Great x3 Aunt Mary 'Polly' Harris Greenslade (nee Edworthy)

My Great x3 Aunt Mary (also known as Polly) (1869 - 1938) was a domestic servant, housewife, mother of nine, and the youngest sister of my Great Great Grandfather William Edworthy (1852 - 1911).

Mary was born in Jan/Feb 1869 in East Worlington, Devon, to William Edworthy (about 48), a farm labourer, and Mary Edworthy (nee Harris) (about 45), a housewife.

On Valentine's Day 1869, Mary was baptised in East Worlington.

Mary was the youngest of eleven children (four daughters and seven sons):

• Ann  1841 - 1882  (41)
• John  1844 - 1910  (65)
• Elizabeth  1849 - 1917  (about 68)
• William  1852 - 1911  (about 59)
• George  1854 - 1876  (22)
• Samuel  1856 - 1920  (64)
• Ellen  1858 - 1934  (75)
• Lewis  1861 - 1943  (82)
• Frederick  1863 - 1943  (79)
• Frank  1866 - 1929  (63)
• Mary Harris  1869 - 1939  (69)

Mary and her siblings grew up at Edgelake/Oddislake Cottage, thatched cob cottage built in the early 1600s, in East Worlington.

(You can read more about the structure of the property here.) 

Edgelake/Oddislake Cottage

1871 Census:

1881 Census:

On 25th March 1886, Mary (just 17 - though she gives her age as 19), a servant, married John Greenslade (22), a labourer, in East Worlington.

Mary and John had 9 children:

• William Henry Hopper Stoneman (adopted) 1889 - 

• Lucy  1893
• Frederick 'Fred' John  1895
• Florence 'Flo' Mary 1898
• Ernest 'Ern' 1901
• Thomas 'Tom'  1903
• Alice  1906
• Charles 'Charlie'  1909
• Frank G 1911

Though she married so young, it wasn't because she was pregnant. In fact, Mary and John didn't have any children in the first 7 years of their marriage. Perhaps they had trouble conceiving.

Sometime before 1891, the young married couple took in baby William. William is listed as a border on the 1891 Census, but by the 1901 Census is listed as an adopted son, though he retains his birth name (not taking the surname of Greenslade). I wonder if William's mother was Charlotte Stoneman, an unmarried domestic servant living two doors down from the Greenslade family on the 1891 Census.

When William, twelve, attended Crediton Hayward School for one month in June 1902, his parent/guardian is listed as Mr W W Smith and his address is given as (Credition) Union (Work) House. He leaves to attend Shobrooke Board(ing?) School in July 1902, as he is sent to another Union (Workhouse). Could Mary and John no longer look after him? He had been with them seemingly since a baby, over a decade, until the age of about twelve. They may have been the only 'parents' he had known. Yet it did strike me that he never takes their name of Greenslade; and on the 1891 Census baby William is listed as a border, and it is specifically stated he is an adopted son on the 1901 Census. By the 1911 Census, William, a young man, is a patient at the Axbridge Union Workhouse and Infirmary, at Axbridge, near Weston Super Mare, Somerset. Interestingly he is there as a patient and not as an inmate. His infirmity or illness is not recorded. Did he suffer from a lifelong illness that required a degree of care that Mary and John could no longer provide? I can't find records of William after 1911.

1891 Census:

In the early 1890's, the young family moved to Shobrooke, where the children were born. 

The family lived at Westacott Cottage, a thatched cob cottage built in the late 1600s/early 1700s, in Shobrooke for many years. 

Westacott Cottage, Shobrooke

(You can read more about the building's structure here.)

1901 Census:

1911 Census:

Mary and John's son Fred (11042) enlisted on 7th September 1914 (war have been declared only just over one month earlier), aged nineteen, as a private, in the 9th Battalion, Devonshire Regiment. It seems he had tried to apply before, but was dismissed because of leg trouble. Again he was discharged on medical grounds - less than one month later - on 2nd October 1914, as he had 'a severe flat foot'. 

