Alfred Beamer and Mary Ann White

Adelaide Street, Stonehouse, Plymouth
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Stephen Richards - geograph.org.uk/p/6083118

Alfred Beamer (b. 29 Dec 1853 in Taunton, Somerset), son of James Beamer and Rose Anna Smith (half-brother of Loveday Jane Land and John Land), married Mary Ann White (b. 1851 in Plympton), daughter of Alfred Augustus Harker White and Mary Sorton, on 23 Nov 1879 at Saint George's Church, Stonehouse (bombed in WWII). Alfred Beamer's rank or profession was listed as Private RM (He'd enlisted in the Royal Marines on 29 Dec 1871.)

Alfred and Mary Ann had five children:

1. Alfred Beamer b. 28 Aug 1880 (1880 D Quarter in EAST STONEHOUSE Volume 05B Page 289) [a]
2. Ethel Annie Beamer b. 23 Feb 1883 (1883 J Quarter in EAST STONEHOUSE Volume 05B Page 299) [a]
3. William George Beamer b. 4 Jan 1886 (1886 M Quarter in EAST STONEHOUSE Volume 05B Page 303) [a]
4. Rosa May Beamer b. 7 Jan 1893 (1893 M Quarter in TIVERTON Volume 05B Page 408) [b]
5. Frederick John Beamer b. 7 Jan 1893 (1893 M Qtr in TIVERTON Vol 05B Page 408) (Died 1896 M Qtr in TIVERTON Vol 05B Page 288) [b]

[a] Alfred, Ethel Annie and William George were all baptised, on 19 Jan 1886, at the Anglican Church of Saint Matthew, located in Clarence Place, opposite the former Royal Naval Hospital at East Stonehouse, Plymouth.

[b] Registered at the GRO as Rosa May, this twin was baptised Rosa Mary, when she and Frederick John were both baptised "privately" on the same day they were born, 7 Jan 1893, in Halberton, Devon. Their address at this time was Valley House, Halberton and Alfred was employed as a labourer. (Private baptism: "This means the child wasn’t baptised at Sunday service, usually because it was thought too weak to survive until then. [...] but it can mean the child was baptised by the priest visiting the family home, or by the midwife attending the birth. In fact, according to Anglican practice, in an emergency, a baptism may be performed by anyone who is already themselves baptised.")

In 1881, Mary A Beamer (29), Marines Wife, was at 47, Adelaide Street, East Stonehouse, with son Alfred (0) and her sister Mary J White (19). (Mary Ann, who's mother was named Mary, and her mother before her was also Mary (her parents married, on 15 December 1850, when Mary Sorton was a minor (19), at St Mary’s Church Plympton) had a younger sister, named Mary Jane!)

Again in 1891, Mary A Beamer (38) was listed as the head of the household "Supported by husband", with children: Alfred (10), Ethel A (8) and William G (5), and were living at Union Place, East Stonehouse.

Alfred completed 21 years service in the Royal Marines, with a final date of 6 Jan 1893, however, both William George and Ethel Annie were registered in the National School Admission Registers a Halberton by Nov 1892.

In 1901, they were back in Plymouth at 19, Cecil Street, Stonehouse, with Alfred Beamer (46), Labourer at Victualling Yard, wife Mary (49) and their two daughters, Ettie (Ethel) (18) and Rosa (8). Son Alfred was away, having joined the Royal Marines, while William was away training in the Royal Navy.

And in 1911, at 40 Neswick Street, Stonehouse, Plymouth, were Alfred Beamer (57) Pensioner Royal Marine Labourer Royal William Victualling Yard, wife Mary Ann (59), Rose May (18) (There are no records beyond 1911 for daughter, Rosa May) and Mary Jane White (51), Mary Ann's sister.

Alfred Beamer died, at 68, in 1920 D Qtr in PLYMOUTH Vol 05B Page 329.

In 1921, Mary Ann Beamer (70) Widow, Mother-in-law, was living in what had then become the household of her son-in-law and daughter, Edward and Ethel Priddle, but still at 40, Neswick Street, Plymouth.

In 1939, Mary Ann, widow, was again living with son-in-law and daughter, Edward and Ethel Priddle, at 2 Glendower Road, Peverell, Plymouth.

Mary Ann Beamer of 2 Glendower Road, Peverell, Plymouth, died on 17 May 1950 (1950 J Quarter in PLYMOUTH Volume 07A Page 600). She was aged 99. A notice of her death had appeared in the Western Morning News on 19 May 1950 and Mary Ann was buried, on 20 May 1950, at The Parish Church of St Gabriel, Peverell Terrace, Peverell, Plymouth.

