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)