His service record gives a brief physical description of Fred as a young man: in addition to being flat-footed, he was 5'10'', had fair hair, blue eyes and a fair complexion.

1921 Census:

In 1921, Mary's eldest daughter Lucy (28) had an illegitimate daughter - Margaret Nina Greenslade. Lucy brought Gilbert Gutsham of Tiverton to court for child maintenance in July 1921. He was ordered to pay 10s a week, until the child reached sixteen. 

From the Western Times of 15th July 1921:

On 23rd August 1921, Mary and John's son Tom, aged 19, enlisted in the Royal Marines. He was away serving twelve years later when his father passed away.

In 1933, Mary's husband John passed away, whilst visiting Ide. 

From the Western Times of 7th April 1933:

In Oct/Nov 1938, Mary passed away, aged 69, in Smallbrooke, Newton St. Cyres.

From the Western Times of 18th November 1938:

Great x3 Uncle Frederick Edworthy

My Great x3 Uncle Frederick (1863 - 1943) was a naturalised American citizen, farm labourer, step-father of one, and a younger brother of my Great Great Grandfather William Edworthy (1852 - 1911).

Frederick was born on 3rd April 1863 in East Worlington, Devon, to William Edworthy (about 42), a farm labourer, and Mary Edworthy (nee Harris) (about 39), a housewife.

On 26th April 1863, Frederick was baptised in East Worlington.

Frederick was the eighth of eleven children (four daughters and seven sons):

• Ann  1841 - 1882  (41)
• John  1844 - 1910  (65)
• Elizabeth  1849 - 1917  (about 68)
• William  1852 - 1911  (about 59)
• George  1854 - 1876  (22)
• Samuel  1856 - 1920  (64)
• Ellen  1858 - 1934  (75)
• Lewis  1861 - 1943  (82)
• Frederick  1863 - 1943  (79)
• Frank  1866 - 1929  (63)
• Mary Harris  1869 - 1939  (69)

Frederick and his siblings grew up at Edgelake/Oddislake Cottage, thatched cob cottage built in the early 1600s, in East Worlington.

(You can read more about the structure of the property here.) 

Edgelake/Oddislake Cottage

 
1871 Census:

As a young man, Frederick worked as a farm servant.

1881 Census:

In late 1886, when Frederick was 23, his mother Mary passed away, aged about sixty-two, in East Worlington. She was buried on 15th December 1886 in East Worlington.

Frederick's widowed father William stayed on at Oddisleigh with his son (Frederick's older brother) Lewis and his family. William passed away in his seventies, sometime in the late 1890s or very early 1900s, in the district of Crediton.

Frederick went to America!!! And at some point became an American citizen.

Aged 27, he travelled on the ship the Majestic from Liverpool on 11th Mar 1891, arriving on 18th Mar 1891 in New York. 

On the 5th October 1898, Frederick (33), a labourer, married divorcee and mother of one Angeline 'Bell' McBride (27), in Carsonville, Sanilac, Michigan. At the time, Frederick was living in Flint, Michigan, whilst Bell was living in Carsonville. A Joseph McBride acted as witness - most likely Bell's younger brother.

Bell's father was Irish and her mother English.

On 29th June 1890, Bell (19) had previously married Cornelius Mahana (24), in Washington, Sanilac, Michigan. They had one child - a daughter called Nina Belle Mahana, born in 1891. She was granted divorce and custody of their daughter, on the grounds of desertion, on 20th May 1897.

Sadly, Bell collapsed following an abdominal operation and passed away - only five months after she and Frederick had married. She passed away, aged 27, on 31st July 1899, in Flint. She is buried in Sanilac cemetery, Sanilac, Michigan.

After Bell's death, her daughter Nina went to live with her maternal grandparents (Bell's parents) and is listed on the 1900 and 1910 censuses with the surname McBride.

Bell's gravestone in Sanilac cemetery, Sanilac, Michigan

Frederick never remarried and had no children.

He travelled back to England at least once.

He arrived in Southampton on 15th July 1920 from New York, on board the Olympic. The Olympic was a sister ship of the more famous Titanic. 

