I believe Florence’s father, George Redhead, deserted his wife and children after 25 years of marriage. He left Northampton and moved 70 northwest to Wolverhampton where he set up shop as a watch and clock repairman.

Ernest Oxborough

Ernest Oxborough and Florence Portia Redhead 1926 Marriage Photograph

Born: 8 JAN 1905 in Newington, Surrey County, England

Father: William Oxborough (1875 to 1958)
Mother: Emma Salter Eggleton (1868 to 1953)

Spouse: Florence Portia Redhead (1906 to 1995)

Married: 1926 in Northampton, Northamptonshire County, England

Children:

Hazel J Oxborough (4 FEB 1929 to 26 JAN 2018)
June Oxborough (1937 to Unknown/Still Living)

Died: 31 JAN 1979 in Northampton, Northamptonshire County, England

Probate:

Timeline:

1911 Northampton, Northamptonshire County, England
1919 Death of brother, Frederick
1926 Marriage to Florence
1929 Birth of daughter, Hazel
1937 Birth of daughter, June
1939 Southampton, Hampshire County, England
1953 Death of mother, Emma
1958 Death of father, William
1961 Death of brother, Leonard
1965 Death of brother, William
1979 Death and Burial

Occupation: bootmaker and repairman (1939)

Records:

1911 England Census Record
1939 England and Wales Register
England & Wales, FreeBMD Birth Index, 1837-1915
London, England, Births and Baptisms, 1813-1906
England & Wales, Marriage Index: 1916-2005
England & Wales, Death Index: 1916-2005
England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations),1861-1941

Variations of Surname: None

Daughter:

Hazel June Oxborough:

Hazel was born on 4 FEB 1929 in Southampton, Hampshire County, England. She died on 26 JAN 2018 in St Ives, Cornwall County, England.

Hazel married Gerald Alfred W Gardner in 1950 in Northampton, Northamptonshire County, England. One known child was born to this marriage:

Steven A Gardner (1956)

Gerald Alfred W Gardner was born on 27 NOV 1928 in Northampton, Northamptonshire County, England. He died in 1988 in Northampton, Northamptonshire County, England.

Spouse:

Florence Portia Redhead:

Florence was born on 11 JAN 1906 in Northampton, Northamptonshire County, England. She died in 1995 in Northampton, Northamptonshire County, England

Florence went by the nickname of Florrie.

Frederick George Redhead and Harriet Cope Family Photo

Florence’s father was Frederick George Redhead. He was born in 1867 in Kettering, Northamptonshire County, England. He died on 25 FEB 1933 in Wolverhampton, Staffordshire County, England.

Florence’s mother was Harriet Cope. She was born on 18 JUL 1866 in Boston, Lincolnshire County, England. She died in 1943 in Northampton, Northamptonshire County, England.

Frederick George Redhead married Harriet Cope on 19 SEP 1885 in St Peter and St Paul’s Church in Kettering, Northamptonshire County, England.

Florence had ten brothers and sisters. The two oldest children were born in Kettering. The other children were born in Northampton.

Frederick Beethoven Redhead (1886)
Thomas Edison Redhead (1889)
Wilfred Faraday Redhead (1891 to 1892)
Minnie Florence Redhead (1892)
Ada Mapleson Redhead (1894)
Lilian Grace Redhead (1896)
Nellie Neruda Redhead (1897)
Rosalind Constance Redhead (1900)
William Faraday Redhead (1903)
Frank Shakespeare Redhead (1909)

Florence’s Parents:

Florence’s father went by his middle name of George.

The 1891 and 1901 England censuses show that George worked in a bootmaking factory.

1891 England census

1901 England census

The 1911 England census shows that George changed his career. He became a watch and clock repairman.

George and Harriet lived in Northampton for over 25 years. I could not find a death record for either of them in the Northampton area.

I searched the 1939 England and Wales Register to see if they had moved in with one of their adult children. Here is what I found:

Their daughter, Rosalind, and her husband, George A Chapman, were living in Northampton. The last entry on this record was for a widow named Harriet Gilbert, who was born on 18 JUL 1866. Harriet Cope was born in the third quarter of 1866.

I then searched for a marriage record and discovered that Harriet Redhead married Charles J Gilbert in 1928 in Northampton, Northamptonshire County, England.

Charles J Gilbert was born in 1864. I do not know his birthplace. He died in 1939 in Northampton, Northamptonshire County, England.

What happened to Florence’s father?

As stated above, George did not use his given name of Frederick on many documents. The full name of Frederick George Redhead was used on two marriage records and about a dozen trade directories.

In 1908, their oldest son, Frederick, married Rose May Walding in Northampton, Northamptonshire County, England.

In 1911, their second son, Thomas, married Elizabeth Lowers in Southwark, Surrey County, England.

As George was a watch and clock repairman, I decided to search Ancestry.com’s trade directories. Here is what I found:

Frederick George Redhead appears in Kelly’s Directory for Wolverhampton for the years 1921, 1924, 1928, and 1932. The name, R.G. Redhead, appears in the Wolverhampton Red Book for years spanning 1917 to 1932. The address for all of these listings was 13 Piper’s Row.

Here is a snippet of the 1924 Kelly’s Directory entry:

Here is a snippet of the 1924 Wolverhampton Red Book entry:

I believe the initial, R, was a typographical error that was never corrected in the later issues of the Wolverhampton Red Book.

The earliest entry for F.G. Redhead appears in the 1916 Kelly Directory. The address was listed as 53 Dudley Road.

What I think happened:

I believe George deserted his wife and children between 1911 to 1916. He moved 70 miles northwest to the city of Wolverhampton and set up shop as a watch repairman.

Harriet did not remarry until 1928. She may have filed for divorce. Or, she may have been able to remarry based on an English law called the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, Section 57.

A person on Rootschat.com explained that “the offense of bigamy has a statutory exception which applies where the spouse has been absent for seven years and they are not known to have been alive in that time”.

I do not believe George remarried. His probate record shows that he named Arthur Rollins, clothier and outfitter, as the executor of his estate.

Arthur Rollins was born on 30 DEC 1887 in Walsall, Staffordshire County, England. He died in 1951 in Shardlow, Derbyshire County, England.

Notes:

The surname, Oxborough, originated in Norfolk County, England. It appears in church registers as early as the mid-16th Century. As the world population grew, these Oxborough ancestors moved to other counties in England. By the late 19th Century, some had immigrated to Canada and Australia.

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