Edward Priddle and Ethel Annie Beamer

St Peter's Church, Wyndham Square, Plymouth
Plymouth's five star-rated building a select few people have been inside of
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Tom Jolliffe - geograph.org.uk/p/2342746

Edward Priddle (b. 12 Apr 1875 in Hackney, London), Sergeant RMLI, son of James Priddle and Catherine Stevens, married Ethel Annie Beamer (b. 23 Feb 1883 in East Stonehouse), daughter of Alfred Beamer and Mary Ann White, on 14 Oct 1905 at St Peter’s Church, Plymouth. Witnesses to their marriage were Alfred Beamer and Emily Luxton, the bride's brother and his intended, who married exactly two months later in Tiverton, Devon.

Edward Priddle, at 16, was employed by his father, a shoe maker, as a Clicker (A boot and shoe clicker cuts the uppers for boots or shoes), in Shoreditch. Edward enlisted in the Royal Marines on 27 Jan 1896 and served for 22 years, until 3 Mar 1918, finally attaining the rank of Lieutenant.

Edward and Ethel had three daughters, baptised at Plymouth, St Peter:

1. Ethel Annie Priddle b. 13 Jul 1906 (1906 S Quarter in PLYMOUTH Volume 05B Page 250), bap. 29 Jul 1906 (Died, aged 2, in 1909 J Quarter in PLYMOUTH Volume 05B Page 169)
2. Winifred May Priddle b. 4 May 1909 (1909 J Quarter in PLYMOUTH Volume 05B Page 249), bap. 20 May 1909
3. Mary Caroline Priddle b. 29 Dec 1912 (1913 M Quarter in PLYMOUTH Volume 05B Page 399), bap. 2 Feb 1913

In 1911, Edward Priddle (35) Sergeant Royal Marines, Ethel Annie (28) and Winifred May (1), were living at 40 Neswick Street, Plymouth. On this census return they confirm that by this point they'd had two children, one of whom had died, and one still living, during their five years of marriage.

In 1921, at 40 Neswick Street, Plymouth were Edward Priddle (46) Retired Lieut Royal Marines; Ethel Annie Priddle (38), Winifred May Priddle (12), Mary Caroline Priddle (8) and Mary Ann Beamer (70) Mother-in-law.

In 1939, the family including Edward Priddle, Retired RM, Ethel A, and Ethel's widowed mother, Mary Ann Beamer were living at 2 Glendower Road, Plymouth. Winifred May Priddle was an Assistant Mistress at a Secondary School in Exeter and Mary C Hadley and her husband, John Harold Hadley (Retail Tobacconist Proprietor), were at 42 Chestnut Road, Plymouth.

Ethel Annie Priddle, of 2 Glendower Road, Plymouth, died on 12 May 1959, leaving £281 17s 9d to her husband, Edward Priddle, Retired Lieutenant RM.

Edward Priddle, of 2 Glendower Road, Plymouth, died on 21 Jun 1962. He was 87. He left effects of £2809 11s to his two daughters, Winifred May Mayner and Mary Caroline Tomkins.

• Winifred May Priddle married Stanley Edmund Mayner (b. 29 Sep 1909) on 25 Jul 1959 at Plymouth, St Gabriel. Winifred May Mayner died, in Plymouth, on 27 Feb 1982. Stanley Edmund Mayner died, also in Plymouth, in 1986.
• Mary Caroline Priddle married John Harold Hadley (b. 30 Mar 1913 in Bristol) on 19 Feb 1938. It appears Hadley had married before, in Devonport, in 1932. On 22 May 1940, in the Western Morning News, Plymouth, there was an item relating to Caroline Hadley bringing an action against her husband John Harold Hadley, who by then was serving in the Army, for desertion and wilful neglect. (We must assume she was divorced from Hadley, who it appears died, in his native Bristol in 1965.) She remarried Ernest Frederick Tomkins (b. 26 Dec 1915 in Gloucestershire), in Plymouth, in 1951. Mary Caroline Tomkins died in 1996 in Liskeard, Cornwall. Ernest Frederick Tomkins died, also in Liskeard, on 15 Feb 2002.

