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Florence ("Flo") Beatrice BAILEY
1897 - Abt 1986 (89 years)
Has 199 ancestors but no descendants in this family tree.
Set As Default Person 
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Name Florence ("Flo") Beatrice BAILEY Nickname Flo Relationship 
with Teresa Ann GOATHAM Born 14 Jul 1897 South Shields, Co. Durham, England 
- GRO ref: Bailey, Florence Beatrice q3 1897 S Shields RD 10a 804; GRO online index shows mother's maiden name as Robinson
Baptised 4 Aug 1897 St. Michael’s Church, South Westoe, Co. Durham, England Gender Female Education 1911 School Residence 1930 38, Lanhill Road, Paddington, London, England - This house can be seen on Google Street View. Their address at the time of their 1930 'marriage' and the drawing up of the 1931 electoral roll.
People with 4 different surnames, probably 4 different households were present in this 4 storey town house.
Residence 1933 32, Formosa Street, Paddington, London, England - By the time the 1933 electoral roll was drawn up George and Flo had moved half a mile, to a smart looking town house which can be seen on Google Street View.
However, people with 5 different surnames were at the address, so probably 5 different households were present in this 4 storey house.
Residence 1936 34, Ponsonby Place, London, England - By the time the 1937 electoral roll was drawn up Flo and George had moved again, this time nearly 4 miles to Ponsnby Place, just off Vauxhall Bridge Road in Westminster. This house can be seen on Google Street View - it was another 4 storey town house, though not so smart as the last.
Again, people with 4 different surnames, probably 4 different households were present.
Residence From 1938 to 1965 23, Bessborough Gardens, Vauxhall Bridge Road, Westminster, London, England - Yet again Flo and George had moved, before the 1939 electoral roll was drawn up, this time only a few years, and at last to a home they were to remain in for many years, Flo still being there as a widow in 1965 (the date at which the electoral rolls I have seen end).
People with 4 different surnames, probably 4 different households were present at this address also, which appears to be mainly flats above shops.
Occupation 1939 Nurse - According to the register
Died Abt Sep 1986 Westminster, London, England - reg q3 1986
Siblings6 brothers and 5 sisters Patriarch & Matriarch 
William BAILEY, b. Abt 1724, (probably in or near), Kingsteignton, Devon, England, d. Jul 1817, Teigngrace, Devon, England (Age ~ 93 years) (3 x Great Grandfather) 
Barbara HUTCHINSON, b. Abt 1782, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Northumberland, England, d. 12 Feb 1858, Smith’s Court, Prudhoe Street, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Northumberland, England (Age ~ 76 years) (2 x Great Grandmother) Notes - I always understood that Auntie Flo had, when married, run away to London with another man - George Youds, and I have seen the surname Preston for her (I think in a newspaper cutting when her brother Samuel died - 1917). This ties in with the only marriage to fit - to one Simon Preston, the marriage being in the second quarter of 1914. There only seems to be one Simon Preston to fit (anywhere in the country) - and he enlisted in WW1 in Seaham Harbour, where I know Auntie Flo's parents were living in 1914. But he died on 1 Jul 1916. This suggests Auntie Flo must have run away within about 2 years of marrying Simon, during the war - or am I missing part of the story? - e.g. was it George who was married, did Auntie Flo remarry after being widowed and then desert her second husband, ...
If Auntie Flo did run away early in her marriage i.e. before Simon died seems most likely, why then did she and George not marry until years later i.e. in 1930, rather than when she was free to marry by being widowed in 1916? And why did she marry as Beatrice Bailey rather than as Florence Beatrice Preston?
I think she must have remarried after being widowed and it was her second husband she was running away from. Had she a good reason to leave - was he violent towards her? Or was she unhappy or had simply fallen for someone else? I don't know. I thought I had heard that she was mistreated, but when I checked with my Mum she wasn't aware of this. Was it true, or speculation, did I only imagine I'd been told this or was someone simply been trying to excuse her running off? We'll probably never know.
Auntie Flo and my grandfather, her brother Henry, younger by just 2 years, were the only 2 children of a large family to move away from Co. Durham. When the Admiral that Granddad worked for was posted to London during WW2 my grandparents and mother moved to London, and so they would have tea with Auntie Flo and Uncle George from time to time.
