Help Please with WEBB / WELLS marriage

[genienut]

This one has me stumped, it’s for a marriage in the family that no one ever mentioned and of course now that I know about it I can’t find it anywhere.

In late 1906 or early 1907 probably in the London area:
Florence (aka Flora, Flo) WEBB age about 19, father William Augustus Webb (deceased)
James (aka James C.) WELLS age about 38

Florence was born 19 Mar 1888 and on the 1901 census lived in Battersea.

They appear together on the 1911 census in Upper Holloway, Islington, London. It states they have been married 4 years. There are no children listed.

I am also looking for either a divorce for this couple or a death record for James as Florence remarried in 1915.

Any help with this would be appreciated.
Thanks genienut.

[Olde Crone Holden]

Maybe they didn't marry, I'm not seeing a marriage either. Maybe that's why no-one ever mentioned it.

What was her status when she married in 1915?

OC

[Guest]

this may be his death
James C Wells born 1870 died 1947 Jun quarter Lambeth 5C 1161

[Guest]

she calls herself Wells when she marries in 1915 OC

[genienut]

Hello OC
Thanks for taking a look, I've also been thinking they never married but had to try. I don't know what Florence put as her status on her second marriage to Wilton B. Gray, I haven't actually seen the record but it's on the BMD in the Jul-Aug-Sep quarter in Hammersmith under her maiden name Webb. The first time I ever heard of this marriage was in a biography of her father-in-law William B. Gray written for Who's Who in Jamaica in 1925. In it they say that Wilton married Mrs. Flora Wells (nee Webb) of Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1915. This single statement has created 2 mysteries, first her marriage and also the fact that she was from Winnipeg. The only record I can find of her coming to Winnipeg was in 1911 with James Wells but the passenger list is marked To Be Deported and it's hard to tell if it meant both of them or just James. At the time Florence's mother and 3 brothers all lived in Winnipeg so maybe she was allowed to stay. I've looked for a divorce in Canada but can't find one here either. At any rate she somehow ended up back in England by 1915.
genienut

[TrevorFranklin]

I've had a couple of cases of this.
The problem was that a couple separate, but do not divorce (cost far too much)
This meant that one of the couple, found another partner, but could not marry them
In one of the cases, they did eventually marry, but years later after the other original partner had died

[Olde Crone Holden]

If she married as Webb, that suggests to me that she was never married to Wells and there was no divorce. At that time it would say on a MC (if she told the truth of course!) that she was the widow of, or previous marriage to....dissolved.

My money's on no marriage!

OC

[Chrissie Smiff]

I was looking at this earlier and found the same likely death in Lambeth as Val post #3. I believe that this was probably James Cranham Wells born Dec 1869 Shoredith ref 1c 163. There is also a possible marriage of a James C Wells in 1914 Lambeth re 1 775 to a Violet L Belford. Could this have spurred her on to marry Wilton?

p.s. I meant to say that I think there was probably never an actual marriage either.

[genienut]

Val, that could be the right death, but she did remarry under the name Webb so I agree there probably wasn't a marriage.
Trevor, I've also had several cases like you describe, it seemed to happen quite often.
OC, That's my thinking also.
She did eventually end up in Canada with Wilton but never liked it here and when he died she booted it straight back to England so I'm thinking maybe she moved in with James Wells to avoid emigrating to Canada with her mother in 1907.

[Guest]

just realised I was looking at the wrong marriage as she uses her maiden name I would agree with others she never married James.

[genienut]

I agree, I think it was a tactic to stop her mother from forcing her to come to Canada.
Thanks everyone for all your help
genienut

[Chrissie Smiff]

Did you notice my post at #8 genienut? I thought you may have missed it because we posted at exactly the same time but yours followed mine.

[genienut]

Thanks for pointing it out Chrissie, I guess I skimmed over it, I'll check around and see what I can find out about James Cranham Wells.
genienut

[genienut]

Unfortunately James Cranham Wells appears on the 1911 census in Hackney, Brixton while my James C. Wells is in Upper Holloway, Islington so we can cross him off the list.
genienut.

[Chrissie Smiff]

That's a pity genienut as there doesn't appear to be any other likely birth that fits. The only other James C Wells born around that time died a year later.