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)