters of a past generation.

You can find one of his stories at the Minor Victorian writers website entitled William Billington, operative, sceptic, and poet. In 1877 he published Parish of Blackburn, County of Lancaster: A History of Blackburn, Town and Parish”, and he rates a mention in Wikipedia. A Fleet Street in Every Town: The Provincial Press in England, 1855-1900; page 322. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackburn

William and Elizabeth had two children:

Edmund William Abram bc 1869 Blackburn (he worked for his dad at the newspaper

Gilbert S Abram bc 1875 Blackburn.

William died at 83 Alexandra Road, Blackburn in June 1894 and the probate record has Esq after his name. Effects went to wife Elizabeth and he was worth £2510-0-2d which in 2020 money was worth £296,000. Not bad. He was buried 7 May 1894.

Mary Jane Abram b 25 Jul 1836 bap 18 Aug 1836 Independent or Congregational, Southport Lydiate and married John Brierly 1841-77. Moved to St Albans, Lancashire. Living at home in 1861

George Greatbatch Abram b 1839 Gisburne, York. Living at home in 1861 and working as a clerk in a cotton mill

Robert Stephen Abram b 1842 Gisburne, York married Maria Young 8 Jun 1872 at St James Church, Clapham. He was a commercial traveller, Her father was William Young. Living at home in 1861 and working as a drapers assistant

Sarah Anne Abram b 1844 Gisburne, York. Living at home in 1861 and working as a cotton wa

Gen 3 Robert Stephen Abram 1841 -1891

Thanks go to Chris Rooke for this history:

"Robert was born in Gisburn, Yorkshire where his father was a minister for the independent church movement. He moved to London where he married Maria Young (1851-1885). They lived in Camberwell. By the 1890s, Robert wasn’t doing so well in his job and we find that he has been admitted to the Lewisham Union Workhouse. The family has fallen apart. The children are sent off to Industrial Schools: Field Lane Certified Industrial Schools at Hampstead or North Surrey District School, Anerley"

Robert and Maria had the following children:

Gen 4.1 Annie Maud M Abram b 1873 Lewisham; d 1951 New Westminster.
Gen 4.2 Ellen Constance Abram b 1874 Kent; d 1961 Harrow
Gen 4.3 William Falkner Abram b 1876 Maidstone; d1948 Kent
Gen 4.4 Florence Elizabeth Abram b1877 Maidstone, Kent d 18 Aug 1954 Los Angeles
Gen 4.5 Lilian Alice Abram b 1879 Maidstone; d 1962 Los
Gen 4.6 Robert Gladstone Abram b 1880 Maidstone
Gen 4.7 George Theodore Abram b 5 Jun 1882 Camberwell; d 1965 Worthing.
Gen 4.8 Leopold Octavius Abram b 1884 Lewisham; d 1961 Vancouver

William Falkner Abram b 1876 Maidstone; d1948 Kent. In the period leading up to the death of his father, William, together with his sister Helen (Ellen) Constance, he was dispatched to the Field Lane Certified Industrial Schools at Hampstead on 12th February, 1887. He married Edith Susan Edmonds 1879-1932

Gen 4.1 Annie Maud M Abram 1873 - 1951

Annie Maud M Abram b 1873 Lewisham; d 1951 New Westminster. In 1887 Annie Abrams of 6 Schuckburgh Road was admitted to South Eastern Hospital, Deptford on 9th July, and discharged on 1st September, 1887. The nature of her illness is not specified, but living with her father and probably running the household for him, it would seem the family was sliding into poverty. When her two younger brothers, George and Leopold were taken into care, in 1891 they listed her as their parent and her address as a domestic servants' training school, Chiswick. This was in fact the Grosvenor House Training Home whose object was 'the training of ignorant and troublesome girls who have failed domestic service,' and one of the five training homes operated in conjunction with the Metropolitan Association for Befriending Young Servants. This was a charity established in 1875 to befriend and monitor girls placed into domestic service by District (Poor Law) Schools, or girls who were without a situation or otherwise in need of help.

Later on in 1891, we find Annie working as a nursemaid at 7 Margaret Street W.1. 7 Margaret Street is described as a Vicarage flanking the entrance to the parish church of All Saints. The vicar of the time, Rev. Whitworth, and his wife had three small children so one can presume that Annie was employed to look after them.

1901 finds Annie in the Christchurch parish of Worthing at the Holy Rood Institution for incurables recorded as being a novice nursing sister. In 1911, Annie has moved to the General Infirmary, Great George Street, Leeds where she is working as a superintendent launderess.

