George Smith (abt. 1874 - 1952)

Born about Dec 1874 in Exbury, Hampshire, England

Ancestors

Husband of Edith (Vane) Smith — married 21 Jan 1899 in North Stoneham, Hampshire, England

Descendants

Biography

George Smith was most likely born in December 1874 in Exbury, Hampshire, the second son of Thomas William and Sarah Eliza Smith.^[1] His birth was registered in the first quarter of 1875,^[2] and he was baptised on 6 January 1875 at Fawley, Hampshire.^[1] On the 1881 census he was living with his parents in Newtown, part of Hardley in the parish of Fawley. They had only moved to Newtown sometime in the previous four years as the three oldest sons' place of birth was given as Exbury,^[3] which is where Thomas and Sarah had been living in 1871.^[4] He was still living with his parents in Newtown in 1891 and working as a general labourer.^[5]

George married Edith Vane on 21 January 1899 at North Stoneham, Hampshire,^[6] where Edith's parents lived.^[7] (George and Edith celebrated their golden wedding in 1948,^[6] but it seems they had miscounted the years: their marriage was registered in the first quarter of 1899,^[8] and on the 1911 census they claimed to have been married only 12 years.^[9]) In the 1901 census they were living with their month-old first son Archibald in Canford Park, in the parish of Canford Magna, Dorset where George was a gamekeeper.^[10] They had perhaps moved to nearby village of Kinson, Dorset by 1903 when their second son Lionel was baptised,^[11] and then to Beaulieu, Hampshire where Albert was born in 1905.^[9] By 1911 George was a gamekeeper at Avon Castle near Ringwood, Hampshire and living on the estate; their daughter Doris was born there in 1910.^[9]

Quite possibly they lived near Hythe, Kent in the 1920s. Their eldest son Archibald was staying at The Chimneys, Westenhanger, Hythe, Kent when he emigrated to Australia in 1927,^[12] their youngest son Albert married Kate Hogben from Smeeth, a Kent village some seven miles from Hythe,^[13] and their daughter Doris married Victor Carter from Hythe.^[14] Their second son Lionel (who was brought up by his grandparents, George's parents^[15]) used to visit Kent regularly on his motorcycle in the years prior to the Second World War.^[16] This would be explained if George and Edith were living in the Hythe area of Kent at the time. In later life they returned to Hampshire to live in Blackfield in Fawley parish.^[6] Edith died on 18 May 1951, and George on 9 May 1952. They are buried together in the churchyard of All Saints, Fawley.^[17]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Hampshire Archives and Local Studies. "Fawley parish, register of baptisms, 1857–1894" (25M60/PR6).
2. ↑ The National Archives : General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration Indexes — Births. Digital images on FreeBMD.
3. ↑ The National Archives. 1881 census for Fawley, Hampshire, England (RG11/1203), fol 27, p 11. Thomas Smith's household. Digital images on Ancestry.com.
4. ↑ The National Archives. 1871 census for Exbury, Hampshire, England (RG10/1185), fol 60, p 2. Thomas Smith's household. Digital images on Ancestry.com.
5. ↑ The National Archives. 1891 census for Fawley, Hampshire, England (RG12/911), fol 22, p 8. Thomas Smith's household. Digital images on Ancestry.com.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2} Unknown newspaper clipping, "Golden Wedding", January 1948. Privately held by Richard Smith.
7. ↑ The National Archives. 1901 census for North Stoneham, Hampshire, England (RG13/1071), fol 23, p 38. William Vane's household. Digital images on Ancestry.com.
8. ↑ The National Archives : General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration Indexes — Marriages. Digital images on FreeBMD.
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1 9.2} The National Archives. 1911 census for Ringwood, Hampshire, England (RG14/5892), sched 39. George Smith's household. Digital images on Ancestry.com.
10. ↑ The National Archives. 1901 census for Canford Magna, Dorset, England (RG13/1977), fol 29, p 4. George Smith's household. Digital images on Ancestry.com.
11. ↑ Dorset History Centre. Kinson parish, christening registers, 1855–1915 (PE-KIN/RE/2/2). Digital images on Ancestry.com.
12. ↑ The National Archives. "Outwards Passenger Lists, 1890–1960" (BT27), in records of the Board of Trade. Digital images on Ancestry.com.
13. ↑ The National Archives. 1911 census for Smeeth and Bircholt, Kent, England (RG14/4280), sched 116. William Hogben's household. Digital images on Ancestry.com.
14. ↑ The National Archives. 1911 census for Hythe, Kent, England (RG14/4666), sched 136. Margarette Carter's household. Digital images on Ancestry.com.
15. ↑ The National Archives. 1911 census for Fawley, Hampshire, England (RG14/5913), sched 12. Thomas Smith's household. Digital images on Ancestry.com.
16. ↑ Information provided to Richard Smith by his father, Lionel's son.
17. ↑ All Saints Fawley churchyard, Hampshire. George & Edith Smith monumental inscription.