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1871
Name: William Preece
Age: 17
Estimated birth year: abt 1854
Relation: Son
Father's name: Thomas Preece
Mother's name: Sarah Preece
Gender: Male
Where born: Northfield, Worcestershire, England
Civil Parish: Northfield
Ecclesiastical parish: St Mary
County/Island: Worcestershire
Country: England
Registration district: Kings Norton
Sub-registration district: Edgbaston
ED, institution, or vessel: 4
Household schedule number: 205
Piece: 3084
Folio: 112
Page Number: 35
Household Members:
Name Age
Thomas Preece 60 publican born Shropshire
Sarah Preece 56
Thomas Preece 21
William Preece 17
Sarah J Preece 11

Address Chapel Lane



Address 5 Station Rd. William unmarried living with his mother Sarah and a Mill Manager.

Name: William Preece
Age: 37
Estimated birth year: abt 1854
Relation: Son
Mother's name: Sarah Preece
Gender: Male
Where born: Selly Oak, Worcestershire, England
Civil Parish: Harborne
Ecclesiastical parish: St John
County/Island: Staffordshire
Country: England
Street address:

Occupation: Mill Manager

Condition as to marriage: Single

Registration district: Kings Norton
ED, institution, or vessel: 5
Neighbors: View others on page
Piece: 2361
Folio: 93
Page Number: 21
Household Members:
Name Age
Sarah Preece 67
William Preece 37
Elizabeth T Preece 13 Grandau

Sarah ....................


I know there is strong evidence for what others are telling you ....................


but please bear the following in mind ...............



I did find that marriage



I have traced Florence Ada Evans back in the censuses from 1911 to 1891


a tree on ancestry has the following ......................




Florence Ada Evans
Birth 5 Dec 1887 in Prescot, Lancashire
Death 30 Aug 1974 in Knowsley, Merseyside, England



Death
1974 30 Aug — Age: 86
Knowsley, Merseyside, England
Age at Death: 86



Family Members
Parents

Henry J Evans
1862 – 1940

Sarah Jane Hollenshead
1873 – 1967


Siblings
Fred Evans
1885 –

Rhoda Evans
1894 – 1894


I'm not sure I trust some of the information on this tree ..................... but the names of the parents, their ages and the names and ages of the children fit with the censuses that I have found

Thank you Mary for lots of interesting information which I'm going to have to research

It does seem SylviaInCanada that this could be our Florence due to the area that she is living in but obviously the age is well out and her middle name is Ada (although people do change names)

My mum says that Florence insisted that she was a twin so there are so many more connections with Florence Rosaline Preece.

My grandma suffered badly from epilepsy which was thought to have been brought on by her parents deaths. She wasn't always mentally alert so could easily have forgotten her birth year. I noticed that on the 1911 census for Rosaline Preece that her twin sister Gertrude Grace (16) is working as a typist and that her older sister, Elsie May Preece (18) is also a typist but Florence doesn't appear to have a job, which may fit in with her illness!!
I wonder why William Goddard divorces her in 1930, could this also be due to her illness?
I also wondered where her two children from that marriage lived after the divorce because if this is the right connection our family have no knowledge of any past husband or other children. Possibly the children lived with their father, William Goddard, especially if Florence was too ill to cope with them. My father had to leave school to look after his mum as he would often find her on the floor when his dad wasn't around and I remember how bad she was when she was having an epileptic fit!!

Name: Florence Rosaline Preece
Baptism Date: 1 Jul 1894
Baptism Place: Harborne, St Peter, England
Father: William Preece
Mother: Francie Annie Preece
Reference Number: DRO 61
Archive Roll: 551

Name: Gertrude Grace Preece
Baptism Date: 1 Jul 1894
Baptism Place: Harborne, St Peter, England
Father: William Preece
Mother: Francie Annie Preece
Reference Number: DRO 61
Archive Roll: 551

William is down as a Mill Manager of 5 Station Rd Harbourne.

Susan


did you not notice the fact that I found records that could DISCOUNT that marriage to a William Goddard.


I re- my two posts for you ...........................




SylviaInCanada Report Edit Delete 5 Feb 2015 06:33

according to this record on ancestry ............ Florence ADA Evans married William Goddard ...............



