John William Horn 1887 - 1965

John William Horn 1887 - 1965

My Mum's grandfather was John William Horn.  According to the 1939 register he was born on 31st March 1887.  He was born in Margate and was the son of John William Crump Horn (1862 - 1919) and his wife Mary Ann Setterfield (1858 - 1929).

John's siblings were:

Dorothy Emily 1889 - 1925
George Henry 1890 - 1890
Henry Edward 1891 - 1912
Winifred Mary 1893 - 1979

The first official documentary evidence I have for him is the 1891 census.  On it he is living at 1 Clifton Street in Cliftonville with his parents, John and Mary, and his sister, Dorothy.

1891 census John William Horn (courtesy of The National Archives and Ancestry)

The house where the family lived has since been demolished as there is now only a gap where the house was once located.  The house would have been roughly where the car is on the left hand side of the picture below.

Clifton Street, Cliftonville, Margate (courtesy of Google Maps)

On the 1901 census the family had moved house and were living in Milton Road in Margate.  All of John's siblings, who survived into adulthood, are included on the census.  Also living with the family is John's paternal grandmother, Elizabeth.  More about her later!

1901 census John William Horn (courtesy of The National Archives and Find My Past)

The house they were living in during the night of the 1891 census is still standing.  It's a lovely house but does look rather small for 7 people.

Milton Road (courtesy of Google Maps)

On the 1911 census John is living in the same house, as on the 1901 census, with his parents and his younger brother Henry Edward.  Henry was to die the following year aged only 20.

1911 census John William Horn (courtesy of The National Archives and Find My Past)

On the 1911 census John's profession is listed as a hairdresser.  My Mum told me stories about visiting her grandfather at his hairdresser's salon.  He used to give my Mum pocket money which she would save rather than spending.  Mum was always rather careful with money.

On 18th February 1914 John married Clara Nelly Fuller at St John the Baptist church in Margate.  Apparently Clara's family considered that she had married beneath her.  Clara's family were well known as a family of builders in the Thanet area and, as far as I understand it, they had become quite well to do.

John served in the First World War.  He was enlisted in the Labour Corps.  It would seem that his actual war records no longer survive but his pension records, from after the end of the First World War, do.

1919 pension records for John William Horn (courtesy of The National Archives and Find My Past)

John William Horn is the only one of my direct ancestors who served in either World War.  My other ancestors were either too young or too old to serve.  It is certainly a blessing that none of my other direct ancestors were involved as plenty of them had brothers or uncles who served and who lost their lives.  I have no idea what John's experience of World War One was like.  My Mum certainly didn't reveal any stories that he may have related about his service.  Presumably, like many other men at the time, he did not like to talk about it.

On the 1939 Register John and his wife, Clara, were living with 3 of their 4 daughters (including my Mum's Mum).  The family were living in Byron Avenue in Margate.  The house is just around the corner from Milton Avenue where John lived in 1911 with his parents.

1939 Register John William Horn (courtesy of The National Archives and Ancestry)

Byron Avenue in Margate (courtesy of Google Maps)

John William Horn died on 3rd May 1965.  According to his death certificate he died of an acute respiratory infection.  He was 78 years old.

1965 Death Certificate of John William Horn

Emily Sarah Danton 1875 - 1911

Emily Sarah Danton 1875 - 1911

Emily Sarah Danton was my paternal great grandmother.  She was born on 2nd October 1875 in Nonington in Kent.  Nonington is a small village, almost half way between Canterbury and Dover, in the district of Eastry.

The first census upon which Emily appears is that for 1881.  She is living with her paternal grandparents, William and Sarah Danton, in Uffington, Goodnestone in Kent.  Uffington may be Uffington Court Farm as Emily's grandfather was an agricultural labourer.

1881 census for Emily Danton (courtesy of The National Archives and Ancestry)

The 1891 census for Emily was quite difficult to find as it has her last name is given as Danson rather than Danton.  On it she is living as a household domestic servant in the house of the Cooper family.  The family live in, the rather grandly named, Bramling Court in Bramling Street in the village of Ickham in Kent.  It appears that her elder sister, Matilda, is also a servant in the same household.  Matilda is the cook in the house.  I wonder if Matilda was able to secure the servant post for Emily.

