What happened to Martha Groves & her sons?

This update will look at what happened to Martha Groves nee Alford, and her sons, Francis Henry Mead and George Alford Groves, who were living at 1 The Crescent at the time of the 1881 England Census (See post). Martha's husband, George Groves, has passed away by the time of this time and we will look at what happened to him when we move on 2 The Crescent, later in this One Place Study. 

For now, we return to Martha. A search of the British Newspaper Archive finds an advert placed in the Taunton Courier and Western Advertiser on the 30 September 1885 for stabling to be let by private treaty at 1 The Crescent [1].

Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

On 3 March 1888, in the Somerset County Gazette, there is a wanted advertisment for a general servant for 1 The Crescent [2].

Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

By the time of the 1891 England Census, Martha is living at Springfield House on Staplegrove Road in Taunton, Somerset with Alice Neal, a general servant [3]. 

On the 1901 England Census, Martha is living with her cousin, Lucy Galpin, at 21 Dorchester Road, in Melcombe Regis, Dorset, England, along with Alice Shepherd, a general domestic servant [4].

No entry was found for Martha on the 1911 Census so I started to search for when she passed away. An entry in 1907 on the Probate Search website establishes that Martha died on 8 December 1906 [5]. Her address is given as 10 Clarence Terrace, Claverton Down, Bath. This was the address that her brother, Thomas Alford, and sister, Clara Alford, were living at on the 1911 England Census (see post). It is also interesting to note that she did not leave her effects to either of her sons. Had they passed away before her? There is also an entry on the death index on the General Register Office website [6]. 

I first searched the Bath Burial Index as she had died in the city, however, there was no record for her. I next searched the Somerset burial records on Ancestry and found that she had been laid to rest in Wells [7], where her first husband died (see post).

Next, I searched for Francis Henry Mead, Martha's son for her first marriage to John Mead (see post). He was living with his mother and step-father, George Groves, on the 1871 England Census at 2 The Crescent (see post). However, he was no longer living with his mother at 1 The Crescent at the time the 1881 England Census was taken. Setting the search criteria on Ancestry to his name, born in Wells, Somerset, +/- 2 years around 1862, I found him lodging at the home of James & Sarah Pratt, in Paddington, London [8]. He is a medical student. 

Francis also has an entry in the 1890 Medical Directory stating that he has a M.B. (Bachelor of Medicine) and is a M.R.C.S (Member of the Royal College of Surgeons) and is living at Warre House, Bishop's Lydeard, Somerset [9]. We find Francis is living at Warre House in Bishop's Lydeard, Somerset, on the 1891 England Census [10]. 

  

He is also married to a Florence E. A search of the marriage index on FreeBMD's website finds an entry between Francis Henry Mead and Florence Emmeline Howard in Lambeth in the September quarter of 1884 [11]. A search on Ancestry finds an entry for this union on 30 July 1884, at St Mary, Lambeth [12]:

A search of the 1901 England Census found no entry that was likely to be Francis and Florence Mead. So I looked for Francis again in a later issue of the UK & Ireland Medical Directory on Ancestry and found an entry for him in the 1895 edition [13] which states: 

    MEAD, Francis Hy., La Mesa, San Diego, California, U.S.A. -- M.D. Durh. 1891, M.B. 1885; M.R.C.S. Eng. 1885 

So, I now know why I could not find him on the England Census...he has moved to America! 

I located a Naturalization record for Francis Henry Mead on 15 March 1900 in the Superior Court of San Diego, California [14]. He is also listed on the 1900 United States Federal Census, working as a Physician, married (although Florence is not listed with him), and living in San Diego, California [15]. He has entries on the 1910 [16], 1920 [17] & 1930 [18] United States Census', where he is continuing to live in San Diego, California, along with his wife, Florence, and working as a Physician. There is no record that they ever had any children. 

Francis passed away on 15 November 1931 in San Diego, California, United States of America [19]. Florence passed away on 19 November 1949 also in San Diego [20]. They were laid to rest at Greenwood Memorial Park in San Diego [21] [22].

 

Now onto Martha's other son, George Alford Groves, her first son from her second marriage to George Groves. We last saw him living with his widowed mother on the 1881 England Census at 2 The Crescent, Taunton, Somerset [23].  

A search of the 1891 & 1901 England & Wales Census found no definitive entry for George. However, a search on the Probate Service website found an entry in 1902 for George Alford Groves [24], who was of 21 Dorchester Road, Weymouth, which is where Martha was living at the time of the 1901 England Census. He died on 10 August 1901 at Naawpoort Cape Colony, South Africa. He was a trooper in the French's Scouts. The following announcement was in the Southern Times and Dorset County Herald on Saturday 17 August 1901 [25]:

Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

I could find no record that George Alford Groves was ever married. 

