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Frances Van Der Driessche traveller
Age: 24
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1877
Spouse Name: Marie Stähler tailoress
Spouse Age: 26
Record Type: Marriage
Event Date: 4 Aug 1901
Parish: St George in the East
Borough: Tower Hamlets
Father Name: Ignatius Franciscus Van Der Driessche cigar maker deceased
Spouse Father Name: Peter Stahler skin ? dresser deceased
Register Type: Parish Registe

witness's

Mary Moosley ?
Paul Ferger ?
Johanna Vanden Driessche

Francis Driessche widower ships clerk
Age: 42
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1878
Spouse Name: Annie Edith Goldsmith widow Tin box maker
Spouse Age: 32
Father Charles Henry Nicholls dock labourer
Record Type: Marriage
Event Date: 25 Jan 1920
Parish: Bromley St Michael and All Angels
Borough: Tower Hamlets
Father Name: Ignactius Franciscus Driessche
Register Type: Parish Register

witness's
Alfred Charles s s/l ocking

Antonia Maria Driessche

Johanna Antonia Vandem Driessche
Record Type: Baptism
Birth Date 20th Feb 1887
Baptism Date: 20 Jul 1887
Father's Name: Francis Vandem Driessche cigar maker
Mother's Name: Antonia Vandem Driessche
Parish or Poor Law Union: St George in the East
Borough: Tower Hamlets
Register Type: Parish Registers

John Vandem Driessche
Record Type: Baptism
Birth Date: 12th Jan 1881
Baptism Date: 20 Jul 1887
Father's Name: Francis Vandem Driessche cigar maker
Mother's Name: Antonia Vandem Driessche
Parish or Poor Law Union: St George in the East
Borough: Tower Hamlets
Register Type: Parish Registers

Thank you Quoy the information about Annie being a widow is new. She put Goldsmith as her maiden name on her daughter's birth so we didn't know she had been married earlier than this. This means my husband's grandmother had 4 husbands!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Must chase this marriage up, could be WW1 or Spanish flu made her a widow, well here goes.

Thank you so much

Pat

The count increases:

Annie Edith Sharman widow, age 28
m 20 Aug 1916
to Alfred William Goldsmith
at Bromley St Michael and All Angels

(next marriage in the register is sister Ethel)

Possible first marriage in West Ham Essex Apr-May-Jun 1907?

Edith Annie Nicholls <<<
Alfred Charles Riche
Alfred Frederick Sharman <<<
Ada Southwell

??Edith and Alfred 1911 District Bromley by Bow I think

1911 census transcription details for: 33 Wellington R Bromley E
National Archive Reference:
RG14PN1713 RG78PN59 RD22 SD2 ED36 SN159

Reg. District: Poplar Sub District: Bromley
Parish: Poplar Borough Enum. District: 36
Address: 33 Wellington R Bromley E
County: London

Name Relation Condition/Yrs married Sex Age Birth Year Occupation Where Born
FRARY, Kirby Head Married M 32 1879 White Lead Worker London Stepney
FRARY, Ellen Wife Married F 30 1881 Suffolk Ipswich
FRARY, James Son M 4 1907 London Mile End
FRARY, William Son M 2 1909 London Bow
FRARY, George Son M 8 1903 London Bow
BURRIDGE, John Boarder Batchelor M 59 1852 Labourer London Southwark
SHARMAN, Alfred Head Married4 years M 22 1889 Labourer London Whitechapel
SHARMAN, Edith Wife Married F 22 1889 London Poplar

No children born

?? death Alfred F Sharman Jun Qtr 1912 Poplar, London age 24 1C 465

- but pre-war death for husband:

Alfred F Sharman b abt 1888 death reg'd Apr-May-Jun 1912 Poplar London

The entry on 1911 census?

Alfred Sharman abt 1889 Whitechapel London Head Poplar, London

(Image shows wife Edith b Poplar, age 22, married 4 years, no children)

EDIT - as Stuart says!

We are shaken here. There is no one left to talk to. My mother in law died suddenly in her fifties many years ago.

Funny there's 2 Alfreds there her last husband was an Alf, my husband remembers them. Uncle Alf outlived his grandma, well 1 deserved to.

There can't be another hidden family could there?

Thank you for that Ivy, interesting life she had.

Pat

I'm not surprised you're shaken, conditions must have been bad for so many to die so young.