After seemingly staying back in England for nearly three years, he travelled back on the Majestic, travelling from Southampton to New York, and arriving on 29th May 1923.

It gives a physical description: he was only 5'1'', had brown hair and eyes, and a dark complexion.

He had $300 on his procession. He gives his person in England as Mrs Wright (sister-in-law), living at 112 Regent Street, Exeter. Mrs Wright is Anne 'Annie' Tryphena Wright (nee Trigger), the sister of William Isaac Trigger (husband of Frederick's sister Ellen) and Samuel Trigger (husband of Frederick's niece Edith).

He is travelling back to Flint, Michigan. He had been in hospital in England, but was now discharged; however, he seems to go straight to another hospital on arrival in America.

On the 1925 Census, Frederick is a widower, living at an 'Old People's House' in Lamoni, Decatur, Iowa. Otherwise known as 'Saint's Home' or 'Liberty House', it was the former residence of Joseph Smith III, the president and prophet of the Reorganised Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and was one of two church homes for aged members of that church. 

On the 1930 Census, he is living at the Holden Home for the Aged in South Olive Street, Holden, Johnson, Missouri.

At 9am on 13th Mar 1943, Frederick passed away aged 79 (his 80th birthday would have been in a few weeks). He had been living back at Saint's Home for nine years, in Lamoni. His cause of death was stomach cancer, which he had had for five years.

He outlived his wife Bell by 44 years!

He was buried at Lamoni Rose Hill Cemetery, in Lamoni, Decatur, Iowa.

Frederick's gravestone in Lamoni Rose Hill Cemetery, Lamoni, Decatur, Iowa

Great x3 Uncle Lewis Edworthy

My Great x3 Uncle Lewis (1861 - 1943), was a farm/agricultural labourer, domestic gardener, father of eleven, and a younger brother of my Great Great Grandfather William Edworthy (1852 - 1911).

Lewis was born on 9th January 1861 in East Worlington, Devon, to William Edworthy (about 41), a farm labourer, and Mary Edworthy (nee Harris) (about 37).

On 27th January 1861, Lewis was baptised in East Worlington.

Lewis was the eighth of eleven children (four daughters and seven sons):

• Ann  1841 - 1882  (41)
• John  1844 - 1910  (65)
• Elizabeth  1849 - 1917  (about 68)
• William  1852 - 1911  (about 59)
• George  1854 - 1876  (22)
• Samuel  1856 - 1920  (64)
• Ellen  1858 - 1934  (75)
• Lewis  1861 - 1943  (82)
• Frederick  1863 - 1943  (79)
• Frank  1866 - 1929  (63)
• Mary Harris  1869 - 1939  (69)

Lewis and his siblings grew up at Edgelake/Oddislake Cottage, thatched cob cottage built in the early 1600s, in East Worlington.

(You can read more about the structure of the property here.) 

Edgelake/Oddislake Cottage

1861 Census: 

1871 Census: 

As a young man, Lewis lived with and worked as a indoor farm servant for the Burrow family, headed by Richard Burrow - a farmer of 100 arces - at Wilsdon, East Worlington.

1881 Census:

On 28th March 1885, Lewis (24), a farm labourer, married Eliza Saunders (20), in East Worlington.

Lewis and Eliza had eleven children (seven daughters and four sons)

• Alice Mary  1886
• Francis George  1888  
• Henry  1889
• Eva  1891  
• May  1893  
• Lewis  1895 - 1896 (13 months) 
• Amy  1897 - 1904  (7 years old)
• Ernest John  1899 - 1941  (42 years old)
• Winifred  1902  
• Muriel  1904  
• Gladys Lily  1909  

1891 Census:

Lewis and his young family lived at his childhood home of Edgelake/Oddislake Cottage. Lewis' widowed father William also lived with them, as seen on the 1891 Census.

In the mid 1890's, Lewis and his family moved to Newton St Cyres.

Sadly, Lewis and Eliza's son Lewis passed away at only 13 months. Little Lewis was buried on the 7th June 1896 in Newton St Cyres.

