Having established the children from her 2nd marriage to George Groves in my previous blog post, I have turned to searching for the 1st marriage of Martha Alford to a spouse who had the surname Mead.
First, I did a search on the FreeBMD website for a marriage index in the name of Martha Alford and with the spouse surname of Mead with no other filters on date or place. This returned just one entry for a marriage in the September quarter of 1861 in Shepton Mallet between John Mead and Martha Alford [1]. I continued with my research on the Ancestry website as many records for the county of Somerset are held on this site. Here, I discovered a marriage document for a union between John Mead and Martha Alford at St Peter and St Paul's Church in Shepton Mallet, Somerset, on 10 September 1861 [2].
It is interesting to note that the witnesses have the same surnames as Martha, with one, Thomas, also mentioned on her second marriage to George Groves. Are these witnesses her relatives? This is research for another day.
I also found a notice in the Wells Journal on Saturday 14 September 1861 on the British Newspaper Archive website regarding their marriage [3].
Newspaper notices sometimes contain lots of helpful details which you might not find on other official documents that can help to corroborate different pieces of information. With the notice regarding John and Martha's marriage, it is interesting to note the names of the hotels, with "John Mead, of the Swan Hotel, Wells", and Martha's mother "Mrs Mary Ann Alford of the George Hotel, at Shepton Mallet". In the Shepton Mallet Journal marriage notice on her union to George Groves in 1869, it is detailed that Martha is "of Shepton Mallet, late of the Swan Hotel, Wells" which is more corroborating information [4].
I next moved onto finding out about any children resulting from the marriage of John Mead and Martha Alford. I have established that the son-in-law, Francis Henry Mead, mentioned on the 1871 England [5], when Martha was living with her husband George Groves at 2 The Crescent, was actually her son from her first marriage. To corroborate this, I searched the Ancestry website for a baptism entry for him, which I found in the records of St Cuthbert's Church, Wells [6].
Finding the abode of Sadler Street on Francis' baptism, I wanted to establish if there was a Swan Hotel at this location. Searching the Old Maps Online website, we see there are a number of unnamed hotels on the 1888 Map. The Swan Hotel is mentioned by name on the 1930 Map. The Swan Hotel is still open today on Sadler Street, Wells, operating under the Best Western brand. You can find an 8 page PDF on Best Western website if you are interested in discovering more about the history of the Swan Hotel.
For completeness in my research, I did a search of the birth index on the General Register Office (GRO) website for children with the surname Mead and the mother's maiden name of Alford born between 1861 and 1869 as these are the years between which Martha was married to John Mead. No further children were identified so it seems that they only had the one son, Francis Henry Mead.
I next wanted to find out when John Mead passed away. First, I did a search of the death index on the General Register Office (GRO) website between 1861, the year he married Martha, and 1871, the first Census taken after Martha married George Groves. Only one entry was returned in this period in Wells, Somerset, in the March quarter of 1868 [7]. I followed this up with a search on the Ancestry website for a burial entry for him, which I found under the records for St Cuthbert Church, Wells [8].
Finally, to complete this stage of my research, I did a search on the Probate Service website to see if there was an entry for John Mead, which there was [9].
It notes that John, an Innholder, died on 18 January 1868 in Wells and his widow Martha was granted the personal estate and effects of her husband.
John Mead's death is also mentioned on page 5 of a PDF on the history of the Swan Hotel, Wells, on the Best Western website [10]. He is also referred to in other articles in this document, such as 'Letters to the Wells Journal' [11] and 'Good Reviews' [12].
In my next update, I will focus on Martha Alford and tracing her life and family back through the England Census records to find out about her early years. In the meantime, I hope that you have enjoyed learning about Martha Alford, her husband John Mead and their son Francis 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 tree that I have been building for my One Place Study of 1 The Crescent, it is on the Ancestry website under 1 The Crescent Taunton One Place Study.
