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b.1846-d.1908
Early Years
John Fox was the second child born to John Fox Snr. (1815-1864) and Elizabeth Newton (1818-1884). John’s father, after whom he was named, was born in the village of Crick in the county of Northamptonshire. John’s mother was born in the same county and grew up in the village of Watford, not to be confused with the larger town of Watford in the county of Hertfordshire.
The name Watford, or Waet-Ford, comes from Anglo-Saxon times. The direct translation means ‘full of water’ and the village has numerous natural springs. In the 5th century it seems to have been a hot-bed for fighting, with both the Vikings and Saxons regularly competing over its ownership.
John’s parents married in the parish church of St Peter & St Paul in Watford on 29 Apr 1841. Neither the bride and groom, nor the two witnesses to their marriage were literate. In fact the village did not get its first school until 1857.
Married life began for John’s parents in Elizabeth’s home village of Watford where we find them in the 1841 Census. On 6 June 1841, the enumeration date, the couple had been married for five weeks and the record tells us that John worked as an agricultural labourer. Watford village is very rural and is the place where John & Elizabeth will live for the rest of their lives.
John & Elizabeth Fox’s growing family 1841-1851
Between the two censuses of 1841 and 1851 John’s parents commenced their family. Elizabeth had three pregnancies which resulted in the births of four children – Jane b. 1844, John b. 1846, and twin daughters Ellen and Ann b. 1850. The children are all baptised as babies in the village church of St Peter & St Paul.
In the 1851 Census, John’s father, John Snr now aged 37, continues to work on the land, his mother, Elizabeth 34, looks after the household and their children – Jane 7, John 5, and twins Ellen & Ann aged 8 months.
After celebrating Christmas later that year, as the new year arrived, John’s family mourned the loss of one of the twins. Ann Fox died aged 17months and was buried in the local churchyard of St Peter & St Paul, Watford on 12 Jan 1852.
John & Elizabeth Fox’s growing family 1851-1861
Between the censuses of 1851 and 1861 the family celebrated the arrival of three children – William b. 1853, named after his paternal grandfather, George b. 1856, and Martha Ann b. 1860. Like their siblings the children were baptised in the local parish church but interestingly, at the age of two rather than a few weeks old, which was the more traditional practice of the time.
John’s last census in his hometown
In the 1861 Census the Fox family were growing up and their first child, Jane, now aged 17, has moved away and has found employment as a Dairymaid in the village of Ashby St Ledgers.
John’s parents are now in their early forties – John 45 is working as a Coal Porter, Elizabeth 43 keeps house and cares for the children. John 14, is apprenticed to a Shoemaker and is now earning a living. His younger siblings are either at school or still with their mother – Ellen 10, William 7, George 3, and Martha Ann 1. Sadly John’s father died at the age of 48 and is buried on 17 Feb 1864 in the churchyard in the village.
John’s marriage to Lucy Pusey
At some stage in the intervening ten years, between the censuses of 1861 and 1871, John Jnr made the life-changing decision to break free from rural life, leave his parents and five siblings and the village life he knew. He travelled to London where he met, fell in love, and married Lucy Pusey whose home village is Farnham Royal in the county of Buckinghamshire.
The young couple were married on 19 Jan 1871, in the parish church of St Mary, Farnham Royal. Interestingly, all five of John’s siblings remained their whole lives in and around the village where they were born, in the county of Northamptonshire.
Three months later, John & Lucy are found in the 1871 Census living at 6 Weedington Road, Kentish Town which is still in the county of Middlesex. John is 25 and working as a Railway Porter, his wife Lucy is aged 24 and has almost reached the end of her first pregnancy. It would appear that Lucy was six months pregnant when they married earlier that year, in the month of January.
John’s growing family
On 23 Apr 1971 John & Lucy welcomed their first child whom they named John after his father and paternal grandfather. It would appear that Lucy travelled home to her parents in Farnham Royal to give birth to her first child because the child’s birth is registered in Eton which is the registration district for Farnham Royal.
The couple settled back into the routine of every-day-life and their next child was born, fourteen months after his elder brother, on 26 Jun 1872 at home in Kentish Town. This baby is another son whom they name George.
I cannot find a baptism record for either of John & Lucy’s first two children.
