Robert and Martha Parsons last seen near Dover 1881

[solidrock]

Is this Mary's grave?

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/156715355/mary-parsons

[Mehrtsgirl]

It is indeed Buried with her s-i-l and it was erected by her daughter Caroline if memory serves me correctly. I was so thrilled to see it. Very few of my ancestors have surviving headstones especially from that period.

[solidrock]

Do you know where John is buried? A slim chance that Robert may be with him.  Also I'm not sure if this is John, it's from Genuki, British Coastguards 1841 - 1901.

Parson         1871 Bawdsey SFK (Husband absent)    Wife: (Mary), 1831, Cork, IRL. Children: William, 1859, Faversham, KEN; John & Thomas, 1861 & 1862, Leysdown, Isle of Sheppey, KEN.

[Mehrtsgirl]

I have John dying in 1851 in Dover and buried in St Marys graveyard. Without knowing what the dates refer to (? DOB although that doesn't work with 1871 and 1831!) it might be.

I have been trawling Free bmd, Ancestry, FindMyPast, ScotlandsPeople, etc this morning and the only outsider for Robert's death seems to be back in Islington in 1896 (it has him as 56 making his DOB 1840 which is only 3 years out). The family did live in the broad vicinity when William was born so I wondered if this is where he returned to.

My timeline has for Martha: 1891 she is in Glasgow 'married' to George McNicol; 1895 she may be in Lansdowne Crescent as Mrs Martha Parsons (although Google Maps tells me this looks like an area that may not have matched her purse); 1898 she dies in Glasgow as Martha Conn apparently having been 'married' to James Conn now deceased (I found a James Conn who died in the same area in 1898 and can find no Conn/Parsons marriage).

For Robert I have a possible sighting in Waterloo Row in Glasgow in 1895, occupation miner. If this is he, and Martha's death entry also notes she had been a widow Parsons, then a death in 1896 in Islington could work. I have already bought one GRO PDF for a Robert Parsons in Islington (seemed a perfect match) but not him so a bit reluctant to do Islington again...but no stone unturned and all that. Having found Martha though has cheered up my cousins one who has been researching for decades!!!

[solidrock]

There is a record for the family on Ancestry Ca. perhaps you have already seen it.
John Parsons, born Tenterden, Kent, England on 15 Oct 1809. Parents, John Parsons born Tenterden, Kent, England on 24 Jan 1779 and Catherine Catt  born Tenterden, Kent, England on 25 Jul 1784.
John 1799, parents James Parsons born Tenterden, Kent, England on 22 May 1754, Ann Hill born Wittersham, Kent, England on 20 Jan 1723.   There's more....

https://www.ancestry.ca/genealogy/records/mary-parsons_136187310   

[isobelw]

The Martha Parsons in Lansdowne Cres didn’t die till 1913. There is a will for her on Scotlandspeople. Long shot, but Glasgow has excellent poor law records. If she applied for poor relief then her whole life history could be on there! Maybe someone going to the Mitchell Library in Glasgow could check for you.
Have you discovered what became of Ellen Caroline b1868 in Dover and William John b 1872 in Blackfriars, Surrey?
Isobel

[Mehrtsgirl]

Hi solidrock - yes somewhere back in time I have seen it. One of my cousins subscribes to this being our John but I'm not convinced. I know he moved between being born in Hampshire or Norfolk on documentation but I would have thought Kent might have got a mention in there somewhere if he was born in Tenterden (given the track record of this side of the family though it could of course be him!)

Thanks isobelw. Lansdowne Crescent didn't seem to gel for my Martha from a social/economic perspective especially when I saw the occupations of some of the other tenants. Imagine though - two Mrs Martha Parsons in the same area in the same period!

The poor law records is a great idea. I might post a request on the Glasgow page if there is one as Scotland is a looong way away for me.

As to Ellen. In 1891 I have her living in the workhouse in Buckland Dover and I have her marrying one John George Cheyney (TBC). That's it for her. William has me stumped. I last see him in 1881 and when I gave him some time recently I got nowhere so put him on the back burner.

After William I have an Elizabeth (TBC) in 1879. 7 years is a long time between babies in this family and I know I have had a quick look for Robert in the crims section. In 1891 I have Amy Florence in the Medway workhouse - the only Amy Parsons I could find. She entered there about 8 years old which, if it is the correct Amy, has me wondering about what happened in the family. That she is in Chatham is odd but my great grandmother was living there then with her family so perhaps she was keeping an eye on her sister?

[solidrock]

If you think Islington maybe relevant this one is closer to his birth...

PARSONS, ROBERT        45      
GRO Reference: 1889  S Quarter in ISLINGTON  Volume 01B  Page 177

ADDED.  Maybe not him, Robert Parsons living at 9, Hardinge Street, Islington was still there in 1900.

[solidrock]

With regards to Waterloo Row in Glasgow in 1895, occupation miner, surely Martha had been married twice more by then and was listed as a widow.