George William Rowland Foster - b 1869 - HELP!!!

[Sue1]

George William R Foster b 1869 Forton Barracks, Forton, Alverstoke, Hampshire to George Foster, a Colour Sergeant in RMLI and Mary Ann Rowland his wife.
1871 census family still at RMLI barracks, Forton
1881 " ditto"
1901 8 Cornwall Gardens, Willesden, Middlesex. Wife on census, Florence a Hospital Nurse. George: Head of House. Occ: Board School Teacher. No children
1911 census living in Hope, Shropshire. George Head of House School Board Teacher.
1914 m Florence Coombes! Florence was born in 1874 in Kinlet, Shropshire. The marriage took place in Q2 Alverstoke 2b 1217 1914.

I am pretty sure something is wrong here - OK, they may have been living together and decided to marry because he was off to WWI possibly but seems odd they went back to Alverstoke to marry as by this time they were living in Shropshire.

Please can anyone help - I suspect I have gone wrong somewhere but can't find the "somewhere" ................ I can't access links to ancestry as not a paying member at the mo.
Grateful for any assistance.
Sue

[brentor boy]

Free BMD has George William R Foster and Florence Emily Nind on the same page Sep Q 1900 Martley. Might he have married twice, both times to a Florence?

[Night Owl]

Are you sure about the second marriage? FreeBMD shows George R Foster married Sarah E C Coombes in 1914 Alverstoke

There's a tree on Ancestry for Florence Emily Nind which shows her with George, complete with a photo of her in a nurses uniform

http://trees.ancestry.co.uk/tree/11549835/person/26875589154

It also has them living in Wales in 1911

http://search.ancestry.co.uk/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=1911Wales&h=862515&ti=5538&indiv=try&gss=pt&ssrc=pt_t11549835_p26875589154_kpidz0q3d26875589154z0q26aidz0q3d228003031672z0q26pgz0q3d32771z0q26pgplz0q3dpidz0q257caid

It might be worth you going to the library to get access to Ancestry but I'll post the details of the 1901 and 1911 in a mo

[Sue1]

Maybe she was the only one he married but she had been married before I note from FreeBMD to a George Drinkall or was that marriage her 2nd one I wonder - don't know for sure when George William R Foster died. She was also a nurse as was the other Emily. Emily Nind was born in 1872 and died in 1953.

Many thanks for that. Sue

[Night Owl]

1901 8 Cornwall Gardens Willesden

George Foster head 31 Teacher Board School b Gosport
Florence 28 Hospital Nurse Sick (own account) b Shrewsbury Shropshire

1911

School House, Hope, Minsterley, Salop (but showing on Ancestry in the Wales census in Montgomeryshire)

George Foster 41 Head Teacher County Council b Gosport
Florence 37 married 12 years 1 child b Kinlet Salop
Florence 10 b Willesden

[Sue1]

Many thanks Jackie. I am not sure about anything to do with this chap - I now notice that the provenance I have for the Florence Coombes marriage is actually for Sarah Coombes in Alverstoke. I have obviously got the whole thing wrong!
I don't know when George died but I know Florence Emily Nind died in 1953 and was either a widow when George married her or she re-married to Mr. Drinkall and became a widow for the second time.
The 1911 census is for Montgomeryshire I think which suggests they were in Shropshire on the border (the boundary seems to be interchangeable there).
I have both census which I had actually copied complete onto the Tree fortunately. The 1901 shows them at 8 Cornwall Gardens Willesden, Middlesex. Wife on census is Florence a Hospital Nurse - I had assumed this was Florence Coombes!
I also found a child Grace Florence N. Coombes b 1915 Willesden.
I think Florence Nind is likely to be GWR Foster's wife - maybe his only wife but he was born in 1869 and it was quite a late marriage.
Sue

[Sue1]

Thanks Jackie - I was so slow doing my last post above that you had added yours before I finished!!!
So, basically, as far as can be seen, I have my Florences mixed up and he married Florence Nind ......but there is a child in Willesden - Grace Florence N. Coombes???? - if the child's surname is Coombes it can be HIS (I hope).

I am surprised to hear there is a picture of Florence in uniform and even moreso that there is a picture of George! Do you know which Tree it is? Planning to join anc.co in about a month after hols. I have found a picture of her on her own in uniform but too small to copy I think. I didn't realise you could get into your own Tree and others on ancestry.co at the Library. I have used that facility and was sure it couldn't be done but maybe it can!

Sue

[Night Owl]

There isn't a photo of George, just one of Florence in uniform. I've never used Ancestry at the library so I'm not sure if you can view trees on there but if you're going to get your own sub in a while, save the link to the public tree from here and you'll be able to view it

http://trees.ancestry.co.uk/tree/11549835/person/26875589154

I'll PM you the name of who the tree belongs to

FYI he has given George's death as 1915 in Holborn aged 49 but I'm not sure that's right as he would have been born about 1866.

