In this video I am at Canford Cemetery to visit my two-times great-grand uncle William Rogers.
He was born in 1884 to George and Mary Rogers, he was the third child of six children.
In 1915 he married Annie Webb and they had eight children by 1927. He died in 1934 aged 55 years old.
In my search for graves I have had mixed results when I arrive at the cemetery or graveyard as to whether I will find the plot I am looking for.
My first unsuccessful find is my great-grand uncle William Rogers. The information I received from a relative on Ancestry said that he had died in February 1939 and that he was buried in Canford Cemetery.
One visit to the Canford Cemetery office later, I now know that the grave is located within the V section, which has been designated as their wildlife, and as such is cleared less often.
Using the provided map I believe I located the area the grave is in, but I couldn’t find a headstone. There was some nearby, but they were covered in thick brambles and I was unable to locate William’s grave.
On the same trip to the Canford Cemetery offices I enquired about the grave of my two-times great-grandparents George and Mary Rogers buried at Greenbank Cemetery.
Upon arrival at Greenbank Cemetery I aimlessly wandered around until I phoned the ground keeper who helped me find the location of the grave. It was at this point I was told that in this part of the cemetery many of the graves had the headstones removed.
Back home I sent off an email Canford Cemetery Offices asking what had happened to the headstone, and this was their response:
For certain sections where all graves were out of their lease, masonry was removed and disposed of, and a log was taken of the details of what was present on the grave. In this instance there was not a headstone on the grave at the time of the removals, but there was a marble kerbset, a marble ashler, four posts, a vase, and a broken concrete base. There was no inscription recorded on any of the masonry.
In a later email I was told that “the last time these removals took place was in the late 1980s”. Great, almost 40 years too late!
My final grave hunt was for my three-times great-grandparents George and Elizabeth Lambourne. I had found a source saying that they were buried in St. Mary’s Church in Shirehampton.
As the church is only a 5 minute drive from where I live I thought I would go down and search the graveyard.
Nothing.
I emailed the church office asking if they had any information about the grave I was looking for, and this was their response:
I have checked the names provided below and have discovered that your ancestors are certainly buried here.
Back in 1928 the church building was burnt down and a new building was built, which was completed and dedicated in January 1930. As the parish had grown substantially since the times of the original building, a larger church was built, at a different angle to the original building. This unfortunately meant that some graves were covered over by the building, and some gravestones were moved.
Your ancestors , among others, are now buried beneath this church and are commemorated in our Memorial Chapel. The names of all those whose graves are beneath the church are engraved in a memorial there. I have just found your ancestors’ names on that memorial.
I have just taken a photo of the memorial and a closer one of their names, since I expect this will be of interest to you. It is really sunny here at the moment, so there is some reflection coming through the Memorial Chapel window that is affecting the quality of the photos. If you would like me to try again and send other photos through, please let me know and I will try again on another day.
What a result, I now know for certain that my ancestors are buried there and why I couldn’t find the grave
So far these have been the only times I’ve not been able to find a grave, but the further back I go the more unlikely I will be able to find the graves I am looking for.
In this video I am visiting the grave of my two-times great-grand auntie Emily Flay (nee Rogers)
She was born in 1881 to George and Mary Rogers, she was the second child of six children.
In 1900 she married Archibald Flay and had two children by 1908. She died in 1937 aged 53 years old.
In 1938 her widower married Lily Ann Way, who then died in 1954 aged 70. Archibald then died in 1955. They are both buried with Emily Flay.
Born June 1842 in St. George, Bristol to Samuel and Elizabeth Rogers (formerly Phillips) George Rogers was the youngest of seven siblings.
This is the 1841 census return for the year before George was born.
Samuel Rogers – 45 (1796) – Boiler Maker – Gloucestershire
Elizabeth Rogers – 35 (1806)
Elizabeth Rogers – 15 (1826) – Gloucestershire
William Rogers – 14 (1827) – Gloucestershire
Charlotte Rogers – 12 (1829) – Gloucestershire
Sophia Rogers – 7 (1834) – Gloucestershire
Louisa Rogers – 4 (1837) – Gloucestershire
Samuel Rogers – 11 months (1840) – Gloucestershire
Class: HO107; Piece: 377; Book: 11; Enumeration District: 16; Folio: 66; Page: 15; Line: 7; GSU roll: 288786
Elizabeth married Samuel Batt in 1849 and by the 1951 census she had had one child of her own.
This is the 1851 census return for George Rogers family.
