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England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => England => Wiltshire => Topic started by: tempogold on Wednesday 19 June 13 13:23 BST (UK)
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Tommy Reeves was born 1896 in Chippenham . Parents Walter Edward/Edmund Reeves and Mary Anne Nee Mitchell. Story goes that the family of at least 7 children are Orphaned by 1901 . Certainly the family are not together on the 1901 Wiltshire census .
Last Birth to their mother is Florence Mary Reeves in 1898 Chippenham. But I can find no trace of the Parents deaths.
However in the 1901 Census Tommy and siblings Walter Edmund ,and Daisy Lottie are listed as boarders in North Wraxwell. Rest of the family split up. Have been unable to trace them all.
I do know that Daisy Married a William M Brown in 1922 in Chipping Sudbury and worked as a servant on the 1911 Census. But that is all I have .
Would love to solve the mystery of the parents death and find out what happened to Tommy and his siblings.
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Hi
One sibling Alice Mabel Reeves (D.O.B 25 Jun 1887, bapt. 20 Aug 1887) is lodging with Grandparents James and Charlotte Mitchell) in 1891 census Class RG12 Piece 1593 Folio 73 Page 3.
1901 census she a boarder with a Sarah Scott in the parish of Hardenhuish, Chippenham.
Class RG13 Piece 1919 Folio 75 Page 13.
In 3Qtr of 1910 she marries a William C Nurcombe.
Death: Dec 1974 aged 84 Chippenham.
claire
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Parents married in 1886 and are together on the 1891 census with Elsie age 2 and Walter Edmund 5 months.
So that makes 5 children we know about Elsie, Walter Edmund, Daisy Lottie, Tommy and Florence Mary.
Will see what else we can find :)
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Plus Alice Mabel makes 6
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6 and counting
It could be parents didn't die but one or other couldn't cope with so many little ones :-\ I can't see any obvious deaths for either of them.
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No 7
Lilly Reeves: Christening Date~ 28 May 1896 Chippenham.
claire
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There's a family tree with Elsie on and it has father Walter dying in 1949 Bradford Yorkshire soooooo if that's correct he did leave his family.
Doesn't give a death for Mary Ann.
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I wonder if he married again?
There's a marriage in Bradford 1918 Walter E Reeves to Mary E Dunne. Would be interesting to see if he put widower to give a clue when Mary Ann died.
He could be already in Bradford in the 1901/1911 census.
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Many thanks for all the information. Will check out the Bradford line but have doubts. I was told one of the girls died when she was about 12 and I think now I see the names that it was Elsie's not sure about the tree. Will go and do a search. Thanks again.
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Just an update. Looked at the 1901/11 Bradford Census and while there is a Walter E Reeves he was born London.
Convinced the W .E . Reeves I am looking for stayed in Chippenham area.
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Yes you're probably right and that was a different Walter but where on earth are the deaths for your couple :-\
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For searching purposes, can I just compile the dates / places of birth for the various parties
-- 91, 01 and 11 mean they are accounted for in those censuses:
Walter Edward Reeves Q3 1863 Bath -- 91 (Waller* in 1871)
Mary Ann Mitchell (c1866 Chippenham per 1891 census) - Q4 1861 Chippenham -- 91
Alice Mabel Reeves Q3 1887 Chippenham -- 91, 01 (in Hardenhuish), 11 (Nurcombe) (married as Reaves**)
Elsie Reeves Q1 1889 Chippenham -- 91
Walter Edmund Reeves Q4 1890 Chippenham -- 91, 01, 11
Lily Reeves Q1 1892 Chippenham ?? - christened 1896 Chippenham
Daisy Lottie Reeves Q4 1894 Chippenham -- 01 (Littie*), 11
Thomas Reeves Q1 1896 Chippenham -- 01 (Tommy*)
Florence Mary Reeves Q1 1898 Chippenham -- 01 (Reecer*) (in Bradford on Avon), 11 (Florrie*)
The errors/variants shown are at *Ancestry / **FreeBMD. It is an excellent idea to make corrections, or just add middle names and the like, on records at Ancestry, and to add postems to records at FreeBMD giving an email address, so anyone who searches for them in future can find them / contact you. Speaking of which, do you know the person who has made the correction to the Nurcombes in '11?
