The children of George and Martha Groves

On my previous post, I was looking at the family living at 1 The Crescent, Taunton at the time of the 1881 England Census. Martha Groves, who was listed as the head of the household, was aged 50 years and a widow at this time [1]. I had discovered that her son's full name was George Alford Groves from a search of the General Register Office (GRO) index [2]. I therefore started my research by looking for George's Baptism record. 

I searched on Ancestry as many records for the county of Somerset are on this site. There I found the baptism entry for George Alford Groves [3] ,which matched the details from the 1871 [4] and 1881 [5] England Census records for him.

Although there were no other children listed for George and Martha on the 1871 or 1881 England Census, I decided to do a search on the General Register Office (GRO) website. I checked the index for children with the surname Groves and the mother's maiden name of Alford born between 1869 and 1881, when we know that Martha was widowed, although most likely too old to have children at the later end of this date range. 

There was only one entry listed which matched my search criteria and that was for a male birth of William Arthur Groves, in the March Quarter of 1872, in Taunton, Somerset [6]. I then searched for a baptism record for William Arthur on Ancestry and found an entry which matched with his parents, George and Martha Groves, and their abode on The Crescent [7].

As William is not listed on the 1881 England Census, I searched the deaths index on the General Register Office (GRO) website . I found an entry for William Arthur Groves, in the December Quarter of 1872, in Taunton, Somerset [8]. I then turned to Ancestry again where I located an entry for William Arthur Groves on the burial register for St Mary Magdalene Church in Taunton, Somerset [9]. 

So, it seems that George and Martha Groves did have two sons, with one sadly passing away before his first birthday. 

On my next update, I will try to establish who Martha Alford was married to before George Groves. In the meantime, I hope that you have enjoyed reading about the Groves family as much as I have investigating them for my One Place Study. 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 tree that I have been building for my One Place Study of 1 The Crescent, it is on ancestry.co.uk under 1 The Crescent Taunton One Place Study. 

[1] "England and Wales Census, 1881," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q276-3GKL : 13 December 2017), Martha Groves, Taunton St Mary Magdalen, Somerset, England; from "1881 England, Scotland and Wales Census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing p. 37, Piece/Folio 2366/34, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey; FHL microfilm 101,774,716

[2] FreeBMD (https://www.freebmd.org.uk/) - Marriages Sep 1869 District Shepton Mallett, Volume 5C, Page 866

[3] Ancestry.com. Somerset, England, Church of England Baptisms, 1813-1914 ~ Somerset Heritage Service; Taunton, Somerset, England; Reference Number: D\P\tau.m/2/1/8 page 182

[4] "England and Wales Census, 1881," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q276-3GKL : 13 December 2017), Martha Groves, Taunton St Mary Magdalen, Somerset, England; from "1881 England, Scotland and Wales Census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing p. 37, Piece/Folio 2366/34, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey; FHL microfilm 101,774,716

[5] Ancestry.com 1871 England Census - The National Archives; Kew, London, England; 1871 England Census; Class: RG10; Piece: 2370; Folio: 15; Page: 2; GSU roll: 835103

[6] General Register Office (https://www.gro.gov.uk/) - Births GRO Reference: 1872 M Quarter in Taunton, Volume 05C, Page 408

[7] Ancestry.com. Somerset, England, Church of England Baptisms, 1813-1914 ~ Somerset Heritage Service; Taunton, Somerset, England; Reference Number: D\P\tau.m/2/1/8 page 198

[8] General Register Office (https://www.gro.gov.uk/) - Deaths GRO Reference: 1872 M Quarter in Taunton, Volume 05C, Page 256
[9] Ancestry.com. Somerset, England, Church of England Burials, 1813-1914 ~ Somerset Heritage Service; Taunton, Somerset, England; Reference Number: D\P\tau.m/2/1/36 page 250