[1] FreeBMD (https://www.freebmd.org.uk/) - Marriages Sep 1861 District Shepton Mallett, Volume 5C, Page 915
[2] Ancestry.com Somerset, England, Marriage Registers, Bonds and Allegations, 1754-1914 Somerset Heritage Service; Taunton, Somerset, England; Somerset Parish Records, 1538-1914; Reference Number: D\P\she/2/1/21 page 5
[3] Britishnewspaperarchvie.co.uk, Wells Journal, Saturday 14 September 1861 - Image (c) The British Library Board - All Rights Reserved.
[4] Britishnewspaperarchvie.co.uk, Shepton Mallet Journal, Saturday 21 August 1869 - Image (c) The British Library Board - All Rights Reserved.
[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] Ancestry.com. Somerset, England, Church of England Baptisms, 1813-1914 ~ Somerset Heritage Service; Taunton, Somerset, England; Reference Number: D\P\w.st.c/2/1/20B page 29
[7] General Register Office (https://www.gro.gov.uk/) - Deaths GRO Reference: 1868 M Quarter in Taunton, Volume 05C, Page 398
[8] Ancestry.com. Somerset, England, Church of England Burials, 1813-1914 ~ Somerset Heritage Service; Taunton, Somerset, England; Reference Number: D\P\w.st.c/2/1/19 page 114
[9] Probate.service.gov.uk, 1868, 24 March, John Mead
[10] http://www.swanhotelwells.co.uk/hotels-in-somerset/history-of-wells/ 'The Incredible History of the Swan Hotel: Page the Fifth - R.I.P, Wells Journal, January 24, 1868'
[11] http://www.swanhotelwells.co.uk/hotels-in-somerset/history-of-wells/ 'The Incredible History of the Swan Hotel: Page the Sixth - Letter to the Wells Journal, October 20, 1866'
[12] http://www.swanhotelwells.co.uk/hotels-in-somerset/history-of-wells/ 'The Incredible History of the Swan Hotel: Page the Fifth - Good Reviews, Wells Journal, November 8, 1862'
First, I did a search on the FreeBMD website for a marriage index in the name of Martha Alford and with the spouse surname of Mead with no other filters on date or place. This returned just one entry for a marriage in the September quarter of 1861 in Shepton Mallet between John Mead and Martha Alford [1]. I continued with my research on the Ancestry website as many records for the county of Somerset are held on this site. Here, I discovered a marriage document for a union between John Mead and Martha Alford at St Peter and St Paul's Church in Shepton Mallet, Somerset, on 10 September 1861 [2].
It is interesting to note that the witnesses have the same surnames as Martha, with one, Thomas, also mentioned on her second marriage to George Groves. Are these witnesses her relatives? This is research for another day.
I also found a notice in the Wells Journal on Saturday 14 September 1861 on the British Newspaper Archive website regarding their marriage [3].
 |
| Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. |
Newspaper notices sometimes contain lots of helpful details which you might not find on other official documents that can help to corroborate different pieces of information. With the notice regarding John and Martha's marriage, it is interesting to note the names of the hotels, with "John Mead, of the Swan Hotel, Wells", and Martha's mother "Mrs Mary Ann Alford of the George Hotel, at Shepton Mallet". In the Shepton Mallet Journal marriage notice on her union to George Groves in 1869, it is detailed that Martha is "of Shepton Mallet, late of the Swan Hotel, Wells" which is more corroborating information [4].
I next moved onto finding out about any children resulting from the marriage of John Mead and Martha Alford. I have established that the son-in-law, Francis Henry Mead, mentioned on the 1871 England [5], when Martha was living with her husband George Groves at 2 The Crescent, was actually her son from her first marriage. To corroborate this, I searched the Ancestry website for a baptism entry for him, which I found in the records of St Cuthbert's Church, Wells [6].
