My 2xgreat grandparents suffered the loss of two baby daughters before Ellen, their 11th child, was born. She grew up in Redbourn, and worked as a machinist in a waterproof clothing factory in nearby St Albans, Hertfordshire. War seems to have been a backdrop to much of her family life. WW1 saw her marry and … Continue reading Ellen Ephgrave (1889-1969): Wars and Waterproofs
Food and Dairy
George Ephgrave (1885-1935): Milk sterilizer engineer
My great great uncle George was one of several in his family to leave rural Hertfordshire for a life in London. There he worked, like his brothers Frederick and William, for a large dairy company. He became an electrical engineer involved in milk sterilization. He and his wife had two daughters. He died at the … Continue reading George Ephgrave (1885-1935): Milk sterilizer engineer
William Ephgrave (1878-1949): Lifelong milkman, intriguing in-laws
Born in St Albans, Hertfordshire, William spent his adult life in London, where he worked as a milkman in the same dairy business as my great grandfather, his brother. William's marriage to Annie Looker led me to research her intriguing, much-married father, a coffee house keeper of London and later a publican. I believe William … Continue reading William Ephgrave (1878-1949): Lifelong milkman, intriguing in-laws
Benjamin Looker (1831-1906): An intriguing side-shoot
I am often distracted from my research by people tangential to my family history. One such is Benjamin Looker, father-in-law of my great grand uncle William Ephgrave. He was a much-married London coffee house keeper, Hertfordshire publican and son of a London 'ruby hole maker' (watch jeweller). I became rather obsessed with trying to fill … Continue reading Benjamin Looker (1831-1906): An intriguing side-shoot
Jesse Ephgrave (1852-1926): Losses and legacies
My 2xgreat grandfather was born in Redbourn, a small historic town in Hertfordshire. His father, a baker, died when he was six and he was brought up by his mother and stepfather - also a baker. He followed the same often financially precarious trade for at least 50 years; but what was his childhood like? … Continue reading Jesse Ephgrave (1852-1926): Losses and legacies
Jesse & Harriet Ephgrave: A baker’s dozen
My 2xgreat grandfather Jesse Ephgrave was a master baker. He had 13 children - a baker's dozen - with Harriet Scrivener. Their first son, my great grandfather, was illegitimate and their second was born only a few months after their marriage. Times were hard for them, with the loss of four children in infancy, and … Continue reading Jesse & Harriet Ephgrave: A baker’s dozen
Frederick Ephgrave: London Dairyman to RAF Engineer
My great grandfather's early life and career took some interesting twists and turns. He was born illegitimately in Luton, initially followed in his baker father's footsteps but then worked in the London Dairy industry before becoming an RAF Motor Engineer. Before researching Fred's career I knew next to nothing about London's dairy industries in the … Continue reading Frederick Ephgrave: London Dairyman to RAF Engineer
Tracing Great Grandad Frederick Ephgrave: A puzzle
My paternal great-grandfather was Frederick Ephgrave - or was he? Tracing his birth posed a big puzzle. I thought I knew his name from my grandmother Jessie Ephgrave's vital records, his marriage certificate and censuses. Apparently born in Luton 1872-3, son of 'Jessie' Ephgrave, he had various jobs in the dairy industry, but in earlier … Continue reading Tracing Great Grandad Frederick Ephgrave: A puzzle
My Stocking Roots 