52 Ancestors Week 8: William Frederick Romney (1863-1930)

This week's 52 Ancestors theme is "good deeds."  My chosen subject, William Frederick Romney, is my great-great grandfather, a soldier who apparently married a single mother, and adopted her son.

Mistaken Identity

There's a certain irony to choosing this ancestor to exemplify "good deeds", since for a while he was the subject of mistaken identity on my part.  A contemporary William Romney (no "Frederick") was also born and raised in South East Kent, was employed by the Southern Railway, and rose to become Intendent of Folkestone Harbour upon the outbreak of the First World War.  In that role, he oversaw the welcome of thousands of Belgian refugees at the beginning of the War, for which he was awarded numerous honours, including becoming a Member of the Order of the British Empire and the Belgian Order of King Leopold II.

"Landing of the Belgian Refugees," Fredo Franzoni, 1915

Itinerant Bombardier

But this isn't a story about him. My William Romney was born, most likely, in late June 1863[1]*, the son of Frederick Romney, a Green Grocer, and Maria Romney, née Smith, in Dover.  The family lived at 93A Snargate Street, After a short stint as a waiter living at home[2], William enlisted in the Royal Artillery December 8th, 1888[3].  Mysteriously, he enlisted in Liverpool, which suggests he had traveled from home seeking work before enlisting (given that he moved from one port city to the other, one wonders if he took work aboard a ship).  His attestation states he was working as a warehouseman.

Short Service Attestation, William Frederick Romney, 1888.  Note his age is given as 22 years, 6 months.

Thereafter, as a member of the Royal Garrison Artillery, Romney found himself travelling some more - with postings in Weymouth (Dorset), Larne (Co. Antrim), and to the RGA depot in Cosham, Hampshire as a sergeant at the gunnery school.  By 1911, he finally settled in Shoeburyness, Essex [4], another garrison town (his medical record indicates he was stationed there by 1903).

West Gate, Shoeburyness Barracks. Postcard, postmarked 1912.  Image via peter-owen.myby.co.uk

William re-enlisted 22nd May, 1915, at age 51 [3].  Presumably because of his age (the maximum age for recruitment to active service was raised from 38 to 45 in 1914 and to 50 in 1918), he dud not serve overseas, but served as Colour Sergeant Major at Sheerness and Battery Quarter Master Sergeant at Felixstowe.  In 1919, he was permitted to remain a Landsguard (reservist) at a rate of 17/6 per week.

34 Seaview Road, Shoeburyness, Essex (image via Google Maps)

The Stepson

The "good deed" in our story goes back to William's early military career. During his first posting, in Weymouth, he married Mary "Polly" Smith 25th October 1890.  Romney's service record indicates he married "without leave"  and it's easy to imagine a romance between the two. At 5ft 8 1/2 ins. (slightly above average), with light brown eyes and a couple of scars to match his khaki, you can imagine Romney cutting a dashing figure. But the relationship must have had its difficulties. Although there's no record of a punishment for the marriage "without leave," Polly already had an infant son, William George, born in 1886.  Given their relatively young ages, it's possible young William  been born out of wedlock, but Polly could also have been widowed.

The Romney Family, 1891 Census of England, Melcombe Regis, Weymouth, Dorset.  Note William G. Smith named as "Son of Polly Smith" (even though Polly's name is now Romney)

The 1891 census shows the Romneys living in the RGA garrison in Melcombe Regis, with William Smith as Polly's son [5]. But by 1901, he is shown as "William G Romney", indicating his "adoption" by the elder William (until 1921, adoption in England was an informal process) [6]. One can imagine the challenge of taking on a single mother and her son today, let alone in 1890, but the challenge seems especially acute for Polly, with her husband serving in the Army and their family's enforced wanderings. 

William George settled in Essex, like his parents, marrying Cecilia Susannah Gilson of Swansea in 1906 [7].  Somewhat poignantly, he predeceased his adoptive father, dying in the Orstead area in 1927 [8]. William Sr. died in the third quarter of 1930 [9].

Alternative Explanation

An alternative, though less plausible, narrative of William George's "adoption" would place the latter as the biological son of William Frederick, imagining he and Polly to have been togetherness few years  before they married in 1890.  This might explain their swift marriage, and the readiness with which the younger William was "adopted." It's also tempting to draw the conclusion that the son was named for his father.  The gaping hole in this theory, of course, is that I have no indication that William Romney was in Weymouth in 1886 - this is the period between the 1881 census, in which he's in Dover, and his 1888 army attestation, when he's living in Liverpool.  And if William George was his son, why not marry Polly at the time?  Obtaining William the younger's birth certificate might yield some answers - but most likely the father's name would be "unknown."

The Army Wife

This story brings home to me that military forefathers often provide us with a wealth of information through their service records, and can appear to have alluringly glamourous careers.  But theirs is only part of the story.  What about their wives and children who, at least in this case, followed their soldier father/husband across the British Isles for almost twenty years?  William and Polly's children included: Annie Beatrice (b. 1891, Weymouth),  Mabel May (b.1892, Weymouth), Elizabeth "Nellie" May (b.1894, Larne), Frederick William (b/d. 1896, Larne), Elsie Jane (b.1897, Larne), Frederick William (b/d. 1901, Cosham), Ernest Edward (b.1903, Cosham).



*Census returns consistently point to either early 1864 or 1863; the BMD register listing is for Q3 of 1863 (July-September, although late June registrations could show up here).  His army attestation gives June 1866 (for reasons unknown to me).


Notes:

1. "Romney, William", England & Wales, FreeBMD Birth Index, 1837-1915 . Births, 1863, Q3, Dover.  Vol. 2a, p731
2. 1881 Census of England, Kent, Dover St Mary, District 6, Household 72: "Frederick Romney"
3. War Office: Soldiers’ Documents from Pension Claims, First World War.  National Archives WO364; Piece: 3394.  Romney, William Frederick.
4. 1911 Census of England and Wales, Essex, South Shoebury, District 5, Household 167, "William Frederick Romney" 
5. 1891 Census of England, Dorset, Melcombe Regis, District 8, Household 214: "William F Romney"
6. 1901 Census of England, Hampshire, Cosham, Hilsea Barracks, piece 27.
7. "Romney, William George", England & Wales, FreeBMD Birth Index, 1837-1915 . Marriages, 1909, Q3, Swansea.  Vol. 11a, p1697
8. "Romney, William G" England and Wales Civil Registration Indexes, Death Index, Sep 1927.  Orsett, Vol 4a p413
9. "Romney, William F" England and Wales Civil Registration Indexes, Death Index, Sep 1930.  Rochford, Vol 4a p555.