arthur jennings died in workhouse

[grahamradioman]

My grandfather Arthur Jennings was born in c1878  and died in the oxford  workhouse infirmary in  June 1911  aged 33, i  cant find a marriage for him and my Gran (Emily Masters)  ,(perhaps living over the brush?) , so the valuable data from that to identify his origins is not available .There were three children  from the relationship,  Montague Arthur (my dad) b1907, Nora Anne b1908 and Fredrick b1910 . Just before his death their address was 37 Jericho st oxford,which i understand to be a very poor area indeed . their address prior to that was 4 wards row in st peter Le Bailey oxford. His profession is stated as stableman /livery. A couple of A Jennings have been suggested (wallingford and tilehurst)and there is a hint of an Irish connection.I have come to a dead end so any help would be much appreciated.The irony is that Arthur is the first person that i started to investigate over 4 years ago but is the only side of the family were i have drawn a blank , I have since found out that the The Arthur Jennings of Newington  was a 'hay binder' on a farm in Gaydon , lodging with the localblacksmith and the Pr's have him as a 'labourer on farm'  and although i cant find a marriage for him there appear to be children in 1907 (baptism of dau.Winifred ) and 1910 (baptism of son George) - so unless he regularlyto'd and fro'd between Gaydon and Oxford City he could not be my grandfather. He may be in the right time-frame but he's in the wrong place. so you see without a marriage cert for Arthur and Emily i am stuck .  Roll on the 1911 census.
                                                                                         
                                                         Graham Jennings
 
 
 
 

[Ruskie]

Hi Graham,

Welcome to rootschat!

Are you aware of this site where you can search the marriage indexes for free?:

http://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/rectype/vital/freebmd/bmd.aspx

Select the "complete" indexes. Type in the name and approximate year range. I suppose in this case possibly the date 1907 plus or minus 5 years would be a reasonable starting place. The marriages will be divided into year quarters eg. JFM = Jan, Feb, Mar (AMJ = April May June) and so on. You need to keep in mind the birthplace (if you know it)  of Emily as couples usually married in the bride's parish. Check all the Arthur Jennings marriages in the timeframe, make a note of the places and reference numbers after the name. Then go on to check for an Emily Masters with the same reference numbers. If you find a match then bingo, you can purchase their marriage certificate. It sounds complicated but it's just a matter of trawling through the names and is very easy really if not a bit monotonous.
Apologies if you are already aware of this.
I looked on www.freebmd.com but couldn't find your couple.
Good luck. I hope you find them.

Added later: Do you know if Arthur of Emily had middle names?

[grahamradioman]

thanks for the quick response . I have gone through the complete g.r.o records on ancestry (very tedious)from 1900 to 1910 but no luck .Emily was born in 1884 so perhaps 1900 is a bit early .I have wondered whether the marriage has been missed off of the g.r.o records and might exist in  parish records?   thanks  again for your  help. 
graham


  ps  they did'nt have middle names

[Ruskie]

Do you have Arthur and Emily on any census prior to their marriage? If not have you tried to find them yet?

I saw the Tilehurst Arthur on the 1891 cenus with parents Oliver and Maria. There is a 12 year old Arthur on the 1891 census with Widowed mother Ann and 20 year old brother Frederick M (looks like it might be Miller) Jennings (ag lab) plus other siblings. All born Newington.

The same family is in Newington in the 1881 census with father Stephan ag lab plus older sisters. All born Newington.

There are only 42 Arthur Jennings on the 1891 census born 1878 +/- 2 years.

In the 1891 there are 8 Emily Masters, none b Berks or Oxon.

Don't know if this is of any help ....

[Ruskie]

On the 1901 the Newington Arthur is a hay binder in Gaydon Warks lodging with a blacksmith and another lodger haybinder.

There is a 17 year old daugher Emily Masters on the 1901 census born Oxford - head of household is Ann Walker, married, machinst (no husband with her). Several other female siblings all with surname Masters.

There are only 9 Emily Masters on the 1901 census.

Once again, no idea if this helps.

[grahamradioman]

Hi     the Emily masters you have found is my Gran, her father Daniel Masters died in 1898 and her mum Anne masters(maiden name baggot )  married a man  called Weller. i have traced Daniels family back to 1812 the baggots to 1660.The irony is that Arthur is the first person that i started to investigate over 3  years ago but is the only side of the family were i have drawn a blank ,  The Arthur Jennings of Newington  was a 'hay binder' on a farm, lodging with the localblacksmith and the Pr's have him as a 'labourer on farm'  and although i cant find a marriage for him there appear to be children in 1907 (baptism of dau.Winifred ) and 1910 (baptism of son George) - so unless he regularlyto'd and fro'd between Gaydon and Oxford City he could not be my grandfather. He may be in the right time-frame but he's in the wrong place. so you see without a marriage cert for Arthur and Emily i am stuck . If i could find apparent siblings then i could ask about family history or it has been suggested i trawl through Pr's to see if the marriage was missed of off the G.R.O .Any suggestions greatfully received.

                            Regards Graham