William George Beamer and Elsie May Carver

HMS Impregnable in the Hamoaze off Devonport Dockyard

William George Beamer (b. 4 Jan 1886 in East Stonehouse), son of Alfred Beamer and Mary Ann White, married Elsie May Carver (b. 22 Nov 1894, bap. 16 Dec 1894 at Holy Trinity Church), daughter of Charles Frederick Carver from Clerkenwell, London and Frances Rundle, native of Plymouth, at the Anglican Church of the Holy Trinity, which church was located in Southside Street/Friars Lane, Barbican, Plymouth, on 17 May 1916. (This church no longer exists because it was was destroyed in the Second World War.)

At 16, in 1901, William George Beamer had been a member of the crew of HMS Impregnable 1st Rate (Training Ship For Boys), in the Hamoaze, Devonport off Maker, St Germans, Cornwall. (HMS Impregnable became the Royal Navy's second boys' training ship at Devonport in 1862.)

Having signed up for a further 12 years in the Royal Navy, on 4 Feb 1903, William was discharged, invalided, on 8 Jun 1905. Then on 9 Sep 1905, he enlisted in the British Army in the Devonshire Regiment. One wonders what condition was classed as invalid for the Navy, but still fit for the Army.

Next we find William George Beamer (26), in 1911, with the 2nd Battalion Devonshire Regiment, stationed at Saint Georges Barracks, Malta. (Part of the Pembroke Army Garrison, at Pembroke, Malta, near St. Julian's.)

William George Beamer was the recipient of a Silver War Badge, having been discharged from the Machine Gun Corps on 30 Mar 1917, under King's Regulation 392 (xvi) “No longer physically fit for war service". "He has a Ministry of Pensions record card which shows him as 22105 MG, residing at 13 Walsdon Rd, Plymouth. He was discharged on 30.3.17. Cause - deafness. He was entitled to the Silver War Badge number 197170." (The Silver War Badge was designed to be worn on civilian clothes after early discharge from the army. The accompanying certificate will have read, "Served with honour and was disabled in the Great War. Honourably discharged on ...")

Elsie's younger brother, Charles Frederick Carver (b. 1898), 5th (Prince of Wales's) Battalion (Territorials), Devonshire Regiment, son of Charles F. and Frances Carver, of 5, Artizan's Dwellings, Notte St., Plymouth, was killed in action on 20 Jul 1918 and is buried at Marfaux British Cemetery, France.

In 1921, William George Beamer (35) General Labourer for the Admiralty, and Elsie M Beamer (25) were living at 13, Wolsdon Street, Plymouth.

In 1939, William G Beamer, Skilled Labourer HM Dockyard, wife Elsie M Beamer and John F Carver (b. 1902), Road Repair Labourer (Elsie's brother), were still living at 5 Artizans Dwellings, Notte Street, Plymouth - buildings in that street were destroyed in the Second World War and demolished.

William George Beamer, of 5 Artizans Dwellings, Notte Street, died on 1 Jan 1956 (1956 M Quarter in PLYMOUTH Volume 07A Page 834).

Elsie May Beamer died in the 4th quarter of 1973, aged 79.

James Land and Jane Flew

Church of St Michael and All Angels, Bampton

cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Rob Purvis - geograph.org.uk/p/6807505

James Land (b. 1828) son of John Land and Loveday Flew, married Jane Flew (b. ~1826), daughter of Robert Flew (1801-1838) brother of Loveday Flew, so the couple were first cousins (haven't yet identified her mother), at the parish church of St Michael and All Angels in Bampton, on 16 Apr 1854.

James and Jane had one son:

1. George Land b. 1855 D Quarter in TIVERTON Volume 05B Page 374, bap. 9 Dec 1855, in Bampton, Devon. Died 1856 M Quarter in TIVERTON Volume 05B Page 304.

Jane Land died, aged 30, in 1856 M Qtr in TIVERTON Vol 05B Page 304. Those deaths may have occurred at the end of 1855 and registered in early 1856 and, it would appear likely that Jane died giving birth to their son.

James Land, widower, married Rose Anna Beamer (b. 1823), widow, on 19 Apr 1863 at St Michael and All Angels, Bampton. Rose Anna Beamer gave her father's name as Isaac Smith, Labourer. (Not found hers, but I've found a baptism on 1 Feb 1824 for a Mary Smith, daughter of Isaac and Hannah Smith at All Saints, Norton Fitzwarren, who may have been her sister.)

In 1861, James Land (32) Quarry Labourer was a Lodger in the household of Ann Beamer (38) from Norton, Somerset, along with four of her children: Mary (10), Alfred (8), James (6) and Lindy (2). The civil birth registration for James in 1855, confirms that Rose Anna's maiden name was SMITH.

