Dennis James Nicholass 1844 - 1927

Dennis James Nicholass was another of my paternal great great grandfathers.  He was born on 15th November 1844 in Deal on the Kent coast.  He was baptised at St Leonard's church in Deal on 6th December 1844.  Dennis's parents were Dennis Long Nicholass (1811 - 1879) and Elizabeth Parker Thomsett (1810 - 1885).

1844 baptism of Dennis James Nicholass (courtesy of Find My Past)

St Leonard's is a lovely church on the outskirts of Deal.  More information about its history can be found here.

St Leonard's church in Deal (picture: Steve Goodsell)

On the 1851 census Dennis is living with his parents and 5 of his siblings in a house in Exchange Street in Deal.

1851 census Dennis James Nicholass (courtesy of The National Archives and Ancestry)

There is a house at the same address which is along a very narrow street near the sea front.  I'm not sure if it's the original house which was there in 1851.

Exchange Street in modern times (courtesy of Google Maps)

As far as I know Dennis was the 5th of 8 children born to Dennis and Elizabeth.  His siblings were:

Louisa Thomsett 1834 - 1847
William Thomsett 1836 - 1894
Henry 1838 - 1914
Joseph 1841 - 1916
George 1846 - 1922
Emma Elizabeth 1849 - 1928
Thomas John 1851 - 1930

On the 1861 census Dennis and his family had moved house.  This time they were living in Silver Street which is just two roads along from Exchange Street.

1861 census Dennis James Nicholass (courtesy of The National Archives and Find My Past)

Silver Street in modern times (courtesy of Google Maps)

On 13th December 1868 Dennis married Mary Elizabeth Williams at the parish church of Great Mongeham near Deal.  Dennis' profession is given as shipwright.

St Martin's church, Great Mongeham (picture: John Lawrence)

By the time of the 1871 census Dennis and Mary were living in a cottage in Albert Street in Ramsgate.  They had one son, George, who was about a year old.  Dennis is still a shipwright by profession.

Quite a few modern houses have replaced the older ones on Albert Street in modern times so it appears that the house is no longer in existence.

1871 census Dennis James Nicholass (courtesy of The National Archives and Find My Past)

On the 1881 census Dennis is living with his wife, Mary, and 5 of their 10 children in a house in Townley Street in Ramsgate.

1881 census Dennis James Nicholass (courtesy of The National Archives and Ancestry)

The children of Dennis and Mary were:

George Williams 1869 - 1957
Mary Elizabeth 1871 - 1871
Thomas Henry 1872 - 1925
Mary Elizabeth 1875 - 1960
Julia Eleanor 1877 - 1877
Ellen Fanny 1879 - 1967
John Betts 1881 - 1951
Florence May 1883 - 1981
William 1885 - 1919
Lillian Maud 1887 - 1958

The family are living in the same house in Ramsgate on the 1891 census and Dennis is a shipwright.

1891 census Dennis James Nicholass (courtesy of The National Archives and Find My Past)

On the 1891 census the Dennis and his family have moved home to Cambridge Terrace, in Church Road, in Ramsgate.  The family are split over two pages of the census.  I think the house was at one end of the road but I'm not sure which one it was.

1901 census Dennis James Nicholass (courtesy of The National Archives and Find My Past)

On the 1911 census Dennis and Mary had moved to the other end of Church Road in Ramsgate.  Three of their children are living with them along with a boarder.  Dennis is still a shipwright at the age of 66.

1911 census Dennis James Nicholass (courtesy of The National Archives and Find My Past)

Church Road in Ramsgate (picture: Google Maps)

Dennis died in 1927 in Ramsgate at the age of 82.

Mary Ann Woodward 1853 - 1919

Mary Ann Woodward was my great great grandmother.  She was born on 25th June 1853 at St Lawrence in Ramsgate, Kent.  Her parents were Thomas Woodward (1808 - 1893) and Mary Ann Scott (1814 - 1892).

Mary was baptised at St Lawrence church on 7th August 1853.

1853 baptism of Mary Ann Woodward (courtesy of Find My Past)

The church of St Lawrence is shown in the image below.

St Lawrence church, St Lawrence, Ramsgate Kent (from Visit Kent website)

On the 1861 census Mary is living with her parents and three siblings.  The family live in St Lawrence Street in St Lawrence.  I cannot find a street with this name in St Lawrence now.  There's a St Lawrence Road and St Lawrence Chase.  The road may have changed its name.

1861 census Mary Woodward (courtesy of The National Archives and Ancestry)

As far as I have found so far Mary was the youngest of 8 children born to Thomas and Mary.  Her siblings were:

Thomas 1836 - 1914
Sarah 1837 - 1902
John 1839 - 1897
Daniel 1843 - 1907
George 1846 - 1904
James 1848 - 1910
Richard 1850 - 1874

On the 1871 census Mary is a servant living in the household of a Samfford Crout in Queens Downs Road, St John Hackney in London.  Samfford was a sadler from Devon.  I'll be honest I've no idea how Mary met her husband Alfred who was a fisherman in Ramsgate but spent some time in Grimsby!