In 1921, Annie set off for Canada on the 'S.S. Metagama' as the nurse companion for her employer, Mr Rook Lay, arriving in Quebec on 30th April. Her destination was Althalmer, British Columbia. Athalmer is just outside Invermere, at the north end of Lake Windermere in the Columbia River Valley, south of Banff. Annie died in New Westminster on 17th July, 1951.

Gen 4.2 Ellen Constance Abram 1874 - 1961

Ellen Constance Abram b 1874 Kent; d 1961 Harrow. In the period leading up to the death of her father, William, she was dispatched to the Field Lane Certified Industrial Schools at Hampstead on 12th February, 1887. She married William E Till

William Falkner Abram b 1876 Maidstone; d 1948 Kent. In the period leading up to the death of his father, William, together with his sister Helen (Ellen) Constance, he was dispatched to the Field Lane Certified Industrial Schools at Hampstead on 12th February, 1887. He married Edith Susan Edmonds 1879-1932

Gen 4.3 William Falkner Abram 1876 - 1948

William Falkner Abram b 1876 and baptised 25 Feb 1878 at Holy Trinity church Maidstone. In the period leading up to the death of his father, William, together with his sister Helen (Ellen) Constance, he was dispatched to the Field Lane Certified Industrial Schools at Hampstead on 12th February, 1887. He married Edith Susan Edmonds 1879-1932

In 1911 the family were living in Croydon. William described himself as a fur and skin merchant and a warehouseman. He reported that he had been married for 6 years and they had 6 children – of which 5 were still alive.

His wife, Edeth Abram was born c 1878 in Queens Park, Paddington.

In 1911 we find that William’s sister Lilly Abram was living with them bc 1879 in St Peter’s Paddington. She was working as a domestic (cook).

William died at 204 Harrington Road, South Norwood 12 Nov 1948. His effects were worth £693-8-0. That’s £25,500 in today’s money (2020). Probate was granted to Frederick George Unwin – hop sampler.

William and Sarah had children

Winifred Florence Abram bc 1905 and in 1911 she was living at home and working as a domestic servant – a cook.
Lilian Alice Abram (Lilly) b 7 Apr 1907 68 Fortunegate Road, Willesden baptised 19 May 1907 at St Matthew’s church, Willesden. Married 29 June 1929 in St John the Baptist in Croydon to George William Waddell. he was living at 23 Malcolm Road Woodside. His occupation was a warehouseman. The witnesses were sister Winifred and his brother his father. George was born 17 Sep 1904. George was born 17 Sep and baptised 5 Feb 1904 at St John’s church, Redhill. His parents were William Thomas Waddell and Elizabeth. His father was a compositor. In the 1939 census George (an electrical wireman) lived at 22 Manor Road, Debenham
Florrie Abram bc 1909 Harlesdon, North London
Annie Abram bc 1910 Woodside, Croydon

Gen 4.4 Florence Elizabeth Abram 1877 -

This part of the story has been supplied by Christine Rooke: "Aunty Flo was one of my grandfather's siblings with whom we communicated. Grandad didn't say much about his family, but he did tell Flo about us.

Flo was born on 4th July, 1877 in Maidstone. In 1881 she was living with her parents at 3 Clifton Villas, Henslowe Road, Camberwell, and in 1885 was admitted to the Heber Road School where her address is recorded as 30 Henslowe Road (which could be the same place or another house in the same street.) As far as I can tell, she left one year later. I do not know what happened to her immediately after the death of her father, but by 1901 she and her sister Ellen (Helen) are domestic servants at 39 Stonebridge Place, Willesden. She was a witness at her brother William Faulkner's wedding in 1904.

I have a family photo of my grandparents' wedding in 1910 and Flo is present.

In 1911 she was working as a chambermaid at the West Central Hotel, Southampton Row. By 1914 Florence set sail for Canada, arriving on 10th June in Quebec. I can no longer see the records I attached, but according to another member’s tree, she crossed into the U.S. at Niagara Falls 23rd September 1915 and married James Powell 6th March 1920. (When she married James Powell, she kept Abram as a given name.)

There are records for her naturalization declaration on 14th September 1920 and a Petition dated 21st October, 1929. I know that in 1930 they were living in San Francisco and in 1940 in Long Beach, California. In 1945 she wrote to my parents from the address 508 Fremont Avenue Long Beach. In this letter, Flo referred to ‘Uncle Bob and Aunt Annie.,’ and to their son, Robbie. Later research into the family led to the identification of this family – Robert Gladstone and his wife, Gertrude Annie, and their son Robert Charles Gladstone."