Lived at 23 Bessborough Gardens, Westminster, then (where I remember her being) in Vauxhall Bridge Road, then 6 Darwin House, Churchill Gardens, Grosvenor Rd, Westminster, then in Banstead Hosp, Sutton (1982).
When I was young we'd visit occasionally - about once a year? - and have tea with her, but my memories are of the "grown ups" talking, I don't remember her interacting with my brother or I, and I don't believe I'd seen her for some years when she died - though of all Granddad's siblings she is the one I knew best, having no memories at all of most of the others!
Looking through the many photos my mother took when my brother and I were young I was surprised to come across one with Auntie Flo on what appeared to be my first birthday. I had thought I couldn't remember what she looked like but as soon as I saw the photo I thought immediately it was her. Sure enough, when I looked in my parents diaries I saw that she had come to tea for my birthday (actually, the next day but being a Saturday and my Dad not working that had clearly been the more convenient day to celebrate). I don't remember her ever coming to our house though.
Her mind was also going at the time I remember her - in particular any letter always got an answering letter straight back - in which she would claim she never received any post as the neighbours stole it! I also remember her complaining about neighbours using her bathroom - as she knew because they'd left nail clippings around!!!
I understand Auntie Flo used to return regularly to holiday with relations in Co. Durham.
Person ID I285 All | henryAdorbailey Last Modified 15 Nov 2022
Father Henry BAILEY, b. 16 Apr 1866, Zoar, St. Budeaux, Devon, England , d. 3 Sep 1946, The Royal Infirmary, Sunderland, Co. Durham, England (Age 80 years) Mother Dorothy ROBINSON, b. 14 Mar 1870, 68, Washington New Row, Usworth, Co. Durham, England , d. 23 Jan 1963, Whitburn, Co. Durham, England (Age 92 years) Married 5 May 1888 Whitburn Parish Church, Whitburn, Co. Durham, England - GRO ref: BAILEY, Henry to ROBINSON, Dorothy q2 1888 South Shields RD 10a 957
Certificate for the marriage of Henry Bailey to Dorothy Robinson Children How many did Henry and Dorothy have? - According to a newspaper cutting for Henry and Dorothy's Golden Wedding, they had had 7 sons and 6 daughters (4 and 3 then living) - the figures for those still living is right, but I only know of 6 sons.
Another newspaper cutting says they had 14 children, another only 12!
By the time of the 1911 census they had had 12 children born alive, of whom 3 had died. Edith was still living then, who would subsequently die in infancy, and William had not been born. I think this is more likely to be accurate than the much later newspaper reports, which would suggest they did have at least 13 children, and if there was a 14th he or she was born after 1911.
So who was the 13th? Granddad thought that a child named after each of them had died; whilst I can find the earlier Henry I have not found any evidence of a Dorothy. Possibly a child was born before they married and their birth registered as a Robinson. No likely Dorothy found - if there was a daughter Dorothy she would have made the total sons / daughters in the Golden Wedding report the wrong way around - far from impossible, in a local newspaper!
It seems strange to me that the number of children should be quoted variably. Two possible explanations, apart from errors by newspaper jounalists or typos, could be:
1. that they had had children still born or had miscarriages OR
2. that Dorothy had had one or 2 children before she married Henry. Especially given the good age she lived to, I find it hard to imagine she could have kept this a secret - especially when then counting them at times.
But a late miscarriage or especially a still-birth I think could quite likely be counted as having a child at times, and yet not at others. (The 1911 census, though, did clearly say they had had 12 children born alive, which suggests I may be missing one who was not a still-birth / late miscarriage).
With names as common as Bailey and Robinson it is not easy to be certain, without the expense of purchasing a lot of certificates.
Wedding Anniversary 5 May 1938 Garden Street, Houghall, Co. Durham, England Golden Photos 
Bailey brothers and sisters
Taken at the wedding of Dorothy Simpson.
Six of the seven children of Henry Bailey (b 1866) and Dorothy nee Robinson (b 1870) still living in 1966, viz.
