DONE: Alfred Thomas Webb and Emma Alice Dodd

When Alfred Thomas (Thomas) Webb was born in January 1861 in Great Boughton, Cheshire, England, his mother, Sarah Webb (1842-1915), was unmarried and only 19. He's found as a "nurse child" in the home of Thomas and Ann Povey on the 1861 census as his mother is working as a nurse (possibly a wet nurse) in a nearby home. Thomas had two brothers and four sisters.

The civil registration marriage index suggests that Thomas married Emma Alice Dodd early in 1882 (the Banns and certificate have not been located).

Emma Alice Dodd was born in 1862 in Chester, Cheshire, England, the daughter of Charles Dodd (1833-?) and Sarah (1832-?). She had two brothers.

In 1869, Emma and her parents were living at 2 Francis Street, Cheshire (just up the street from Alfred's family) and Emma was attending the Victoria Road School (which is the same school that one Alfred's siblings attended).

• Alfred James Webb (1888-1897)
• Gertrude Webb (1891-27-Dec-1970) m. George Povey (1899-18-Feb-1950)
• Charles Henry Webb (1895-1983) m. Alice Cooper 

In 1871, Thomas is back with his mother and family with his new stepfather. In 1881, his whereabouts are unknown.

Alfred James was born on August 15, 1888 and baptized at the Church of St. Mary's, Ince-in-Makerfield on February 10, 1889. The family is living at 497 Warrington Road and Thomas's occupation is Engine Driver.

Baptismal Record, Wigan St. Mary's (image via Ancestry.com)

497 Warrington Road, Ince-in-Makerfield (image via Google Maps)

Daughter Gertrude is born on March 20, 1891. She's baptized at St. John the Baptist in Cheshire (as was her father) on August 23, 1891. The family is still living on Warrington Road at the time of the 1891 Census and Gertrude is one month old. Thomas' occupation is still an Engine Driver.

1891 England Census (image via Ancestry.com)

Charles Henry is born on March 17, 1895. Like his brother, Charles is baptised at St. Mary's, Ince-in-Makerfield on December 1, 1895. The family is living at 38 Manley Street.

Baptismal Record, Wigan St. Mary's (image via Ancestry.com)

38 Manley Street, Ince-in-Makerfield (image via Google Maps)

In 1901, Thomas and Emma are living with Charles and a servant Nellie Jones (b. 1874) at 214 Central Drive in Blackpool. Thomas' job is clarified - he is a Railway Engine Driver (in keeping with his stepfather, James Squires who also worked on the railway). I don't have the death record, but I believe that Alfred James died in 1897 in Wigan (there is a matching death in the directory).

1901 England Census (image via Ancestry.com)

214 Central Drive, Blackpool (image via Google Maps)

And daughter Gertrude was boarding at the Institute for Blind Welfare and School for the Partially Sighted on Watling Street West in Fulwood, Preston, Lancashire (the census suggests that she was blind). Information about the school is documented in the book, "Those Derby Days: A History of the Derby School for the Partially Sighted."

In 1911, the family is living at 32 Hornby Road in Blackpool - Thomas, Emma, Gertrude, Charles Henry and the same servant, Nellie Jones. Thomas (Alfred Thomas in the census) is still a railway engine driver. (You'll note that the census suggests that Gertrude is "totally blind.")

1911 England Census (image via Ancestry.com)

The building is now known as the Franklin Hotel.

Franklin Hotel, 32 Hornby, Blackpool (image via Google Maps)

The National Probate Calendar suggests that Emma died on January 23, 1932.

WEBB, Emma Alice of 36 Mere-road Blackpool (wife of Alfred Thomas Web) died 23 January 1932 Probate London 11 March to the said Alfred Thomas Webb engine driver and Gertrude Webb spinster.

National Probate Calendar England & Wales (image via Ancestry.com)

36 Mere Road, Blackpool (image via GoogleMaps)

Alfred Thomas Webb died on June 13, 1937, in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, at the age of 76, and was buried with his wife at the Marton Cemetery in Blackpool.

On the 1939 Register, we find Gertrude Webb living at 36 Beech Avenue in Blackpool with Ellen Jones (whose birthdate is 1975, so likely the same Nellie Jones shown in the previous two censuses). Gertrude's occupation appears to be "Net Braider." Also listed are Irene Peacock (age 18) and her uncle, Charles Henry Dodd age 76 (possibly a relation?, Hilda Aston (eventually Linsley) and one more person who was born after 1917. As she is 48 and unmarried, it's likely that Gertrude did not have any children.

1939 Register, UK (via FindMyPast.co.uk)

36 Beech Avenue, Blackpool (image via Google Maps)

But even though Gertrude has not yet married in 1939, but the register was continually updated until 1952 - and shows her married name as Povey with her maiden name crossed out (you may recall her father lived with a couple named Povey shortly after he was born). In an interesting coincidence, Gertrude eventually married George Povey (1899-1950), who was eight years younger than his wife. 

George Povey was an "inmate" of the Liverpool School for the Indigent Blind (now known as the Liverpool Royal School for the Blind) on 1911 census. The census suggests he had some sight (or at least he's not marked "totally blind"). He died on February 18, 1950. Gertrude survived him by over twenty years, she died on December 27, 1970 aged 79 years.

Charles Henry Webb isn't located on the 1939 Register, but records suggest that he may have married a woman named Alice Cooper. He died in Blackpool in September 1983. They had at least one child.