Who lives at 1 The Crescent on the 1881 England Census?

So, I have now moved backwards in time to the night of 3rd April 1881, when the England Census was taken. At the time, 1 The Crescent was home to Martha Groves [1].

The census tells us, Martha, aged 50 years, was a Widow at the time this was taken. She was an annuitant, which means she received an annuity, or regular payment from a grant or investment, and is similar to today's pension. She is living with her son, George A Groves, and niece, Jessie E Groves, along with a general servant, Elizabeth Westcott. 

Looking back ten years on the Census for The Crescent, we see that this is not the first entry for Martha and her son. On the 1871 England Census, taken on the night of 2 April, they are resident at number 2, with George Groves, Martha's husband, as the head of the household [2]. 

I decided to start this research by doing a search for the son, George A Groves, on the General Register Office (GRO) website. There I found an entry for George Alford Groves in the September Quarter of 1870, in Taunton, Somerset [3]. From this, we see that the mother's maiden name is given as Alford. A search of the FreeBMD website for a marriage index in the names George Groves and Martha Alford does not return any matches. However, when a search is done with the name George Groves and using just Martha's first name, and narrowing the search to the county of Somerset, we find a marriage for George Groves and Martha Mead in 1869 in Shepton Mallet [4]. Was Martha married previously? 

Continuing my research, I discovered the marriage document for George Groves and Martha Mead at St Peter and St Paul's Church in Shepton Mallet, Somerset, on 24 August 1869 [5]. 

We can see from this document that Mary's maiden name was indeed Alford, her father's name was Thomas Alford, and that she was indeed married previously to someone with the surname of Mead and that she was sadly widowed. Are the witnesses her relatives? Who was she previously married to? This is for research another day.

There was also a notice in the Shepton Mallet Journal on Saturday 21 August 1869 regarding their marriage [6].

Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Next, I wanted to establish that Frances was Martha's son, and George's step son rather than son-in-law. 8 years old is a little young to be a son-in-law already. A search for Frances H Mead on the General Register Office (GRO) website does not return any results. However, on amending the spelling of his name to Francis, I found an entry for Francis Henry Mead in the June Quarter of 1862, in Wells, Somerset [7], which matches his birthplace on the 1871 England Census. The mother's maiden name is given as Alford. Also, from the marriage notice in the Shepton Mallet Journal, Martha is noted as being 'late of the Swan Hotel, Wells'[8]. 

On the next update, I will further research George and Martha Groves and their children, looking into more parish records for information on this family. In the meantime, I hope that you have enjoyed learning about the Groves 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 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] 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
[3] General Register Office (https://www.gro.gov.uk/) - Births GRO Reference: 1870 S Quarter in Taunton, Volume 05C, Page 375
[4] FreeBMD (https://www.freebmd.org.uk/) - Marriages Sep 1869 District Shepton Mallett, Volume 5C, Page 866
[5] 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 74
[6] Britishnewspaperarchvie.co.uk, Shepton Mallet Journal, Saturday 21 August 1869 - Image (c) The British Library Board - All Rights Reserved.
[7] General Register Office (https://www.gro.gov.uk/) - Births GRO Reference: 1862 J Quarter in Wells, Volume 05C, Page 630
[8] Britishnewspaperarchvie.co.uk, Shepton Mallet Journal, Saturday 21 August 1869 - Image (c) The British Library Board - All Rights Reserved.