I have found 2 Alfred W Goldsmiths died 1918 WW1. Could nick name her the black widow and as far as we know only 2 daughters..

Notice that her children's births are registered with her surname at time of marriage, never her maiden name of Nicholls
Edith Driessche mmn Goldsmith and Doris Gardner mmn Driessche. I wonder if this was a genuine mistake (twice) or an attempt to hide the fact of her previous life for whatever reason.
Haven't found any more than the 2 children.

My gosh, it could keep you busy for EVER chasing back the families of all her husbands!!!!!!!!!!!!

- and where is this family on the census?

Bromley St Michael and All Angels Tower Hamlets
Parents Charles Henry and Annie Nichol*s

Augustus Charles Frederick Nicholes 27 Feb 1883
Edwin Sidney Nicholls 28 Feb 1883
Louisa Victoria Nicholls 28 Feb 1883 (poss d 1897)
Annie Edith Nicholls 30 May 1888
Beatrice Nicholls 16 Feb 1890
Ethel Nicholls 4 Nov 1891
Herbert William Nicholls 30 Aug 1893
Percy Alfred Nicholls 21 Oct 1896

(Not sure about these 2 at Hampstead Holy Trinity Barnet:
Maggie Winifred Nicholls 6 Jul 1890
Chara Stephen Nicholls 3 Apr 1892)

Edit: there should be 10 children, 1 died, nine survived to 1911
There should be Alice in the 1880s; if it is correct that Louise Victoria died in 1897, there should be one more surviving child - perhaps an older child?

It looks as if Alice's baptism has been mistranscribed:
Alice Maud Micholls bapt 7 Dec 1884
at Bromley St Michael and All Angels
Parents Charles Henry Micholls and Annie Micholls
Borough Tower Hamlets

?? A few of them Ivy
1911 census transcription details for: 3 Bromley Hall Road Poplar
National Archive Reference:
RG14PN1692 RG78PN59 RD22 SD2 ED15 SN183

Reg. District: Poplar Sub District: Bromley
Parish: Poplar Borough Enum. District: 15
Address: 3 Bromley Hall Road Poplar
County: London

Name Relation Condition/Yrs married Sex Age BirthYear Occupation Where Born
NICHOLLS, Charles H Head Married30 years M 58 1853 Carman Dalston London
NICHOLLS, Annie Wife Married F 57 1854 Brompton London
NICHOLLS, Ethel Daughter Single F 19 1892 Kealy And Tonge Whitechapel Poplar London
NICHOLLS, Herbert W Son Single M 17 1894 General Labourer Poplar London
NICHOLLS, Percy A Son M 14 1897 Messenger Boy Poplar London

10 children born, 9 alive, 1 died

Re the mmn wonder if she was asked for her previous name not maiden name. Edith knew her father was Driessche and kept that name. Aunt Dolly (Doris) knew she was half sister to Edith and the Gardner children. The Gardner children understood the situation so there was nothing hidden about her last 3 marriages. It's the first 2 that are the shock.

Thank you all for your help. It's going to take a while to sort out my tree when I get over the shock. I didn't know the lady, my husband spent 9 years with the lady, a lady he called a very ordinary gran. He's rethinking that impression now.

Pat

That's good (EDIT re Stuart's 1911 posting); does it compare with 1891:

Name: Augustus Nicholls
Age: 10
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1881
Relation: Son
Father's Name: Charles H Nicholls
Mother's Name: Annie Nicholls
Gender: Male
Where born: Poplar, London, England

Civil parish: St Leonard
Ecclesiastical parish: St Michaels
Town: Bromley
County/Island: London
Country: England

Registration district: Poplar
Sub-registration district: Bromley
ED, institution, or vessel: 39

Piece: 326
Folio: 147
Page Number: 67
Household Members:
Name Age
Charles H Nicholls 59 (EDIT - 39 on the image)
Annie Nicholls 37
Louisa Nicholls 12
Augustus Nicholls 10
Edwin Nicholls 8
Alice Nicholls 6
Bradford Nicholls 1 (Beatrice on image)

On her marriage Annie said father worked on docks as labourer not a carman.

"...a lady he called a very ordinary gran. He's rethinking that impression now."

LOL

You do begin to wonder at the number of marriages, but for all that, they do sound to me like a family just getting by as best they can...