Smith Family, Coatham/Redcar Yorkshire .....

[LesleyB]

Looking for more info on :
Andrew Smith (b.1850 Fearn, Ross and Cromarty Scotland - d. 1928 Coatham, Yorkshire) who married Isabella Jefferson (b. 1859 Kirkleatham Yorkshire - d.1934 Coatham) in 1877 at Kirkleatham. Their children were:

Hugh Rose b. 1887 m. Annie Maria Kitchen in 1904, Brotton
George Henry b.1880
Annie Isabell (known as Peggy, don't know why!)) b. 1882 - d.1975
Frederick b. 1885
Julius Francis b. 1888
Mary b.1890
Lawrence b. 1896
Lily (twin) b. 1899
Jessie (twin) b. 1899
Children all born Redcar or Coatham.

I've managed to follow them through the 1881 - 1901 census when they stayed in the Coatham area.
One of the girls (not Peggy, but Mary, Lily or Jessie) married a Reginald Allen who is mentioned as a son in law on Isabella's death cert. as living at 43 Gosforth Avenue, Redcar

Annie Isabell apparently married a Maurice Pratt according to her death cert in 1975 but he, and indeed their marriage which I'm guessing was sometime in the ten years or so following 1901, has proved puzzlingly ellusive. Family legend says he died 6 months after the marriage, but the only likely Maurice Pratt I've found so far (who died in 1902) is not stated as marrried on his death cert.

I've been trying to find a living connection with this family for a while as I'd be very interested to know what became of them all.

Andrew Smith was an apprentice gardener in the 1871 at Balnagown Castle in Easter Ross. Still don't know why exactly he ended up in Yorkshire by the time of the 1881 - suspect it must have been work related. He went on to be a "gentlemans gardener" and also seems to have had his own market garden business in Coatham around 1901. Both his siblings came south as well, but the other two only made it as far as Edinburgh!

Any info or thoughts on how to find out more would be very welcome.

[CatrionaL]

Hi Lesley

Just been having a look for your elusive marriage on SP, using surnames only because of Peggy's varied given names.

PRAT* and SMITH 1903. There is one hit for the period 1899-1910. Unfortuanately I didn't even have one credit left so couldn't have a look see if they just might be your Maurice and Peggy.

Clutching at straws, I fear.

Family legend says he died 6 months after the marriage, but the only likely Maurice Pratt I've found so far (who died in 1902) is not stated as marrried on his death cert.

I had one ancestor who's marriage lasted less than a year and although she had a son from that mariage, on her 2nd mariage cert, she was marked as "spinster".



Best wishes
Catriona

[LesleyB]

Hi Catriona
Thanks for trying. It was good of you to pick up on what is quite an old post too.

I suspect the marriage happened south of the border, hunches would suggest either Yorkshire where Peggy was from or London where she allegedly went to be a nurse later on, but I realise I didn't make that very clear in my post. However, the English records have turned up nothing that looks likely. I've checked marriages April-June 1901 to Oct-Dec 1910 & no sign of Maurice Pratt on 1837online. I think what I need to do is check the next ten year period on official (i.e.paying!!) sources just to be sure.

Have also checked freeBMD 1900-1920 but I am aware the indices are not complete for all of that period yet.

I'd love to be proved wrong but I suspect "family legend" may have gone quite substantially off course here. Certainly on (Annie Isabell) Peggy's death entry it clearly states she was a widow of Maurice Pratt, but can I find the rotter?? And seriously, I begin to wonder sometimes, does anyone actually check up on who you say you were married to?? She had no children.

It would be great to find a Smith descendant from this branch of the family who just might be able to put me back on the right track! (and restore my faith in "family legend"!) I live in hope...

best wishes
Lesley

[Andy]

In 1861 there is only one Isabella Jefferson born two years either side of 1859 who was born in Yorkshire.

George Jeffereson 38, Inn Keeper, born York, Appleton Wiske
Mary 31 born York, (looks like) Eothaim (perhaps Elloughton With Brough?)
Mary 13
Jane 10
Elizabeth 9
Margaret 7
Sarah 5
Isabella 1

all children born York, "Middlesbrough"

By 1871 this George was a widowed Coal merchant in Durham

Children:

Sarah 14
Annie 9
Alice 7
Harriet 7
Emma 3

All born Middlesbrough no sign of a likely Isabella ANYWHERE.

George's parents were probably George and Mary of Appleton Wiske, if so he had at least five sisters.

