Introduction ...
Introduction ...
This page will tell the story of my great-grandfather, George Henry Erwood, and his second wife, Julia Gardiner. It will also link to the pages on their children and their families and will touch on his first marriage to Mary Ann Channing, which unfortunately I have little information about.
For those interested in Netley Abbey and its surrounds, I was contacted in September 2018 by Brenda Findlay who is responsible for a wonderful website called Netley Abbey Matters. If you have an interest in this area, her site is well worth a visit as it contains a wealth of interesting and diverse information relating to Netley and its surrounds. You can visit her site at this link www.netleyabbeymatters.co.uk
George Henry Erwood (Snr) & Julia Gardiner ...
George Henry Erwood was born in Devizes, Wiltshire and was the fourth of five children and third son of James Erwood and his second wife, Hannah Fisher.
According to his Naval Enlistment Records, George was born on the 16th April 1847 in Devizes, Wiltshire. However, on the International Genealogical Index (I.G.I.) it states that he was christened in Southbroom, St James, Devizes, on 16th April 1848 and that his name was George William Erwood, not George Henry Erwood. Given that the 'William' reference is only found on the I.G.I. and that all other official documentation relating to him states his name as George Henry Erwood, I believe this to be his correct name.
From information obtained from British Census Records, it appears the family made the move to Southampton, Hampshire at some stage between George's birth and 1851, as by this time they were living in the St Mary's district of Southampton.
On 15th June 1870, George enlisted in the Royal Navy with his first service being on the HMS Rapid. He is listed on the 1871 Royal Navy Census as a Stoker aboard HMS Rapid, and on the 1881 Royal Navy Census, also as a Stoker aboard the HMS Iron Duke. In June 1880, he signed on for a further 10 year service, which would take him through to 1890. His enlistment papers detail that he was 5ft 4in tall, of fair complexion and hair, and had light blue/grey eyes. It was also listed that he had a tattoo on his left arm, although it doesn't specify what of. His service number was 47475.
Throughout his 20 year service in the Navy, he served aboard the HMS Asia, Rapid, Ariadne, Minotaur, Trinculo, Terror, Bellerophon, Tamar, Duke of Wellington, Serapis, Modesto, Iron Duke, Hercules, Dreadnought, and Invincible. His character on all occasions is given as being 'Very Good'.
On 25th August 1875, George married Mary Ann Channing in the Portsmouth Parish Church. The marriage certificate states that he was a Seaman aboard the HMS Asia at the time and that Mary Ann's residence was 7 St Mary's Street. Her father is listed as William Channing, also a Seaman.
Marriage Certificate of George Henry Erwood and Mary Ann Channing
Please click on all images on this page to enlarge
Information obtained from the 1871 British Census shows that Mary Ann was born around 1852 in the Channel Islands, Guernsey. At the time of the Census, she is listed as the Head of House at 118 Upper Wingfield Street, Portsea and her occupation is listed as Staymaker. It appears that at the time of the 1881 Census, George was at sea as he is listed on the Royal Navy Census as being a Stoker on the HMS Iron Duke.
Sadly, Mary Ann died in 1887, cause unknown. She would have been in her early to mid 30s at the time, so it possibly could have been in childbirth. Whether or not there were any children from this marriage is unknown and maybe obtaining Mary Ann's death certificate could answer a few of these questions.
At the time of her death, George was stationed on the HMS Dreadnought and whether he was at sea or home at the time is not known. However, either way it's fair to assume he would have been devastated at the loss of his wife. He continued to serve out his last few years of his extra 10 year tenure with the Royal Navy, and in 1890 he left and commenced civilian life.
At some stage between Mary Ann's death and 1890, George met a lady by the name of Julia Evelyn Gardiner and they were married on 28th June 1890 in the Hound Parish Church, Southampton. According to the marriage certificate, George was still with the Royal Navy at the time of their marriage, the certificate listing his occupation as Leading Stoker aboard the HMS Invincible and it appears his tenure and pension from the Navy occurred soon after their marriage.
Marriage Certificate of George Henry Erwood and Julia Gardiner
Julia Gardiner was born on 20th March 1865 in Penny Farthing Street, Salisbury, Wiltshire. Her birth certificate lists her mother as being Rose Selina Gardiner and there is no mention of a father. However, on the marriage certificate to George, it lists her father as James Gardiner, occupation Merchant. At this stage I'm not sure what this means, however I am fairly sure that the birth certificate is the correct one as the birth date ties in with other information.
