Samuel John Davison (bef. 1831 - 1910)

Born before 11 Dec 1831 in Tonbridge, Kent, England, United Kingdom

Ancestors

Husband of Rachel (Tuck) Davison — married 6 Oct 1878 in Bromley, Middlesex, England, United Kingdom

Descendants

Died 1910 after age 78 in Poplar, Middlesex, England, United Kingdom

Problems/Questions Profile manager: L Parr [send private message]

Biography

Samuel Davison was born in Tunbridge, Kent, England.

Birth: Samuel was born in about 1831, in Tunbridge (now Tonbridge), Kent, England. He was the son of Richard Davison and Caroline Enfield.^[1]

Samuel was married three times and had a total of seven children, of whom four - Samuel Louis (b.1853), Ellen Sophia (b.1863), Richard John (b.1868) and Albert John (b.1879) - survived childhood.

First marriage: His first marriage was to Mary Ann Davies on 2nd May 1852 at St John Horsleydown in Southwark, and was registered in the district of St Olave, Southwark.^[2] They were both said to be living in the parish, and both signed the register.

Groom: Samuel Davison, barge builder, single and of full age

His father: Richard Davison, barge builder

Bride: Mary Ann Davies, single and of full age

Her father: David Davies, labourer

Witnesses: William Brown, Elizabeth Cassel(?)^[3]

Samuel and Mary Ann had one son, Samuel Louis (b.1853), but the marriage appears to have broken down by 1858, and it's not known what happened to Mary Ann. Divorce was not affordable for ordinary people at that time,^[4][5] and neither of them could therefore legally remarry while the other was still living.

Second marriage: By 1858, Elizabeth Mary Eve was living with Samuel as his wife, and their first child was born in September of that year. They had a total of four children, of whom two died as toddlers.

Elizabeth herself died, aged 32, in January 1870.

Third marriage: Nearly nine years after Elizabeth's death, Samuel remarried. It was over twenty years since he had separated from his first wife and he may have known that she had died, but in any case the law did not regard a remarriage as bigamous if the person had not seen their spouse for at least seven years and had no reason to believe they were still living.^[6]

Samuel's third marriage was to Rachel (Tuck) Hall, and took place on 6th October 1878 at the parish church of St Mary, Bromley St Leonard, Middlesex. This was Rachel's home parish, but the parish register (incorrectly) recorded both of them as living there.

Groom: Samuel John Davison, barge builder, widowed and of full age

His father: Richard Davison, barge builder

Bride: Rachel Hall, widowed and of full age

Her father: John Tuck, carpenter

Witnesses: John Tuck, L Davison^[7][8]

Samuel and Rachel had two children, the younger of whom died as a toddler.

Death: Samuel died in Poplar, London in 1910.^[9]

Sources

1. ↑ Baptism: "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:J9VF-TY5 : 21 March 2020), Samuel John Davison, 1831.
2. ↑ First Marriage Registration: (https://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?cite=dSPU2Rw8XfKBBgcciqn%2F%2BA&scan=1 : accessed 29 Apr 2023) FreeBMD database online. Davison, Samuel [and Mary Ann Davies], Marriages , 1852 Jun Quarter, St Olave Southwark Volume 1d Page 47.
3. ↑ First marriage (parish): London, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1938 database at Ancestry UK. Entry for Samuel Davison, son of Richard Davison, and Mary Ann Davies daughter of David Davies, 2 May 1852, St John Horsleydown, Southwark (Paywall: accessed March 2022, transcription L Parr)
4. ↑ Divorce law: FamilySearch Wiki contributors, "Divorce in England and Wales," FamilySearch Wiki, , https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/index.php?title=Divorce_in_England_and_Wales&oldid=5061692 (accessed April 29, 2023).
5. ↑ Divorce Law (2): Stone, Lawrence, 'The Passage of the Divorce Reform Act, 1850–1857', Road to Divorce: England 1530-1987 (Oxford, 1990; online edn, Oxford Academic, 3 Oct. 2011), https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198226512.003.0012, accessed 29 Apr. 2023.
6. ↑ The Journal of Genealogy and Family History, Vol. 6, No. 1 Rebecca Probert, Escaping detection: illegal second marriages and the crime of bigamy http://dx.doi.org/10.24240/23992964.2021.1234538 (Full article: file:///C:/Users/peter/Downloads/120-Article%20Text-387-1-10-20220201.pdf) (Accessed April 2023)
7. ↑ Third marriage (parish): London, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1938 database at Ancestry UK. Entry for Samuel John Davison, son of Richard Davison, and Rachel Hall, daughter of John Tuck, 6 Oct 1878, St Leonard, St Mary, Bromley (Paywall: accessed March 2022, transcription L Parr)
8. ↑ Third Marriage Registration: (https://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?cite=M3vS0Uwu02390DfFAkACWQ&scan=1 : accessed 29 Apr 2023) FreeBMD database online. Davison, Samuel John [and Rachel Hall], Marriages , 1878 Dec Quarter, Poplar, Volume 1c Page 1169.
9. ↑ Death registration: England & Wales General Register Office, GRO Online Index - Death (https://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content : accessed 29/11/2022), database entry for Davison, Samuel John. (Age at death: 79) GRO Reference: 1910 D Quarter in POPLAR Volume 01C Page 342