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George Michael GRIGGS
1871 - 1933 (~ 62 years)
Has 15 ancestors and 9 descendants in this family tree.
Set As Default Person 
-
Name George Michael GRIGGS Relationship 
with Teresa Ann GOATHAM Born Sep Q 1871 Margate, Kent, England 
- GRO ref: Griggs, George Michael q3 1871 Thanet RD 2a 768; GRO online index shows mother's maiden name as Solly
Baptised 19 Nov 1874 St. John the Baptist Church, Margate, Kent, England - From PR entry (image on FMP, viewed 1 Jul 2019)
Shows George Michael, son of James and Mary Ann GRIGGS, abode 49 Victoria Rd Margate, father a labourer
Gender Male Education 1881 Scholar - At the time of the census
Residence 1901 Nizells Cottages, Hildenborough, Kent, England Occupation From 1901 to 1911 Photographer - Recorded as woking on own account (not an employer or employee) and working from home.
Residence 1911 Somerville, Jarvis Brook, Crowborough, Sussex, England - WIth his wife and 5 children at the time of the census.
Occupation 1921 Fish Hawker Died Dec Q 1933 West Ashford Reg Dist, Kent, England - GRO ref: Griggs, George M q4 1933 aged 61 W.Ashford RD 2a 1249; GRO online index shows middle name as Michael
Siblings2 brothers and 2 sisters Half-siblings1 half sister (family of Stephen EPPS and Mary Ann SOLLY) Patriarch & Matriarch 
George GRIGGS, b. Abt 1744, d. 1784 (Age ~ 40 years) (2 x Great Grandfather)
Elizabeth, d. Yes, date unknown (Great Grandmother)Person ID I24250 All | England: Kent Group (in Go(a)tham One-Name Study), All in the Goatham / Gotham One-Name Study Last Modified 1 Jul 2023
Father James GRIGGS, b. Dec Q 1837, Mutrix, Margate, Kent, England , d. 9 Aug 1912, Holly Lodge, Lower Whitfield, Dover, Kent, England (Age ~ 75 years)
Other Partners: Louisa m. Mar Q 1893Mother Mary Ann SOLLY, b. Abt 1836, Yorkshire, Northdown, St. Peters, Broadstairs, Kent, England , d. Jun Q 1892, Eastry Reg Dist, Kent, England (Age ~ 56 years)
Other Partners: Stephen EPPS m. 28 Jan 1855Married 11 Apr 1862 St. John the Baptist Church, Margate, Kent, England - GRO ref: Griggs, James to Epps, Mary Elizabeth q2 1862 Thanet RD 2a 993
Details from PR entry (image on FMP, viewed 16 July 2019)
With a mother's maiden name of Solly recorded in the birth registration for their children, I searched for the marriage of a James Griggs to a Mary Ann Solly, and similar. I found none, suggesting Mary had married under a different surname. Fortunately the 1881 census shows a daughter not found by searching for Griggs with a mother's maiden name of Solly. In her case the mother's maiden name was recorded as Epps. It is not uncommon for a woman's previous married name to be recorded instead of her maiden name, or if she was known by two names before marrying for both to be used on the registrations of birth of different children. With Mary most likely having married James as a widow I looked for a Mary Ann SOLLY to an EPPS and found the one shown here. This not only fits what I was looking for, but Stephen and Mary Ann are not found in the 1861 or subsequent censuses, suggesting the marriage was not a coincidence involving a different Mary Ann SOLLY. Also, looking for EPPS birth registrations with a mother's maiden name of SOLLY found just the one, so nothing to rule out Mary Ann as the one who married James. At the time of the 1861 census Mary Ann and her daughter were with her parents, in 1871 her daughter was still (or again) with them; again nothing to rule out Mary Ann wife of Stephen as the one who married James. The death of a suitably aged Stephen EPPS between 1855 and 1862 would add weight to my theory that the two Mary Anns are one and the same. However, there is none in the death registration index. At first I thought he was probably a marineror fisherman or similar and had died at sea - no body, no death registration (or burial). However, when he married Mary Ann he was recorded as a thatcher. So had he died? - that is, was Mary Ann free to remarry?
I returned to looking for the marriage of James Griggs, this time to a widow Mary Epps rather than a spinster Mary Solly. I found one which half fits: it records spinster Mary Elizabeth EPPS, daughter of Michael EPPS. Was this coincidence, the marriage of a different James Griggs (there were quite a few in the area). I don't think it was.
If the priest had mistakenly thought she was a spinster and recorded her as such and therefore assumed her father's surname this would not explain the middle name. Was she marrying bigamously and changing small details to hide this? I think she was.
My reasons for thinking Mary Ann who
1. Father's Christian name of Michael for both brides; not the commonest of names (both also record him as a labourer but this is so common it adds little weight to the argument)
2. A witness at both marriages was a Sarah Elizabeth Solly - Mary Ann Solly had a sister with this name, and most often witnesses were siblings.
3. In the 1861 census Mary Ann EPPS née SOLLY is living in Northdown Road; when she married 'Mary Elizabeth EPPS' place of residence is shown as Northdown.
3. I can find no other marriage of a James Griggs to a Mary Ann to fit.
4. I can find no baptism of an Mary Elizabeth Epps to fit.
5. If this marriage is the right one but spinster Mary Elizabeth EPPS is not really widow Mary Ann EPPS née SOLLY then why does she appear as Mary A in the 1871, 1881 and 1891 censuses?
Family ID F11166 Family Group Page | Family Chart
Family Minnie Mary NYE, b. Mar Q 1878, Hildenborough, Kent, England , d. Sep Q 1962, Ashford Reg Dist, Kent, England (Age ~ 84 years) Married Sep Q 1896 Eastry Reg Dist, Kent, England - GRO ref: Griggs, George Michael to Nye, Minnie Mary q3 1896 Eastry RD 2a 1805
(I can't find a PR entry for this marriage on FMP, and checking all marriages in Eastry RD in this qtr 1805 is the highest page number, suggesting the marriage was at a register office on in a non-CofE church where the registrar attended, since these marriages are in the General Register in pages following those in CofE Churches)
The 1911 census confirms that by then George and Minnie had had 5 children, all still living (and with them at the time of the census).
Children7 children Last Modified 5 Apr 2021 Family ID F9442 Family Group Page | Family Chart