1871 census Mary Ann Woodward (courtesy of The National Archives and Find My Past)

However, meet they did and Mary and Alfred married on 26th January 1879 at the Ebenezer Congregational Chapel in Ramsgate.  At the time Alfred was living at Staffordshire Place in Ramsgate.  Mary was living in the High Street in St Lawrence.

By the time of the 1881 census Mary and Alfred had two boys of their own and were living in Claremont Gardens.

1881 census Mary and Alfred Bristow (courtesy of The National Archives and Ancestry)

Sadly Mary's husband, Alfred, died at sea on about 24th October 1882.  It left Mary to bring up three young boys.  Alfred John, Alfred's son by his first wife, Ann, who was 7 years old.  Walter, my great grandfather, who was 2 years old and 7 month old James.

Mary became a laundress and had her parents, Thomas and Mary, living with her on the 1891 census, along with 3 lodgers.  Life must have been difficult for her.

1891 census Mary Ann Woodward (courtesy of The National Archives and Find My Past)

Mary never married again.  On the 1901 census Mary is living in the same house with her 2 sons (there is no sign of Alfred's first son - at some point he became a Barnado boy and emigrated to America).

1901 census Mary Ann Woodward (courtesy of The National Archives and Find My Past)

The house is still standing in the High Street of St Lawrence and is now a Tandoori Restaurant.  The house is very close to St Lawrence church.

High Street, St Lawrence, Ramsgate (courtesy of Google Maps)

On the 1911 census Mary is still living in the High Street in St Lawrence but at a different number.  She is now referred to as a lodging house keeper and has 2 boarders living in the house with her.

1911 census Mary Ann Woodward (courtesy of The National Archives and Find My Past)

The house Mary lived in was still near St Lawrence church.  It is the house with the blue door shown in the picture below.

High Street, St Lawrence, Ramsgate, Kent (courtesy of Google Maps)

Mary died on 2nd January 1919 at the house of her son, Walter, and his family.  Sadly she died of breast cancer at the age of 65.

1919 Death certificate of Mary Ann Bristow

Alfred John Bristow 1853 - 1882

My two times great grandfather was born on 2nd September 1853.  His parents were Abraham William Bristow (1828-1883) and Elizabeth Ansell (1826-1872).  Unfortunately I don't have any photographs of him.

Alfred's birth certificate states that he was born at 23 Belle Vue Place in Ramsgate.  This was his family's home.  It would appear that the street in which they lived no longer exists.  There is a Bellevue Road and a Bellevue Avenue in Ramsgate but I cannot find Belle Vue Place.  I think it might have been near these two streets.

As far as I know Alfred's siblings were:

Abraham William 1849 - 1876
Emily Elizabeth 1850 - 1852
Henry George 1852 - 1857
Cecilia Emily 1855 - 1857
Lavinia Eleanor 1858 - 1917
Frederick Henry 1861 - 1929
Walter Ernest 1865 - 1866
Horace Walter 1867 - 1955

Five of the nine children died before their father Abraham.  It must have been tragic for the family.

The first census which Alfred appears on is that for 1861.  Alfred is living with his parents and two of his siblings.

1861 census for Alfred John Bristow (courtesy of The National Archives and Ancestry)

Alfred is the one member of my ancestors about whom there are several newspaper articles.  Sadly they aren't all good news!

In 1864 Alfred was accused of stealing some duck eggs.  A report was written in the Thanet Advertiser of 11th June 1864.

Thanet Advertiser 11 June 1864 (courtesy Find My Past)

In 1870 Alfred was given two sentences of hard labour for robbing items from his father and elder brother.  The following article was from the Kentish Gazette on 16th August 1870.

Kentish Gazette 16 August 1870 (courtesy of Find My Past)

I cannot find Alfred on the 1871 census.  I think this was probably the time at which he was serving his sentence of hard labour.  As I understand it some prisoners went to serve hard labour somewhere in Sandwich in Kent.

In 1872 Alfred was in trouble with the police again.  This time he had absconded from a fishing boat upon which he was serving as an apprentice.

Thanet Advertiser 29 June 1872 (courtesy of Find My Past)

Sadly for Alfred there were problems at home as his mother was very ill in an institution at this time.  She died in October 1872 in the Kent lunatic asylum in Maidstone.

In 1874 there was happier news as Alfred married Ann Fanny Moore on 2nd April in Great Yarmouth.

2 April 1874 - marriage of Alfred Bristow and Ann Moore (courtesy of Ancestry)

The couple had one son, Alfred John, and then Alfred's wife, Ann, died of tuberculosis in 1878.

Alfred married again in 1879.  He married my two times great grandmother Mary Ann Woodward.  Alfred was in the local newspaper once again but for a happier occasion this time!

1879 marriage of Alfred Bristow and Mary Woodward (courtesy of Find My Past)

The couple married at the Ebenezer Chapel in Ramsgate on 26th January 1879.  The building is still standing.  It is located in Meeting Street in Ramsgate and is now used as a children's nursery.

The Ebenezer Chapel in Ramsgate (courtesy of Google Maps)

The couple had two sons, Walter (1880 - 1963) and James (1882 - 1964).  James emigrated to Canada in the early 1900s.

On the 1881 census Alfred, Mary and their two children are living in Claremont Gardens in Ramsgate.

1881 census Alfred Bristow (courtesy of The National Archives and Ancestry)

The house still exists in Ramsgate.

Claremont Gardens Ramsgate (courtesy of Google Maps)

Sadly the next document I have for Alfred is for his death aboard a fishing boat called the Young Rose.  A storm blew up one October night in 1882 and the boat which Alfred was on was one of three lost on the same night.

Young Rose lost at sea (courtesy of The National Archives and Ancestry)

As Alfred's body was never found there is no death certificate for him.  Alfred was to appear in the local newspaper again.  This time to confirm his loss of life at sea.  A report about the loss of all the fishermen was written in the Thanet Advertiser of 16th December 1882.

Thanet Advertiser 16th December 1882 (courtesy of Find My Past)

Clara Nelly Fuller 1884 - 1950

Clara Nelly Fuller 1884 - 1950

My Mum's maternal grandmother was Clara Nelly Fuller.  She was known as Biddy.  I don't have any information about what Clara was like as a person as I don't recall my Mum talking about her.  Clara died in 1950, when Mum was about 9 years old, so Mum possibly didn't remember much about Clara.

According to the 1939 Register Clara was born on 12 December 1884.  Her parents were Stephen James Fuller (1841 - 1905) and Eliza White (1839 - 1913).

The first census return which Clara appeared on was that from 1891.  On this census she is living with her parents and 6 of her 11 siblings.  The family are living in Arnold Road in Margate although the address of the house is 6 Milton Cottages.  Possibly the houses in Arnold Road were still being built at the time.

The house is still standing.  I think it is the house in the middle of the image below.

Milton Cottages (courtesy of Google Maps)

1891 census (courtesy of The National Archives and Ancestry)

As far as I am aware Clara's parents had 12 children - quite the house full!  Clara was the youngest child.  Her siblings were as follows:

William John 1862 - 1952
Maud Ethel 1864 - 1952
Jane Annie 1866 - 1899
Stephen James 1867 - 1952
Herbert 1869 - 1946
Walter 1871 - 1932
Elizabeth 1874 - 1946
Charles Henry 1876 - 1961
Eliza Ann 1879 - 1961
Florence Louisa 1880 - 1953
Sidney Richard 1882 - 1919

Two of Clara's brothers, Charles Henry and Sidney Richard, later emigrated to the United States.  Both went to Nebraska and set up homes and families there so I must have several cousins who live in the USA.

On the 1901 census Clara is living with her parents and two of her siblings, Florence and Sidney.  The family are living in Dane Park Lodge.  Clara's father became the first Park Keeper of Dane Park, in Margate, in the late 1890s.  I think the lodge came with the position of Park Keeper so the family lived there.  The lodge is located at the entrance to the park on Park Crescent Road.

1891 census (courtesy of The National Archives and Ancestry)

On the census Clara's profession is given as dressmaker.

Below are two pictures of Dane Park Lodge.  One is from the 1920s and the other is more recent.

Dane Park Lodge in 1923 (courtesy of Margate Local History website)

Dane Park Lodge in about 2015

Sadly Clara's father died in 1905 so the family moved out of the lodge.

On the 1911 census return Clara is living with her mother and sister Florence.

1911 census (courtesy of The National Archives and Ancestry)

The 3 women are living in Oxford Street in Margate.  Clara is now 26 years old, unmarried and her profession is listed as Fancy Bazaar Assistant.  I read somewhere that this could often be an occupation for middle class women.

Oxford Street in Margate (courtesy of Google Maps)

Clara's mother died in 1913.  Clara married John William Horn on 18th February 1914.  Apparently Clara's family did not approve of her choice of husband.  I wonder if, once her mother had died, Clara decided that she didn't wish to be a spinster for the rest of her life and so married John.

1914 Marriage Certificate for John William Horn and Clara Nelly Fuller

Below is a newspaper cutting from 1914 announcing the wedding of Clara Fuller and John Horn.

The Whitstable Times and Herne Bay Herald of 7 March 1914 (courtesy Find My Past)

The next official document on which Clara appears is the 1939 Register.  On it Clara is living in Byron Avenue with her husband, John, and 3 of their 4 daughters.

1939 Register (courtesy of The National Archives and Ancestry)

Clara died on 26th December 1950.  Her death certificate reveals that she died of a cerebral haemorrhage and arteriosclerosis.  Clara and John were living at 10 Setterfield Road in Margate at the time.

1950 Death Registration for Clara Nelly Horn (nee Fuller)