Interestingly the couple’s next child, like their first, is born in Farnham Royal. William was born on 29 Nov 1873. The couple return to London and take up residence in William Street (renamed Kenley Street) in Notting Hill. William was baptised at St James Norlands in Notting Hill on 8 Oct 1874, eleven months after his birth. The church record tells us that John continues to work as a Railway Porter, as recorded in the 1871 Census.
John & Lucy welcome their fourth child whom they name Lucy Elizabeth after her mother and her paternal grandmother. Lucy Elizabeth was born in Notting Hill during the second qtr of 1875 and sadly died aged 1yr during the last qtr of the following year, 1876. I have been unable to find either a baptismal or burial record for her.
After the sadness of losing a daughter, life carries on and Lucy gives birth to her fifth child on 15 Sep 1876, another daughter, whom they name Jane. Lucy must have given birth to Jane very close to, if not even before, the death of her first daughter Lucy Elizabeth. This must have been a very difficult time for the Fox family.
Jane was baptised at St James Norlands, the same church as the earlier baptism of her elder brother William, on 25 Apr 1879. Jane was not a baby upon her baptism but 2½ years old.
Interestingly three years previously, John was still working as a Railway Porter but now he has reverted to his original training, remember he was apprenticed to a shoemaker at around the age of 14, and the church baptismal record tells us that John is a Shoemaker and that the family are living at 5 St. James’ Place in Notting Hill. Their home was close to St James Norlands Church but the area has been redeveloped and this address no longer exists.
The children’s education 1879
As John & Lucy’s children grow they need to be educated and we find their first two sons, John and George attending Saunders Road School in Notting Hill. They were admitted on 29 Sep 1879. Their father is confirmed as John Fox and the family live at 5 St. James’ Place, Notting Hill. Their third son, William, was admitted to the same school on 14 Mar 1881 at the same address.
A move from Notting Hill to Holland Park 1881-1891
The Fox family were still living at 5 St. James’ Place, Notting Hill at the time of the 1881 Census. John aged 35 is a Bootmaker, Lucy 34, looks after the children, John 9, George 8, William 7, and Jane 4.
By the time of the next census in 1891 the family had moved a little way south, still within the borough of Kensington, to Holland Park. The Fox family of seven share a very prestigious address with one other family consisting of just two people.
19 Gordon Place is an end of terrace house featuring five levels, a sub-street level basement, a flight of steps leading to the ground floor, a first and second floor, with the top floor containing dormer windows in the roof. It’s a beautiful period house with sash windows.
John, now aged 45, as head of the family, has found a new vocation and is a Church Verger, with his eldest son John 19, becoming the Assistant Verger. The local parish church in this vicinity is St Mary Abbots which was built in 1872 and stands at the corner of Kensington High Street and Kensington Church Street. Whether this beautiful church was where John & his son became vergers is unknown.
John’s wife Lucy 44 cares for the home and her family, William 17 works as a Greengrocer’s Assistant, George 18 is a Grocer’s Assistant, Jane 14 is still at school, and there is a new addition to the family, a fourth son, young Albert who was born on 26 Jul 1889.
John’s sons’ marriages 1896 & 1898
John’s sons are growing up, falling in love and getting married. The first wedding occurred in 1896 – John’s eldest John, John Jnr married Louisa Bath. On 21 Mar 1898 John’s second son, George married Edith Pharaoh. Both weddings take place in the Royal Borough of Kensington.
The arrival of grandchildren 1897-1898
In Poplar at the end of 1897 John celebrated the arrival of his first grandchild born to his eldest son John (Jnr) and his wife Louisa. In Kensington during 1898 John welcomed his second grandchild born to his second son George and his wife Edith.
Another move within Holland Park 1901
The Electoral Registers show us that John Fox continues to live at 19 Gordon Place until the turn of the century. In 1900, he was found at 3 Campden Grove where he will live for the next five years. Campden Grove is a street of beautiful four storey terraced houses.
In the 1901 census John aged & Lucy, with three children remaining, are sharing this house with just two other individuals. John aged 55 continues as the Church Verger and Lucy aged 54 keeps house. William aged 27 is no longer working for a Greengrocer but holds a church office like his father and is employed as a Steeple Keeper. The parish church of St Mary Abbots does indeed have a very fine tall steeple and boasts the tallest spire in London.
In 1901 Kensington was granted the status of a royal borough, and from this date was known as the Royal Borough of Kensington. It included Kensington, South Kensington, Earls Court, Notting Hill, Brompton and part of Kensal Green.