Samuel Rogers – Head- 55 (1796) – Boiler Maker – Siston, Gloucestershire
Elizabeth Rogers – Wife – 47 (1804) – – Monmouthshire, Wales
William Rogers – Son – 24 (1827) – Boiler Maker – St. George, Bristol
Charlotte Rogers – Daughter – 22 (1829) – Dress Maker – St. George, Bristol
Sophia Rogers – Daughter – 17 (1834) – Book Binder – St. George, Bristol
Louisa Rogers – Daughter – 12 (1839) – Scholar – St. George, Bristol
Samuel Rogers – Son – 10 (1841) – Scholar – St. George, Bristol
George Rogers – Son – 8 (1842) – Scholar – St. George, Bristol
Class: HO107; Piece: 1953; Folio: 291; Page: 10; GSU roll: 87353
In December 1851 the father, Samuel Rogers, died at the age of 55
And in 1859 Sophia married William Bryant
In 1861 Charlotte married James Burton, here he is listed in the 1861 census living with his future bride and her family.
Elizabeth Rogers (Widow) – 57 (1804) – Dowry – Monmouthshire, Wales
Charlotte Rogers – Daughter – 34 (1827) – Dress Maker – St. George, Bristol
William Rogers – Son – 35 (1826) – Boiler Maker – St. George, Bristol
Samuel Rogers – Son – 28 (1833) – Boiler Maker – St. George, Bristol
Louisa Rogers – Daughter – 23 (1838) – Dress Maker – St. George, Bristol
George Rogers – Son – 18 (1843) – Carpenter – St. George, Bristol
James Barton – Visitor – 35 (1826) – Ginger Beer Bottler – Bristol
Class: RG 9; Piece: 1731; Folio: 7; Page: 7; GSU roll: 542858
In January 1870 the mother, Elizabeth Rogers, died at the age of 60. Louisa, Samuel, and George Rogers moved in with their sister Charlotte and her husband James Burton.
James W Burton – Head – 44 (1827) – Soda Water Bottler – Bristol
Charlotte Burton – Wife – 42 (1829) – Dress Maker – Moorfields, Gloucestershire
Samuel C Burton – Son – 2 (1869) – Moorfields, Gloucestershire
Louisa Rogers – Lodger – 33 (1838) – Moorfields, Gloucestershire
Samuel Rogers – Lodger – 30 (1841) – Boiler Maker – Moorfields, Gloucestershire
George Rogers – Lodger – 28 (1843) – Optician Cabinet Maker – Moorfields, Gloucestershire
Class: RG10; Piece: 2553; Folio: 5; Page: 2; GSU roll: 835263
By the time of the 1881 census Samuel Rogers is the only sibling left living with the Burtons.
In September 1876 George Rogers married Mary Crane.
Here they are living in Weston Street with their children and Mother-in-Law.
George Rogers – Head – 38 (1843) – Optician – Bristol, Gloucestershire
Mary J. Rogers – Wife – 34 (1847) – Bridgewater, Somerset
Alice M. Rogers – Daughter – 2 (1879) – Bristol, Gloucestershire
Emily P. Rogers – Daughter – 9 months (1880) – Bristol, Gloucestershire
Elizabeth Crane – Mother-in-Law – 69 (1812) – Laundress – Bridgewater, Somerset
Class: RG11; Piece: 2499; Folio: 71; Page: 38; GSU roll: 1341602
George Rogers – Head – 48 (1843) – Cabinet – St. Georges, Bristol
Mary J. Rogers – Wife – 41 (1850) – Tailoress – Bridgewater, Somerset
Elizabeth Crane – Mother-in-Law – 79 (1812) – Living on her own means – Bridgewater, Somerset
Alice M. Rogers – Daughter – 12 (1879) – Scholar – St. Georges, Bristol
Emily Rogers – Daughter – 10 (1881) – Scholar – St. Georges, Bristol
William J. Rogers – Son – 7 (1884) – Scholar – St. Georges, Bristol
Florence E. Rogers – Daughter – 5 (1886) – Scholar – St. Georges, Bristol
Ellen J. Rogers – Daughter – 3 (1888) – St. Georges, Bristol
Class: RG12; Piece: 1984; Folio: 84; Page: 11; GSU Roll: 6097094
George Rogers – Head – 58 (1843) – Cabinet Maker – Bristol
Mary Jane Rogers – Wife – 52 (1849) – Bristol
Alice M. Rogers – Daughter – 22 (1879) – Chocolate Factory Worker – Bristol
Henry George Rogers – Son – 19 (1882) – Tailors Cutter – Bristol
William Rogers – Son – 17 (1884) – Brass Finisher – Bristol
Florence Rogers – Daughter – 15 (1886) – Chocolate Factory Worker – Bristol
Nellie Rogers – Daughter – 13 (1888) – Bristol
Class: RG13; Piece: 2391; Folio: 152; Page: 4
Emily Rogers married Archibald Flay in 1900; and Alice Rogers married Richard Watson in 1905.