(back row) Will, Henry, John
(front row) Emily, Doris, Rob
(Flo is the one still living but not present)
Documents 
Newspaper notice of the death of Samuel Bailey Family ID F98 Family Group Page | Family Chart
Family 1 Simon PRESTON, b. Jun Q 1892, Trimdon Foundry, Co. Durham, England , d. 1 Jul 1916, la Boiselle, France (Age ~ 24 years) Married Sep Q 1914 Easington Reg Dist, Co. Durham, England - GRO ref: Preston, Simon to Bailey, Florence B q3 1914 Easington RD 10a 1000
Family This couple had no children together Last Modified 15 Nov 2022 Family ID F201 Family Group Page | Family Chart
Family 2 John KENNEY, b. Dec Q 1893, Hebburn, Co. Durham, England , d. Sep Q 1951, Durham E Reg Dist, Co. Durham, England (Age ~ 58 years) Married 27 Dec 1919 St. Hild and St. Helen’s Church, Dawdon, Seaham, Co. Durham, England - GRO ref: Preston, Florence to Kenney, John q4 1919 Easington RD 10a 1083
Details from transcribed data from PRs on Durham Records Online website
Shows John Kenney, son of Peter Kenney, married Florence Preston (widow), daughter of Henry Bailey
Family This couple had no children together Last Modified 15 Nov 2022 Family ID F5807 Family Group Page | Family Chart
Family 3 George YOUDS, b. 10 Mar 1899, Windy Nook, Co. Durham, England , d. Mar Q 1962, Westminster Reg Dist, London, England (Age 62 years) Married 18 Oct 1930 Paddington Register Office, London, England - GRO Ref: Bailey, Beatrice to Youds, George q4 1930 Paddington RD 1a 114 (I have cert)
Simon Preston, Flo's first husband, had died in WW1 so why was she marrying as Beatrice Bailey?
This was a bigamous marriage, so presumably it was to reduce the chance of being caught. Not only did she use her maiden name, but my mother, only born in 1930, didn't know if her Auntie Flo had ever married - yet my mother would only have been a few months old when her aunt "married", so there was no reason for her to know that her Aunt was not married. Except that presumably the marriage was kept quiet.
For acceptance in society in general, possibly for renting rooms or a flat, the appearance or evidence of being married may be needed, but in the family who knew you weren't free to marry it would be safer that they didn't know. If someone gossiped and the word spread of this bigamous marriage then Auntie Flo could have ended up in jail!
The witnesses were John Towers and Margaret Willis, not family, and the Registrar and Superintendent Registrar signed the cert.
Certificate for the "marriage" of Florence Beatrice Bailey to George Youds
Note that by this time Florence Bailey had definitely been married and widowed - to one Simon Preston, so one might have expected her to marry as a widow (the cert shows her as a spinster) and as Florence Beatrice Preston - the cert just gives her middle name and maiden name. I suspect this was because after being widowed she had remarried ... and was still married!Married 28 Apr 1956 The Register Office, Durham Central Reg Dist, Co. Durham, England - GRO ref: Kenney, Florence B to Younds [sic - error in the original index, not just online index], George q2 1956 Durham C. RD 1a 557
The GRO copy has the error in George's surname, not just the index.
The Durham County Council index (i.e. based on local copy) also has George's surname as Younds (suggests wrong or unclear on the original).
I had heard that Auntie Flo and Uncle George did eventually marry "up north" many years after setting up home together (Source of info. for marriage up north: niece of Auntie Flo) and this is clearly true. The parents of the niece were the witnesses so I'm not surprised she had heard of it. For inheritance and pensions etc. it would be better to be married.
Family This couple had no children together Last Modified 15 Nov 2022 Family ID F203 Family Group Page | Family Chart
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Event Map Click to hide 
Born - 14 Jul 1897 - South Shields, Co. Durham, England 
Baptised - 4 Aug 1897 - St. Michael’s Church, South Westoe, Co. Durham, England 
Married - Sep Q 1914 - Easington Reg Dist, Co. Durham, England 
Residence - 1930 - 38, Lanhill Road, Paddington, London, England 
Residence - 1933 - 32, Formosa Street, Paddington, London, England 
Residence - 1936 - 34, Ponsonby Place, London, England 
Residence - From 1938 to 1965 - 23, Bessborough Gardens, Vauxhall Bridge Road, Westminster, London, England 
Died - Abt Sep 1986 - Westminster, London, England = Link to Google Earth (if installed; see link below to install) Pin Legend 
Photos 
