Mary Louise EVANS - Governess b. 9 Oct 1877 d. 28 Jan 1972

Post by **Peetee** » 10 Jan 2012 17:53

Hello Folks,
I'm looking for your advice and thoughts as to how to find out more about the above person. I'll convey what I already know.

b. 09 October 1877 in Liverpool to William Henry EVANS & Lucy Sophia EVANS (nee SWALLOW). William ran a copper plate engraving / printing business in South Castle St, continued by his son Thomas. Thomas dies in Feb 1948 and his wife Emily dies in May 1960. Both in Allerton.

One brother, Henry Arthur, to her died very young and the other, John Alfred, emigrates.

Mary appears in the 1881,1891,1901 census returns as expected and also on the IGI. But after 1901 we lost track of her until finding a death cert which was an excellent match. She died 28 January 1972 in Eastbourne. Her occupation was listed as 'Children's Governess ( retired )'.Only in this last week have I found what looks to be her in the 1911 census, working as a Governess to William McKERROW and his family at 5 Aigburth Vale, Liverpool. The age is 2-3 years adrift but the location is spot on, being only a 10 minute walk from where her brother Thomas and his wife lived in Barndale road. And the occupation fits.

I've contacted a number of the Sussex and Liverpool cemetery & crematoria (she was cremated going by her death cert) but they have no record of her. I've checked the 3 known family graves out in Toxteth Park and Allerton cemeteries but nothing.

My questions -
Where would you look for more information on her in the period 1901 to her death in 1972? And also to find where she was cremated and to whom she was given.
There's the electoral roles but searching these and especially requesting a lookup is exhaustive work, I've done it before.
There's the Governesses Benevolent Institution but many of their records held in London are admin ones.
Then there's trade directories which could be more promising and easier to search.

Can anybody think of any other line of attack? Sorry for the long post but I'm really stuck.

N.B. I'm aware of Nancy's post dotted around the internet on the same subject and I'm helping her out with this.

Post by **MaryA** » 10 Jan 2012 22:58

My suggestion would be newspapers. Unfortunately at the date of death there will be none online, but would it be possible that you might know somebody local to Eastbourne who could check for an obituary.

Also post in newspapers Old Pals style columns asking if she was remembered, the children she was governess to would be well grown up now but might respond to such a message in their local newspaper.

Post by **Tina** » 11 Jan 2012 07:43

Hi Peetee, interesting post

In 1938 Gores/Kellys 5 Aigburth Vale is a Prepatory School run by the Misses M Owin & V Campbell.
No listing for Wm McKerrow, merchant etc.
Sorry not to be of much help.

Tina

Post by **erika** » 11 Jan 2012 12:13

Hi Peetee

Nothing to add about Mary unfortunately, but William McKerrow was a miller(W.M & Co Ltd) and lived at Palmyra 5 Aigburth Vale according to Gore's 1914 Directory.
The address for his business was Ford Street Mills, Vauxhall Road W.
Nothing shows up for the business in 1938.
There was a William McKerrow that died in Liverpool in 1924 age 56.

Not sure what you can do about Mary apart from what MaryA has suggested

Cheers
Erika

Post by **Alison C** » 11 Jan 2012 17:44

...and what a grand house Palmyra was:

http://viewfinder.english-heritage.org. ... =LIVERPOOL

Post by **dickiesam** » 11 Jan 2012 19:49

Alison C wrote:...and what a grand house Palmyra was:

http://viewfinder.english-heritage.org. ... =LIVERPOOL

Hi Alison,
Slightly off-topic but thank you for two names that evoke long-ago memories for me! Palmyra was the home of Samuel James Waring, the head of Waring and Gillows of Liverpool. As newly-weds my wife and I bought our first furniture from Ray and Miles in London Road. It was made by W & G.
And as for Palmyra, I wasn't one of the Brylcreem boys in the RAF but did use Palmyra Hair Cream [smelled of coconut oil] until my wife-to-be told me she didn't like it!

