WATKINS

Below is the birth of my Great Grandfather, Albert Ernest Charles Watkins. He was born in the 1st quarter of 1894 in Westbury S (Vol. 6a - Page 255). Westbury is in Gloucestershire.

Above is a possible entry for my Great Grandfather, Albert Watkins, in the 1901 England census. I was told by my Grandmother that he was born in Pimlico, London so it could be the right one. If it is then my GG Grandfather's name would be Charles and his wife would be Elizabeth ? Looking at some of the names, it certainly looks like the right family. Albert's mother was Elisabeth which was my Grandmother's first name and one of his siblings was Lilian which is one of my grandmother's middle names. There is a sister, Rose, and my mother and her sisters all had middle names starting with Rose or Ros, as in Rosemary, Rosabelle etc. Also, Albert's father is listed as Charles and I have a cousin who was named Charles. It could be just coincidence so I will keep an open mind.

Above is for the 1st marriage of my Great Grandfather, Albert Ernest Charles Watkins. He married Elizabeth Harriet Robina Pridham in the 2nd Quarter of 1914 (Vol No. 1A - Page 565). Below is the birth of Elizabeth Pridham. She was born in the last quarter of 1896 (Vol No. 1A - Page 292) and died at some point as Albert remarried a lady called Ada Baggett.

Above is the birth of my Grandmother, Elizabeth E. L. Watkins. She was born in fulham in the last quarter of 1914 (Vol No. 1A - Page 572)

Above is the birth of a possible brother of my Grandmother, John A. W. Watkins. It lists the mother's maiden name as Pridham. This John was born in the 1st quarter of 1916 (Vol No. 1A - Page 474)

Above is the WWI Pension Record for an Albert Ernest Watkins. I do not know if it is my G. Grandfather's as yet.

Above is for the 2nd marriage of Albert Ernest Charles Watkins. After his first wife died he married Ada M. Baggett in the first quarter of 1961 in the Forest of Dean (Vol No. 7B - Page 855). I remember my Grandmother used to call her Aunt Ada.

Below is information for the death of Albert Ernest Charles Watkins (my G Grandfather)

TAYLOR

Below is the birth of my Grandfather John Craven Taylor. He was born on 8th October 1896 in Newton Abbot, Devon (Vol No 5B - Page 123).

Below is the marriage of my Grandfather, John C. Taylor, to Elizabeth E. L. Watkins in the 3rd quarter of 1937. Vol. 3a Page 1251.

Below is information for the death of my Grandfather John Craven Taylor.

I recently received some information that leads me to believe John Taylor's parents may be Thomas Craven Taylor and Susan Ann Uglow.

I found a birth that may be that of John's father, Thomas. It is from the 2nd Quarter of 1859 (Vol. 8c - Page 345). Considering Thomas' marriage was in 1895, this would have made him about 36 when he got married (assuming this is the right birth).

Below is the marriage of Thomas Craven Taylor, who was married in Wandsworth in the 1st Quarter of 1895 to a Susan Ann Uglow. (Vol. 1d - Page 731).

Below is the marriage of Susan Ann Uglow who was married to Thomas Craven Taylor (details as above).

In 1901 there is a possible match for the family of John Taylor living in Toxteth in Liverpool. This information and that of the marriage of Thomas Craven and Susan Ann was gratefully received from Bob Graham, a member of the Fermanagh gold Mailing List.He very kindly did a search for John Taylor and with a bit of detective work and luck (having Susan's mother listed) worked out that Susan Ann Uglow must have been the wife of Thomas Craven Taylor. It is certainly promising in that this Thomas and my grandfather John have the same middle name.

I found two births that may possibly be that of Susan Ann Uglow. This first is from the 2nd Quarter of 1864 in Newton Abbott, Devon (Vol. 5b - Page 142)

The second is in the 1st Quarter of 1872 in Totnes, Devon (Vol. 5b - Page 202). There is no image for this one.

