St Mary's Church, Bungay
The 1851 census shows an interesting result. Mary is a 10-year-old scholar living in London in 1 Addison Villas, Hammersmith. Note the transcription shows her surname as CHELVUR. The head of the household was William FOX, a 48-year-old mason from Wroxton in Oxfordshire and his wife Mary, 36 and a laundress from Old Buckenham. As Mary (the CHILVERS Mary) is shown as neice of the head of the household, we can presume that Mary FOX is Thyrza's younger sister. Others in the household are William and Mary's daughter Elizabeth (18, a laundry maid) and a servant Katherine TUBAN (sp?), a 20-year-old laundry maid from County Cork in Ireland.
There is no clear entry in 1861, but there is a Mary Ann CHILVERS aged 20 working as a domestic in London in Eden Place, Hoxton in the household of a shoemaker, Edward SMITH and his wife Hannah. Edward was from Wymondham and his wife from Norwich. Mary's entry is "ditto'd", which may mean she was from Norwich and not ours, or may represent careless reporting of a domestic.
She clearly reappears though on 14 October 1863 when she married Solomon FRANCIS in the Parish Church of St Mary in Bungay in Suffolk. Solomon was described as a "Licensed Hawker" on the Marriage Certificate, although in the Beccles & Bungay Weekly News 20 October 1863 there is the entry: "MARRIAGES: On the 14th October, at St Mary's Church Bungay, by the Rev C.J. BOWEN, Mr Solomon FRANCIS, fish merchant, of that town, to Miss Mary Ann CHILVERS, of New Buckenham." Solomon's father, Robert, is described as a Fishhawker (Mmm! Lovely!!), while Mary Anne's father, Samuel, is described as Farmer. The 1841 census shows Robert as being a 40-year-old Fishmonger, married to 40-year-old Sarah, with children Sarah (20), Solomon (15), Elijah (13), Elizabeth (12), Martha (8) and Mark (5) living in an Alms House in Butt Lane, Bungay.
The 1871 census paints a fine picture. The couple, Solomon, described as a 46-year-old licensed hawker from Bungay, and Mary, 32 years old (born in "Buckingham") have a whole host of children: Agnas (sic)L., aged 10 (yes, I can do the sums!!), Theresa 7, Solomon 6, Eliza 4, Samuel 2, and 7 month old Austin. The family live in Drift in Bungay, and all the children have been born in the town.
There is the record of the death of a 7-year-old Austin FRANCIS in the 1878 June records in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in Vol 10b Page 74. But of course we do not know if this is the Austin mentioned above.
And after that - nothing. The 1881 census finds only one Soloman (sic) FRANCIS in 15 Phoebe Street, Poplar as a 38-year-old unmarried lodger. This Soloman is described as a fisherman, but birthplace is stated to be Weymouth in Dorset. By 1891 he is married again to a Jane FRANCIS, and living in Rochester, Kent, described as a bricklayer (although the entry originally showed "labourer").
And as for Mary Anne? Who knows?? Strangely none of the family are found - so it may just be, and this is a pure guess, that they emigrated. More research!!
Page last updated 30 November 2006
