We
are claiming George Dovey b 1867 in East Meon as one of ours. That is, he is a first cousin 2x
removed from my husband.
At
first it was the case of mistaken identity. Originally we had claimed him as my
husband’s grandfather – George Ford- thinking his baptism in 1867 was an adult
baptism but that is not so….
George
Ford of East Meon led us a merry chase when we looked for his origins.
 |
| All Saints Church East Meon has witnessed many baptisms |
To
recap, George Ford as we know him is christened George Wilkes (his birth is
registered as George Wilks), son of William Wilks and Harriet Wilks nee Foard.
His mother died in 1859. He is known to have had two older brothers William and
Charles Ford born of different fathers illegitimately. Theirs was a small
community, of poor farm labourers. Brother
William had joined the Army but appears to have been stationed around the
village. George had lived in East Meon from his birth 1851 to 5 January 1868
when his brother William Ford signed papers for his enlistment into the Royal
Navy at Portsmouth that day in 1868.
Our
first document for George ford is a naval record which has father William Ford followed
by his marriage certificate. This marriage certificate has George Ford marrying
Alice Barter with father William who following on from the naval record we
assumed was a William Ford
The
conversation may have gone something like:
"I'm
his brother William Ford. Me mam’s died and I’m bringing my brother George to
sign up for the Navy."
"Okay.
Father's name?"
"William"
"Right
then George (Ford) your brother has vouched for you. Welcome to the Navy"
George
signed on the dotted line, William had got his age wrong by about a year but
neither has noticed the incorrect surname. From then George is known as George
Ford, Seaman and the Ford name carries on.
However
during this time of discovery George’s great grandson Chris, visited the village of East
Meon curious to find a George Ford. He stumbled upon a baptism record with
William Ford fathering a son, George Dovey to Mary Dovey. Get it? He would be George Ford
and the only George Ford born in East Meon at the time. Looked like a
possibility. Mary was a neighbor to the Fords .Only problem was a discrepancy in
the birth date. We claimed him as my husband’s great grandfather.
 |
| The rear recording has Mary Dovey and William Ford as parents to George- Illigitimate baptised 3/11/1967 |
Subsequently
we found the real George Ford as George Wilks who was the only legitimate son
of Harriet Ford and William Wilks born in East Meon in 1851.George's story and that of his brother William is documented in my Blog How I discovered we are not the Fords
That left us with distinct possibility that our William Ford had fathered this George Dovey.
George
would have been a cousin to my husband's grandfather. As none of his parents
seem to claim him –we will. His mother,
Mary Dovey seems to have dropped off the face of the earth after the 1871
census. She is a servant at the home of George Findley a music teacher in 1871
while son George appears in the 1871 census with his grandparents Thomas Dovey
and Mary Ann Titheridge.
 |
| 1871 census featuring young George |
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| 1911 census -George with a single son after his wife was institutionalised |
Then
George married Fanny Quinton Hayes in 1893. but here's where it gets complicated. His
Uncle George Dovey married Mary Ann Titheridge's sister Phoebe who died. She
was Mary Dovey's Aunt incidentally. Uncle George then married Ann Hayes who
already had a daughter –one Fanny Hayes.
George
Dovey and Fanny had 7 children (2 dead by 1911 census). After the seventh child
it seems Fanny sadly was put in an Institution from 1907 for 30 years until she
died in 1937 as a pauper. . Perhaps Fanny suffered from post natal depression
something that is very easily diagnosed and treated today.
George
Dovey and Fanny Quinton Hayes had the following children:
SYDNEY GEORGE DOVEY was born about 1894 in Froxfield,
Hampshire, England.
He appears 1901 at Basing Park Lodge with parents and brother
and in 1911 aged 17 with father as a - farm labourer at Privett
WILLIAM EDWIN DOVEY was born in 1898 in East Meon,
Hampshire, England. He died in 1904 in Petersfield, Hampshire.
THOMAS SAMUEL DOVEY was born on 03 Jan 1907 in Privett
East Meon, Hampshire, England. He died in Mar 1978 in Liverpool, Merseyside,
England.
ROSALINE MARY DOVEY was born in 1896 in Petersfield,
Hampshire. She died in Jul 1897 in Isle of Wight, Hampshire.
BERTHA VIOLET F DOVEY was born
in 1901 in Petersfield, Hampshire. Bertha is on 1911 census in another
household as a border. She married William H Walker in 1927 in Petersfield,
Hampshire. William and Bertha had a daughter DORIS M WALKER was born in Dec
1927 in Petersfield, Hampshire. She died in Dec 1981 in Alton, Hampshire,
England (Age 80).
MABEL KATHLEEN A DOVEY was born in Jan 1903 in
Petersfield, Hampshire.
ELLEN ELIZA A DOVEY was born about 1906 in Privett,
Hampshire, England.It is possible she could have been a child who died aged 1 in Pancras making her the second child dead as per the census but it is also possible she is in the 1911 census as Helen Dovey living with Aunt Eliza
Carter widow and Cousin Lillian Carter.
From
what I can gather some of the children were farmed out or perhaps adopted as
they don’t come up in census or other records.
The Doveys, Titheridges and Fords are long term families
in the East Meon district. As you see from reading my previous blog and this
one they were reasonably poor farm labourers, often illegitimate and often in poor
circumstances being looked after by family or the poor house.
Anyway it seems we can put the mystery of George Dovey to bed.
Tip of the Day:
The final discovery of George Dovey's life came from revisiting the story. In this case the village was reasonably small- I was looking for farming families in the East Meon area and their movements. I found the links between the Titheridges, Doveys and Fords and their close relationships during census taking.
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