Lancashire, England, Marriages and Banns, 1754-1936

Name: Florence Ada Evans
Gender: Female
Age: 29
Birth Year: abt 1889
Event Type: Marriage
Event Date: 4 Sep 1918
Parish: Birkdale, St Peter, Lancashire, England
Spouse: William Leslie Goddard
Spouse Age: 27
Father: Henry James Evans
Spouse Father: William Shallcross Goddard
Register Type: Parish Register



SylviaInCanada Report Edit Delete 5 Feb 2015 06:53

This really does not seem to be your Florence (with a change of name) ..........


............ among other things, she was 29 on the 1918 marriage, and 34 on the 1934 marriage






Those two records show that it was Florence ADA Evans aged 29 in 1918



while the Florence Rosalind who married in 1934 said she was 34 ..........................




Florence ADA would have 45 in 1934




people do lie about their ages on marriage ...................... but a loss of 11 years is a little extreme

There were 2 births to that marriage.

Geoffrey Goddard nee Preece in Huddersfield 1925.

Ronald Preece Goddard 1922 Huddersfield he died 1946 probate to Ellen kate Goddard wife of William Goddard.

Ellen Kate Goddard died 1962 a widow probate to Geoffrey Goddard and another son born to Ellen kate and William who may still be alive.

1932 Ellen Kate Seekings age 31 dad Charles
married William Goddard 37 Elementary teacher dad Tom a Farmer now dead.
William Goddard formerly the husband of Florence Rosaline Goddard formerly Preece from who he obtained a Divorce!!

William Goddard born in Huddersfield died 1960 Huddersfield.
Witness to Ellen Kate Seekings and Williams marriage was Elsie Goddard his sister
Elsie Goddard 1890-1957 died a spinster probate to William Goddard head teacher.

Twin sister?? Gertrude Grace Preece married in Eastbourne 1919 to Donald John Bartlett.
1920 they went to Canada.

1931 Quebec-London
Gertrude Bartlett 37
Geoffrey 3 born Canada.

1931 Southampton-Quebec
Gertrude
John her son.

Gertrude Grace Bartlett 1895-1958 Vancouver
Donald John Bartlett 1896-1989
John Geoffrey PREECE Bartlett @1928-1985 West Vancouver.

I was hoping to find the exact date of birth for Gertrude Grace but haven't as yet.
They were baptised 1/7/1894 so could they have been born 12th May 1894 same date as your Florence's birth on death record??

Maryb.

Thank you very much Karin and Chocky. I'm really excited to see your results and will try and research more over the weekend.
My mother never knew where Florence came from but still insists that the story is true. I need to find out now perhaps how William Preece died, to see if there had been an accident of some sort.
I'm also interested in the divorce case as this is obviously local to Southport. It appears, if this is correct, that possibly Florence lied on her marriage certificate to John Orritt by saying she was a spinster and that her father was William Goddard, maybe because she didn't want to say that she'd previously been married.!
I will post on here once I found out more.

?????

Marriages Sep 1919 (>99%)

Bartlett Donald J Preece Eastbourne 2b 196
Preece Gertrude G Bartlett Eastbourne 2b 196

National Probate Calendar


Name: William Preece

Probate Date: 19 Jul 1904

Death Date:23 Apr 1904

Death Place:Birmingham, West Midlands, England
Registry:Birmingham, England

of 33 Lonsdale Road, Harborne, Commercial traveller
Administration to George Reeves, gentleman

£1001 12s 6d.

?? twins mentioned (but obviously not May 1900)! but fits as to twins and father's name of William

Births Sep 1894

Preece Ada King's N. 6c 373
Preece Emily Jane King's N. 6c 374a
>>>>Preece Florence Rosaline King's N. 6c 411
>>>>Preece Gertrude Grace King's N. 6c 412



1901 England, Wales & Scotland Census

Highfield Villa, Station Road, Harborne, Kings Norton, Worcestershire, England


William Preece Head Married Male 47 1854 Commercial Traveller (Brawn Papers) Selly Oak, Worcestershire, England
Frances A Preece Wife Married Female 32 1869 - Birmingham, Warwickshire, England
Elsie M Preece Daughter Single Female 8 1893 - Birmingham, Warwickshire, England
>>>Florence R Preece Daughter Single Female 6 1895 - Birmingham, Warwickshire, England
>>>Gertrude G Preece Daughter Single Female 6 1895 - Birmingham, Warwickshire, England
Sarah Preece Mother Widow Female 78 1823 - Bedford, Warwickshire, England