In 1908 Mary Jane Rogers died at the age of 59
George Rogers – Widow – 68 (1843) – Optician – Gloucestershire, Bristol
Henry Rogers – Son – 29 (1882) – Tailors Cutter – Gloucestershire, Bristol
William Rogers – Son – 27 (1884) – Brass Finisher – Gloucestershire, Bristol
Florence Rogers – Daughter – 25 (1886) – Confectionery (Chocolate Worker) – Gloucestershire, Bristol
Ellen Rogers – Daughter – 23 (1888) – Housekeeper – Gloucestershire, Bristol
Priscilla Crane – Boarder – 75 (1836) – Private Means – Somerset, Chedzoy
Phoebe Cooper – Lodger – 55 (1856) – Private Means – Patchway, Gloucestershire
Class: RG14; Piece: 14867; Schedule Number: 19
William Rogers married Annie Webb in 1915; Henry Rogers married Mabel Finn in 1917; and Ellen Rogers married Edgar Olds in 1920
George Rogers died in 1916 at the age of 74. He was buried in the family plot in Greenbank Cemetery with his wife.
It’s been awhile since I’d last tried to search for my great great grandfather. I hadn’t given up though!
In one last ditched attempt I thought I could try and search for a will. I searched on ancestry, but I couldn’t view anything as I needed to be on a higher subscription. So I searched Google for free wills, and came across an article about the probate office releasing thousands of wills for free
I searched on the probate site [gov.uk]. I didn’t know his date of death, but I did know that he had died before my great grandfather had married, so I started in 1916, the year before his marriage.
I got lucky first time, this is what I was looking for, and found!
Rogers George of 17 Badminton road Ashley road Bristol cabinet maker died 14 September 1916 at General Hospital Bristol Administration Bristol 13 October to Henry George Rogers tailer’s cutter
Effects £250 4s 8d
That was it! After all these years I was finally looking at my great great grandfather. And hopefully his will would name his children and I could finally find my ancestors.
I duly paid my money and waited for the will to become available for download.
When I got the will it was not a will, but an administration of letters. This gives the named person power of attorney over the deceased estate. In this case it was George Rogers’s son Henry George (my great-grandfather) who had power of attorney. It did name two of Henry Georges sisters, Florence Rogers and Nellie Rogers both living at the same address.
This was great news, as these names matched with the family I had found in the censuses I could carry on my research.
It has been ages since I started my family tree, and not quite so long ago I discovered I had the wrong family.
Since then I have been tentatively researching and think I have found the right family. They are living in the right sort of area of Bristol, the ages and names match up. But, following the family through the censuses has thrown up some inconsistencies, namely the fathers occupation.
1881 Census
Occupation: Optician; Address: 44 Weston Street;1891 Census
Occupation: Cabinet [maker – as far as I can make out!]; Address: 4 Pack Horse Lane;1901 Census
Occupation: Cabinet maker (The handwriting is hard to make out); Address: 6 Ducie Road (was originally called Pack Horse Lane)1911 Census
Occupation: Optician; Address; 24 Brigstocke Road
I know from my great-grandfathers marriage certificate that his fathers occupation was Cabinet maker. I also know that this is the same family through the years, as all the family members (wife and siblings) are the same, as are their occupations and ages. Also, looking at the historic maps for Bristol, the places they lived in are near enough only a few streets apart.
But, is it the right family?
I could have ordered birth and marriage certificates, but I didn’t want to waste money buying the wrong certificates again. So I tried looking at all the free resources, trying trade directories, newspaper articles. But I found nothing.
I was hoping for a miraculous breakthrough!
A couple of years ago when I first started researching my family tree, I found my great-granddads marriage in 1917.
I went back about 18 years and searched for matching births. After finding a birth in 1891 I started searching the censuses.
After finding a matching census entry I started going back in the censuses tracing the family back. I managed to find two more generations and went back to 1823.
So easy.
Earlier this year I decided to order a few certificates, one of them was my great-grandfathers marriage certificate.
The details on the marriage certificate didn’t match up with my research.
For a start he was nine years older than I had anticipated, and his fathers name and occupation was different to what I had found out.
Back to the drawing board.