The Two Elizabeths (see original blog Aug 9, 2009)

Henry DAWES (1831-1864) married Sophia SANTER (1831-1914) on 11 Aug 1856 in Uckfield, Sussex. They had one child, a daughter, Elizabeth b. 1856 in Uckfield. Henry died in 1864 and his wife then married his recently widowed uncle George DAWES (1821-1869) on 19 Aug 1864 in Brighton. George brought 5 children with him into the union and then he and Sophia had 2 more, Elizabeth M. b. 1866 in Brighton whom I'll call Eliza and Charles William b. 1868 in Uckfield.

The census returns provide the following clues to their existence:

Elizabeth 1861 (age 4) born Uckfield
Elizabeth 1871 (age 14) born Uckfield
Eliza 1871 (age 5) born Uckfield (should have been Brighton)
Elizabeth 1881 (age 26) born Uckfield working as a cook
Eliza 1881 (age 14) born Uckfield (should have been Brighton)
Elizabeth 1891 (age 35) born Uckfield working as a cook
Eliza 1891 (age 25) born Uckfield working as a housemaid in Brighton
Elizabeth 1901 (age 47) born Uckfield working as a cook
Eliza 1901 (age 35) born Uckfield married to John Smith in Newick
Elizabeth 1911 (age 54) born Uckfield (pensioner)
Eliza 1911 (age 42) born Uckfield married to John Smith in Newick
Elizabeth 1935 (age 78) died in Uckfield
Eliza 1944 (age 78) died in Newick

It is clear that there were two Elizabeth's because they are both in the same household with Sophia in 1871 and both identified as her daughters while George's children are identified as in-laws which was used for step children. There are no deaths registered for either Elizabeth DAWES or Eliza DAWES between 1881 and 1901 nor is there a marriage so what happened to her?

The trail of these two Elizabeth's is a good example of the many pitfalls that genealogy researchers can fall into. When Eliza disappeared in 1891 it was because she used her middle name "Emily" on the census. It wasn't until seeing her marriage certificate (above) that her full name was confirmed as Eliza Emily DAWES. In 1901 and 1911 she reverts to using only Eliza but she has been found which is the main thing.

Similarly, Elizabeth b. 1856, was hard to find in 1911 until a search for only people named "Elizabeth" and born about 1856 in Uckfield turned her up as Elizabeth DAVIES, a common mis-transcription of DAWES. The fact that she is living with her mother, Sophia, b. 1831 in Cranbrook, Kent proves who she really is.

The final episode in this story will be to find the death of Eliza SMITH, sometime after 1911, and to determine if her daughter, Ellen SMITH b. 1904, married and had a family but that's for another day.

(UPDATE Sep 20, 2009) I found a death for an Eliza E SMITH (age 78) registered in Lewes in 1944 March Quarter Vol. 2b Page 269. It will not be conclusive without a death certificate but with the middle initial E, correct age and location it is good enough for me.

Also using the GRO indexes I have found a marriage for Ellen SMITH to Harry E. MOORE registered in Lewes June Quarter Vol. 2b Page 408 followed by two births of Moores with a Smith mother: Joan M. MOORE 1926 Dec Quarter Vol. 2b Page 213 and John E. O. MOORE 1928 Sept Quarter Vol. 2b Page 215 both also in Lewes Registration District.

View original blog from 09 Aug 2009

The CHATFIELD Family (original post 29 July 2009)

Jane Ann DAWES (1805-1851) married three times, the first to Thomas CHATFIELD (1797-1832). They had three children, William b. 1827, Henry b. 1829 and Alfred b. 1831. Of these, only Henry appears to have married and had a family, quite a large one which continues into the twenty-first century.

Henry was baptised in St. Bartholomew's Church, Maresfield on 09 August 1829 although his actual date of birth is unknown. In 1949 he married Phyllis Ann KENWARD (aka KENNARD) in Lewes and they had nine children as shown in the following charts.

The first chart displays the families of James, Alfred, Harriett and Warden. The second chart displays the family of only Eli who had fifteen children. The third chart covers the families of Harry, Agnes, William and Minnie.

James died young and all the rest married and had families except Agnes who has no children that I have found so far.

Alfred CHATFIELD married Mary Jane STUTOR in Hailsham 1873 and they had seven children.

Harriett CHATFIELD married Robert LANCASTER in Hailsham 1872 and they had six children.

Warden CHATFIELD married Charlotte SMITH in Uckfield 1877 and they had three children.

Eli CHATFIELD married Mary Ann STYLES in Ticehurst 1883 and they had fifteen children all with three letter given names.