A Walter E Reeves died in December 1955 in Maidstone, aged 64 -- a match if Walter was born later in December 1890. (But a Walter Ewart Reeves was born 1890 Croydon.)
So having done that and used the info for searching -- not much luck (but an amazing amount of time spent!).
WWI is always a possibility for the boys, but I could not match any deaths at CWGC (some death records have too little detail to match with). There is always emigration. ;)
Alice Nurcombe born c1890 died aged 84 in Chippenham in 1874, as noted earlier.
Unfortunately, there appear to have been no births to that marriage (with mother's name either Reeves or Reaves).
... Well, checking on-line trees is always useful and how often do I wish I had done it first ...
One that I am looking at at www.mundia.com (it mirrors all Ancestry trees and is free of charge to register, search and send messages) has Alice's marriage and also
- Lily's marriage to Edward William Latham 1935 Belfast and death 1990 Saintfield, NI
- Florence's to James Wesley Ritcey born 1893 in Nova Scotia -- it says he was resident in Joliet Illinois in 1940 and she died in 1972 ...
Here is JW Ritcy's birth
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/KMLR-ZQV
Here is wife Florence's alleged 1940 US census record in Joliet Illinois:
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/KWTM-YSD
showing her as Florence L Ritcy born 1909 in Pennsylvania and him as born in 1902 in Canada.
This would seem to be the actual marriage of the James W Ritcey born in NS, to Theredasa Harpwell in 1921 in NS:
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/KMLY-WJC
although it's hard to tell because the names James and Wesley Ritcey seem to have been quite popular in Nova Scotia.
In any event, I think we can dismiss that tree as complete nonsense. That's why I don't look at on-line trees first. ;) Unless there is any truth to the info about Lily Reeves. One could always send an enquiry!
The tree also refers to son Walter Edmund as aka Edward and says he was baptised in 1896.
Do we have a batch baptism in 1896 then? In my own tree, I have wondered whether a particular batch baptism (4 children shortly after the birth of the last of them, but not including older children) was an effort to put a stamp on a paternity assertion -- that at least some of them were not in fact the husband's children. I have wondered whether something like that was happening here, in fact -- whether any of the younger children were not Walter Sr's.
Alice 1887 & Elsie 1889 were baptised as infants.
Did the parents separate shortly after the 1891 census when Walter was not yet baptised, mother Mary Ann had more children and registered them as Reeves (as the law required, and perhaps for propriety), and baptised several together in 1896?
One thing that could mean would be that Mary Ann's death, whenever it was, might well be recorded under the name of her new partner, even absent a marriage.
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Hi
I am new to this site, however I picked it up from google when I was searching for my family history.
I am the great-granddaughter of Tommy Reeves and I am trying to trace my roots further.
I know nothing of what happened to his parents at the moment as I am just starting out.
Their Eldest Child Alice Mabel Reeves Born 25th June 1887 in chippenham, wiltshire
married William C Nurcombe 27th aug 1910
died 1974 in chippenham
Elsie Reeves born feb 1889
I believe she may have gone to a children's home, however this may not be her (I am still looking into this. The Elsie reeves trained as a Mental Health nurse and is registered at the asylum as a nurse at the age 22.
Elsie Married Phillip W Reece July 1914 in Bristol
Walter E Reeves Born 1890
died in kent dec 1955 aged 64
I believe there was an elizabeth reeves born 1891 died 1901
lily reeves 1892
1911 she lived in bristol as a servant
Married edward Latham 1935 in belfast
lived in northern ireland
died 1990 saintfield, NI
Daisy Lottie Reeves born 6 Nov 1894
Chippenahm, Wiltshire, England
Baptism 8 Dec 1894 Chippenham, Wiltshire, England
Residence in 1901
North Wraxall, Wiltshire, England Age: 6; Relation to Head of House: Boarder
1911
Bath, Somerset, England
Age: 16; Marital Status: Single; Relation to Head of House: Domestic
Marriage March 1922 Age: 27
Chipping Sudbury, Gloucestershire
to William M Brown
1922
Thomas Reeves born 1895
Chippenham, Wiltshire, England
Baptism 28 May 1896 Age: 1
Chippenham, Wiltshire, England
Residence 1911
North Wraxhall, Wiltshire, England
Age: 15; Marital Status: Single; Relation to Head of House: Boarder
Married Caroline Edith Follows south stoneham, hampshire 1920
Died june 1958 Age: 63
Cannock, Staffordshire, England
Florence Mary Reeves Born 1898
This is as far as I have got.