[Night Owl]

I think the George Drinkall marriage was to a different Florence Emily Nind

Your Florence was the daughter of John Nind a contractor and she was born about 1872

1881 census here

http://interactive.ancestry.co.uk/7572/WORRG11_2911_2916-0569/23476857?backurl=http%3a%2f%2fsearch.ancestry.co.uk%2fcgi-bin%2fsse.dll%3fdb%3duki1881%26h%3d23476857%26ti%3d5538%26indiv%3dtry%26gss%3dpt%26ssrc%3dpt_t11549835_p26875589154_kpidz0q3d26875589154z0q26aidz0q3d228003041572z0q26pgz0q3d32771z0q26pgplz0q3dpidz0q257caid&ssrc=pt_t11549835_p26875589154_kpidz0q3d26875589154z0q26aidz0q3d228003041572z0q26pgz0q3d32771z0q26pgplz0q3dpidz0q257caid&backlabel=ReturnRecord

The George Drinkall marriage is on Ancestry and shows that she was 19 in 1894 (b about 1875) and was the daughter of Henry Nind a Japanner

[Gwyn in Kent]

Maybe Punchs Mum on the Research Offers board could look up details to clarify the marriage.

[Sue1]

Thanks Gwyn, Punchs Mum got me all the children of the Fosters and she may well be able to clarify things for me. When I get my head round all this I will ask her.

Sue

[merleyone]

George William Rowland Foster, Retired Schoolmaster, was alive in 1923 and living then at The Bungalow, Meadowtown, Minsterley, Shropshire. He and Arthur Benjamin Aris, Solicitor, 0f 20 Dogpole, Shrewsbury, were named in GWR Shareholder records in relation to 200 Ordinary Great Western Railway shares formerly belonging to Margaret Sarah Menzies following a court ruling that the Will of Margaret Sarah Menzies, 87, of 2 Hopesgate House, Minsterely was valid. That ruling was given in an action 'brought by Foster and another against Menzies', which suggests that GWR Foster was named as a beneficiary in the Menzies will and the Menzies family contested that.

In the 1911 census, as mentioned above, the Foster family were at the School House, Hope etc. but that was listed under Worthen, Forden, Montgomeryshire, Wales. Margaret Sarah Menzies, death was registered at Forden in 1922 and the death of George W R Foster, 62, was also registered there in the September qtr 1930.

merleyone

[Sue1]

Ancestry won't let me open the 1881 census link you give BUT looking at the 1911 Welsh census from Montgomeryshire there is a question "How many Years married" and Florence says 12. She is 37 on that census so she married age 25. She was born according to that census in 1874 which is correct for the age she gives. On that census also is a child age 10 years - not sure if it is male or female - the name is typed as "Herence" so it could be a son, Terence or a girl mistranscribed who is actually Florence! (got into the 1881 census on a Tree on which I am a guest!) That Tree also says that they married in 1900 in Martley, Worcestershire (Vol 6c page 427) The following year, 1901, they are in Willesdon, Middlesex. The Tree says the child is "Florence" so it is obviously a daughter - I haven't seen the original census. In 1911 they are in Montgomeryshire. It is possible I suppose that they came to London for the marriage or did they (not sure where they married but for a Foster it should be Islington ?St Mary). I am now managing to confuse myself .............not difficult!

Sue
George Drinkall as a husband I obviously out of the equation.

[Janet in Yorkshire]

I don't think the library edition of Ancestry allows viewing of trees. (I use it for worldwide research only and view trees at home, but I'm pretty sure a member of my mentoring group reported that she couldn't access any trees on Ancestry when working in the library.)

Jay

[Sue1]

That is an incredibly interesting piece of information - is it online?
I have never heard of that before. I wonder who Margaret Sarah Menzies was - I don't know that name. Perhaps one of his wife's relatives? Do you have knowledge of the family?
Thank you also for the date of death.
I believe a couple of the Fosters (brothers of GWR Rowland) worked for the railway (GNR and GWR) when they were younger.

Sue

[Sue1]

I used ancestry at the library on one occasion and I was unable to get into my own Tree but I could view census etc without being logged into my Tree.
I hadn't realised you could use it for worldwide searches (I don't think my researching that long ago had left these shores).

Will keep that in mind.

Sue

[Janet in Yorkshire]

Sue, as I belong to FMP, I only have the very basic Ancestry sub so that I can use the site at home if I need to. Queries not covered in the basic package I either ask the wonderful people on here for a look up, or keep a list and pop into the library when I have to go to the local town. The libraries are VERY pleased to have people use Ancestry. It is an expensive package to put in all their libraries and they do ask us to log any usage of it so that they can argue that it is being used and paying for the licence is justified.
You don't need to log in to your own account at the library - I usually ask one of the assistants to get me in and then she can record my use of it !

Jay

[Sue1]

I remember when I first signed up to use the computers at our local library I had to register with the library and was issued with a card ...................I promptly lost this (although probably at home somewhere) and haven't had the courage to go back.

I do think it is a good idea that the usage of ancestry is logged so that the need for it is realised. I always see a lot of people on the computers and there is a full room upstairs, in our local library - I don't think they are all students doing projects! Most are actually middle aged or older - bet they are mostly on ancestry! The staff are also extremely helpful.

I have, thanks to FMP's helpful members got the answer to what I asked today and even learned something I didn't ask and which intrigues me.

Many thanks for your help today!

Sue