1901 Census:

On the 3rd July 1904, Lewis and Eliza's daughter Amy, just turned seven, died suddenly of convulsions. On Saturday morning, little Amy complained of feeling unwell. Her mother gave her some medicine and put her to bed. On Sunday morning, it was found that Amy had taken worse and a doctor was called for, but before the doctor arrived, Amy passed away.

From the Exeter and Plymouth Gazette of 8th July 1904:

From the Western Times of 11th July 1904:

Around 1907, the family moved to Crediton.

Coincidentally, for around three months, from late 1907 to early 1908, youngest son Ernest, my 1st Cousin x3 Removed, attended Crediton Hayward School alongside my Great Great Uncle Frank Vernon.

Around 1910, Lewis began working as a gardener at Queen Elizabeth School in Crediton. He would go on to work there for 28 years. My mum would attend the same school in the 1970's.

1911 Census:

According to local newspaper report on their 1935 Golden Wedding anniversary, all three of Lewis and Eliza's surviving sons, Francis, Henry and Ernest, served in WWI.

Youngest son Ernest (D/K 26352) joined the navy, on 17th May 1915. Ernest lied about his age. He gave his date of birth as 6th April 1897, claiming to be eighteen when he signed up. He was in fact only just turned sixteen, born on 6th April 1899.

His service record gives a brief physical appearance: Ernest was 5'7''/5'8'', he had fair hair that darkened to light brown as he got older, had blue eyes, and a fair/fresh complexion. 

Ernest originally signed up for a period of twelve years, but in fact served well beyond. He continued to serve through WWI, as a stoker and then chief stoker, all the way through the 1920's and 1930's and into WWII. 

Lewis' youngest son Ernest, on board a ship, c 1940

Lewis' youngest son Ernest, c 1940, taken in Hong Kong

Edworthy Family, c 1930

Back Left to Back Right: Francis George, May, Gladys Lily, Winifred, Ernest John
Front Left to Front Right: Alice, Lewis' wife Eliza, Lewis himself and Eva

(Unfortunately one of the woman in the back row isn't named,
but I would assume is another daughter Muriel)

1921 Census:

On 28th March 1935, Lewis and Eliza's Golden Wedding anniversary (50 years!).

From the Western Times of 29th March 1935:

On 28th July 1939, Lewis' wife Eliza died, aged 75. She was buried on 1st August 1939 at Crediton cemetery. Eliza was described as "well known and held in much esteem". 

From the Western Times of 4th August 1939:

Come the start of the Second World War, a retired Lewis lived with his married youngest daughter Gladys and her husband at 20 Landscore, Crediton.

1939 Census:

On 11th April 1941, Lewis' youngest son Ernest died at sea, on board the H.M.Y Yorkshire Belle, five days after his forty-second birthday. He had married only the previous year.

In December 1943, Lewis died, aged 82, at 3 New Cut, Crediton.

"He was also a staunch Liberal, widely-known and held in high esteem."

From the Exeter and Plymouth Gazette of 10th December 1943:

Great x3 Aunt Ellen Trigger (nee Edworthy)

My Great x3 Aunt Ellen (1858 - 1934), was a housewife, mother of twelve, and a younger sister of my Great Great Grandfather William Edworthy (1852 - 1911).

Ellen was born in Oct/Nov/Dec 1858 in East Worlington, Devon, to William Edworthy (about 37), a farm labourer, and Mary Edworthy (nee Harris) (about 34).

On 2nd Janurary 1859, Ellen was baptised in East Worlington.

Ellen was the seventh of eleven children (four daughters and seven sons):

• Ann  1841 - 1882  (41)
• John  1844 - 1910  (65)
• Elizabeth  1849 - 1917  (about 68)
• William  1852 - 1911  (about 59)
• George  1854 - 1876  (22)
• Samuel  1856 - 1920  (64)
• Ellen  1858 - 1934  (75)
• Lewis  1861 - 1943  (82)
• Frederick  1863 - 1943  (79)
• Frank  1866 - 1929  (63)
• Mary Harris  1869 - 1939  (69)

Ellen and her siblings grew up at Edgelake/Oddislake Cottage, thatched cob cottage built in the early 1600s, in East Worlington.