Harry CHATFIELD married Elizabeth PLACE in Uckfield 1885 and they had one child.

Agnes CHATFIELD married Thomas STARTUP in Malling, Kent 1891 but I haven't found any children for them.

William CHATFIELD married Mercy SKINNER in Ticehurst 1891 and they had five children.

Minnie CHATFIELD married Albert PALMER in Uckfield 1893 and they had four children.

The photo below is of Leo Styles CHATFIELD and his wife Grace POTTER (Seated) with family members Leo and Ena standing directly behind. I have not identified the young ladies on either side.

View original post 29 July 2009

The Albert Henry DAWES Family

Albert Henry DAWES (1882-1944) and Jessie Elizabeth Ann WYATT (1879-1942) had two children, Winnifred Mabel born 27 July 1906 and Albert Cyril born 9 June 1909 both in Brighton. Winnifred married Thomas Alphonse RHODEN (1902-1944) of the Doncaster pork butcher's family famous for their pork pies. Albert Cyril known as Cyril married Molly REINER (1909-) in 1933 but later divorced her and married Doris Brenda Joan HAWLEY (1917-2000) known as Joan in 1946. Winnifred and Thomas had one child and Cyril and Molly had two all of which I am in contact with today.

Wedding of Winn DAWES & Thomas RHODEN

Wedding of Cyril DAWES & Molly REINER

Florence Ellen DAWES & Ada DAWES

To close this chapter of the Dawes family I need to explain what happened to two daughters. The first is Florence Ellen DAWES (1870-1870) whose birth was registered in Brighton during the June Quarter of 1870 and her death was registered September Quarter of the same year so she only lived for a few weeks or months at the most. She was baptised in St. Nicholas Church on the 5th June 1870 as were both of her older brothers Walter and Ernest.

Ada DAWES (1876-1908) was born 31 Dec. 1876 and died of peritonitis on 2 May 1908 at age 32. She is buried with her mother, Sarah BOXALL, and her father Thomas DAWES.

NOTE: See my earlier blog on Thomas to view the tombstone in Brighton Cemetery.

The Thomas George DAWES Family

After Sarah BOXALL died in 1890, Thomas DAWES re-married on 24 Sept. 1894, Sarah ROUST (1851-1928). On 22 Aug. 1895, Sarah gave birth to Thomas George, a half-brother to the other Dawes children.



When he was 31, "Uncle George" married Grace WOODING (1902-1982). He was an accomplished organist and played in many churches according to the memoirs of Reg BARNES.

He must have been well regarded by his siblings because he managed many of the houses they inherited from Thomas DAWES for them. Thomas George died on 4 Aug. 1974 leaving no offspring to carry on this line.

The Albert Henry DAWES Line

Albert Henry "Bert" DAWES (1882-1944) was the last child born to Thomas DAWES and Sarah BOXALL. He was born in Brighton on 16 October 1882 and became a commercial traveler (salesman?) according to the census returns. On 31 Oct. 1903, he married Jesse Elizabeth Ann WYATT (1879-1942) in Preston, Sussex.

Bert and Jesse had two children, Winifred Mabel (1906-1994) and Albert Cyril (1909-1989) both of whom had families with who I am in contact today.

An interesting development in doing the research on this family is that, through GenesReunited, I discovered that Jesse had a younger sister who was raised by her uncle because her mother died shortly after giving birth leaving her father with two young children and a baby. This sister was raised as part of her uncle's family and having the WYATT surname no one was any the wiser about it until now. As a result, a new second cousin to the descendants of Albert and Jesse has been reunited with the family although this has no impact on the other Dawes family members.

(L-R) Albert Henry Dawes and Jesse Elizabeth Ann WYATT

The Tom DAWES Line

This is my direct line and Tom DAWES (1880-1933) was my grandfather. Unfortunately, I never met him because he died before I was born.

Christened as Tom and not Thomas he was born in Brighton on 16 Dec. 1880 and became a cabinet maker. Family lore says that he didn't want to go into the family business but wanted to be a teacher. He left for Canada in 1906 and was followed a year later by his Brighton sweetheart, Caroline Wakeford GARDNER (1880-1966). His tool chest is stenciled with the address "Empress of Britain - Winnipeg via Quebec". That's the puzzle, why was he going to Winnipeg because he spent the rest of his life working as a carpenter in Montreal. He and Carrie were married on 14 Oct. 1907 which was the day after she arrived in Montreal. Neither of them ever went home and none of their relations ever came over to visit them.

Tom and Carrie had three children of which only my father went on to have a family.

The photo above is the only one that exists with Tom Dawes in it along with Caroline Gardner and one of their children.

The chart has been edited to protect living individuals.