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Thank you, Matron54.

I would be very much interested to know if Mary Olivia Simonds's name appears in the history of St Mary's School. I'm not sure about the Edward Simonds who died in the Uttoxeter workhouse, though, since the age is so different. My great-grandfather Edward would only have been in his mid-40s in 1903. Nothing definitive so far, and I'm quite sure he didn't follow the family to the US.

Jim

Hello!

Thanks for your information. I have begun to wonder if the Edward Simonds who died in the Uttoxeter workhouse in 1903 is my great-grandfather after all, although the age given is off by about 30 years. It would certainly explain why my family were so reluctant to speak of him. To complicate things, the Edward who died at Uttoxeter, if it's the same Edward that we're looking for, is listed in the 1891 census in Atherstone as Edmund, aged 61. So he would have to have been 74 in 1903.

The Goat's Head does figure in the family history, so searching that out might be helpful, as well, but there are likely no records of Edward ever working there.

Here's another possibility. I understand that my great-grandmother, Mary Olivia, either taught music or was chapel organist at St Mary's School in A.B. She went with the choir to Lichfield Cathedral when they sang Evensong (which from the A.B. Girls School web site, they still do) and was able to play the organ (a feat unheard of for a woman at the time). If this is true, the school may have a record.

So, there are a few more leads.

Much appreciated,
Jim

Alyson,

Thank you so much, that's actually very helpful. I had difficultly locating them at all in the 1901 census until, on a hunch, I tried Symonds and not Simonds. Apparently, they had changed the spelling BEFORE leaving England. I was always told that they did it upon arrival in America, since Mary Olivia preferred the "old English" spelling. It's also interesting to note that the youngest child, William, was born in (presumably) Newborough around 1895, which puts the family in the Abbots Bromley area at least by that time. I think they changed the spelling to distance themselves from Edward, one of the "bad lot" Simondses, I've been told. I rarely heard his name mentioned, and my father (his grandson) called him "Eddie" the one time he spoke of him.

Here's the piece on Edward that I can add to the puzzle. He worked with an uncle or cousin at the Goat's Head at some point until the time that he abandoned the family to fight in the Boer War. That would put him out of the picture from 1899 to 1901, which makes sense since he doesn't appear in the census. He made it back to England from South Africa, but just barely, as he died accidently some time before 1903 when my grandfather John R (transcription error on the census, not John K) left for the States. I was always told that my grandfather had to identify his body, so he had to have died by 1903. Odd that there's absolutely no record of his military service or of his death. That part's still a mystery. But we're getting closer.

I just happened to come across this post last week, and I joined RootsChat so I could reply. I don't know whether anyone is still interested, but Edward and Mary Olivia (Fox) Simonds were my great-grandparents. I know much more about Mary Olivia than Edward, but I'd be happy to share what I know.