Deaths Mar 1903

Preece Frances Annie 34 King's N. 6c 278

Deaths Jun 1904

PREECE William 50 King's N. 6c 271


1911 England, Wales & Scotland Census

262 Harborne Park Road Harborne Birmingham, Harborne, Worcestershire, England

George Reeves Head Married Male 67 1844 Edgbaston Warwickshire Retired Tool Maker
Sarah Jane Reeves Wife Married Female 51 1860 Selly Oak Worcestershire -
Hilda Reeves Daughter Single Female 15 1896 Harborne Staffordshire School
Elsie May Preece Granddaughter Single Female 18 1893 Harborne Staffordshire Clerk Typist
>>>Florence Rosaline Preece Granddaughter Single Female 16 1895 Harborne Staffordshire
>>>Gertrude Grace Preece Granddaughter Single Female 16 1895 Harborne Staffordshire Clerk Typist
Beatrice Baker Servant Single Female 19 1892 Lye Worcestershire Domestic Servant


Marriages Sep 1918

Goddard William Preece Kings N. 6d 72
Preece Florence R Goddard Kings N. 6d 72

married on 10th August 1918 at Harborne Parish Church
Groom's father - Tom Goddard (Farmer)
Bride's father - William Preece decd (Commercial traveller)

Witnesses - Charles Wiltshire and Hilda Reeves


(could be a complete red herring!!) but William Preece was a Commercial traveller

This really does not seem to be your Florence (with a change of name) ..........



............ among other things, she was 29 on the 1918 marriage, and 34 on the 1934 marriage

according to this record on ancestry ............ Florence ADA Evans married William Goddard ...............



Lancashire, England, Marriages and Banns, 1754-1936

Name: Florence Ada Evans
Gender: Female
Age: 29
Birth Year: abt 1889
Event Type: Marriage
Event Date: 4 Sep 1918
Parish: Birkdale, St Peter, Lancashire, England
Spouse: William Leslie Goddard
Spouse Age: 27
Father: Henry James Evans
Spouse Father: William Shallcross Goddard
Register Type: Parish Register

Susan this may be of interest to you. Names match but relationship is that of husband/wife and not father/daughter. Info comes from the National Archives which is always a good source of info as well.

Divorce Court File: 5787. Appellant: William Goddard. Respondent: Florence Rosaline Goddard. Type: Husband's petition for ...

Court for Divorce and Matrimonial Causes, later Supreme Court of Judicature: Divorce and Matrimonial Causes Files. 1928-1931 Series. Divorce and matrimonial cause files, described at... Divorce Court File: 5787. Appellant: William Goddard. Respondent: Florence Rosaline Goddard. Type: Husband's petition for divorce [HD].

Held by: The National Archives - Supreme Court of Judicature
Date: 1930
Reference: J 77/2767/5787

This comes from FreeBMD

Marriages Sep 1918 (>99%)
Cestr-Cross Dorothy M Cox Ormskirk 8b 1447 Scan available - click to view
Cox Charles B Cestr-Cross Ormskirk 8b 1447
Cross Dorothy M C Cox Ormskirk 8b 1447
Evans Florence A Goddard Ormskirk 8b 1447
Goddard William L Evans Ormskirk 8b 1447

The initial A after florence could just be transcription error.

Hope this helps you

The address was 69 Bedford Road Southport

Hi

What was the address for her on the marriage certificate?

The witnesses were F Middleton and C. S Wright

The spelling is probably down to the way the registrar interpreted what he heard

Who were the witnesses?

Hi Jaqueline
Florence was 34 when she married. The marriage was on the 1st September 1934. She was a domestic servant. The odd thing is that she is classed as Florence Rosaline (not Rosalind) on the certificate.

Hi everyone and thanks Ann for your messages.
Williams occupation was "commercial traveller" according to Florences marriage certificate. I have a gut feeling that Florence was adopted possibly by William, which is why we can't find her birth record. I've contacted the Goddard Association of Europe also and they can't find her so she's definitely a mystery

The other post referred to, but not identified

http://www.genesreunited.co.uk/boards/board/ancestors/thread/1349194