Eliza Ann BLACKMORE

  General Notes:

Birth Mar 1852 Barnstaple 5b 484 Blackmore Eliza Ann

Birth Certificate
entry 485 for Bishops Tawton sub-district of Barnstaple
22nd February 1852 at Fremington, Eliza Ann, Girl, William Blackmore, Ann Blackmore formerly Muxworthy, Labourer. Registered by Ann Blackmore (mother) Fremington on 1st March 1852.

Marriage Mar 1878 Barnstaple 5b 734

Marriage Certificate
Married at the Parish Church in Fremington on 31st March 1878
Joseph Henry Thorne, Under, Bachelor, Mason, Bickington in Fremington. Father John Thorne, Labourer
Eliza Ann Blackmore, Full, Spinster, - , Bickington in Fremington. Father William Blackmore, Railway Inspector.
The witnesses were Richard Dale(?) and George Thorne (brother?)

Death registered Sep 1925 Barnstaple 5b 413 Thorne Eliza A

Death Certificate
29th September 1925 at North Devon Infirmary, Eliza Ann Thorne, Female, 74 years, of 17 Penrose Almshouses Litchdon Street Barnstaple - wife of Joseph Henry Thorne Mason (Journeyman). The informant was J H Thorne, widower of deceased, present at the death, of 17 Penrose Almshouses Litchdon Street Barnstaple, on 30th September 1925.

Burial at Fremington on 3 October 1925 Eliza Ann Thorne of N.D. Infirmary aged 74. Buried in the same grave as her mother - Ann Blackmore nee Muxworthy
- from Florence Maud Thorne via Roger. FMT was at the funeral

Funeral Notice in North Devon Journal on 8 October 1925
Late Mrs Eliza Ann Thorne
Funeral at Fremington
Rev T. P. Dimond-Hogg (vicar) officiated at the funeral, at Fremington on Saturday, of Mrs Eliza Ann Thorne, wife of Mr J H Thorne, who passed away at Barnstaple. The family is held in high regard and esteem, and many sympathising friends were present.
The mourners were the husband, Mrs F Garnish, Ilfracombe (sister), Mr F Blackmore (brother, Braunton), Mr S Blackmore (brother, Ilfracombe), Mr T Blackmore (brother, Barnstaple), Mrs W H Thorne and Mrs E T Thorne (daughter-in-law, Barnstaple), Mrs E Easterbrook (sister-in-law, Torrington), Mrs W Bennett (niece Bickington), Miss F, Mr R and Miss E Thorne (grandchildren, Barnstaple), Mrs S Hammett (Fremington), with the bearers - Messrs W H Thorne, J H Thorne, E T Thorne, H Thorne, A Thorne and F Thorne (grandsons).
The floral tributes were:- In Loving Memory of a dear wife and mother from her sorrowing husband, children and grandchildren; Sincere sympathy from Fred, Tom and Lucy; In loving memory from Sam, Nellie and Family (Ilfracombe); In loving memory from Elizabeth and Emma (Bickington); With deepest sympathy from Mr and Mrs J Paltridge (Bicton Street); With deepest sympathy from Henry Taylor and family 26 Trinity Street; In affectionate remembrance, from all at Roberts Cottages Fremington. The funeral arrangements were carried out by Mr J Rice of Pilton.
- Mrs F Garnish is Lucy Grace nee Blackmore; F Blackmore actually lived in London, not Braunton; Mrs E Easterbrook is Emma nee Thorne; Mrs W Bennett is Emma (nee Halls) the daughter of husband's sister Elizabeth; H, A and F Thorne are probably Herbert, Archie and Frank - the sons of W H Thorne; Sam, Nellie and family refer to Samuel John Blackmore etc; Mr & Mrs J Paltridge are the parents of Hannah who married son Ernest Thomas Thorne.

From Newspaper article on Barnstaple
The church is on a well-marked Heritage Trail of historic places- Church Lane Almshouses, part of which was a school founded in 1659 to care for "20 poor maids;"The Square, where the tall Albert Memorial Clock's dials earned it the local name of "the four-faced liar" because they showed different times; the still-lived-in 17th Penrose Almshouses in Litchdon Street, with an old pump in the cobbled courtyard which no longer draws water, but attracts lots of photographers and the Three Tuns in the High Street which is 15th century and is reputed to be the oldest hostelry in town.

I was told that two sons of William Blackmore turned up for the funeral - Frederick and Samuel, looking posh in top hats etc. The Blackmore's virtually disowned Eliza as they thought she married beneath her. See the will of William Blackmore for how his money was left, and what Eliza did about her share that had been left in trust. However, from the above funeral notice, it appears that 3 brothers and a sister were present, although maybe only Frederick and Samuel were dressed in top hats etc.

1861 census
RG9/029 F101 P50
8 Town Meadows, Sands End, Fulham
William Blackmore, Head, Mar, 34, Railway Labourer, Wevonshire Burrington (sic)
Ann do, Wife, Mar, 30, , do Fremington
Eliza Ann do, Daugh, Un, 9, Scholar, do Fremington
William Hy do, Son, Un, 6, Scholar, do Fremington
George F(?) do, Son, Un, 4, Scholar, Suffolk Martlesham
Samuel J do, Son, Un, 1, , Norfolk Worthwold

1871 census
Sutton Court School, Chiswick, Middlesex
RG10/1321 F94 P35
Eliza Blackmore, Serv, Un, 19, Housemaid, Devon Bickington

1881 Census
RG11/2251 F80 P8
North Lane, Bickington, Fremington, Devon
Joseph Hy Thorne, Head, Mar, 21, Mason, Devon Fremington
Eliza Ann do, Wife, Mar, 29, , Devon Fremington
Edmund do, Son, Un, 2, , Devon Fremington
William Hy do, Son, Un, 3mo, , Devon Fremington
Elizabeth E do, S. Law, Un, 13, Scho, Middlesex Hammersmith London
Florence M do, S^r Law, Un, 8, Scho, Middlesex Hammersmith
The last two actually had the surname Blackmore (sisters of Eliza Ann) - there is enough evidence for this, including births in Kensington.

