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Update and theory

To date it appears that there is no trace of an official wedding between Henry Free and Annie Booth Watson. There is also no trace of Henry Free other than being shown as father of Kezia on her birth cert and on his death cert as dying 23/8/1899 at Barnsley. aged 43 years.

SO...
THEORY

1. 1890 Annie Booth Watson married John Henry PYE 25/11/1890 Goole

2. They have children including Lizzie ( Sarah Elizabeth )b 20/10/1892

3. In 1893, Annie leaves Pye ( ? divorced or just walked out ) and lives with Henry Free. No trace of wedding so could be unofficial 'common law' marriage.

4. They have children including Kezia b 24/7/1894 in Chesterfield and William b 1897 in Hucknall, Notts. They take the name FREE as possibly does Lizzie. Query as to why they were wandering in the North Midlands. Was it because of his job ?

5. Suggestion that Pye died 1896 in Hull but still no trace of marriage to Henry Free.

6. Henry Free dies 1896 leaving Annie alone with children. She suffers hard times and is forced to put some children, Lizzie and Kezia in an orphanage in Chepstow, Monmouthshire. Could it be that this is where Henry Free originated and that he was of Welsh descent ? Thus Annie took the children back to their father's home town ? ( Lizzie and Kezia shown in Girls Orphanage Home, Portskewatt County, Monmouthshire in Chepstow District in 1901 census ).

7. In 1901, Annie marries Thomas Johnson on 11/2/1901 at Barnsley Reg/Office and have 8 children. Presumably Lizzie and Kezia come back to Yorkshire some time after this wedding. In later life, Lizzie ends up living in Hull ( where her father went ) and Kezia ends up in Doncaster.

So..... Is it likely that Annie and Henry FREE never married officially and that, after his death, she sent her children to an orphanage ?........

.....and is the reason why no early trace of Henry Free can be found because he was born in Wales ? Is there a problem with tracing ancestors in Wales? Any help and advice .gratefully received

Ernie

No Henry Free showing in Wales on Ancestry.
Always hard to confirm events when they happen between census years, but i think its right to say they didn't seem to have married.Have looked for this one in 1891 and now think it is this man so not yours
Name: John Henry Pye
Age: 24
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1867
Relation: Crew
Gender: Male
Where born: Hull, Yorkshire, England
Civil parish: Doncaster
Ecclesiastical parish: St Georges
County/Island: Yorkshire
Country: England
DEATH INDEX
Name: John Henry Pye
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1868
Date of Registration: Jul-Aug-Sep 1896
Age at Death: 28
Registration district: Hull
Inferred County: Yorkshire East Riding
Volume: 9d
Page: 196

looks like this could be John Pye in 1901 says he is single?

Name: John Pye
Age: 32
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1869
Relation: Servant
Gender: Male
Where born: Braithwell, Yorkshire, England
Civil parish: Cudworth
Ecclesiastical parish: St John the Baptist
Town: Cudworth
County/Island: Yorkshire
Country: England

So still struggling with Henry Free...
It looks as though there's a few possible avenues but I don't think it's going to be straightforward.
Many thanks

Ernie

I am wondering if Henry was his second name.

I have looked again this morning without finding any Henry Free who was a Railway worker.

1891 i am wondering about this one a ?timekeeper--if i have got that right could he have worked on the railways?
Name: George H Free
Age: 34
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1857
Relation: Visitor
Gender: Male
Where born: London, Middlesex, England
Civil parish: Holy Trinity
Ecclesiastical parish: Holy Trinity

birth for above
Name: George Henry Free
Date of Registration: Jul-Aug-Sep 1855
Registration district: Lambeth
Inferred County: Greater London, London, Surrey
Volume: 1d
Page: 290
Town: Hastings
County/Island: Sussex
Country: England

The John Henry Pye who married Annie was born in Braithwell which is a very small village close to where their daughter Mary Annie was born in 1891. This John Pye seems to be the right man.
This would mean that there was possibly a divorce between him and Annie or he died before the 1901 census.. If not, then the marriage in 1901 between Annie and Johnson was bigamous.
Curiouser and curiouser...

Ernie

Have posted John Pye 1901 census above so still alive in 1901
Got to go off line now ,well look back at thread later

A timekeeper would certainly suggest a railway connection.
It certainly seems odd that there is no trace of Henry FREE anywhere in early census returns. A man can use any name he likes so our Henry possibly didn't like George as a christian name. If he did in fact originate in London, I wonder where the Welsh connection stems from.
It would be unusual for two girls bearing the names of two half-sisters , correct ages and with an unusual surname to be found together in an orphanage in the census and only a relatively short time after their father's death. Or am I being too fanciful ?