(You can read more about the structure of the property here.) 

Edgelake/Oddislake Cottage

1861 Census: 

1871 Census: 

On 1st November 1879, Ellen (20 or just 21) married William Isaac Trigger (19 or just 20), an agricultural labourer (and later a farm carter), in her native East Worlington. Her younger brother, Lewis - a sibling close to her in age - acted as a witness.

(Bride and groom were both able to sign their names on their record of marriage.)

Ellen and William had twelve children (eight sons and four daughters)

• Samuel  1879 -
• James Henry  1882 -
• John  1883 -
• Mary Ann 'Annie'  1885 -
• Ellen Edworthy  1886 -
• William  1887 -
• Jane  1889 -
• Frederick 'Fred'  1892 - 1918 (27 years old)
• Charles  1893 - 
• Frank  1897 - 
• George  1899 -1918 (18 years old)
• Bessie Elizabeth  1900 -

///

Ellen's eldest son Samuel, a first cousin of my Great Grandmother Winifred Vernon (nee Edworthy), went on to marry Emily James, the maternal aunt of Winifred's future husband Walter Vernon. 

(So my 1st cousin x3 removed Samuel Trigger married my Great x3 Aunt Emily James)

Ellen's younger son William, also a first cousin of my Great Grandmother Winifred Vernon (nee Edworthy), went on to marry Edith Vernon, the sister of Winifred's future husband Walter Vernon.

(So my 1st cousin x3 removed William Trigger married my Great Great Aunt Edith Vernon)

Emily Trigger (nee James) and Edith Trigger (nee Vernon), aunt and niece, with their marriages to the Trigger brothers, became sisters-in-law.

I wonder if it was due to these family connection that my great grandparents, Walter and Winifred Vernon met, with Winifred's first cousins, Samuel and William Trigger, being Walter's Uncle Samuel (by marriage) and brother-in-law respectively. 

///

Ellen and William brought up their older children in Sandford, Devon.

The village of Sandford will always have a place in my heart, for it was where my maternal grandparents, George and Bette Sandford, lived. The church, where they prayed every Sunday, and where their funerals took place, was the same space where over a hundred years before several of the Trigger babes, my cousins, were christened.

The cottages where the young Trigger family lived (as shown on the 1881 and 1891 censuses) - Meadow's End [Cottage] and Lower Bagbourough [Cottage] - are still there to this day.

1881 Census:

1891 Census:

In the late 1890's, Ellen, William and their young family moved from Sandford to Dadmouth Cottage, in Kennford.

1901 Census:

Around 1902, Ellen and William's second son James (4009), aged about twenty, joined the Coldstream Guards, as a private. He is recorded as 'On Supp Roll 10/10/1902' meaning he might have joined after the end of the Second Boer War, which had ended in the May of 1902. It seems likely James, an experienced soldier, would have been called up to fight in the First World War, regardless of being a little older (at about thirty two at the start of that war); or he may have still been serving, and served into the First World War. He is still recorded as being in the Coldstream Guards, nine years after signing up, on the 1911 Census; however, the census also shows he as being at home in Devon, with his family. Though he may have simply had a few days leave that coincided with the day the census was taken.

1911 Census:

WWI...

It seems six of Ellen and William's eight sons served in the First World War (the two brothers that didn't serve were likely Samuel and John, who were older (in their early thirties) when the war began, and had no military experience). Sadly their son Charles was wounded; and two other sons, Fred and George, both died right at the war's end. 

Their third youngest son Charles (formerly 2395, a private in the Royal North Devonshire Yeomanry) (345741), a lance/acting corporal, in the Devonshire Regiment, was wounded in the war (reported 10/01/1918).

Their youngest son George (29490) was a private in the 7th Battalion, the Somerset Light Infantry. He was reported missing on 30th May 1918. He died, as a prisoner of war in Germany, on 11th July 1918, aged only eighteen. 

