William John Altrop, Ann Barrs Altrop and their family

William John Altrop is my third great grandfather.  For all of you of the next generation of Smiths, he is your fourth great grandfather.  So your Grandpa Smith's dad was George, George's dad was Charles, Charles's mother was Elizabeth Altrop and her dad was William John Altrop.
                                                                 George Smith
                                                                 |
                                            Charles Smith                         William John Altrop
                                            |                    |                       |
                        George Smith                    Elizabeth Altrop
                        |                                                                |
     Milton Smith                                                                 Ann Barrs
     |
me

I have not been able to locate any pictures of him, but this is the area in England where he was born and lived:

Agden Green, near Great Staughton, England
Photo: Andrew Tatlow [CC-BY-SA-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

William was born in March of 1815 in Great Staughton, England, although there seems to be some discrepancy about the day. He married Ann Barrs when he was 27 years old.  She was 23.  They were married in the St Andrews Church in Great Staughton.

St Andrews Church
Photo:Shaun Ferguson [CC-BY-SA-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

William joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in 1851 when he was 36 years old.  He was baptized just a little over a month after his wife, Ann. Two of their children, Thomas and  Elizabeth (the mother of Charles), came to Utah. Erastus, another son, may have come as well, but the evidence is a little sketchy.  The youngest son, William Alfred, became a postman in London.

Thomas, the oldest, arrived in the US in 1863.  He went to Utah, probably by way of Florence, Nebraska (fka Winter Quarters), and later returned to Iowa, where he seems to have joined the Reorganized Church (RLDS).  I mention this because about two years later, in 1872, William, his father, was also baptized into the RLDS church, "at London, Middlesex, England" according to RLDS records.  Those records indicate that William attended the London branch of the RLDS church, which really makes me wonder, because it doesn't appear that he ever lived anywhere but Great Staughton. He is listed in the 1871, 1881, and 1891 censuses in Great Staughton. It is over 60 miles from Great Staughton to London, which is a long way in the 1800's. Is it possible that it was William Alfred, the son, who was baptized and attended there?  Did William John travel to London for his baptism? The dates of birth and death in the RLDS records match William John, but from location, it seems more likely that it was William Alfred.

In any event, William John died in 1891 at the age of 76.  His wife, Ann, did then move to London to live with her son, William Alfred.  When Charles was on his mission in England, he went to visit his grandma in London. On August 22, 1900, he wrote: 

"I arose feeling well and was preparing for to see my relations. I took the underground route to Broad Street, and from Broad Street I took a cab for Westbourne Grove and had good luck in finding my people. I found them in a few minutes after getting off from the Bus. I found them all well and anxious to see me. This was the first time in this life I had met them. Grandma was 81 years old. She was well and was doing much work around the house, doing most of the cooking."
The 1901 census shows "Grandma," Ann Altrop, living with William Alfred and Louisa (Bass) Altrop at 138 Westbourne Grove in London.

Westbourne Grove
Photo: Gerry Lynch

Family records show that "Grandma" Ann died in Provo, Utah at the age of 86. That's a long trip from London in her 80's and I can't find any independent verification of this.

Just another Altrop mystery!