George Stanford Hawker Tunbridge Wells

[Hayley01]

Hi, im wondering if anyone can help me im trying to do my family tree its proving very hard and i have hit a brick wall, my grandad george stanford and his wife florence emily stanford were romany gypsies florences maiden name was chalfont and they had my mum rose stanford on the 14th may 1931 my mum place of birth was sandhill tonbridge rurall, were also related to the elliotts there was also a lady called pricilla elliot born 1st jan 1926 died 26th june 2008 who used to be called granny prissy she lived in cranbrook, were related to the turners also. william stanford is also a relitive and he drowned in tumbridge wells on the 15th feb in 1946 his father was also called george.there are also henry and paula stanford they have a daughter sophie they live in kent sophie is my 3rd cousin as is her sister lorraine, my grandads mum and dad were called bill and rose apparently bill was a school teacher. if anyone can help it would be much appreciated thanks for reading x

[Megan Roberts]

The best advice that I can give you is that you need to work out your family tree step by step. So:

Do you know when and where your grandparents married? I had a look in the marriage index (all marriages in England and Wales since 1837 should be registered there), but I can’t see one.

Do you know when your grandparents were born, or when they died? If you know when and where they died and you find their entries in the death index then that will give you a good clue as to when they were born.

Are there other family members you can talk to who can tell you what they know?

[Hayley01]

The best advice that I can give you is that you need to work out your family tree step by step. So:

Do you know when and where your grandparents married? I had a look in the marriage index (all marriages in England and Wales since 1837 should be registered there), but I can’t see one.

Do you know when your grandparents were born, or when they died? If you know when and where they died and you find their entries in the death index then that will give you a good clue as to when they were born.

Are there other family members you can talk to who can tell you what they know?

no family to ask im afraid i managed for find 3rd cousins but they dont know a lot about my mums generation

[christanel]

Hello
Like Megan I can't find a marriage for a George Stanford and Florence Emily Chalfont or just a Stanford and Chalfont anywhere , anytime On FreeBMD and ancestry.

I did find a baptism for a Florence Lewis Emily Chalfont 21 June 1908 in Eastry, St Mary the Virgin Kent mother's name Florence but I can't see her on the 1911 census. She does marry an Ernest J Willis in Dec 1/4 1924 Tonbridge and would have only been 16 years old. There appears to be only one child born to this couple, a daughter, named after her mother and grandmother, in the same 1/4 and year as the marriage. So then I wondered if Ernest and Florence had gone their separate ways at some point and Florence then married George Stanford but there is no marriage for those names either. Of course if Ernest J Willis and Florence didn't divorce they couldn't/shouldn't remarry so may have just lived with other partners.
Just trying to find away around this I also looked for a newspaper article on William Stanford's drowning in case it gave some clues but I couldn't find one. The local library may be able to help with that one if you ask them.

There is no evidence at all to show that this Florence Lewis Emily Chalfont I found, is anything at all to do with your family.
It is as Megan says you need to work backwards but as there doesn't appear to be a marriage for this couple we have to think of other ways to break down the wall. So death dates would help us look for the death registration which would give a birth date and that would help narrow the search.

Christina

[christanel]

I am just recording what I have found so that others don't cover the same ground. On the other hand they will most likely find things I have missed!

I can't see a death registration for a Florence L E Willis.

I did find a death reg for a Florence Emily Stanford
Feb 1/4 1996
age at death 86 birth date 1 December 1909
Registration District Chichester Sussex
Register number A42B, District 7792a, entry number 246

Christina

[Hayley01]

Thanks guys the problem is they were travellers i have my mums birth certificate and it says florence emily stanford formally chelfonte but like u i cant find records either!

[geneius]

Kent & Sussex Courier 15 February 1946

Joseph CLARKE found his cousin William STANFORD drowned in Brighton Lake the item mentions a widow Rose

His death certificate is as per:

Stanford William aged 61 Tonbridge 2a 1536

This gives a birth year of approx 1885

Rose STANFORD b 1931 Tonbridge v2A p 1505 parents STANFORD / CHALFONT ( does not mean they were married!)

[christanel]

Thanks guys the problem is they were travellers i have my mums birth certificate and it says florence emily stanford formally chelfonte but like u i cant find records either!

Is that how your grandmother's name is written on the certificate? Not that it makes any difference because there are no records showing on ancestry or FreeBMD with the surname Chelfonte/Chelfont

Christina

[Megan Roberts]

Kent & Sussex Courier 15 February 1946
FOUND COUSIN DROWNED IN BRIGHTON LAKE
A man who found his cousin drowned in the Brighton Lake, Eridge road, Tunbridge Wells, early on Sunday morning was the principal witness at an inquest at the Kent and Sussex Hospital on Wednesday.
He was Mr. Joseph Clarke, of 1 Tunnel road, Tunbridge Wells, who told the Coroner ( Mr J H Soady) that after his cousin, William Stanford, of 55, Ely lane, had been reported missing on the previous evening he went out in search for him in the early hours of the following morning, and found him floating in the Brighton Lake. He said that his cousin had frequently complained of head pains for many years.
The widow, Mrs Rose Stanford, said that her husband had frequently complained of pains in the head for some years past and had been subject to frequent attacks of bronchitis. He had complained of the head pains since he came back from the last war, but apart from that he had nothing to worry about.
After evidence had been given by P C Goddard and P S Sayers the Coroner said that he was satisfied that the dead man must have – and in fact – did enter the lake with a view to ending his own life and that when he did so, in view of the medical history of the case, he performed the act when the balance of his mind was disturbed.

Kent & Sussex Courier 22 February 1946
LATE MR. W. STANFORD
The funeral of William Stanford of 55 Ely lane, Tunbridge Wells, who was found drowned in the Brighton Lake, Eridge road, took place at the Borough Cemetery on Saturday.
Among the mourners were the widow, Mr W Stanford (son), Mr and Mrs Roberts, Mercey Derall, Annie Durbridge, Mr and Mrs Gale, Rose Gates, T. Johnson, Sally, Mary, Jessie and John Stanford, Mr and Mrs Jones, Mrs L Jeffrey, W Sheppard, Mr and Mrs Cooper, Mr and Mrs L Cooper, Mrs E Cooper, Mrs Liddy, Henry Roberts, Mr J Clark, Mr G Stanford, Mrs and Mr Clark. Mrs White, H. White, Mrs Newland, Mrs A Simpson and son, Mr and Mrs J Stevens and daughter, Mr J Roberts, Miss Roberts, Mrs Beany, Nelson and Frank Smith, Mr Jack Harris, Henry Cooper, Pte. A. Cooper, Mrs S Wilson, Mrs S. Stonell.

These 2 newspaper articles provide lots of information which might help in your search.

[Megan Roberts]

The Society of Genealogists publish books on different subjects. They have one called My Ancestors were Gypsies. This can be bought from Amazon:

http:
//www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00PCWBP00/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=19450&crea tiveASIN=B00PCWBP00&linkCode=as2&tag=englandspeopl-21&linkId=E5OP5GCGFTAUN6U5