My next step will be to get hold of the birth Certificate of John Taylor and then, once I have established they are indeed his correct parents, apply for their marriage certificate. If this information is correct, they certainly did move about a lot. Whichever of the births is correct, Susan was born in Devon and then somehow ended up in Wandsworth, gets married and then has all her children back in Devon before moving to Liverpool. I'm interested to know what happened to John's father, Thomas Craven as he does not appear on the 1901 census. Perhaps she left him and ran off... maybe I will never get to the bottom of it. I was told by a family member that John left home at an early age and I get the impression he did not get on with his family.

PRIDHAM

Above is the birth of my Great Grandmother, Elizabeth Harriet Robina Pridham. She was born in the last quarter of 1896 (Vol No. 1A - Page 292) and you can see her family in the 1901 Census below. It was spread over 2 pages...

Elizabeth is listed here as Lizzie and is the Grandchild of the head of house, Lawrence. Her mother and father are listed as William Pridham and Kate Pridham, who would be my GG Grandparents. William is listed as a cook and I was told recently, by one of my aunts, that William helped with the catering for Queen Victoria's funeral in 1901. Along with Lizzie there is an Ethel Pridham daughter of William and Kate who was 10 months old in 1901, making her birth around 1900 or early 1901 depending on when the census was taken.

I found this marriage for a William Thomas R Pridham in Fulham in the 1st quarter of 1896 (Vol No. 1a - Page 447)

I matched up an entry for the same volume and page number, looking for Kate. I found the following match for William's wife. Her name was Ethel Kate Maynard so her middle name was given in the 1901 Census, above. This also fits with their 2nd daughter who they called Ethel.

I found the following birth for an Ethel Marian A E Pridham, born in the 2nd quarter of 1900 in Fulham (Vol No. 1A - Page 348). This could be the daughter of William and Ethel Kate.

Lawrence Pridham is my GGG Grandfather and according to the census info would have been born around 1842 in Ipplepen, Devon. His wife was Harriett born about 1842 in Torquay, Devon. What is funny is that they were living at 106 Waterford Road in Fulham. Waterford Road is not far from where we moved to in the late 1970s and had no clue that our ancestors were living nearby all those years before.

I found this marriage for a Lawrence Pridham in 1863 in Newton Abbot (Vol No. 5B - Page 245).

Also this entry for a Harriett Ryder which matches Lawrence's entry so this was probably his wife.

I found this death for a Harriett Pridham, aged 64, in the 1st Quarter of 1906 (Vol No. 1A - Page 227). This was possibly Lawrence's wife Harriett (nee Ryder).

I found this death for a Lawrence Pridham... If this is the same one he died in the first quarter of 1907 in Fulham, aged 64 (Vol No. 1A - Page 276).

I have searched back further in the censuses for Lawrence Pridham and found the following...

The above is from the 1891 Census. Here Lawrence is head of house (occupation was Tobacconist) with Harriett as wife and 5 children, William (occupation Cook... he wasn't married to Kate at this time), Frederick (carpenter, who was gone by the 1901 Census), Herbert, Walter and Edith (all scholars). They were still living at 106 Waterford Road at this time.

Above is the 1881 Ebgland Census. They are living at 1 Harwood Terrace in Fulham, London. Only William, Fred and Herbert are born at that time. They had a boarder living with them, an Ernest Ryder who was an assistant teacher (born in Torquay, Devon).*Now that it looks likely that Lawrence's wife was a Ryder, Ernest may have been a member of her family. I have found this birth listing for Ernest Ryder, born in the last quarter of 1860 in Newton Abbot (Vol No. 5B - Page 138)*

I have just found the following birth entry for a Harriet Ryder born in Newton Abbot on 3rd quarter of 1841...

Above is the 1871 England Census. The family are living at number 36 Peterborough Road in Fulham, London. Lawrence's occupation was Shoe Maker. This is a different occupation from tobacconist but if you look at the info for the 1951 census you will see that Lawrence's father, Thomas, was listed as a Cordwainer which is another name for a shoe maker. Perhaps Lawrence was trying to follow in his father's footstpes. Their children's names slightly differ in that there was what looks to be Charles (also could be Thos, short for Thomas) listed as 2 years older than William who must have gone by the time of the next census and would have been around 16 years old. There is also an Alice as being 2 and she is also not listed on the 1881 census. Alice is interesting as my mother was called Alison and I am wondering if perhaps she is named after this Alice. There seems to be a sister listed... looks like Mary ? Ryder who is 19 years old. I don't know if this was Lawrence's sister or Harriet's. I think it says she's unmarried so Ryder may have been Harriet's maiden name.