I recall receiving a parcel from either Canada or America when I was very small. It was either from Flo, or possibly from her brother Leopold in Canada. What I recall most clearly was the packet of jelly crystals – we made jelly from a gelatine block! She sent my parents a congratulations card when I was born, and I still have a couple of cards she sent me. I also have photos of her in her garden, one with ‘Uncle Jim.’

Flo died in Long Beach in 1954."

Lilian Abram b 1879 Maidstone; d 1962 Los Angeles ; married Arthur F Weeber. Wow this was a game old bird – sorry Lil but that’s the way it seems. Not content with a life in England, she saw some of her other family members heading to the USA and so she took that opportunity.

Chris Rooke corresponded and has letters. Chris was fascinated by Lilian’s address 1233½ Raymond Avenue. Chris has fond memories of the letters because Lillian always put a dollar bill in. Sadly Lilian died (1962) before Chris could meet her.

According to the 1901 census, Lilian worked as a hotel servant in the West Central Hotel in Bloomsbury. At the age of 35 she emigrated to Canada from Liverpool on the SS Champlain. Launched 1932 the Champlain was the first modern ocean liner and was the fastest and most luxurious cabin class liner afloat. Of course, Lilian probably travelled steerage (Deck D). Interestingly, the boat was used in WW2 to save Jews from the Nazis. The ship was sunk by the Germans in 1940. There is a great YouTube about the ship. And here too. And this movie was shot by a passenger in August 1936.

Lilian’s occupation is given as ‘domestic’.

There must be a fascinating story here somewhere because the next information I have is that she married Arthur Weeber in Santa Anna, California and by 1930 they were living at Raymond Avenue, Long Beach.. Arthur, or Artie as she called him, was born in Iowa in 1870 and died in 1958. Lilian, said Chris, seemed a lovely lady who loved her garden.

Above: SS Champlain

Left: In 1916 she was living in Calgary. Can you believe? Calgary! The middle of nowhere. What on earth was she doing here? She would have been there for the Calgary Riots!

The Calgary Riots of February 1916 were racially-motivated disturbances where Canadian soldiers, fueled by wartime anti-German sentiment and rumors of businesses hiring "enemy aliens" over veterans, attacked and looted German-Canadian businesses like the Riverside Hotel and White Lunch Cafe, escalating into pitched battles with police and highlighting issues of military discipline and ethnic tension during World War I (source AI)

Gen 4.5 Lilian Alice Abram b 1879 - 1962

Lilian Alice Abram b 1879 Maidstone; d 1962 Los Angeles ; married Arthur F Weeber. Wow this was a game old bird – sorry Lil but that’s the way it seems. Not content with a life in England, she saw some of her other family members heading to the USA and so she took that opportunity.

According to the 1901 census, Lilian worked as a hotel servant in the West Central Hotel in Bloomsbury. At the age of 35 she emigrated to Canada from Liverpool on the SS Champlain. Launched 1932 the Champlain was the first modern ocean liner and was the fastest, fastest and most luxurious cabin class liner afloat. Of course, Lilian probably travelled steerage (Deck D). Interestingly, the boat was used in WW2 to save Jews from the Nazis. The ship was sunk by the Germans in 1940. There is a great YouTube about the ship. And here too. And this movie was shot by a passenger in August 1936.

Lilian’s occupation is given as ‘domestic’.

Gen 4.6 Robert Gladstone Abram 1880 -

Robert Gladstone Abram b 1880 Maidstone. Following the death of his father, Robert G and was escorted to the North Surrey District School, Anerley. Here, the 'Record of Children' book shows he was admitted on 28th March 1891 and gave the name of his 'parent' as Annie M.M.Abram – his eldest sister. Her address was given as Domestic Servants Training School, Chiswick.

Gen 4.7 George Theodore Abram 1882 - 1965

George Theodore Abram b 5 Jun 1882 Camberwell; d 1965 Worthing. He was sent to the Field Lane School. In the RN married Rose Elizabeth Allack 1887-1983. (Gorge Theodore Abram – 5 June 1882 e dulwich d 1965. Small, bought tiny bungalow nr worthing; loved his gardening; 1891 hampstead came out of industrial school joined RN 1901 came out 1923. Uk naval medal; RN long service and good conduct; grandad never pleased with chris; grumpy old man; they made their own clothes; sea chest). Issue:

Rosemary Abram b Jun 1911 married Claude Parsey d 1992 t salesman; bad feet; Blackpool sec B Pool tower; glamorous; Claudette.