Birth Certificate of Julia Gardiner
The 1871 British Census lists a family living in the St Martin district of Salisbury at 35 Love Lane. Those listed at this address are Selina Gardener, Head of House, aged 29, occupation Tailoress and her children, James aged 10, Ann aged 8 and Julia aged 6. I have no doubt at all that this information relates to my Julia. It is interesting that the son's name is James, but again that there is no father listed. Perhaps, as a merchant, he was at sea at the time, similar to George Erwood on the 1881 Royal Navy Census, and it would be worth checking this.
British Census 1871, Salisbury, Wiltshire - Gardiner
The 1881 British Census lists a Julia Gardiner, 14 years old, scholar/pauper, but I have not been able to confirm whether or not this is her.
In 2014 when I met with my family in Hampshire for the first time, Evelyn Matthews, grand-daughter of George and Julia, was able to provide a little bit more information about Julia's family. She remembered that her grandmother had a sister, Annie, who was married to a John Osborne. This was a find as Annie and John Osborne were the witnesses on the marriage certificate of George and Julia and it is further confirmation of the 1871 Census record. She also remembered that they lived in Netley and that John was a woodcutter who died at some stage as the result of an accident where his neck was broken. They had two sons, whose names were Aloysius and Alfonso.
The Gardiner line, for all the reasons above, has been a difficult one to find further information on at this stage and my research in this area will continue.
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** December 2024 update: Further information relating to Julia Gardiner and her family, including the Osborne connection, is now available and this section will be updated soon. **
Between the years of 1891 and 1903 George and Julia had four children, George Henry Erwood, Frederick Maurice Erwood, Evelyn Julia Erwood and Hilda Maud Erwood. They remained in the Netley area, moving a couple of times before finally ending up at 26 Victoria Street, Netley. On Census records and relevant certificates, George's occupation is listed as either Engine Driver or Engineer aboard a yacht.
On 15th November 1917, George Henry Erwood (Snr) passed away at the age of 68 in the South Stoneham Workhouse Infirmary on Botley Road, West End, Southampton (now known as Moorgreen Hospital). His cause of death is listed as Rheumatoid Arthritis and Morbis Cordis (heart disease). His second son, Frederick, had tragically died in 1915 and from what I have been told, he and the rest of the family never fully recovered from that loss.
Death Certificate of George Henry Erwood
The former South Stoneham Workhouse Infirmary
Julia lived for a further 10 years, passing away at 1a Chilworth Street, Southampton, on 5th August 1927 at the age of 60. Her cause of death is listed as Hypostatis Pneumonia and Paralysis Agitans, which is a name for Parkinson's Disease. From all accounts, Julia was not the easiest person to be around in her later years. It seems that the loss of her second son, Frederick in 1915, followed two years later by the loss of her husband in 1917, and then the departure of her eldest son, George and his family to Australia only a few years later had a major impact on her.
Death Certificate of Julia Erwood (nee Gardiner)
George is buried in an unmarked grave at St Mary the Virgin in Hound Road, Netley. St Mary’s comes under the Hound Parish Council which covers Netley Abbey, Butlocks Heath and Old Netley and I was able to obtain this information after contacting them. Unfortunately they could find no record of Julia having been buried there. They also advised there is a small war memorial in the churchyard commemorating those service people from Netley who died in WW1 and that George and Julia's son, Frederick, is listed on this memorial. They very helpfully provided me with a grid map of the churchyard with George's grave site marked on it.
In July 2017, I once again visited Netley with Liz and Tricia and located George's grave in the churchyard of St Mary the Virgin, a lovely old church built in 1230. The church is commonly known as the Hound Parish Church and I believe this is probably where George and Julia were married in 1890. This was a bit of pilgrimage for me, given how long I'd been searching for my great-grandfather's grave. Thanks to the map provided and the fact that the churchyard was not only wonderfully symmetrically laid out but also very well maintained, we located George's unmarked grave easily and I was able to lay some flowers there on behalf of Pop, Dad, and myself. We also visited the war memorial where Freddie is commemorated.
This really was a bit of an emotional one for me as I know how pleased Dad would have been that, after all this time, I'd finally found his grandfather.
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