1891 census Emily and Matilda Danton (courtesy of The National Archives and Ancestry)

As far as I can make out Emily had nine siblings.  They were as follows:

Matilda Ann 1874 - ?
Emma 1876 - 1939
Eliza 1877 - 1939
Annie 1880 - ?
Elizabeth 1882 - 1883
Alice 1884 - 1956
Harry 1886 - 1970
Albert 1889 - 1915
William George 1897 - 1918

By the time of the 1901 census Emily had married William George Newport.  The couple were living at 1 St John's Street in Margate.

1901 census Emily and William Newport

1 St John's Street, Margate, Kent

The photo above is the house at 1 St John's Street.  I think it may be Daisy standing outside.  The house was demolished at some point in the mid 1970s.  My Dad remembers the house with great fondness.  He has a lot of happy memories from his childhood there.

On the 1911 census the couple are still living in the same house in Margate but this time their daughter, my grandmother Daisy, has been born.

1911 census Emily and William Newport (courtesy of The National Archives and Ancestry)

Sadly Emily died the same year as the 1911 census.  She died on 13th November.  Her death certificate states that she died of cancer of the womb and had a secondary cancer of the liver.  She was only 36 years old.

1911 Death Certificate of Emily Sarah Newport (nee Danton)

The image below shows the grave where Emily and her husband, William, and daughter, Daisy, are buried.  The grave is in Margate Cemetery on the Manston Road.  Unfortunately no one who is alive, in my family, remembers Emily because she died before they were all born.

William George Newport 1875 - 1951

William George Newport 1875-1951

According to the 1939 Register, William George Newport was born on 7th June 1875.  He was born in Margate in Kent.  William's parents were John Michael Newport (1843 - 1922) and Elizabeth Wilson (1847 - 1927).  The first census that William appears on is the one from 1881.

1881 census William Newport (courtesy of The National Archives and Ancestry)

On the 1881 census William is living with his paternal grandparents and 3 of their children, including William's father.  William's mother and 3 of his siblings are also living in the house.

The family are living in the parish of St John's in Margate in an area known as Lydden.  Unfortunately, although the census states that they are living in a cottage, I don't know where the cottage was.  It would seem that they were living in one of nine cottages in the vicinity of Little Nash Farm on Nash Road.  As I understand it, the cottages no longer exist.

As far as I know, William's siblings were:

Herbert John 1873 - 1929
Walter Thomas 1877 - 1951
George 1879 - 1899
Elizabeth 1880 - 1880
Frederick 1882 - 1899
Elizabeth Lillian 1885 - 1960
Mabel 1889 - 1913

The 1891 census took a while for me to find as the family are only listed by their initials as well as their surname.  They are still living near Nash Farm in Lydden, Margate, but are no longer living with William's grandparents.

1891 Census William Newport and Family (courtesy of The National Archives and Ancestry)

On the census William is the third in the list, after his parents, he is now 15 and is a butcher.  This was to remain his main profession.

In 1899, at the age of 23, William married my great grandmother, Emily Sarah Danton.  They were married at the parish church of Holy Trinity in Margate on 28th May 1899.

The building of Holy Trinity church was completed in about 1842.  Sadly it was destroyed by heavy bombardment during the Second World War, on 1 June 1943.  The Limes doctor's surgery is now located on the site and a there is also a large car park.

Holy Trinity Church in Margate (image courtesy of Thanet Life by Simon Moores, 2007)

On the 1911 census William and his wife Emily are living at 1 St John's Street in Margate.  Their only child, my grandmother Daisy, is 9 years old.  William is a butcher's assistant.

Sadly William's wife, Emily, died later in the year in November 1911.  She was only 36 years old.

William married again on 30th September 1916 at the parish church at Mortlake in Surrey.  His new wife was Sarah Ann Brown.

1916 Marriage of William George Newport and Sarah Ann Brown (courtesy of Ancestry)

Poor William didn't have much luck with his wives.  Sadly for the couple Sarah also died in 1918.  It obviously affected him deeply as William never married again.  One of my paternal aunts said that her grandfather, William, was a really lovely gentle man.

On the 1939 Register William is living at 1 St John's Street in Margate.  Living with William are my grandmother, Daisy, and her 5 children.  My uncle Oliver, and my aunts Betty, Marjorie and Mary and my Dad.  Also living in the house was William's sister, Elizabeth.  My Dad always referred to her as aunt Lil.  Apparently she was a very good cook.  As I understand it she worked at a restaurant or a hotel in Cliftonville, near the Winter Gardens, and was very well liked.  She never married.