With a two year old in 1861, one might assume that Rose Anna (Ann) had only recently been widowed, but the only record of a death that may be that of her husband - I haven't been able to find the earlier marriage, but son Alfred Beamer's marriage gives his father's name as James Beamer - is that for a James Beamer, aged 37, in the last quarter of 1854. That would make James Beamer, born 1855, a posthumous child. Although, it would also make Lindy Beamer the child of another liaison. Not exactly unheard of.

John and Rose Anna Land had at least three further children together:

1. George Land Beamer b. 1862 D Qtr in TIVERTON Vol 05B Page 461, registered George Beamer, no mother's maiden name. Death registered as George Land Beamer in 1863 M Qtr in TIVERTON Vol 05B Page 335.
2. Loveday Jane Land b. 1864 J Quarter in TIVERTON Volume 05B Page 455, mother's maiden name this time was listed as SMITH.
3. John Land b. 3 Feb 1866, in Stoodleigh, Devon (No GRO reg.)

In 1871, in High Street, Bampton, we find James Land (41) and Rosannah (46), with just Loveday J (7) and John (5). Not one of Rose Anna's family are living with their mother. It's not the first time I've seen a first family "disappear" when their parent remarries. Rose Anna's daughter, Mary (b. 1850), I've been unable to find any mention of; Alfred Bimmer (sic) (19) was working as a [Farm] Servant for Thomas Chave in Morebath; James Beamer (16) Masons Labourer was lodging, with Henry Beamer (21) Ag Lab, elsewhere in Bampton; there are no other records of Lindy Beamer.

In 1881, at Westbrook Cottage, Bampton, at a guess, on Westbrook Farm (PDF), were James Land (54) Ag Lab; Ann Land (58); Jane Land (18) Domestic (Out of Service) - just given birth; John Land (16) Gen Labourer; Henry Beames (sic) (8) Grandson and Rosana Land (0) Granddaughter.

James Land died, at 56, in 1884 M Qtr in TIVERTON Vol 05B Page 297.

There is a death of a Rose Anne Land in 1889, with her age estimated as 40 (1889 S Quarter in TIVERTON Volume 05B Page 273). This would be a 20 year discrepancy, but is a typical lie about a woman's age.

In 1891, John Land (24) Private in the Royal Marines Light Infantry was at Fort Stamford, Plymstock, Devon. He enlisted on 3 Jan 1885, served for 21 years until Jan 1906 and then again in 1914-15. That latter period, mostly, at Plymouth Division, but from 12 Sep - 3 Dec 1914, on HMS Jupiter: When World War I broke out in August 1914, Jupiter was transferred to the 7th Battle Squadron of the Channel Fleet. During this service, she covered the passage of the British Expeditionary Force from England to France in September 1914. In late October 1914, Jupiter was reassigned to serve alongside her sister ship Majestic as a guard ship at the Nore. On 3 November 1914, Jupiter and Majestic left the Nore and relieved their sister ships Hannibal and Magnificent of guard ship duty on the Humber. In December 1914, Jupiter moved on to guard ship duty on the Tyne. Interestingly, on his Marines Record, John describes his sister Loveday Jane's daughter, Rose Anna Southwood (née Land) as his sister, whereas, in reality she was his niece. This might suggest that the illegitimate child was brought up by her grandparents long enough for him to believe / consider her as such.

In 1911, John Land (45) Horse Man on Farm, who never married, was boarding with his niece Rose Anna (30) and her husband, William Henry Southwood (34) at Chieflowman Cottage, Uplowman.

In 1921, John Land (56) Royal Marine Pensioner was still boarding with William Henry Southwood (45) Farmer at Bungsland, West Anstey.

John Land died, aged 58, in 1924 S Quarter in SOUTH MOLTON.

James Beamer and Mary Jane Snell

Old Toll House, Briton Street, Bampton
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Milestone Society - geograph.org.uk/p/6114414

James Beamer (b. 1855), son of James Beamer and Rose Anna Smith, brother of Alfred Beamer and half-brother of Loveday Jane Land and John Land, married Mary Jane Snell (b. ~1857) - that's the maiden name listed on several of their children's birth registrations - in Exeter, in 1876. The transcript of the marriage record lists them as James Bemer and Mary Jane Smale, which made this record difficult to find. Only because, in 1911, they said they'd been married for 34 years, was there finally a clue to the period to look in.