Finding the abode of Sadler Street on Francis' baptism, I wanted to establish if there was a Swan Hotel at this location. Searching the Old Maps Online website, we see there are a number of unnamed hotels on the 1888 Map. The Swan Hotel is mentioned by name on the 1930 Map. The Swan Hotel is still open today on Sadler Street, Wells, operating under the Best Western brand. You can find an 8 page PDF on Best Western website if you are interested in discovering more about the history of the Swan Hotel.
For completeness in my research, I did a search of the birth index on the General Register Office (GRO) website for children with the surname Mead and the mother's maiden name of Alford born between 1861 and 1869 as these are the years between which Martha was married to John Mead. No further children were identified so it seems that they only had the one son, Francis Henry Mead.
I next wanted to find out when John Mead passed away. First, I did a search of the death index on the General Register Office (GRO) website between 1861, the year he married Martha, and 1871, the first Census taken after Martha married George Groves. Only one entry was returned in this period in Wells, Somerset, in the March quarter of 1868 [7]. I followed this up with a search on the Ancestry website for a burial entry for him, which I found under the records for St Cuthbert Church, Wells [8].
Finally, to complete this stage of my research, I did a search on the Probate Service website to see if there was an entry for John Mead, which there was [9].
It notes that John, an Innholder, died on 18 January 1868 in Wells and his widow Martha was granted the personal estate and effects of her husband.
John Mead's death is also mentioned on page 5 of a PDF on the history of the Swan Hotel, Wells, on the Best Western website [10]. He is also referred to in other articles in this document, such as 'Letters to the Wells Journal' [11] and 'Good Reviews' [12].
In my next update, I will focus on Martha Alford and tracing her life and family back through the England Census records to find out about her early years. In the meantime, I hope that you have enjoyed learning about Martha Alford, her husband John Mead and their son Francis 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 tree that I have been building for my One Place Study of 1 The Crescent, it is on the Ancestry website under 1 The Crescent Taunton One Place Study.
[1] FreeBMD (https://www.freebmd.org.uk/) - Marriages Sep 1861 District Shepton Mallett, Volume 5C, Page 915
[2] Ancestry.com Somerset, England, Marriage Registers, Bonds and Allegations, 1754-1914 Somerset Heritage Service; Taunton, Somerset, England; Somerset Parish Records, 1538-1914; Reference Number: D\P\she/2/1/21 page 5
[3] Britishnewspaperarchvie.co.uk, Wells Journal, Saturday 14 September 1861 - Image (c) The British Library Board - All Rights Reserved.
[4] Britishnewspaperarchvie.co.uk, Shepton Mallet Journal, Saturday 21 August 1869 - Image (c) The British Library Board - All Rights Reserved.
[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] Ancestry.com. Somerset, England, Church of England Baptisms, 1813-1914 ~ Somerset Heritage Service; Taunton, Somerset, England; Reference Number: D\P\w.st.c/2/1/20B page 29
[7] General Register Office (https://www.gro.gov.uk/) - Deaths GRO Reference: 1868 M Quarter in Taunton, Volume 05C, Page 398
[8] Ancestry.com. Somerset, England, Church of England Burials, 1813-1914 ~ Somerset Heritage Service; Taunton, Somerset, England; Reference Number: D\P\w.st.c/2/1/19 page 114
[9] Probate.service.gov.uk, 1868, 24 March, John Mead
[10] http://www.swanhotelwells.co.uk/hotels-in-somerset/history-of-wells/ 'The Incredible History of the Swan Hotel: Page the Fifth - R.I.P, Wells Journal, January 24, 1868'
[11] http://www.swanhotelwells.co.uk/hotels-in-somerset/history-of-wells/ 'The Incredible History of the Swan Hotel: Page the Sixth - Letter to the Wells Journal, October 20, 1866'
[12] http://www.swanhotelwells.co.uk/hotels-in-somerset/history-of-wells/ 'The Incredible History of the Swan Hotel: Page the Fifth - Good Reviews, Wells Journal, November 8, 1862'
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