Reeve, William

Summary

Father:
Mother:

Birth: c1819
Birth Source: Census

Death: c1886
Death Source: GRO Index

Spouse1: unknown FOULDS (perhaps Martha)
Spouse2: Harriet ROBINSON

Narrative

Nothing is presently known about William's early life. He is relatively consistent in census returns about his place of birth being Long Stratton, Norfolk. NB there is some fluidity in the spelling of the family surname, but the majority of references to William use the REEVE variant which is most commonly used in East Anglia.

William has not been identified on the 1841 census so far.

Details of William's first marriage are sketchy and mostly circumstantial. It is most likely that he married Martha Foulds some time prior to 1846, since their first son was born around December 1845. Albion was 8 moths old when he died in July 1846.

The likely children of William Reeve and his wife (perhaps Martha nee FOULDS) is

1. Victoria Adelaide Reeve, born c1844, married 1868 John GRAHAM.

Victoria's place of birth is consistently recorded as Cork, Ireland. See Research Note 1 below.

The known children of William Reeve and his wife (perhaps) Martha nee FOULDS) are

1. Albion Reeve, b.reg. 1846 - d.reg. 1846
2. Albion Reeves, b.reg. 1847 - d.reg. 1853

Both births were registered with mother's maiden name of FOULDS. The births and deaths were all recorded in the Bradford Registration District in the West Riding of Yorkshire. Both sons were buried at The Primitive Methodist Chapel, Bradford and both have their place of residence recorded as Horton.

In September 1849, at the same chapel, the burial of Martha Reeve, age 30, also of Horton, took place and it is assumed this is William's wife. The GRO Index records Martha Reeve's age as 30 at the time of her death.

William Green Reeve married secondly Harriet ROBERTSON, a spinster age 25, in January 1850 at the Parish Church of St Peter, Bradford. William is 30 years old and a widower. He indicates he is a shoemaker and names his father as John Reeve, a Surgeon, but see Research Note 2 below.
The known children of William Reeve and his wife Harriet (nee ROBINSON) are

1. Louranda Reeve, b.reg. 1850
2. Francis John Reeve, b.reg. 1852
3. Mary Ann Reeves, b.reg. 1853
4. Henrietta Melvina Reeve, b.reg. 1855, d.reg. 1857
5. Juliana Rosina Reeve, b.reg. 1858, married 1885 William HARRISON
6. William Thomas Reeve, b.reg. 1861
7. Clara Reeves, b.reg. 1862
8. Hester Alexandra Reeve, b.reg. 1865, married 1887 James TOWNEND.

All eight births are registered in the Bradford Registration District in the West Riding of Yorkshire and each child is registered with their mother's maiden name of ROBINSON. Two of the children were registered with the surname of REEVES.

Harriet also had a daughter Emma (b,reg. 1847, with mother's maiden name of "—") prior to her marriage to William Reeve. Its seems William raised Emma as his own child as she appears as Emma Reeve in some later contexts.

At the time of the 1851 census, on 30 March, William Reeve along with his wife Hannah (sic, Harriet expected) are living on Manchester Road, Horton, Bradford. A second given name for William is indistinctly recorded; it looks more like Gray, but could also be interpreted as Green. William is 35 years old, claims birth at Long Stratton, Norfolk and is working as a Dyer. His wife is clearly recorded as Hannah (sic, Harriet expected) (age 23, born Thornton, Yorkshire. There are four children recorded in the household, William's daughter Victoria (age 7, born Cork, Ireland) and his son Albion (age 3, born Thornton) both from his first marriage, then their daughter Loucinda (sic Louranda expected) (age 6 months, born Horton) and finally Harriet's daughter Emma ROBINSON (age 3, born Bradford)

A decade later and the 1861 census shows William and Harriet Reeve living at 95 Bedford Street, Bradford. William is 42 years old and working as a French Polisher. There are five children in the household; daughter Emma (with surname Reeve, age 13), son Francis (9), daughters Mary Ann (7) and Juliana Rosina (2) and son William T (age 2 months).

On the 1871 census, William and Harriet are again to be found at 95 Bedford Street. Williams age and place of birth are consistent with prior census returns and he is now working as a Dyer's Labourer. In addition to his wife Harriett (sic, age 44), the household comprises their children Francis (19), Mary Ann (17) Juliana Rosina (12), William T (10), Clara (8) and Hester Alexandra (6) with all of their children born in Bradford.

By the time of the 1881 census William is a widower. It is likely Harriet's death is that noted in the GRO Index during the fourth quarter of 1879 in the Bradford (Yorkshire) Registration District, age 53.

At the time of the 1881 census, William Reeve is a 61 year old widower living at 10 Aeolus Place, Bradford. He is now an unemployed Stuff Dyer, born Norfolk. In the household are his children Hester (15), Clara (17), Mary A (25), Juliana (22), Francis (27) and William (20). All the children are unmarried, with the exception of Francis who is shown as married. Francis also appears elsewhere on this census as head of his own household.

William Reeve has not been identified on either the 1891 nor 1901 census. When his son Francis remarried in May 1895 he declared that is father was deceased. It is probable William death is that recorded during the first quarter of 1886 in the Bradford (Yorkshire) Reg. Dist., age 65, so born around 1820.

Research Notes

(1)     Victoria's relations to William is based solely on the 1851 where she is described as his daughter. However her place of birth is Cork, Ireland is consistent across her lifetime. If William and his first wife were married at the time that Victoria Adelaide Reeve was born in Cork, then it would seem William spent some time in Ireland. Might he have served in the British Army? This has yet to be explored - do you have information you could share?

(2)     In the Marriage Register in 1850 William claims to be a Shoemaker and that his father was a Surgeon. His occupation on subsequent census returns makes no mention of shoe making and details concerning his father has yet to be corroborated with any other source.

Sources

Birth:        Census Returns
Baptism:  
Marriage1:
Marriage2: FreeBMD     1850 March quarter, Bradford (WRY) Registration District
                  Marriage Register of the Parish Church of St Peter, Bradford, WRY, page 148, entry 295 (Ancestry image 30 of 642)
Death:      GRO Index     1886, March quarter, Bradford (WRY) Registration District
                 
1841 Census:
1851 Census: HO107, Piece 2309, Folio 291 reverse, Page 11, Schedule 27
1861 Census: RG9, Piece 3316, Folio 67 face, Page 33, Schedule 182
1871 Census: RG10, Piece 4450, Folio 38 reverse, Page 30, Schedule187
1881 Census: RG11, Piece 4443, Folio 29 face, Page 13, Schedule 82 and continued Folio 29 reverse, Page 14
1891 Census:
1901 Census: