My maternal great grandparents had eight children, seven of whom survived to adulthood. Their three sons all joined the forces and fought in WW1, and one was taken Prisoner of War. My grandmother would have been 17 when war broke out; she and the rest of the family no doubt had an anxious time waiting … Continue reading Fage sons in WW1: Fred, Albert and Jesse
Surnames
William John Fage (1872-1940): Death in the Blackout
My maternal great grandmother Alice Fage died at home in Sandy on 12 February 1940. Two weeks later, on 26 February, her widower was involved in a fatal accident. Reports of the inquest heard of his state of mind at the time, and reveal witness statements from some of the family. This is his final, … Continue reading William John Fage (1872-1940): Death in the Blackout
Alice Fage (1872-1940): A last illness
There were various twists and turns to my maternal great grandparents' early lives before they settled in Sandy, Bedfordshire, in the 1890s and raised their family of eight children there. My grandmother didn't talk about them much, so it wasn't until online newspapers revealed the sad stories of their deaths, two weeks apart in February … Continue reading Alice Fage (1872-1940): A last illness
William Fage and Alice Cade: A long residence in Sandy
After solving the minor mysteries of William's name change and Alice's peripatetic childhood, it was fairly easy to trace my maternal great grandparents' married lives and growing family. I had a couple of family photos of them in old age and was pleased to find that their family home at Longfield Road, Sandy, was still … Continue reading William Fage and Alice Cade: A long residence in Sandy
Alice Cade (1872-1940): Mystery of the censuses
My maternal great grandmother's maiden name was Alice Cade, her father named as Jonathan Cade on her certificate of marriage to William John Fage in 1893. On later censuses, her birthplace is shown as Gamlingay, Cambs, but she married in Sandy, Bedfordshire. So what was the story of her move away from her birthplace? A … Continue reading Alice Cade (1872-1940): Mystery of the censuses
Maternal great-grandfather William John Fage (or was he?)
My maternal grandmother's birth certificate named her father as William John Fage, as did her marriage certificate. He appears as William Fage (1881-1891 censuses) or William J/John Fage in later records. So why couldn't I find his birth registration? Because like so many other ancestors, his first names were 'swapped' around. Changing names His birth … Continue reading Maternal great-grandfather William John Fage (or was he?)
Lavinia Brown: A long life and loss in Sandy
My maternal great grandmother Lavinia Brown, nee Seaby, lived a long life much characterised by struggle and loss. Two children died in infancy, her husband Charley Brown died of cancer and her eldest son Walter Charles Brown was killed in action in WW1. Her later life is less well-recorded, but she was clearly loved and … Continue reading Lavinia Brown: A long life and loss in Sandy
Lavinia Brown: Family struggles and a lost son
A 1910 local newspaper commented that my great grandmother, "Mrs Brown ... has had a hard struggle to bring up her large and young family and several times illness and other misfortunes have befallen them". She was born Lavinia Seaby, and was widowed in 1904 after ten years of marriage, when her husband Charley Brown … Continue reading Lavinia Brown: Family struggles and a lost son
Charley and Lavinia Brown: A short marriage
My maternal great grandparents Charles Brown and Lavinia Seaby married fairly late in life; he was 30 and she was 32. Both had had careers before marriage, he as a soldier in India, she as a Cook in London. Their marriage was sadly cut short by Charley's early death. What do we know of their … Continue reading Charley and Lavinia Brown: A short marriage
Lavinia Seaby (1861-1944): Cook to the gentry?
My maternal great-grandmother Lavinia Seaby was born in Dry Drayton, in rural Cambridgeshire, but family tales suggested that before she married Charles Brown, she was a Cook 'to the gentry' in London. Censuses do show that she worked in service, latterly as a Cook, in private houses in fashionable Notting Hill, London. What more could … Continue reading Lavinia Seaby (1861-1944): Cook to the gentry?
My Stocking Roots 