DS

Post by **daggers** » 12 Jan 2012 08:37

Brief note to say I'm home after a new knee, but far from mobile yet. McKerrow was a Scottish grain merchant with possible links - informal so far -with part of my family: one of us carried that name as a 'spare'.
I was at Palmyra House School until it folded early in WW2. Part of it was run as a perfume factory with heady scents competing with the school's activities. We ran races and danced round a maypole in that garden.
D

Post by **Tina** » 12 Jan 2012 09:46

Leaving the migrant centre in 1971 our first home, a flat, was in the Fremantle suburb of Palmyra, "City of palms" named after a place in the Syrian desert. Some of the streets, Zenobia, Petra, Aurelian.
Palmyra also has a connection to the Dreaming with the goanna.
I fell in love with the old Aussie homes and wanted to buy one much to Ed's disgust... run down load of cra#
He would have been a billionaire today if he'd listed to me

Tina

Post by **Tina** » 12 Jan 2012 09:49

Hi Mary
Would it be worth our poster listing a query in another site?
e.g Rootscha# under Sussex?
I hope this is okies for me to mention?

Tks
Tina

Post by **MaryA** » 12 Jan 2012 10:22

Good idea Tina, Rootschat is a wide ranging site, free to register and with very helpful people who browse there.
Sussex Board

Also you might consider posting on Genes Reunited as you may get a living person recognising the name.

Welcome back Daggers, glad everything went well for you, I'm sure you will be up and about very quickly.

Post by **erika** » 12 Jan 2012 11:58

This is very off topic, but.......

Welcome Back Daggers

Wondered where you had got too. Take it steady, pleased all went well

Cheers
Erika

Post by **Peetee** » 12 Jan 2012 17:47

@MaryA
That's a very good point about previously taught children now being adult and remembering her. I'd missed that one. I'm working on being able to check the local Eastbourne press and that has just added more significance to it. I will also investigate the Sussex group on roots chat too as Tina suggests. Thankyou.
@Tina
You might not think that's much help but actually that's rather interesting. Again it brings the possibility of records and photos. It also potentially answers the question as to why in the 1911 census she's living with a childless couple who've been married for 18 years. Even just knowing that name is very handy. Don't you just love the internet; Here's somebody in Western Australia helping me in the UK to help somebody in Eastern Australia. Love it! Thankyou.
@Erika
Thankyou for that. Again it's a little something but important to know the actual name of the the company. It all gets recorded and when I'm in the right place it all gets looked up.
@Alison C
Coo that's a find. This shows the importance of being able to correctly read the old handwriting (and I made the mistake of assuming the transcription 'Palunpa/Palumpa' to be correct and thought it was something to do with a town of the same name near Darwin in Oz) to be able to search it. What a marvellous house. Thankyou for that. The archive also shows 2 other pictures online but the links don't work so I'll have a go at fixing them.

@dickiesam
Actually its not that far off topic.

This sheds light on some of the other inhabitants of the house at that time. There's another couple in the house at that time by the name EVANS. In knowing Mary Louise's family history prior to this fairly well I was pretty certain that they weren't related. The couple is Alfred Henry EVANS aged 40 listed as being 'brother in law' to the Head William McKERROW and Elizabeth Maud Wells EVANS aged 40 listed as 'sister in law' to the Head. Their marriage is:
Elizabeth Maude W WARING & Alfred Henry EVANS DecQ 1899 Toxteth Park 8b 394

but also, the Head of the household William McKERROW his marriage too:
William McKERROW & Sarah Ann WARING SepQ 1892 Toxteth Park 8b 379

Fascinating isn't it. In one house there's been mention of a girl's prep school, a perfumery, a grain merchant, a furniture maker (and one poster actually owning some!) and a wine merchant (Alfred Henry was a wine merchant according to somebody else researching that line)

Although a lot of this is indirectly related to Mary Louise it does bring some very useful information. Information that could open new doors and also potentially narrow the time period down to look in cetain records and areas of the country.

