Florence
was born on the 6th of February 1896 in Middleton by Wirksworth in Derbyshire.
She was the first of two children born to John Henry Ward,
a Stone Quarry worker, and his wife Grace (nee Bates). She was baptised about a
month later on the 9th of March at their local church in Middleton, Holy Trinity.
In later life, Florence told her
daughters that she had been brought up by 'Grannie Bates' and this seems to be
evidenced by the 1901 Census, where she is recorded living with her maternal
grandparents, Richard and Mary Anne, at their home of 1 Pelham Street in
Normanton, Derbyshire. In the same census, her parents were living in Sheffield
with their 10 month old son Richard.
In 1907, her grandfather Richard
Bates became the licensee of the 'Black's Head' public house in Market Square,
Wirksworth and the eleven year old Florence moved into the pub with them.
However,when
the census was taken in April 1911, her grandparents had moved out of the pub
and Florence was no longer with them. After years of trying to find them in the
1911 census records, Florence was eventually found with her parents and her
brother Richard, at 3 Cross Gilpin Street in the Philadelphia district of
Sheffield - the reason it had been so difficult was that her father had
completed the form with a false surname! He used the surname of his step-father
'Killer' and not their true surname of 'Ward'. Why? Florence, aged fifteen, was
working as a 'Confectionary Hand', quite likely at the Bassett's Factory in
Broad Street.
It is not known how or where Florence and Isaiah Jackson met, some have said
that it was at the 'Black's Head' pub in Wirksworth but she was living in
Sheffield by then. Isaiah was an Outfitter for a company in Blackburn,
Lancashire that
manufactured Steam Engines and other machinery. He travelled around the country,
spending several days or weeks installing
equipment in various mills and factories, so it may even have been at the
Bassett's factory where they met. A relationship soon developed between them
which led to her becoming pregnant in October 1912. There was just one problem, Isaiah already had a wife and baby
daughter back in Blackburn, Lancashire.
The dual relationship continued,
with both Mary in Blackburn, and Florence in Sheffield having more children. No
name is given for the father on the birth certificates of Florence's first two
children, so they took the surname 'Ward'. However, when Olive was born in
October 1919, Isaiah was named, so she was registered with the Jackson surname.
Florence's occupation on the birth certificates was given as a 'Sugar Boiler'.
In 1920, a 'Josiah Jackson' appears in the Sheffield electoral registers
living at 18 Carrfield Road (next door to Florence's parents at that time) and
is described as a Journeyman Millwright. This is the same address where Olive
was born in October 1919, so this must have been Isaiah Jackson and perhaps is
an indication that he had left his wife Mary around 1919. He is still recorded
at that address in the 1922 electoral register. However, in the spring of 1922,
Isaiah appears in the Blackburn electoral registers, staying with his mother
Rachel and brother Alfred at 82 Johnston Street. Florence isn't listed as the
voting age for women wasn't lowered from 30 to 21 until 1928 but it's most
likely she and the children were with him. Grace was the first of their children
to be born in Blackburn on the 25th of October 1923, at 50 Ash Street, where he
and Florence were living as guests of his brother William.
Florence and Isaiah had nine children together.
William Ward ...1913-1983 John Ward ...1915-1984 Un-named Jackson
...1916-infant or stillborn Olive Jackson ...1919-1997 Grace Jackson
...1923-1984 Florence Jackson ...1926-2016 Alice Jackson ...1928-2013 Kathleen Jackson ...1930-2004 Jean Jackson ...1934-1999
Isaiah never divorced his first wife Mary and didn't marry Florence until the
14th April 1934, about 2 weeks after Mary died and just 2 days before their last
child Jean was born.
Florence was a good cook and the aroma of freshly baked bread
and barm cakes always greeted you
upon entering the house in Cromwell Terrace.
Florence spent her final
years in a Nursing Home in Great Harwood, Lancashire. However, a fall in
December 1979, resulted in a broken femur and she was admitted to Blackburn
Royal Infirmary, where she developed Bronchopneumonia and died on Christmas day, 25th December 1979, at the age of
83 years. Her funeral took place on the 2nd of January 1980 at Pleasington
Crematorium on the outskirts of Blackburn.
Notes
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