Ernie

I think the George H Free in 1891 was a storekeeper

WHITE, John W Head Single M 46 1845 Boarding House Proprietor
London
Middlesex VIEW
OTWAY, Annie Servant Widow F 50 1841 Housekeeper
?head
Scotland VIEW
CANN, Eliza Servant Single F 31 1860 General Servant
Exbourne
Devonshire VIEW
LENERT, Frank Servant Single M 70 1821 Waiter
Berlin
Germany VIEW
FREE, George H Visitor Single M 34 1857 Storekeeper
London
Middlesex VIEW

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

RG number:
RG12 Piece:
763 Folio:
29 Page:
51

Registration District:
Hastings Sub District:
St Mary in the Castle Enumeration District:
12 Ecclesiastical Parish:
Holy Trinity

Civil Parish:
Hastings Municipal Borough:
Hastings Address:
2, Holmsdale Gardens, Hastings County:
Sussex

putting on thread just so it has been checked
1891 have found this but he is with his wife still in 1901

Name: Robert Henry Free
Age: 26
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1865
Relation: Head
Spouse's Name: Elizabeth M F Free
Gender: Male
Where born: Horseheath, Cambridgeshire, England
Civil parish: Oulton With Woodlesford
Ecclesiastical parish: Woodlesford All Saints
Town: Woodlesford
County/Island: Yorkshire
Country: England
Railway platelayer

Do you have the Henry Free death cert? if so does it give anymore detail about him job etc

I have gone back carefully through all the documents that I have but the death cert isn't amongst them.
However there are a couple of small points that I have noticed.

On Kezia 's second marriage in 1938 ( I obviously come from a family that likes wedding cake ), her father is shown as HARRY FREE ( deceased ) rather than Henry and his occupation as Unknown.

On the occasion of her first marriage in 1914, her father's details are completely omitted.

On Kezia's birth certificate in 1894, her father is shown as Henry Free and his occupation as Railway Labourer

Ernie

Maybe it is worth purchasing his death cert to check he is the correct person and see if any additional information can be gleaned from it.

Those two girls in the orphanage are bugging me - I feel sure they may hold the key!

I can't find a birth for a Sarah Elizabeth Pye anywhere. This is the closest I can find:

England & Wales, FreeBMD Birth Index, 1837-1915

Name: Elizabeth Free
Date of Registration: Oct-Nov-Dec 1891
Registration district: Barnsley
Inferred County: Yorkshire West Riding
Volume: 9c
Page: 230

Agree with K (who's a great researcher for being a cat!) that it would be well worth getting copy of death certificate. Would be very interesting to see who informant was .....

Thanks for the advice. I am completely lost as to the ins and outs of my family but I know my son would probably call it 'crazy'. But somewhere out there is my Great Grandfather, Henry Free and perhaos one day I'll find him.
In order to go any further it seems that I will have to ...
1. obtain death cert of Henry Free
2. make further enquiries with other family members re Chepstow and the orphanage although nothing has ever been mentioned previously to my knowledge
3. make further enquiries re the orphanage itself

Any other lines of enquiry you may suggest will be gratefully received

Many thanks to all of you

Ernie

Looking at 1901 wales census a lot of the children who are in the home are from England only about 3 from Wales

Looking at 1901 wales census a lot of the children who are in the home are from England only about 3 from Wales

Many thanks MarieCeleste - the paws do make typing difficult! :-)

Ernest - there is nothing crazy about being lost in family history. Almost everyone on this site is.

I must admit there is a similarity of John Henry Pye and Henry Free's names that I keep coming back to. Based in the probable birth date on the death in 1896 there is a difference in ages, however I do remember checking a family some years ago who changed their name between two census years

Probably a non starter as John appears to be still alive in 1901

Edit - the orphanage appears to be the Sudbrook Ophanage. This site may be of use
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nzwlsfhs/sudbrook.html

The first school in Sudbrook Monmouthshire was built for the children whose parents moved here to work on the new Severn Railway Tunnel - maybe Henry Free worked on it

Excellent detective work It looks like a job for this next week. At the moment though I'm not sure if the picture is becoming clearer or murkier. Probably just ...different.
Now for a hour watching moving pictures on a screen and then hot milk and a pillow.
I never worry about my looks. I simply find a bar with a happy hour and when I leave, I think I look just fine.
Thanks to everyone again for a wonderful mixture of confusion and clarity. My heads starting to spin

Ernie