Above is the 1861 England Census. Lawrence is listed as 19 year old nephew to Caroline Evans along with John Pridham who was 17 years old. Caroline Evans is listed as Head of House and has a daughter called Mary Evans. Both of them are listed as being born in Broadhampton, Devon. I am assuming that either Caroline's maiden name was Pridham or that she was related some other way. If she was a sister of Lawrence's father then she must have been quite a bit older. They were living at 31 Chapel Street, Stonehouse, Devon. *After writing this i have found that Lawrence's father was born around 1797 so the Caroline Evans mentioned in the census could have been a younger sister. It's looking more and more likely that Caroline was indeed a Pridham.*

I just looked up Chapel Street, Stonehouse and found a directory for devon. In it I found the following...

"EVANS, PRIDHAM & CO. Newspaper proprietors. 35, Kinterbury Street, Plymouth 1830d. Proprietors of Plymouth, Devonport and Stonehouse Herald 1830d."

This just has to be the link between these two names. Very interesting indeed and a lead for me to follow.

The 1861 Census on FreeCen lists the Pridham household as follows...

Surname First name(s) Rel Status Sex Age Occupation Where Born Remarks
PRIDHAM Thomas Head M M 69 Shoemaker Devon - Kingskerswell
PRIDHAM Eliza Wife M F 45 Devon - Staverton
PRIDHAM Selina Dau - F 10 Devon - Kingsteignton
PRIDHAM Albert Son - M 7 Devon - Ipplepen
PRIDHAM Alfred J Nephew U M 17 Cabinetmaker Devon - Dawlish

Piece: RG9/1411 Place: Torquay -Devon Enumeration District: 10
Civil Parish: Tormoham Ecclesiastical Parish: Tormoham
Folio: 115 Page: 66 Schedule: 338
Address: 6 George St

I have also found this census information, which is for a John Pridham, aged 66 and a Cord Winder, which may be a shoemaker. I am wondering if this person could be a brother of Thomas. He was also born in the same place, Kingskerswell...

Surname First name(s) Rel Status Sex Age Occupation Where Born Remarks
PRIDHAM John Head M M 66 Cord Winder Devon - Kingskerswell

Piece: RG9/1410 Place: Torquay -Devon Enumeration District: 4
Civil Parish: Kingskerswell Ecclesiastical Parish: Kingskerswell
Folio: 41 Page: 6 Schedule: 38
Address: -

I have recently been in touch with another researcher who was kind enough to send me some baptism and census information for my Pridham ancestors.....

Laurence was baptised in Ipplepen 12 June 1842. **Which fits with the following birth from 1842 (Vol No. 10 - Page 153)**

He is in the 1851 census as follows...

Name                  Relationship Mar Age  Sex Occupation  Birthplace
Thomas  PRIDHAM Head M 54 M Cordwainer Kingskerswell-Dev
Eliza  PRIDHAM Wife M 36 F --- Broadhempston-Dev
Emma  PRIDHAM Daur U 17 F --- Ipplepen-Dev
Laurance  PRIDHAM Son - 8 M --- Ipplepen-Dev
John  PRIDHAM Son - 6 M --- Ipplepen-Dev
Silena  PRIDHAM Daur - 2 F --- Kingsteignton-Dev
Robert  CINCH Serv M 50 M Cordwainer Newton Abbot-Dev
 Address: Fore Street
 Census Place: Bovey Tracey, Devonshire
 PRO Reference: HO/107/1870 Folio: 580 Page: 41 FHL Film: 0221018

Eliza (or Elizabeth), Laurence's mother, was Thomas's second wife.  Emma's mother, Mary, died in Ipplepen in October 1834, aged 37, and Thomas is buried with her. Neither of Thomas's marriages was in Ipplepen.