John remained on the Electoral Register as living in this grand house until 1904. I can only assume that whilst holding the Office of Church Verger very grand accommodation came with the post since John’s next address is a step down.
The wedding of his only daughter Jane Fox 1903
In the summer of 1903, whilst the family were still living in Campden Grove, Jane Fox aged 27 married Arthur Leonard Lawrence aged 22, five years her junior. Jane gave birth to two more grandchildren for George & Lucy – Arthur Leonard (Jnr) in 1904 and Violet in 1906.
A move to Warwick Road, Earls Court 1906-1907
The next Electoral Register of 1906 tells us that George & Lucy have moved home to 136 Warwick Road, Earls Court, still within the Royal Borough of Kensington. He was also registered at this address in 1907.
At the beginning of the following year 1908, according to John’s Horton record, he was living at 158 Warwick Road, Earls Court. Warwick Road has been completely redeveloped since these times with the exception of a small terrace of five properties and the adjoining pub called the Warwick Arms which stands on the corner junction. This pub is number 160 and the numbers run back to the right from here and we find John Fox lives next door to the Warwick Arms.
Warwick Road, Earls Court
John Fox’s Horton Record
John’s decline in his mental health appears to develop very quickly within a matter of 2-3 weeks. The records tell us that John was admitted to Horton on 1 Feb 1908 from the Kensington Workhouse Infirmary. He died within five days of admission in a very poor state. It is a great pity that John had to be moved, since he had very little time left and at least his family would have been close by.
The Reception Order was signed and dated 27 January 1908. The “Statement of Particulars” was presumably completed by the staff at Kensington Infirmary and gives his age as 63 yet he was only 61, a minor discrepancy. It confirms that he is married, his occupation is a Boot Repairer, his faith is Church of England. Information regarding “the Attack” – this is the first attack and has been ongoing for 2 or 3 weeks. He has not received treatment of any kind, is not epileptic, nor suicidal. It confirms that his next of kin to whom a Notice of Death should be sent is his wife, Lucy Fox of 158 Warwick Road, Kensington.
Upon examination by the Medical Officer it records – Is sleepless, restless and resists. He does not know his friends and cannot answer questions rationally. The attendant said that John required restraint on account of his wanderings about. He does nothing for himself and generally requires supervision.
The History (Personal and Family) section has not been completed, since I assume John could not answer the questions and his wife did not accompany him upon his admission to Horton. There is one entry within this section, completed in a different hand to the rest of the information on the page, which tells us that his mental symptoms were first noticed 14 days ago. Their nature and the subsequent events leading up to his admission – John had an attack of pneumonia and mental symptoms developed during the attack.
Turning to the page detailing John’s condition on admission. His general bodily condition was Impaired and feeble, his height was 5’9” and he was fairly nourished. John had a large bruise on his lower abdomen, several bruises on his left foot, the left leg was blue cold, with a large pigmented patch on the outer side of his leg – commencing gangrene (with a question mark).
Under Nervous System –
- Motor impairment – left leg drop foot
- Tactile sensation – impaired in left leg
- Station – cannot stand
- Gait – cannot walk (these last two observations are contradictory to the attendant’s comments about requiring restraint on account of his wanderings)
- Plantar reflex – right yes, left not
- Sight – impaired
- Hearing – deaf
- Cyanosis – left foot & leg (a bluish-purple hue to the skin which indicates decreased oxygen attached to the red blood cells in the bloodstream which could be a problem with the lungs or heart) – or in John’s case, in my opinion, developing septicaemia.
- Heart – dilated, sounds weak and irregular
- Lungs – some emphysema and signs of chronic bronchitis
- Teeth – almost all gone
- Syphilis – (congenital) physical evidence of – no, (acquired) history of (with a question mark).
- Mental state – He is quite lost as to his surroundings and is disorientated both to time and place and thinks some of those around him are members of his own family.
He understands but little of what is said to him, he is feeble minded and his judgement, reasoning powers and memory are all greatly impaired. He is continually muttering unintelligibly to himself and is so deaf that conversation with him is very difficult. He is restless, perverse and resistive of attention and refuses his food.
Diagnosis – Senile dementia
Aetiological factors – Principal – Senility; Contributing and Associated – Pneumonia
In another handwriting it states that his father died of DTs; Cousin Insane, with a footnote saying that the last two pieces of information regarding his father and cousin – information not reliable from relatives. (Delirium tremens, also called DTs is a severe type of withdrawal from alcohol). Author’s note – I have not investigated John’s father’s cause of death but may try to do so.