There was also a Thomas Blackmore, age 19, staying in Bickington Road, Fremington and his birth place was also London, Middlesex. This is Thomas Albert, another brother of Eliza Ann

1891 census
RG12/1780 F47 P15
Bickington, Fremington, Devon
Eliza A Thorne, Wife, M, 39, , Devon Bickington
Josheph Hy Thorne, Head, M, 33, Mason, Devon Bickington
Edmund do, Son, S, 12, Scholar, Devon Bickington
William H do, Son, S, 10, Scholar, Devon Bickington
Walter G do, Son, S, 8, Scholar, Devon Bickington
Henry J do, Son, S, 6, Scholar, Devon Bickington
Ernest T do, Son, S, 3, Scholar, Devon Bickington
Florence M do, Daur, S, 6m, , Devon Bickington
- sister Elizabeth Ann Halls is on the same page
- house is next door to Magdala House

1901 Census - Fremington
RG13/2152 Folio 42 P 1 & 2
Deptford Villas, Fremington
Henry = Joseph Henry, John = Henry John, Edward = Edmund, Thomas = Ernest Thomas, William = William Henry
Henry Thorne, Head, M, 43, Mason, Devon Fremington
Eliza do, Wife, M, 48, , Devon Fremington
Edward do, Son, S, 22, Machinist At Cabinet Factory, Devon Fremington
William do, Son, S, 20, Mason, Devon Fremington
John do, Son, S, 16, Office Boy, Devon Fremington
Thomas Thorne, Son, S, 13, Errand Boy, Devon Fremington

1911 census
RG14PN13321 RG78PN772 RD284 SD1 ED5 SN58
4 Grenville Avenue, Barnstaple, Devon (5 rooms)
Joseph Henry Thorne, , Married, 53, Mason, Fremington Devon, married 33 years
Eliza Ann Thorne, Wife, Married, 59, , Fremington Devon, married 33 years
Ernest Thomas Thorne, Son, , 22, Mason, Fremington Devon
- now called Granville Avenue, which meets the description of the Enumeration District
- against Joseph Henry it states there had been 7 children born alive, 4 still living and 3 had died
- index gives birthplaces as Tremington

Apparently Eliza Ann told her children that Joseph Henry would marry Mrs Hockridge after Eliza died - suggesting that there was some sort of relationship already.

See Joseph Henry Thorne for addresses in 1918-1922

The photograph is not conclusively one of Eliza Ann. But there are two copies known to be in existence. One belonged to her brother, William Henry Blackmore, and is now with his grandson. The other is with my first cousin Geraldine (great grand daughter of Eliza Ann). So the picture is obviously of one of the Blackmore family.
One copy has an inscription on the back that can't be seen as the photograph is sealed behind glass. But it apparently says that it was William Blackmore's wife, Anne Guard, and was taken when she was 56 in 1907. This description doesn't make sense as there is no record of William marrying again and he was 81 in 1907. The Guard name does appear in the family and so it was possibly of another member of the family, but why then was it passed down through the generations. The picture appears to be of a woman who is much younger than 56 and certainly appears to be of a much earlier type of picture than ones taken in the early 1900s.
Hence, my belief is that it might have been the daughter of William Blackmore and that the picture was taken before he went overseas - around 1870. If that is the case then it would be Eliza Ann Blackmore, who would be aged about 18. This would fit much more with the picture.
Discussion with others about the picture note that the features - centre parting of hair, ears uncovered, lace collar, central brooch - suggest that the picture was indeed from the 1860s - 1870s. But that the subject appears to be in her 20s.
The name Guard that appears on the picture frame has now been solved - The descendants started to research the family history and obtained a birth certificate for a William Henry Blackmore born in Tiverton in Sep qtr 1854 and his mother was Ann Guard. But all the evidence shows that this was not the correct person.

1878 White's Directory - Fremington
Blackmore, Miss Eliza, Bickington

Notice in the North Devon Journal on 11 June 1891 and 25 June 1891
I, Joseph Henry Thorne, Mason, of Bickington, Fremington, HEREBY GIVE NOTICE, that I will not be responsible for any Debt or Debts my Wife, Eliza Ann Thorne may contract after this date.
Dated 10th June 1891
Signed Joseph Henry Thorne
Witness William Henry Mullins

Eliza married Joseph Henry THORNE, son of John THORNE and Mary EVANS, on 31 Mar 1878 in Fremington, Devon, England.¹ (Joseph Henry THORNE was born on 10 Oct 1859 in Fremington, Devon, England ⁴, baptised on 6 Nov 1859 in Fremington, Devon, England,⁵ died on 15 Oct 1935 in Barnstaple, Devon, England ⁶ and was buried on 19 Oct 1935 in Fremington, Devon, England.)