This brings to a close, for now, in my research for Martha Groves nee Alford, who lived at 1 The Crescent, Taunton, Somerset, England, at the time of the 1881 England Census. She will be popping up again on this blog when I research her husband, who she was living with at 2 The Crescent at the time of the 1871 England Census.  

I hope that you have enjoyed learning about the Martha Groves nee Alford and her extended family as much as I have researching them. It would be wonderful to hear from you via the comments section on this blog or via my facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/lucythecrescentops/ - If you would like to see the extended family tree that I have been building for my One Place Study of 1 The Crescent, it is on Ancestry under 1 The Crescent Taunton One Place Study. 

Next time I will move onto the family who were living at 1 The Crescent, at the time of the 1871 England Census. 

[1] Britishnewspaperarchvie.co.uk, Taunton Courier and Western Advertiser, Wednesday 30 September 1885 - Image (c) The British Library Board - All Rights Reserved.

[2] Britishnewspaperarchvie.co.uk, Somerset County Gazette, Saturday 3 March 1888 - Image (c) The British Library Board - All Rights Reserved.

[3] Ancestry.com 1891 England Census - The National Archives; Kew, London, England; 1891 England Census; Class: RG12; Piece: 1877; Folio: 101; Page: 5; GSU roll: 6096987

[4] Ancestry.com 1901 England Census - The National Archives; Kew, London, England; 1901 England Census; Class: RG13; Piece: 1991; Folio: 16; Page: 23

[5] Probatesearch.service.gov.uk, 1907, 11 June, Martha Groves

[6] General Register Office (https://www.gro.gov.uk/) - Deaths GRO Reference: 1906 D Quarter in Taunton, Volume 05C, Page 345

[7] Ancestry.com. Somerset, England, Church of England Burials, 1813-1914 ~ Somerset Heritage Service; Taunton, Somerset, England; Reference Number: D\P\w.st.c/2/1/21 page 152

[8] Ancestry.com 1881 England Census - The National Archives; Kew, London, England; 1881 England Census; Class: RG11; Piece: 9; Folio: 74; Page: 7; GSU roll: 1341002

[9] Ancestry.com; UK & Ireland, Medical Directories, 1845-1942; Wellcome Trust; London, England; Collection: The Medical Directory, 1890; Reference: b21330724_i13765504

[10] Ancestry.com 1891 England Census - The National Archives; Kew, London, England; 1891 England Census; Class: RG12; Piece: 1879; Folio: 9; Page: 12; GSU roll: 6096989

[11] FreeBMD.org.uk - Marriages GRO Reference: 1884 S Quarter in Lambeth, Volume 01D, Page 742

[12] Ancestry.com London, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1932; London Metropolitan Archives; London, England; Reference Number: p85/mry1/473; page 123

[13] Ancestry.com; UK & Ireland, Medical Directories, 1845-1942; Wellcome Trust; London, England; Collection: The Medical Directory, 1895; Reference: b21330724_i13765589

[14] Ancestry.com U.S., Naturalization Records, 1840-1957; National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington, D.C.; Naturalization Records in the Superior Court of San Diego, California, 1883-1958; Microfilm Roll: 1; Microfilm Serial: M1613

[15] Ancestry.com 1900 United States Federal Census; Year: 1900; Census Place: National, San Diego, California; Page: 4; Enumeration District: 0187; FHL microfilm: 1240099

[16] Ancestry.com 1910 United States Federal Census; Year: 1910; Census Place: San Diego Ward 2, San Diego, California; Roll: T624_94; Page: 4B; Enumeration District: 0146; FHL microfilm: 1374107

[17] Ancestry.com 1920 United States Federal Census; Year: 1920; Census Place: San Diego, San Diego, California; Roll: T625_131; Page: 6A; Enumeration District: 272

[18] Ancestry.com 1930 United States Federal Census; Year: 1930; Census Place: San Diego, San Diego, California; Page: 1B; Enumeration District: 0144; FHL microfilm: 2339927

[19] Ancestry.com California, Death Index, 1905-1939; Mead, Francis H; 61338

[20] Ancestry.com California, Death Index, 1940-1997; Mead, Florence Emeline nee Howard

[21] https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/40496623/francis-h-mead

[22] https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/40496632/florence-e-mead

[23] Ancestry.com 1881 England Census - The National Archives; Kew, London, England; 1881 England Census; Class: RG11; Piece: 2366; Folio: 34; Page: 37; GSU roll: 1341569

[24] Probatesearch.service.gov.uk, 1902, 6 June, George Alford Groves

[25] Britishnewspaperarchvie.co.uk, Southern Times and Dorset County Herald; Saturday 17 August 1901 - Image (c) The British Library Board - All Rights Reserved.