Looking at the modern map, if things haven't changed too much I assume that the house used to stand where 'Malborough Court' residental care home built in 1991 now stands (post code L17 0DE) ?

And good luck with the knee daggers. A couple of acquaintances have had new knee ops in the last few years and they've been very good. Well, about apart from one who complained he couldn't ride his bike up a large hill 10 days after the op! -rolls eyes-

I shall also refer somebody that I've previously contacted about other people in the house to this post as it may contain information that will be very useful to them. Thankyou all. Amazing!

Post by **Peetee** » 12 Jan 2012 20:29

Picture links are sorted now.
The Palm house
http://viewfinder.english-heritage.org. ... me=Palmyra

and the dining room

http://viewfinder.english-heritage.org. ... me=Palmyra

Daggers can you remember what happed to the school after it was gone from Aigburth Vale or did it close?

The name William McKERROW also comes up in the archives for the troubles with the Corn law but I'm not sure if its the same line. The book 'The people's bread - A history of the anti-corn law league' can be viewed free on google books.

Post by **daggers** » 13 Jan 2012 11:38

Popping in briefly to say thanks for sympathy messages.
Wm McKerrow was born in Liverpool - it may be his father who was a Scot. No relation, but I think probably a business association with my family.

Wm had no children. There is a Gazette entry in 1923 which may mean he was a candidate for High Sheriff of Anglesey. He had a house at Trearddur Bay called Bryndale, now possibly a home. He died in 1924.

Palmyra House School did not survive. The two teachers named set up a reduced school, I think at Garstang, but it may not have lasted long. Many of the children were evacuated by their families, but not us! Palmyra was mixed - boys & girls - by the way.
No time for more.
D

Post by **DFord** » 23 Feb 2012 21:15

I have just come across this post and am very interested to see the information on Palmyra. My father, William Edward Ford owned Palmyra Laboratories, the perfume factory and also Seftonian Laboratories, the polish factory which was apparently on the same site. I was aware that the house used to be owned by Waring & Gillows, and also by William McKerrow. I was not aware that part of it was a school at the same time as the perfume factory was there. I thought the school was across the road. I will ask my sister if she remembers this but in the meantime would be very interested in anything that is known about the house. My father died in 1955 when I was only four so I know very little. My mother believed that the house/land was bought by Tizer after the companies went into liquidation.

Thanks for any information.
Dave

Post by **daggers** » 23 Feb 2012 22:26

Dave
Welcome to the forum. I have very faint memories of a Mr Ford, as the school and business were cheek by jowl.
The house was succeeded by a Tizer depot, later trading as Barr, makers of Iron Bru.
After they left, the depot or bottling plant was demolished and replaced by retirement flats called Marlborough Court.
Across the road was Aigburth Vale High School for Girls, also demolished and replaced by blocks of flats. That school was a far more formal establishment than Palmyra, which may have had as few as thirty pupils!
Daggers

Post by **Daisycakes** » 23 Feb 2012 23:07

daggers wrote:Brief note to say I'm home after a new knee, but far from mobile yet. McKerrow was a Scottish grain merchant with possible links - informal so far -with part of my family: one of us carried that name as a 'spare'.
I was at Palmyra House School until it folded early in WW2. Part of it was run as a perfume factory with heady scents competing with the school's activities. We ran races and danced round a maypole in that garden.
D

Hi Daggers... Off topic... keep well... you'll be on your feet in no time at all
Ann

Post by **daggers** » 24 Feb 2012 07:57

Thanks, Ann. Now off the pair of crutches, on to a single stick. Walking is OK, but the exercises are not, as we were warned in advance! Hope to be driving soon.
D

Post by **Tina** » 24 Feb 2012 08:09

That's good news Daggers, it's a slow process and you're doing well.
Welcome aboard Dave.

Tina

Post by **MaryA** » 24 Feb 2012 10:12

Welcome to the forum Dave, good to hear of more memories.

Keep up the good work Daggers, we'll have you running the marathon yet!