Mary Jane is listed on census records as being from Devonport, Plymouth, but it hasn't been possible to find records of her birth or early years.

James and Mary Jane had at least seven children:

1. Mary Jane Beamer born Q2 1884 in Tiverton, mother's maiden name SNELL. (Died and was buried, on 13 Apr 1884, in Bampton).
2. Ethel Anna Beamer (no civil reg), bap. 26 Apr 1885 in Bampton.
3. (Unnamed male child) Beamer born Q3 1886 in Tiverton, mother's maiden name SNELL. (Died in the same quarter, age 0.)
4. Sarah Jane Beamer born Q3 1887 in Tiverton, mother's name SMALE
5. Tom Beamer born Q3 1890 in Tiverton, mother's maiden name listed as SUELL. Bap. 3 Aug 1890 in Bampton.
6. Rosanna Beamer born Q1 1893 in Tiverton, mother's maiden name SNELL. Bap. as Rose Anna Beamer, on 30 Apr 1893, in Bampton. (Died, aged 16 months and was buried, on 22 Aug 1894, in Bampton.)
7. Mary Ann Beamer registered Q1 1896 in Tiverton, mother's maiden name listed as SNELL. Bap. 29 Dec 1895 in Bampton. (Died in Q2 1901, aged 5. Buried on 27 Apr 1901 in Bampton.)

There could be other children, particularly given the number of discrepancies in the information, such as the mother's maiden name, which could be errors in transcription, or registrars writing down what they heard. The parents don't help, because on the 1911 census they say they have only had 3 children with 3 then living, but various corroborating records prove that to be untrue.

In 1881, James Beamer (25) Railway Labourer and Mary Beamer (23) were living at Rose Cottage, Bampton, Devon.

Ethel Ann Beamer (3) "British King" from Liverpool

This curious record relates to an Ethel Ann Beamer, then age 3, sailing on the "SS British King" from Liverpool, arriving in Philadelphia on 29 May 1888. Their intended destination was Chicago. Taken alone, I'd have ignored this and assumed that this was another Ethel Ann Beamer entirely. HOWEVER, in the box at the top right, it says "Accompanied by" Sarah Jane 8 months and Mary Jane 30, both of which fit exactly. I've also found an equivalent record for Sarah Jane and both children appear on the passenger list, along with Mary Jane. It's hard to imagine them being able to afford to go to the US - and come back again - but equally hard to imagine the combination of those three names and ages cropping up together more than once. It's a mystery.

In 1891, James Beamer (39) Agricultural Labourer, wife Mary (35), Ethel A (6), Sarah J (3) and Tom (0), were living in Briton Street, Bampton. 

On 16 Oct 1894, James and Mary Beamer were both charged and bailed, accused of "Wilfully neglecting Rose Anna Beamer, a girl under the age of 16 years, to wit, 16 months, in a manner likely to cause unnecessary suffering and injury to health, at Bampton, on 15 August 1894, and on various other dates." They were found not guilty and acquitted. 

In 1901, James Beamer (48) General Labourer, Mary Jane (42), Ethel (15), Tom (9) and Mary A (5), were living on the Tiverton Road, Bampton. Sarah Jane (14), was employed as a General domestic servant, in the household of Henry Early, Watchmaker and jeweller, at 12, Angel Hill, Tiverton. 

In 1911, we find the family has "emigrated" ... to Wales. James Beamer (53) from Bampton, Devon was then a Coal miner hewer living at 4 Price Street, Pentre in the Rhondda Valley, Glamorganshire with Mary (49), Tom (20) also working as a Coal miner hewer; Ethel Cappell (25), William Cappell (25) Son-in-law, and grandchildren, William (3) and Ethel (1). (Ethel Ann Beamer had married William David Cappell on 24 Apr 1907, in Bampton.)

In 1921, James Beamer (69) Labourer (Surface) Ocean Cal Company Out Of Work; Mary Jane Beamer (63), William David Cappell (35) Labourer Corys Broks Coal Company Out Of Work; Ethel Ann Cappell (38), William David James Cappell (13), Ethel Ann Cappell (11) and Lawrence Earnest Cappell (5) were living at 1, Price Street, Pentre, Rhondda, Glamorganshire, Wales.

Mary Beamer died, aged 70, in 1927 in Taunton, Somerset. 

James Beamer died, in 1931, aged 77, also in Taunton. 

(William and Ethel Cappell lived in Rowford, Cheddon Fitzpaine, Taunton in 1939. No further records for Sarah Jane after 1901 nor Tom after 1911.)