Leopold Abram b 1913; Leopold married Tompkins b 1945 d 1959. Daughter was:
- Christine Abram 8 Mar 1947 who married Ken Rooke Manchester 14 Jun 1947; married in 1970 in Dartford. More information under Christine’s emails section at the end of this document. I was born in the (Royal) London Hospital in 1947. My parents were living in the home of my maternal grandparents in Wheler Street, not far from Spitalfields Market where my mother's father had been a wheelwright.

In 1949 we moved to a new council house near Sidcup, Kent. (My father had applied for a house as an ex service man.) We had a very happy time there and often visited my father's parents, George and Rose Abram, in Sompting, Sussex. My mother's mother died in 1950.

My father worked at Marconi's near Chelmsford, then became a civil servant working for the Ministry of Supply. He developed cancer and died in 1959 – a great loss to me and to my mother.

My mother then remarried to James Hammond, a widower, in 1962 and suddenly I had two step brothers and a step sister. We moved in to their house in Gravesend where my step father had a 'corner' shop.

After studying at Medway College of Advanced Technology, and then working in London for a year, I decided office life was not for me and trained as a teacher at Caerleon College of Education (south Wales) and became a primary school teacher.

I met Ken Rooke on a blind date in November 1969 and we married in August 1970. Ken was a design engineer at Ford's so we moved to Essex – South Ockendon, and I taught in Cranham. We later moved to Doddinghurst, just outside Brentwood. Ken by this time was lecturing at Havering Technical College.

My step father died in December 1980, just before we bought a house in Suffolk between Woodbridge and Aldeburgh in order to do bed and breakfast. Although we enjoyed it, the season was short at that time so Ken took a temporary teaching job in Framlingham, and I returned to teaching. 17 years later, Ken took early retirement from the same school! I worked in a local middle school, then, having visited the American elementary school at the nearby air base, found myself working there as the host nation teacher. I very much enjoyed this job as part of my duties was to organise, and accompany, students on study trips. When the base closed in 1993, I taught in a local British school which was just coming to grips with national curriculum and the dreaded Ofsted. When my principal from Woodbridge asked if I'd like to apply for the host nation teacher's job in her school in Norfolk, I thought a miracle had happened! We moved to Norfolk, planning on staying for 5 years and then returning to Suffolk. But here we are, 21 years on, having settled very happily into life in Mundford.

I convinced my mother to move from Gravesend to somewhere nearer to us, and this she did in 2002. In the same year my eldest step brother died. In 1968 he was one of the first patients to have a successful kidney transplant, but in 2001 he got an infection behind the kidney.

I retired in 2005 to spend more time with my mother, and I am very glad I did as she died a year later after having a stroke.

Ken and I keep very busy. After retiring we joined our local U3A – do you have this in Australia? I attend French sessions and we both go to art. My art is very amateurish, but I enjoy the challenge. We both took up jogging in the 1980's but when we moved to Norfolk, I gave up until eighteen months ago when I suddenly decided to resume. I enjoy doing park runs (do you have these in Australia? 5K races every Saturday morning around the country.) Although I am slow, when my age is taken into account, I am not so bad!

We are now at the stage where we must declutter and move to a town with more facilities. We are hoping to find somewhere in Bury St Edmunds which we both like and where we go for ballroom dancing lessons on a regular basis. However, this house suits us very well so it is hard to think of leaving it.

We both love to travel, mostly to the continent but we have done some long distance cruises – our first was to the Amazon, and we have been from Southampton to Acapulco in order to visit Cuba and pass through the Panama Canal. My husband is coeliac so taking a cruise is an easy way to ensure his diet is understood. (Things are a lot easier these days). I went with friends to Vietnam and Cambodia in March, Ken not wanting to do long haul.

Editor's note – Pamela and I visited with Chris and Ken Rooke on 27 Aug 2019 in Mundford, Norfolk and we got on very well.

Gen 4.8 Leopold Octavius Abram 1884 - 1961

Now we must return to the last child of Robert S and Maria. Born 16 Jun 1884 Lewisham, Kent, England

D:12 November 1961 Vancouver. Following the death of his father, Leopold was escorted to the North Surrey District School, Anerley aged 7. Here, the 'Record of Children' book shows he was admitted on 28th March 1891 and gave the name of his 'parent' as Annie M.M.Abram – his eldest sister. Her address was given as Domestic Servants Training School, Chiswick.

He married Florence E James 1890-1975. He emigrated to Canada and joined the Canadian armed forces for WW1, arriving back in Quebec 8 Aug. 1919 on SS Scandinavian. He died in Vancouver in 1961.