Fanny White born 1846 in Alderton, Gloucestershire. Daughter of John, a labourer and his wife Mary nee Stollard/Stallard.
1851 Census for Alderton.
1861 and the family have moved to Gloucester Street, Winchcombe.
Fanny is only 14 years old but, along with her 18 year old sister Ann, employed at the paper mill.
Still in Gloucester Street in 1871. Head of the household Fanny is an unmarried mother still employed at the paper mill with William John aged 3 and Charles Edward 11months old.
Many years ago, my Grandmother told me that a Vicar came to the village of Winchcombe and was horrified at how many couples were not married and took it upon himself to marry them all.
This included Fanny and William Humphries.
We always presumed, from this information, that William was the Father of Fanny's three eldest children:
William John, Charles Edward and Tom.
Cousins in the family used to say: "of course the surname should have been Humphries, not White!".
Fast forward to 2017 and I was in contact with a descendant of Tom who was told by her Grandfather that William Humphries was definately not the Father, and that he treated the boys badly because of this.
Looking again at the 1881 Census: the three boys are all listed as "step son". Richard is listed just as a Son.
Civil Registration birth records for 1875 show Reuben George White born in Winchcombe.
There is a baptism record for Reuben George, son of Fanny White and William Humphries, a Labourer on 4th November 1876, he died 10 days later. As William Humphries is named on the baptism record we must presume he was the Father.
The baptism records for William John and Charles Edward show Fanny White, single woman. Richard was baptised 1878 son of William and Fanny Humphries at the same time as Tom, again just son of Fanny White, single woman.
So, in conclusion: with the combination of the new family information, the 1881 census record and the baptism records we can safely say that William Humphries was not the Father of Fanny's 3 eldest sons. This of course, raised the question as to whether or not they had the same Father.
Either way, this is a dead end as regards the ancestors of these three sons.
This branch of the family has always been particularly difficult to trace. Even when I thought William Humphries was the Father, upon obtaining the marriage certificate I was disappointed to find that there is no Father's name for him.
The Census records also show his Mother, Maria as a single woman.
After their marriage, Fanny and William had Richard, Frederick, Elizabeth and George.
1881 Census
1891
From: postcardsthenandnow.blogspot.com
William John White [left] born 1868 in Winchcombe, Gloucestershire.
In 1889 he married Mary Ann Church at St Andrew, West Kensington, Middlesex.
In 1891 he was a Detective living at 5 Florence St - Birkenhead, Cheshire and in 1901 a Prison Warder living at 34 Hornby Rd., Walton on the Hill, Lancashire.
Moved to Wales and in 1911 he was an Underground Colliery Repairer. Address 3 Eric St Tylorstown, Rhondda, Glamorgan.
Other addresses for William John: 1915 Enlistment Papers of Son Tim White give the address 112 New Ferry Road, New Ferry, Cheshire. Amended to: 4 Water Street Port Sunlight Cheshire.
His son Tim died on 22 December 1917 in Egypt at the age of 21.
Group Photo: Left to Right - Rosalie, [Charles's wife], Charles Edward, Mary Ann, [William's wife], William John and Mary Ann's Mother.
William, known as Bill, was a Prison Warder and Police Detective and latterly a Miner.
Charles Edward was in the Grenadier Guards and in the Boer War c1900 a Miner in Wales.
Richard Humphries [Left]
Brother to William John and Charles Edward
Married in January 1897 in Winchcombe to Kate Lavinia Parker
The 1901 Census lists him as a Boarder at 66 Taff St., Rhondda - Ystradyfodwg, Glamorgan.
Photos of Charles Edward White [below]
To Be Continued Tom, George ...