1939 Register William George Newport (courtesy of Ancestry)

The house at 1 St John's Street, that William and his family lived in, no longer exists as it was knocked down in about the 1970s.  The house was situated very close to St John the Baptist church in Margate.

Margate in 1939 (courtesy of Find My Past)

The last documentary evidence I have for William is the probate document which records his death on 14 December 1951.

1951 Probate Record for William George Newport (courtesy of Ancestry)

Mary Elizabeth Nicholass 1875-1960

Mary Elizabeth Nicholass

My paternal great grandmother was Mary Elizabeth Nicholass.  I have noticed that her surname is variously spelt Nicholas or Nicholass.  She was born in Ramsgate in Kent.  According to the 1939 Register Mary Elizabeth was born on 5 August 1875.  I'm afraid the picture of her above isn't very clear and I'm not sure when it was taken.  Mary's parents were Dennis James Nicholass (1844-1927) and Mary Elizabeth Williams (1845-1912).

As far as I can make out Mary was the 4th of ten born to Dennis and James.  The other children were:

George Williams 1869-1957
Mary Elizabeth 1871-1871
Thomas Henry 1872-1925
Julia Eleanor 1877-1877
Ellen Fanny 1879-1967
John Betts 1881-1851

Florence May 1883-1981
William 1885-1919
Lillian Maud 1887-1958

1881 census (courtesy of The National Archives and Ancestry)

On the 1881 census Mary was living with her parents and 4 of her siblings at 28 Townley Street in Ramsgate, Kent.

Townley Street, Ramsgate (courtesy of Google)

The Nicholass family were still living in the same house ten years later for the 1891 census.

1891 census (courtesy of The National Archives and Ancestry)

Mary is living with her parents and 7 siblings on the 1891 census.  She is 15 years old and a general servant.

On the 1901 census Mary is listed as being a general servant, domestic in a house, called The Shoals in Ramsgate, of a widower named Henry Summers.

1891 census (courtesy of The National Archives and Ancestry)

On a modern map I could find a road called Elms Avenue but no street called The Elms.  So either I didn't locate it or it no longer exists.  Mary married Walter Denis Bristow on 30th March 1902 and their son, Walter Denis, was born on 25th September 1902.  Hmmmm! :-)

1911 census (courtesy of The National Archives and Ancestry)

On the 1911 census Mary is living with her husband, Walter, and their son, my grandfather Walter Denis.  The family have moved to Margate.  Mary is listed as a midwife by profession.  I have contacted the College of Nursing but, unfortunately, they stated that they have no records of her.

Byron Road in Margate (courtesy of Google)

Mary's death certificate states that she died on 20th April 1960 at York House Nursing Home, The Vale, Broadstairs.  She was 84 years old when she died.  Unfortunately she died before I was born so I didn't know her.  I don't have any anecdotes about her as my Dad hasn't really talked about her much.

The last document which I have for Mary Elizabeth Nicholass is a probate document in which she left her effects to her sister Florence May.

Mary Elizabeth Bristow Probate Record (courtesy of Ancestry)

Walter Bristow 1880-1963

Walter Bristow in 1951

Walter Bristow was one of my great grandfathers.  He was born on 21 March 1880.  He must have had a tough early life as his father, who was a fisherman, sadly drowned at sea one night, in the course of his occupation, in October 1882.  Walter had a half brother, called Alfred John Bristow, who was named for his, and Walter's, father.  Unfortunately for Alfred, his mother (Ann Fanny Moore 1854-1878) died at the age of 24 from, that notorious 19th century killer, tuberculosis.  

Walter's other, full, brother was called James.  Both Alfred and James emigrated to the new world.  Alfred was a Barnardo boy and went to the USA while James emigrated to Canada.  Alfred died on 19 March 1951 in Lyons, Wayne County, New York.  James died in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on 13 January 1964.  Both brothers married and had families in America.  

The image below shows Walter Bristow on the 1881 census living with his parents and half brother, Alfred John.  The family were living at 20 Claremont Gardens in St Lawrence, Ramsgate.

1881 census Walter Bristow and his family (courtesy of The National Archives and Ancestry)

 At the time of the 1891 census Walter was living with his mother, brother James, and maternal grandparents.  The family are now living in St Lawrence High Street.  Walter's mother also had 3 lodgers living in the house.  Her profession is listed as laundress.  Clearly times were very hard for the family.