**I found the following marriage for a Thomas Pridham in Bideford in the 3rd quarter of 1837 (Vol No. 10 - Page 77). Hopefully this will turn out to be the correct one.**

 

This fits with his first wife's death in 1834 and his first child's birth from his 2nd marriage in 1842** Update - I cannot match the marriage with an Elizabeth so this is probably not the correct marriage. It looks like this may have been a marriage to Susanna Grigg. I will leave this up in case it's of use to someone else.

**I also found a possible birth entry for Selina born in Newton Abbot in the 2nd quarter of 1848 (Vol No. 10 - Page 168)**

Ephraim and Ellen (=Helen) are Thomas's children (with Mary), baptised 4 Feb 1827 and 25 Aug 1831:

1851 Census for Ephraim...

Ephraim  PRIDHAM Head M 24 M Cabinet Maker Ipplepen-DEV
Grace  PRIDHAM Wife M 27 F Cabinet maker wife South Tawton-DEV
Wm.  PRIDHAM Son - 1 M Cabinet Maker Son Torquay-DEV
Ellen  PRIDHAM Sis - 21 F --- Ipplepen-DEV
George  PRIDHAM Son - 1m M --- Torquay-DEV
 Address: 6 Happaway Row, Torquay
 Census Place: Tormoham, Devonshire
 PRO Reference: HO/107/1872 Folio: 388 Page: 68 FHL Film: 0221020

Here is Ephraim in the 1861 Census...

Surname First name(s) Rel Status Sex Age Occupation Where Born Remarks
PRIDHAM Ephraim Head M M 34 Cabinet Maker Devon - Ipplepen
PRIDHAM Grace Wife M F 37 Devon - South Tawton
PRIDHAM William Son - M 11 Scholar Devon - Torquay
PRIDHAM George Son - M 10 Scholar Devon - Torquay
PRIDHAM Emma Dau - F 8 Scholar Devon - Torquay
PRIDHAM Charles Son - M 6 Scholar Devon - Torquay
PRIDHAM Alfred Son - M 10m Devon - Torquay

Piece: RG9/1412 Place: Torquay -Devon Enumeration District: 15
Civil Parish: Tormoham Ecclesiastical Parish: Upton
Folio: 132 Page: 30 Schedule: 380
Address: Hapaway Row

Another half sister of Lawrence (Laurence) was Thirza Ann, baptised on 9th October 1828:

Elizabeth  PARNELL Head M 63 F Lodging House Keeper Kingskerswell-Dev
Elinor  AGIS Sis M 53 F --- Kingskerswell-Dev
Thirza  PRIDHAM Serv U 22 F House Servant Ipplepen-Dev
 Address: 1 Victoria Cottage, Torquay
 Census Place: Tormoham, Devonshire
 PRO Reference: HO/107/1872 Folio: 439 Page: 62 FHL Film: 0221020

**I found a marriage for a Thirza in June 1863...It is entered twice in the index with Vol No. 5B Page 279**

This (below) is probably "Benoni", baptised 28 Oct 1834, so Mary died giving birth to him:

Robert  HOOKE Head U 23 M Butcher Ermington-DEV
Mary  HOOKE Moth W 65 F --- Cornworth-DEV
Mary  HOOKE Sis W 20 F --- Ermington-DEV
Benjamin  PRIDHAM Serv U 17 F Butchers Servant Ipplepen-DEV
 Address: 12 Braddons Row
 Census Place: Tormoham, Devonshire
 PRO Reference: HO/107/1872 Folio: 192 Page: 32 FHL Film: 0221020

Tormoham is Torquay.

Below is the Gravestone of my GGGG Grandfather Thomas Pridham and his family.

IN LOVING MEMORY OF THOMAS PRIDHAM DIED APRIL 1st 1877 AGED 83 YEARS In the m? of life we are in death of whom may we seek to s? but of thee O Lord Also of MARY his Wife DIED OCTOBER 1st 1834 AGED 37 YEARS Also LAWERANCE Their Third Son DIED FEBy 12th 1832 AGED 2 YEARS