[Andy]

There are only two Maurice Pratts born 5 years either side of 1880 in the 1891 census.

The most likely is one born in Ipswich but living with his parents in Yorkshire.

He is nowhere to be found in 1901 but the Boer war was still on the go.

In 1891 in Manningham, York:

William Pratt 60 teacher of dancing born Norfolk
Rebecca 47 born Norfolk
Emma E. 23
Maurice 16
Violet 14
Herbert 12
Oliver 7

All children born Ipswich

This William is still alive in 1901 a Music teacher in Bradford, however the enumerator must have been either deaf as a post or drunk or both.

William 70 Music Teacher born Norfolk
Rose ? wife 57 born Norfolk
Edith dau 31 Dancing School born Ipswich
Lucy 24 Music School
Martin 26 Commercial Clerk
Sam 22 Commercial Clerk
Oswald 18 Commercial Clerk

All children born Ipswich.

In 1881 the family were still in Ipswich (if it's the correct family)

William 50 Dance Teacher born Norfolk
Rebecca 39 born Norfolk
George 17 student of music
Frederick 14
Frank 13
Phillip 10
Clement 9
Maurice 7
Herbert 2
Emma 15
Laura 5
Caroline Branch mother-in-law 69 born Norfolk

All children born Ipswich.

in 1861 William was boarding with his mother-in-law to be and Rebecca.

[Andy]

Given that the older boy, George, was also into dancing there is an outside chance that this lot were related to Boris Karloff. Boris started as William Henry Pratt and was a dancer (he trained under Isadora Duncan).

His immediate brothers and sisters included Emma Caroline, George Marlow, Frederick Grenville. Very similar to other Pratts on this page.

[LesleyB]

Hi Andy
Thanks for pitching in!

re. Jeffersons: The Jefferson family you found are the correct lot. Thanks for the 1861 info - I didn't have that. I don't know where Isabella was either in the 1871. In the 1881 her father George is mentioned as being born in Hoppton Work(?) I took this to be a transcription error... until I saw the original - that is what it actually says! Another drunken enumerator no doubt who didn't know an Appleton Wiske when he heard one.


re. Mr Pratt. I now see where I have gone wrong. I had info on the Pratts you metioned, and another likely Pratt family. I had followed them through census returns. I had not however, made any connection to Boris Karloff - now that would have been fun!! No, what I had done was made assumptions... I had been told that Peggy left home after her mother had the twins because she was fed-up childminding. I had assumed therefore that she left and then subsequently married shortly after the 1901.

I checked 1910-20 marriages on 1837online tonight. Having found nothing but with still a few credits left I though "oh, what the heck.." and started checking 1921...and BINGO. There he was: Maurice Pratt, April-June 1921 married a Smith at Henley. Cross check on Annie Smith and yes, its them.

With 2 credits left I considered the story of Maurice's death 6 months later - plumped for last quarter 1921 and there he was at Henley. But, here's the twist -he was 26!!! Peggy was married at age 39 to a man 13 years her junior. Not what I had expected at all.

So, I had note of him all along (this looks like him, not checked yet) :
1901 Maurice Pratt 5 Oxon Henley Oxfordshire Greys
but had discounted him as being WAAYYY too young, along with three other 5 yr old Maurice Pratts from Essex, Surrey and Sussex.

Pity about Boris Karloff though....I could have had such fun with that one.....

Best wishes
Lesley

[LesleyB]

...and why you shouldn't believe all you read on a certificate.

Shhhh...
Annie Isabel McCulloch Smith married Maurice Pratt on 20th April 1921 in Oxfordshire. It is clearly stated on the certificate that Maurice was aged 26... and Annie was ...27!?!? (She was 39 really, born 1882, but I wonder if Maurice knew??). I can imagine it would have been seen to be a bit odd in a social sense for a woman to marry a man 13 years her junior, but you'd think that if he'd been aware of it, he'd have upped his age by a few years and she'd have knocked a few years off her age?

Sadly, he died six months later as I'd been told.

Amazing what you find on certificates...

Oh, and it was Lily Smith who married Reginald Allen (in 1920)

Thanks for all the input on this one - it made me realise what I HADN'T looked at - which was where the answer lay.

Best wishes
Lesley

[StewL]

Lesley

I have found that one of my own gggrandparents had married a man 14 years her junior. As far as theie death certificates are concerned!
So it looks like even way back then our grannies found themselves a "toy-boy"