These are my family from wiltshire and it sounds like the family you are researching.
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Hello and welcome Ray! If you add two more posts here (just can just say hello, thanks ...) you will be able to use the private messaging system and try to reach tempogold directly too, maybe. Now at least Tommy's later life is known from your post.
If you look at the summary list I posted above, you can find Florence in 1911 as Florrie - posting 1911 details here is not permitted but you can find her easily at a subscription site. Some details are here:
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/X72P-5DW
This seems to be the relevant marriage of her aunt and uncle (?):
Marriages Sep 1886
HERRING Sophia Bath 5c 941
Kimber John Bath 5c 941
in 1871
Sophia Herring, 40 (c1831), born Upton, Hampshire, husband James
living in Bradford on Avon
so
Marriages Jun 1866
HERRING James Winchester 2c 178
Kimber Sophia Winchester 2c 178
bringing us weirdly full circle with no indication of a relationship on her side. Also no marriage of a John Kimber to a Reeves or Mitchell.
This could be her marriage
Marriages Sep 1922
MARSH William G R Reeves Bradford-on-A. 5a 336
REEVES Florence M Marsh Bradford-on-A. 5a 336
William was born 1899, died 1945 in Winchester. There is a 1923 birth in Hampshire that could be theirs; that child married in Trowbridge and died in 2003 in Cornwall, but I don't see any births. The wife could have been a young war widow.
If that is Florence's marriage, I think she remarried in 1951 in Trowbridge; Florence Mary Long born Feb 1898 died in 1970 in Trowbridge.
I'm sure you agree at least that the tale in that online tree of Florence marrying someone in the US was completely off the wall (three cheers for Anc'y "hints" I imagine). I wonder whether tempogold ever contacted that person.
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Thanks for the hints x x x
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:D
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Very many thanks Janey for all your hard work. Somehow I missed your earlier post. Updated my tree with regard Florence. Info on Lily is correct as she was my Grandmother .As it happens have made contact with Little Ray Ray through another route and we may yet solve things. Again many thanks for the leads.
Tempogold
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Glad to hear you're in touch, and happy to help!
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Hello again. After many years i have returned to this subject and thought I would do an update . But unfortunately i am no further forward in finding the death records for Walter Edward Reeves b 1863 and his wife Mary Ann b 1861 mentioned in earlier posts.
Their last child Florence Mary Reeves ( Florrie) and sister to Tommy was born 7/2/1898 ( date taken from 1939 record) . But what happened over the next 2 years ? was their a bad Flu outbreak ?
I ask as their parents are not on the 1901 census and as earlier posts here explain by 1901 the 8 children have been split up and listed as Boarding in a number of homes . Only one Florrie in 1911 appears to be with a relative (on the material side) --a great Uncle and Aunt John and Sophia Kimber in Bradford on Avon. Unfortunately her GUncle dies July 1912 and his wife in 1914 so at age 15 Florrie is orphaned again.
You were correct Janey in saying Florrie married twice--first to William G R Marsh with whom she had a son . Her husband William died 4/8/1945. Florrie remarried as you suggested 3/9/1951 to Frank J Long who died 1963 Trowbridge. Florrie was mentioned in her sister Elsies ( now Reece) will as having the surname Long.
Still seeking leads on the death of this family's parents --Walter Edward Reeves and Mary Ann Reeves . Completely stumped as to why i am unable to find any records and hoping someone may manage to knock holes in this brick wall.
Many Thanks.
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I have just gone back and looked at the address given on the Baptism records in 28 may 1896 for Thomas .Lily and Walter Edmund and on 10 March 1889 for Florence Mary and notice that it was no longer The Causeway in Chippenham but says Union House.
So does this mean the family was living in the Work House ? A little confused as when have looked up information on line it suggest that new buildings used in Lacock and else were .
If it was the workhouse would the records still survive .