1891 census Walter Bristow and his family (courtesy of The National Archives and Ancestry)

On the 1901 census (below) Walter is still living in St Lawrence High Street with his mother and brother, James.  There are also 3 lodgers living in the house but, by this time, sadly Walter's grandparents had both died.

1901 census Walter Bristow (courtesy of The National Archives and Ancestry)

On 30th March 1901 Walter married my great grandmother, Mary Elizabeth Nicholass.  Their marriage certificate is shown below.

30 March 1901 - Marriage of Walter Bristow and Mary Elizabeth Nicholass

Walter's profession is a bricklayer.  Mary was later to become a midwife as can be seen on the 1911 census return.

1911 census - Walter and Mary Bristow (courtesy of The National Archives and Ancestry)

By the 1911 census Walter and Mary were living in Byron Avenue in Margate.  Their only child, my grandfather Walter Denis, was 8 years old.  Also living with them is a general domestic servant and, interestingly, an adopted child.  The child was a 4 month old girl called Marie Louise Coleman.  I can only surmise that, in her role as a midwife, Mary had perhaps taken on a child whose mother had died.  I have no idea.  I did trace Marie for a short while.  I know that she married but then the recorded evidence for her disappears so I have no further details about her.

On the 1939 Register Walter and Mary have moved again.  This time they are living in Sunset Cottage in New Street in Ash.  Ash is a small village near Sandwich in Kent.

1939 Register for Walter and Mary Bristow (courtesy of The National Archives and Ancestry)

The image below shows how Ash looked in 1939.  I don't think that the cottage, in which Walter and Mary were living, is still standing.

Map of Ash in 1939 (courtesy of Find My Past)

In 1951 Walter and his wife Mary celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.  It was, possibly, quite an achievement in those days.  The newspaper cutting below was from a local Thanet newspaper of the time.  It is where the first photo for this blog came from and is the only photographic evidence that I have for Walter.

1951 Local Newspaper Article

The last documentary evidence that I have for Walter Bristow is the probate document which states that he died on 27 February 1963.

1963 Probate for Walter Bristow (courtesy of Ancestry)

Maternal Grandparents

Hmm, where to begin with this one!

My Mum was born in 1941 so she was a war baby.  My Nan, Winifred Gladys Horn, was 17 when Mum was born.  Mum never knew who her father was.

Through Ancestry DNA I have been trying to find out who Mum's father was.  It isn't an easy task!  My DNA results were that I have 23% Ireland/Scotland ancestry - which was surprising.  I say surprising because all the other ancestors that I have discovered, for at least 5 generations back, were from Kent - at least, as far as I can make out.  So I think that the only place where the Irish/Scottish ancestry can have come from is my maternal grandfather.  I live in hope of finding out who he was so that I can fill in a large section of my, currently blank, family tree.  It's always interesting to know where you come from.

My Mum was born in St Anne's Maternity Home in Heywood near Rochdale, Lancashire.  I'm not entirely sure why Nan was in Heywood in particular at the time.  I discovered, at the recent Family Tree Live event in April this year, that Nan lied about her age in order to join the Army.  When she filled the Army application forms in she said that she was a year older than she actually was.  I guess that's nothing new!  So whether Nan was in Heywood as part of her Army role or she was sent there to give birth to my Mum, I'm not sure.  I know unmarried mothers were often sent away to give birth to their children but it seems a very long way to send Nan.  I would like to access the Army records for my Nan but as she has two children still living I am not Nan's direct descendant.  I need to speak very nicely to my Mum's half brother to see if he can fill in the necessary forms for me!

Winifred Gladys Horn

Winifred Gladys Horn was born on 23 September 1923 and she was one of twins.  Her twin sister is Florence.  Nan died on 18th December 2011 at the Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital in Margate.

When my Mum was 4 years old Nan fostered her out to a family who lived locally who had no children of their own.  The couple were Mabel and Alexander Edward Oliver Brown.  Sadly Alex died in 1956 when my Mum was 14 years old.  Mabel died in 1976 but I do have some vague memories of her.  Apparently she was a bit of a character!  I remember that her house was quite dark, with a long hallway and a lot of old furniture.  I also remember that Mabel used to have the Daily Express newspaper.  I remember this because whenever I went there I used to look in the cupboard under the stairs, where the old newspapers were kept, to read the Rupert the Bear serialisation of stories!

