Sightseeing in London, Genealogist Version

Just a mile and a half from our London hotel, I couldn't pass up this piece of  family history serendipity...

My great grandfather, Charles Henry Smith, served a mission in England from 1900-1902. On August 22, 1900, Charles noted in his journal that he went to see his grandmother, who lived in Westbourne Grove. He had a nice visit with her.

That grandmother was Ann (Barrs) Altrop. Having been widowed in 1891, she was living with her son. William Alfred. In the 1901 census, here is the family, living at 138 Westbourne Grove.

Just over 119 years after my great grandfather's visit, I went back to pay my respects to my third great grandmother.

Altrops Update

I have written about William Altrop and Ann Barrs Altrop before. The Altrops were members of the Bedford, England Conference, Great Staughton Branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, baptized in 1851. 

Page from records of Bedford Conference of LDS Church

On 17 June 1851, William Altrop was ordained an elder.  The ordination was done by J Spiers.  John Spiers was the Bedford Conference President and he kept a journal.  In that journal, he writes about going to Great Staughton and doing the ordination.  He made William the presiding elder over the Great Staughton Branch.

Page from J. Spiers journal

At least as late as the end of 1869, it appears that William still was in charge of the Saints in the area, as recorded in this letter reproduced in the Millennial Star:

 "A Stroll Through The Bedfordshire Conference
****
"From Northamptonshire, we will call on a number of Saints till we arrive at Great Staughton where Brother Wm. Altrop has a general superintendence over the Saints at Great Staughton, Eaton, Socon [sic], Gravely, &c.  Here the Saints are very much scattered, but doing very well."

Now we have closed a gap in time to less than three years from when William appears to be active in the LDS Church and his baptism in the RLDS church in June of 1872 (according to RLDS church records).  Perhaps he was a wanderer, a questioner.  He first left the social safety of the Anglican church to become LDS, then seems to have drifted the RLDS, about two years after his son, thousands of miles away in Iowa, did.

Meanwhile, contrary to the popular opinion stated in several family group sheets, William's wife, Ann Barrs Altrop, did not die in Provo Utah.  A cousin spotted an entry for the death of "Annie" Altrop in England, and I have obtained the death register certificate showing "Annie", widow of William Altrop, died in the Nazareth House, Southend-On-Sea, Essex, England.

Isn't this fun?

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!

Where's That Bolt of Lightning When You Need It?

I'll be honest. Sometimes, doing family history work is not all joy and sunshine.  In fact, many times thunderheads of frustration rain down when people are not where they should be or connections and records that should be there don't just pop up.

My two current cloudbursts are:
1. Where and when did my great great grandparents get married?  George Smith and Elizabeth Altrop were born in England, immigrated to the United States and had children.  We hope that at some point they got married, but there does not seem to be an official record of the event (just their temple sealing in 1891).
  This is a picture of their headstone in Willard, Utah. Note that it says they were married in England in 1867. I can't find a record of this and Elizabeth is still using her maiden name on the ship's manifest in 1869.  Another source says that they were married in April 1867 in Willard; however, they didn't reach the US until 1869.  A note on one of the family group sheets passed along to me says that they were married on the ship coming to America. No one who kept a journal on that voyage made note of any marriage.  The 1900 census reports that they have been married for 30 years.

Can I get an umbrella here?

2.  Who are John Marsden and Hannah Maria Sunderland?

This is a note among other notes that I believe were prepared by my great grandfather Charles Smith.  All of the other notes pertain to family members.  But who are these two people?  I can't find any connection with the family, although these were certainly real people (I found them in the census).  On the new Familysearch Family Tree, these two are a little island without any children and no connection to anyone through their parents.  I feel sorry for them, all alone out there, but are they related to my family? 

I'm wishing for a raincoat!