My English Roots

As I have mentioned in my previous columns, my maternal grandfather, I have to confess, was English, from Buckinghamshire!

Growing up, even though I was interested in Family History from an early age, I hadn’t quite realised that this meant that I had a lot of ancestors in my tree who were English; not just my grandfather, his parents and siblings, but a whole host of people.

Also, just because my grandfather was born and spent his early life in Buckinghamshire, I had naively assumed that all of his ancestors would come from there. Once I started researching my grandfather’s side of the family, I realised how wrong I was!

My grandfather was Albert Edward White and he was born in Buckinghamshire, in 1904. He was the third oldest of seven children, with five brothers and one sister. The eldest was born in 1901 and the youngest in 1917. My great aunt was the middle child, born in 1906, with three older and three younger brothers.

My Great Grandparents

My great grandparents were Samuel Charles White, born in Adstock, in Buckinghamshire, in 1875 and Eliza Clara Millward, born in West Bromwich, Staffordshire in 1881. They married in West Bromwich in the summer of 1899.

I don’t know how they met; I suppose Samuel could have travelled to West Bromwich to look for work, as Adstock was a rural area and there may have been a shortage of work.

Their two eldest children were born in West Bromwich in 1900 and 1901, so they must have lived in my great grandmother’s hometown for a while after their marriage.

Samuel shows up in the 1891 Census for Buckinghamshire; he was single, aged 16, living at home with his parents John Robert White and Rachel White (nee Phillips) and seven of his siblings. He was an agricultural labourer. By the time of the 1901 Census, he was living in West Bromwich with his wife and 1 year old baby son.

His occupation is given as labourer. By the time of the 1911 Census, Samuel, Eliza and their six children, including my grandfather, were living in Akeley, Buckinghamshire and Samuel’s occupation was given as cowman on a farm.

My great grandmother Eliza Clara Millward was born in West Bromwich, Staffordshire in 1881. She was the daughter of Edward and Clara Millward, nee Povey. Eliza appears in the 1881 Census as a baby, just weeks old. She lived with her parents, four of her siblings and her maternal grandmother, Harriet Povey.

Edward and Clara had nine children born between 1866 and 1893. I am unable to find Eliza on the 1891 Census when she would have been 10 years old; I have the census record for her parents but Eliza is not listed with them. Perhaps she was staying overnight with relatives?

Eliza reappears on the 1901 Census with Samuel, as a married woman with a young baby.

Sometime between the 1911 Census and the early 1920’s, the family moved from Buckinghamshire to Llanelli, in search of work. They lived in a house in Dilwyn Street, Llanelli for the next few years until my great grandfather’s death in 1938. I’m not sure if all of my grandfather’s siblings moved down here. Gradually, over the years before their father’s death, my grandfather’s siblings moved back to various places in the midlands and the south of England, until only my grandfather and his sister remained in the Llanelli area after their father’s death.

My great grandmother moved back to West Bromwich after her husband’s death, where she lived with her son, my great uncle Edward and his family until she died in 1964. Both my Great grandparents and my aunt, who never married, are buried in Box Cemetery, Llanelli.

My Great x2 Grandparents and my Great x3 Grandparents

Samuel’s Parents and Grandparents

Samuel’s parents were John Robert White and Rachel Phillips. They were both born in Adstock, John in 1848 and Rachel in 1847. John was one of six children; an older brother named John was born in 1846, but died in 1847. John, Samuel’s father, had a twin sister named Ruth. John’s parents were Robert and Elizabeth White, nee Richardson. Robert was born in Adstock in 1812. Elizabeth was born in Twyford, in Buckinghamshire, in 1815.

They married in Adstock in 1842. Between the years 1841 and 1881, Robert’s occupation was listed as Agricultural labourer four times and a shepherd once. Elizabeth worked as a servant in 1841, a charwoman in 1861 and a lace maker in 1871. Elizabeth died in 1876 in Adstock; Robert died in 1897, in Hampshire. His daughter Ruth, John’s twin sister, and her family lived in Hampshire. Robert was either visiting or living there with them at the time of his death.

In the 1861 Census, John is aged 12 years old and his occupation is given as a ploughboy. John is listed as a farm labourer or agricultural labourer on every census but one between 1871 and 1911. In the 1901 Census he is listed as a bricklayer’s labourer.

Rachel’s parents were Benjamin and Elizabeth Phillips, nee Bannard. Benjamin was born in Adstock, in about 1818 and Elizabeth was born in Syresham, Northamptonshire in about 1814. Benjamin and Elizabeth were married in Adstock in 1837. Benjamin worked as an agricultural labourer all of his working life. Elizabeth’s occupation in 1861 was given as “laundress”; in 1871 and 1881, her occupation was lace maker. Elizabeth died in 1881. Benjamin died in 1894. Both died and are buried in Adstock.

Rachel’s occupation was given as a lace maker in the 1861 and 1871 Censuses, before her marriage to John.

John and Rachel were married in Adstock, Buckinghamshire in late 1872. They had a daughter, Dorothy Fanny White in 1871, a year before they married. Between 1873 and 1895, they went on to have twelve more children, but only eleven of their children had survived up to the 1911 Census. Two of John’s children, Samuel’s brothers, show up on the 1911 Census as living in Morriston, Swansea, working as pipe layers. It seems that Samuel followed his brothers down to South Wales from Buckinghamshire.

John died in Adstock in 1912 and Rachel died the following year, in 1913. Both are buried in Adstock.

Eliza’s Parents and Grandparents

Eliza’s parents were Edward Millward and Clara Povey. Edward was born in Stourport, Worcestershire in 1843. Clara was born in Birmingham, Warwickshire in 1846.

Edward’s parents were William and Elizabeth Millward. William was born in Worcestershire in 1816. Elizabeth was born in Worcestershire in 1819. They were married in Worcestershire in 1838. I haven’t found Elizabeth’s maiden name yet; on the marriage index, there are four couples listed and three of the brides are named Elizabeth. Elizabeth’s surname is Hill, Jones or Preece, but, so far, I haven’t been able to determine which one she is!

William appears on the 1841 Census and his occupation is given as “foundry oven”? By the time of the 1841 Census, which is before the birth of my great, great grandfather Edward, the family are living in Lower Mitton, near Stourport in Worcestershire. They have two daughters, aged 2 years and 8 months. After Edward