One of my earliest memories is being in Mabel's house making custard with a tin of Bird's custard powder.  I kept eating the mixture of milk, sugar and custard powder because it tasted sweet.  Mum seems never to have been formally adopted by the Browns but she always regarded Mabel as her mother and called her Mum.

Mabel Brown, nee Bellingham

The above photo of Mabel is one of only 2 pictures I have of her.  The original picture also isn't mine.  I need to credit pilot456 on Ancestry for this photo.  It was taken when Mabel was a teenager in the 1910s.  I always think of Mabel fondly because I know my Mum loved her very much.

Paternal Grandparents

My Dad's parents were Walter Denis Bristow and Daisy Florence Newport.  Walter was born on 25th September 1902 in St Lawrence in Ramsgate, Kent.  The probate document for him states that he died on 22 October 1982 at St Augustine's Hospital in Chartham, near Canterbury.  Daisy was born on 25th June 1901 in Ramsgate, Kent.  Her death certificate states that she died on 19 January 1969 at Haine Hospital in Ramsgate.

According to their marriage certificate, the couple married on 25th December 1924 at the parish church of All Saints in Westbrook, near Margate, in Kent.  The couple had 4 children together but when they married Daisy already had a son fathered by another man.  I don't know the father's full name but my Uncle Oliver was apparently named for him.  According to my Dad, Daisy's father would not allow her to marry the father of her first born child but I don't know why.

Unfortunately the marriage was possibly not a happy one as Walter left Daisy in around 1934 when my Dad was about two and a half years old and Dad's youngest sister was about 6 months old.  Walter left Daisy for a woman called Beattie.  Walter and Beattie married after Beattie's husband died in 1976.  I remember, as a young child in the mid seventies, visiting grandad.  Beattie was at their bungalow and seemed a very frail figure sitting in an armchair in the living room.  She died at their house in Birchington on 31st August 1978.

Grandad was a carpenter by profession and I remember he made me some wooden furniture for a dolls house when I was little.  They gave me hours of amusement as a child.

On the 1939 register Walter was living with Beattie in Harrow in Middlesex.  On the same register Daisy was living with her 5 children in her father's house in Margate.  Also living with them was Daisy's Aunt Lil who my Dad remembers with great fondness.

Walter and Daisy's children seem never to have forgiven Walter for leaving Daisy, which is understandable under the circumstances.  I don't think any of them were reconciled with my grandfather before he died which is very sad.

Christmas Day 1924 - Wedding of Walter Bristow and Daisy Newport

Parents

                                              Parents

My parents married in May 1962.  Sadly I wasn't there for the happy occasion!  They married at John the Baptist church in Margate in Kent.  Apparently, despite the fact that it was mid May, the weather was awful, typical British weather I suppose.  So all the photos I have seen were taken indoors.

On the marriage certificate it is stated that my paternal grandfather was deceased.  He wasn't.  Grandad did not pass away until September 1982.  Mum never knew who her father was.  I still don't know but I am trying to discover who he was through DNA.  I haven't found him yet but you never know.

Both my parents told me that throughout the marriage ceremony the vicar kept calling my Dad Frank, despite the fact that his name is Tom!  Mum and Dad could only speculate that the vicar had confused Dad with someone at a previous marriage ceremony.  The marriage certificate also had Frank written on it although, fortunately, it is crossed out and the correct name is substituted.

                                                     Mum and Dad's Wedding  May 1962

Bristow Family Tree

                         Bristow Family Tree Introduction

Hello and welcome to my family history blog.  I'll just introduce myself.  My name is Wendy Blick and this is the first blogging that I've done.  I'm just learning the ropes at the moment so I apologise if the technicalities of this are beyond me!

I've been researching my family history for around 10 years now so I'm not a novice but I'm not an expert either.  I was born and bought up in Thanet in Kent but I now live in Staffordshire.

The main family name that I'm interested in is Bristow, from my father's side of the family.  But I'm also interested in my Mum's side who were families called Horn, Fuller, Setterfield and White amongst many others.

Like most people who have been researching their family history a few scandals and skeletons have revealed themselves.  But there's also some quite sad and moving stories as well.

I'm hoping to share some of those stories along with some photos of my family.  Maybe someone else out there will share some stories that they have or we'll discover that we're related, who knows!


                                                              Street Party in Margate