It seems to have been some months before Ellen and William learnt of their youngest son's death (indeed the war itself may have already ended). It is reported in November 1918, that only a fortnight after being informed of George's death, they were informed that their middle son Fred (554433), a private in the 4th Wessex Brigade, R.H.A (according to a local newspaper) (and/or a gunner in the Royal Field Artillery, according to Devon Heritage, and Labour Corps, according to Forces War Records (1267)), had also died overseas. Fred died of pneumonia, at Jalandhar (erstwhile Jullundur), India, on 1st November 1918, aged twenty-seven.

From the Exeter and Plymouth Gazette of 29th November 1918:

George and Fred Trigger are honoured at the War Memorial in Kenn.

From the Exeter and Plymouth Gazette of 31st October 1919:

Ellen and William's second youngest son Frank (WR/21880 and/or 225581), a sapper, in the 309th Road Construction Company, Royal Engineers, was awarded the Medaille d'Honneur avec Glaives (en Bronze) (Gazette Issue 31150, Gazette Page 1455, Gazette Date 28 or 29/01/1919). This was awarded by France/the Allied Powers to the British Forces for distinguished services rendered during the course of the campaign. This Decoration was conferred by the President of the French Republic.

...

On 12th July 1932, Ellen's husband William passed away, aged seventy-two, in Kennford. Sadly Ellen was unable to attend his funeral, but most of their married adult children did attend.

About a year and half later, in Jan/Feb/Mar 1934, Ellen herself passed away, aged seventy-five, in the district of St Thomas, Devon.

Great x3 Uncle Samuel Edworthy

My Great x3 Uncle Samuel (1856 - 1920), was a farm/agricultural servant and labourer, market gardener, father of eight, and a younger brother of my Great Great Grandfather William Edworthy (1852 - 1911).

Samuel was born in Apr/May/June 1856 in East Worlington, Devon, to William Edworthy (about 35), a farm labourer, and Mary Edworthy (nee Harris) (about 32).

On 10th June 1856, Samuel was baptised in East Worlington.

Samuel was the sixth of eleven children (four daughters and seven sons):

• Ann  1841 - 1882  (41)
• John  1844 - 1910  (65)
• Elizabeth  1849 - 1917  (about 68)
• William  1852 - 1911  (about 59)
• George  1854 - 1876  (22)
• Samuel  1856 - 1920  (64)
• Ellen  1858 - 1934  (75)
• Lewis  1861 - 1943  (82)
• Frederick  1863 - 1943  (79)
• Frank  1866 - 1929  (63)
• Mary Harris  1869 - 1939  (69)

Samuel and his siblings grew up at Edgelake/Oddislake Cottage, thatched cob cottage built in the early 1600s, in East Worlington.

(You can read more about the structure of the property here.) 

Edgelake/Oddislake Cottage

1861 Census:

As a young teen, Samuel was living and working away from his family. He was a indoor farm servant, for the Headon family, headed by farmer of 190 acres Benjamin Headon, at Burrow [Farm], East Worlington.

1871 Census: 

In Oct/Nov/Dec 1874, Samuel (18), an indoor farm servant, married Emma Chanter (only 16), a domestic servant on a farm, in the district of Crediton.

Samuel and Emma had eight children:

• Mary Ann 'Annie'  1876 -
• William John  1878 -
• Eva Jane  1880 -
• Ernest Samuel  1882 -
• Gertrude Emma  1885 - 1886  (between 14 and 18 months)
• Charles Frederick  1886 -
• Albert Frank 'Frank'  1888 -
• Florence Gertrude  1890 -

Sadly the couple's fifth child, Gertrude, passed away, aged only one year old, in 1886.

1881 Census:

1891 Census:

1901 Census:

On 31st March 1905, Samuel's wife Emma broke her leg, after slipping off a kerb in Paul Street, in Exeter.

From the Western Times of 1st April 1905:

1911 Census:

In Jul/Aug/Sep 1920, Samuel passed away, aged sixty-four, in the district of Crediton.

Emma outlived her husband by twenty years. In May 1940, she passed away aged eighty-one, in Morchard Bishop.

From the Exeter and Plymouth Gazette of 31st May 1940: