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)