Did she exist at all??!

[Gaie]

So Thomas had (some with Fanny):

Charles SHEPPARD b 1867
Hannah b 1869
William b 1871
John b 1872
Frank b 1873
Bertha b 1875
George b 1877
Alice b 1878
Sidney b 1880  all Wiltshire

Fanny & John then had:

John EASTON b 1888
William b 1890
James b 1891 all born Battersea, Surrey

Phew!!!  Is that right?  No wonder she had died before the 1901 census!!

[suzard]

marriage Thomas Shepherd
Fanny Wilmott
1876 marlboro



so probably George , Alice and Sidney were Fanny's children??

Did Thomas die???

Suz

[suzard]

Ah -I see now -Thomas didn't die
1891
Box Adjoining Wilts
Thomas Sheppard Head W Shepherd Easton Royal
Frank son 17 Avebury Wilts
bertha daughter Avebury
Sidney son 11 Easton Royal
RG12 1592 43 4

so Fanny's marriage to john Easton was possibly bigamous???

Suz

[daisydaisy]

Could well have been!  The 2 marriages are definately recorded, so that's a possibility!  There was Bertie too, born in 1894, but I haven't really looked at him yet.  I'm wondering though, if Alice could have been our Flo?  It's possible she could have used another name right?  My Aunt said that this Flo, whoever she was, looked after the children (including my grandfather) when Fanny died.

[Gaie]

Well, there's a Thomas Sheppard b 1835 Morden(Marden) Wilts, shepherd on a farm, in the 1901 Census with wife Agusta (it does say that on the image!) and son Sydney aged 21:  RG13 Piece 1917 Folio 52 Page 12.

So Fanny took Alice and George, but left baby Sy(i)dney behind?  

1891 RG12 Piece 1592 Folio 43 Page 4, Thomas is calling himself a widower:
Blue Vein, Box, Chippenham, Wiltshire
Thomas SHEPPARD Widr 57 Shepherd b Wilts Easton Royal
Frank Son 17 Farm labourer b Avebury
Bertha Dau 14 Housekeeper b Avebury
Sidney Son 11 Scholar b Easton Royal

Bertha appears to be registered as Bertha Ann SHEPPARD: Jun Qtr 1875 Marlborough Vol 5a Page 90; not Florence, unfortunately.

[suzard]

and thomas married Augusta greenman in 1898?

Suz

[suzard]

Other possibilities

Florence could have been John Easton's housekeeper /lady friend -who the children just called Auntie?

Florence could have been sister in law of John who was widowed young

All kinds of possibilities???

Suz

[daisydaisy]

Wow, he would have been in his 60's then!  Must have had some stamina!!  Teehee!

[daisydaisy]

Could be....but the next chapter of the story is this:

After Fanny's death, there appears one Amelia Ellis, with her 2 daughters living in thier house!!