This one was different. In fact it was the first I ever did, but strictly speaking, this wasn’t ‘graveyard’ inspired.
I collect old postcards of Ashford, where I live. These usually end up on my sister website – history-of-ashford.org.uk.
I purchased a card showing a lady standing in a garden. It had clear writing on the reverse which gave away quite a bit of information. So this was my first foray into finding out what I could, given a decent starting point. Have a look yourself first at the card. The lady seems well dressed. How old would you say? I think maybe 40s? Click here to view the message…
On the card, she seems to be writing to her cousin, Dora. Dora is a little difficult to trace as she will very likely have a different surname. But the person writing signs the card Em Foote. Quite a distinctive name.
There is an Emma Jane Gill Foote, born in Ashford. I am assuming this is the writer because the card is addressed from 5 New Rents, Ashford. This suggests the writer lives in Ashford and is quite likely from Ashford? And Foote is a fairly distinctive name in that spelling. There is only one in the birth records so I feel confident of this.
I am also going to assume that the lady on the front of the card is Emma herself. If you send someone a note on a card, especially a family member, surely it would be a picture of yourself? So I believe we are looking at Emma Jane Gill Foote here. Hello Emma.
So, to her life…
1885
Emma was born on 1st September 1885 in Ashford. Her Father was Alfred Gill Jarvis Foote, a Painter from Dorchester. He was living with the family, before Emma’s birth, at 12 Hardinge Road (as seen in the 1881 census), but sadly he died in 1890. Her Mother was Mary Ann Brooker from East Grinstead and they were married in East Grinstead on 26th April, 1871.
1891
The census shows Emma living at 31 Somerset Road, which still exists as a property. She resides with her Mother, Mary Ann, as the head (aged 37, a wash laundress) and her sister Ellen R (19) and two brothers John (10) and Frederick J G (7). It seems Frederick may share that unusual name, Gill, with her.
1901
This is interesting. The head at 31 Somerset Road is now John Tanner and his wife is Mary A Tanner. It seems Emma’s mother has re-married. Emma still lives there, she’s 15 now. Interestingly there is also a Jarvis Foote living there, aged 17. Looking back at the last census, I strongly suspect this is her brother Frederick J G, now being known by his second name which I assume is Jarvis, as it was his father’s third name. Another interesting point, which I think is an error on the part of the census enumerator, is that Emma and Jarvis are shown as ‘Daughter in Law’ and ‘Brother in Law’ respectively. This is clearly not right and I suspect they meant step-daughter and step-son respectively. A curious error.
1911
This is where it gets interesting, for me particularly as a local historian. Emma is shown at the premises of Lewis and Hyland, 11 – 19 New Rents, Ashford, a very early and very large example of a department store. In the image linked above, it is the large building on the right. She is shown as a ‘Drapers Shop Assistant’. I thought this odd at first as it looked as though she lived there. But on inspection I noticed wording that said either this is where you were on the night of Sunday April 2nd 1911, or the morning of Monday April 3rd 1911, having not been enumerated elsewhere. So she must have arrived at work on Monday and been recorded there. It’s a really interesting document showing many workers in the store on that Monday. I wish I could reproduce it here!
Note that the card is addressed as from 5 New Rents, which is just a few ‘doors’ down from the shop. I’m not sure what was there, but it suggests she was living there when the card was written. Sadly there is no indication on the card of when she was writing it.
Things get difficult here as the 1911 census was the last released. We can look forward to the 1921 census in January 2022 and I will update this when that is released… I could not trace anyone else from the family in the 1911 census, not in Ashford at least.
EDIT: The 1921 census shows Emma, now 35 years and 9 months, working for a Miss M E Hughes as an ‘Art needlework and shop assistant’ at 98 Station Road, Redhill. Her address is shown as the same, so she must be living in the shop with Miss Hughes. This name explains how Emma met Elizabeth Hughes, which you can see by the next paragraph I did not originally know until this census was published.
1939
But we have the 1939 register and this shows 54 year old Emma living with a lady called Mary Elizabeth Hughes at a house called ‘Harmony’, Lynmouth Drive, Sheppey. They are both shown as ‘Confectioners’, so what could be the story there?
1945
Emma died on 14th June, 1945 at the County Hospital, Sheppey. She had still been living at the above address with Mary and indeed she left her estate, £238 6s and 10d to Mary according to the probate record.
This one was different. Having what I believe is a photograph of the person I am learning about is a very different experience. If you happen to be reading this because you are related, please do get in contact, Emma set me off on this path!