William A E Wayland widows and probate

[ValJJJ]

I've put this in the London section, because this person was born in Islington and lived in Deptford, although eventually moved to Kent.

This cross references with two other threads that explain why I'm interested in this person.  Mr William Wayland, United Kingdom Works, Deptford, was a visitor to a child in a workhouse in 1903, and then Sir William Abraham Wayland popped up in that child's aunt's will/probate notice in 1932, as an attorney to another relative, the nephew of the aunt - so a cousin.

https://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=833277.0
https://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=833172.0

Regardless of whether these two William Waylands are the same individual, I'm intrigued by Sir William Abraham Edward Wayland's probate in 1950, awarding probate to dame Kathleen, MBE and Lillian Rose Reed widows.  I haven't seen more than one widow before, and am not sure how this is possible.  Surely only the woman he married the most recently can be his widow?  The other must be a divorcee?

I have access to Ancestry and FindMyPast, and also use FreeBMD and other free sites, and the govt wills search service for research, but all I can find is a William Wayland marrying Betsey Winn in 1885 in Islington, both William and Betsey and her mother in various census records incl 1911, Betsey's death in 1944, and William's marriage to Kathleen Browne later in 1944.  I can't find a Lillian Rose marriage but have found a Lillian Rose Reed death in 1976, born 23 Nov 1912.

Can anyone explain how two widows are possible, legally speaking?

[rosie99]

They are the executors, it is indicating that they are both widowed.  Lilian Reed could be a widowed sister or similar

[JenB]

As Rosie has said the word ‘widow’ surely simply indicates their ‘status’.
There is no suggestion that they are both widows of William Wayland.

[rosie99]

I think the Lilian Rose Reed/Read who died in 1976 was nee Dawson

[ValJJJ]

I think you're both right!  It's just the way it's worded.

Thanks.

Val

[Woderaider]

I have been looking at Sir William from a different direction. His wife Bets(e)y Ann Ellen (Foster) is a distant relative of my wife and so I picked him up when researching her. When he married Betsy in 1885, she already had two children, one born in 1879 and the second in 1883 for whom I can find no recorded father (or marriage for Betsy for that matter). Interestingly, Betsy's age seems to fluctuate - given as 26 when she married (she was actually 30!) and then later her birthdate is given as 1859 (It was 1855). I think it unlikely that William was the father as he would have been only 14 in 1879. This means, presumably, that Betsy had been a common law wife or mistress to somebody I have yet to find. The two girls are referred to initially as his stepdaughters and have taken their mother's maiden name, Foster, but the eldest girl (Florence)is seriously ill aged 20 and is retrospectively baptised as a Wayland in 1900 but dies the same night(according to a note in the margin of the baptismal record). From then on the remaining girl seems to be referred to as Caroline Wayland. Kathleen Browne, his second wife was his Secretary and Housekeeper at Hampton Lodge according to the 1939 Census. No surprise then when he marries his secretary aged 79 .
Since reading this thread I have started to wonder about the seemingly upright and respectable William Wayland and his connection to  Annie Campbell... He was after all, a politician and a presumably, powerful man.

[ValJJJ]

I am just looking again at Wayland and puzzling over your post as I found Betsy Winn/Wynn (not Foster) marrying Wayland.  I can find the 1881 census transcription (can't view the original) with Head being Caroline Wynn 52 from Lincoln, Betsy Foster, 25, daughter born Spilsby, Lincs,  Joseph H. Wynn, 18, son, born Lincs, and Florence E. Foster,1 grandaughter born in Islington but not sure how much info shown on the transcription are correct.

According to freeBMD and GRO, a Florence Ada Foster (MMN Gurney) was born in Islington in Sep quarter 1880. GRO Reference: 1880  S Quarter in ISLINGTON  Volume 01B  Page 334

As it's been a year since you posted, perhaps you've been able to sort this out more?
 

[ValJJJ]

So now I can see Joseph Henry Wynn's birth record in Spilsby with MMN Foster, so it's looking like Betsy was born before her mother Caroline married Mr Winn.  I can't find a Betsy Foster birth record unless it's the one in Lincoln, which shows MMN as Rawlinson, which doesn't help.  But there's always Bessie, Betsey and Winn/Wynn permutations to look for too.

Re Wayland, he may well have been upright and visiting the two children in the workhouse as a benefactor on behalf of Annie Campbell's sister Kate and her husband Norman Smith, who fostered the third child at their home in Nottinghamshire.  Wayland was an industrial chemist and had Freemasonry and probably industry connections with Norman Smith's brother-in-law, an industrial chemist in Bristol (his name was Butler) and possibly the Smith family themselves who were industrialists and inventors.  Wayland also acted on behalf of one of the Smith's sons who was an executor for another of Annie's sisters, Maud, but working overseas when she died.