My desultory genealogical researches have brought me to whom I think may be my great-great maternal grandmother, Elizabeth Purvey, who according to the 1871 census was a 45-year old widow, living at Lowell's Yard in Witney and described as a dressmaker. She was born in 1826 at Chalton (sic) in Gloucestershire. She must have been living in Witney since at least 1852, the year my great-grandfather, Robert Purvey, a groom, was born in the town. He is the only child of hers that I can trace. According to the census, he was not living in Witney in 1871, having at some time moved to Oxford where he lived with his family at no. 100 Blackfriars Road. His wife, Rose, came from Bampton-in-the-Bush. At one time, they was only one Purvey family in Oxford

Did Elizabeth Purvey come to Witney through marriage, was she originally in service in the town or the vicinity thereof, did she turn to dressmaking on becoming a widow? I could not find anywhere called Chalton in Gloucestershire, although there was an area called Charlton in Bristol. As for Lowell's Yard, this would seem to no longer exist although there is a Lowell Place off Corn Street in Witney.

I would be grateful for any information about the Purvey family of Witney.

Thanks and regards,


Ig Roberts