1901 census at 22, Sidney Street, Cowley, Oxfordshire. George and Harriett are still living in Sidney Street, but now at No. 22. George is 69, and still a whitesmith. In those days most people worked until they died, very few got pensions.

An excerpt from the transcript of the 1901 census.

George    Jeffery  69  Whitesmith.
Harriett     “     65
Alice G.  Doman    10  Visitor.

On the census form Alice G, is called a “visitor”, which she is, but she, more importantly, is actually the grand-daughter of George and Harriett. She is the daughter of Alice G.(eldest daughter of George and Harriett), and Edward T. Doman, see the 1891 census. Always check the visitors and boarders at the bottom of the census forms, they often turn out to be relatives or useful connections.

Have a look at the census form, both Eva J. and Charles H. have now left home. But don't worry, George and Harriett won't be lonely, they have plenty of grandchildren to come visiting! The other daughter still “missing” from the census is Emily Julia, last heard of as a housemaid working in Streatham, London. Let's see if we can find out what she is doing now!

Turning as usual to that very useful site, BMD, (Births, Marriages, and Deaths) and looking at Marriages, we have a hit. Emily Julia Jeffery married Arthur Edgar Cooper in the DecQ. of 1896 in Headington.

While we are there let's have a look for Eva Jane. Yes, another hit! Eva Jane Jeffery married Frank Whitehead in the JunQ. of 1893 in Abingdon.

Now last, but not least, let's try for Charles Henry. We have a Jackpot! Charles Henry Jeffery married local girl, Ellen Amelia Goodey in the DecQ. of 1895 in Oxford. All George and Harriett's children are now married, they can sit back and relax!

1901 census at 24, Sidney Street, Cowley, Oxfordshire. William, Lucy, and family are now living next door to George and Harriett. Two more children have been born since the last census, completing their family, with just the one girl, young Lucy Eva. The two eldest boys are now apprentices.

An excerpt from the transcript of the 1901 census.

William     Jeffery   41   Gasfitter.
Lucy           “      38
William G.     “      17   Apprentice Gasfitter.
Henry C.       “      16        “     Watchmaker.
Walter E.      “      12   Scholar.
Alfred C.      “      10       “
Lucy E.        “       8       “      Born MarQ. 1893 in Headington.  Lucy Eva G.
Arthur L.      “       4       “      Born SeptQ. 1896 in Headington. Arthur Leonard.

1901 census at 29, Sidney Street, Cowley, Oxfordshire. As you can see Charles H., wife Ellen A. and their family (three young sons), now also live in Sidney Street. It's definitely “The Jefferys of Sidney Street!”. Charles H. works as a photographer's assistant, and they also have a paying boarder to help with the family's expenses.

An excerpt from the transcript of the 1901 census.

Charles H.   Jeffery   27  Photographer's Assistant.
Ellen A.        “      31
William C.      “       4  Born SepQ. 1896 in Oxford.   William Charles.
George          “       3  Born MarQ. 1898 in Headington.  No middle name.
Frederick T.    “       1  Born MarQ. 1900 in Headington.  Frederick Thomas.
Nellie E. Parker       19  Machinist.  Boarder.

1901 census at 106, Fleet Road, Hampstead, London. Alice G. and family have now moved to London! Her husband Edward has changed from being a groom, to become a tram driver. I've noticed that often grooms became drivers, of cars, trains, trams, etc., they had to move with the times as horses were gradually phased out.

An excerpt from the transcript of the 1901 census.

Edward T.  Doman  39  Tram Driver.
Alice G.     “    37
Henry G.     “     8  Born DecQ. 1892 in Abingdon.    Henry George.
William C.   “     7  Born MarQ. 1894 in Abingdon.    William Charles.
Emily M. A.  “     5  Born DecQ. 1895 in Abingdon.    Emily Mary Ann.
Arthur K.    “     1  Born JunQ. 1900 in St. Pancras. Arthur Kimberley.

I found another child, Eva Marian 4 Born DecQ. 1896 in Abingdon, who was actually in hospital (The North Western Hospital, Hampstead), when this census was taken. This now gives us a very good idea of when the family may have moved to London. Eva Marian was the last child to be born in Abingdon, Oxfordshire. The next child, Arthur Kimberley, was born in London, so they moved sometime after the end of 1896, but before the middle of 1900!

Have a look at this census (1901) and compare it with the one for 1891. In that census there were two children who should be the top two in 1901, Edward T. and Alice G., where have they got to? Let's take Edward T. first, is he staying with friends? is he in hospital? Let's try to find him in the 1901 census. No trace of him! The next step, unfortunately, is to go back to Births, Marriages, and Deaths, and try the last option. Yes, here we are, young Edward Thomas Doman died in the DecQ. of 1895 aged 6, before the family moved to London. It's always very sad when you read about the young children dying, an awful lot used to in those days.

Now we need to find Alice G., at least it's good news – remember who was visiting George and Harriett in their 1901 census – yes, it was 10yr. old Alice G. staying with her grandparents, so now we know where she was. I wonder how she travelled from London to Oxford, by train with friends, or relatives, or maybe even on her own. I think she got a taste for travel – when she was in her early twenties she sailed over to America to work as a governess. She travelled to and from America a few times, eventually staying to marry a Swiss, I think they had two sons. I'm still working on the American details, so it's still a case of “I think”.

1901 census at 41, Southfield Road, Cowley St. John, Oxford. Eva Jane (the ex-school teacher), also lived locally when she married Frank Whitehead. I traced Frank back and found that he had been brought up in a village store with sub post office, no wonder he finished up working as a post office clerk! Eva Jane was Frank's second wife, they had one son, Reginald Frank, then, very sadly Eva Jane died in the DecQ. 1902, aged 37 when her next son, Arthur Thomas was born, he survived!

An excerpt from the transcript of the 1901 census.

Frank  Whitehead  45  Post Office Clerk.
Eva J.      “     35
William     “     17  Carpenter's Apprentice. Stepson to Eva Jane.
Reginald F. “      6  Born JunQ.  1894  in  Headington.

We have one more daughter of George and Harriett to find in 1901. Emily Julia married Arthur E. Cooper, they were very difficult to trace until I found that they had moved over to live in Dublin. Like Eva Jane, Emily J. was a second wife, as far as I have been able to find out they had six children, but only three survived. This is something else I am still working on, so nothing as yet is absolutely positive!

We have now journeyed through George and Harriett's life, and as usual things have to come to an end! We got to know all their children, and their children's children, with all the information coming on line we should, eventually, be able to trace everybody up to the present day, what a thought!

So we have to say goodbye to George and Harriett:

  • Harriett (Kimberley) Jeffery died 1909. Aged 75.
  • George Jeffery died 1910. Aged 78.

To find out what caused their deaths, I sent away for their death certificates. Harriett died of “old age and exhaustion”, quite a normal cause of death in those days. I should imagine the term “old age” covered up a good number of illnesses that couldn't, at that time, be treated successfully.

Now we come to the really upsetting part – the cause of George's death. He slipped from the towpath of the River Cherwell into the river, and drowned before anybody could rescue him. Poor George! You really don't expect anything like that to have happened to your very own relative! I was quite stunned when I read the death certificate. So do be prepared for surprises, some good, some not so good!

To gather all the information for the George and Harriett saga I used just two main sources:-

FreeBMD for all the actual dates of the births, marriages, and deaths. For the certificates, take a note of all the details BMD give you, the year, the Q., the volume number, and the page number, as well as the correct name, age, and registration district. Next step, go on line to Ancestry for censuses (requires subscription).

A Tip!

Have a good look at each census, then go to the one before, then the one after, you never know , you may find more relatives in that road or area. Don't forget that long roads are often in different parishes, so are in different parts of the census. Also, keep a map handy! You may find your relatives lived just around the corner from each other!