Progress of Case
3 Feb 1908 – A statement mentioning all the conditions John was suffering from upon his admission, with additionally: His left foot is blue cold and the veins are apparently blocked in that leg below the knee and this state is probably one of early gangrene. He also has a swelling of the left side of the abdomen. John was then transferred from his original ‘house’ to, one assumes, a medical ward
4 Feb 1908 – His left leg is in a very bad state almost black at parts
5 Feb 1908 – He is evidently suffering much pain, very restless and sleepless last night, his circulation is very feeble. There is pulsation in his femoral artery but none can be felt in the foot of the left leg. He gradually sank and died at 8:10 pm.
Post Mortem. Notable findings – the swelling in his abdomen was proved to be a large haematoma, undoubtedly due to the cause which produced the bruise and discolouration. This swelling seemed to press on the iliac artery and veins of left side.
Cause of Death (i) Chronic Brights disease, (ii) Senile Decay, (iii) Thrombosis of veins of leg due to presence of a haematoma on the abdominal wall.
Bright’s disease is now known as Nephritis which is an inflammation of the kidneys, caused by toxins, infection or autoimmune conditions.
A quote from the medical team’s findings – “The condition of the left leg, I think, contributed to the patient’s death. I am unable to express any opinion as to how the haematoma and discolouration of the abdomen arose – whether due to injury or to the spontaneous rupture of a blood vessel – the occurrence being prior to admission”.
Author’s note
I cannot imagine the level of suffering that John experienced at the end of his life. The information contained in his medical notes indicates very much to me that he also had sepsis which proves fatal without a medication which had not even been invented by 1908 – antibiotics!
When bacteria invade the body, this can cause severe illnesses which may result in death. Septicaemia is when bacteria enter the bloodstream, and cause blood poisoning which triggers sepsis. Sepsis is an overwhelming and life-threatening response to infection that can lead to tissue damage, organ failure and death.
John Fox was buried on 13 Feb 1908 in Horton cemetery in grave b79.
John Fox’s family – wife and children
Lucy Fox née Pusey (1846-1918)
After her husband’s death in 1908 at Horton Asylum we next find Lucy Fox living with her youngest son Albert, residing at 22 Adeney Road in Fulham.
Lucy is now aged 64, had been married for 40 years, given birth to six children of whom two had already died.
Albert completed the census form and gave inaccurate information since only one of his siblings was already dead who was his sister Lucy Elizabeth Fox (1875-1876). The remaining five, of John & Lucy’s children, were still alive.
Albert 21 works as a Window Cleaner. Lucy and her son Albert share the occupation of 55 Adeney Road with John & Lucy’s daughter Jane, who married Arthur Leonard Lawrence in 1903. Both Albert Fox and Arthur Lawrence, Albert’s brother-in-law, are employed as Window Cleaners, perhaps they jointly run a small enterprise?
The house in Adeney Road is reasonably spacious with both families occupying three rooms apiece.
Adeney Road in the early 1900s
I cannot tell with any certainty what became of Lucy after 1911.
John Fox (Jnr) 1871-1912
What of John’s eldest son John (Jnr) who assisted his father in the duties of being a Church Verger in the 1891 Census? At the age of 25 John married Louisa Bath in 1896 in the district of Kensington. Louisa was born in Gloucester, her parents stayed in the area so she must have travelled to London independently.
From information gleaned from the UK, Railway Employment Record, 1833-1956 we learn that John entered this service in Aug 1896 and was employed as a Porter at Paddington station and earned the grand sum of 17/- (shillings). A year later, on 13 Aug 1897, his salary was increased to 18/-. Just three months later John resigned and left the service in Nov 1897.
The couple moved away from the area and their first child, whom they named Ivy Louisa, was born towards the end of 1897 in the area of Poplar in east London. Sadly this child died aged just two years in the South Eastern Hospital in Deptford and was buried on 9 Nov 1899 in the City of London and Tower Hamlets Cemetery in Stepney. The couple were living at this time at 45 Fairfoot Road in Bromley-by-Bow.
We find John & Louisa Fox at this same address in the 1901 Census. From this record we find that John, aged 29, is working as a Railway Guard. Interestingly, according to the railway Employment Record mentioned above, John left the railways in Nov 1897 but appears to have resumed employment albeit in a different area of London. Seven days after the census was taken, John and Louisa are blessed with a second daughter born on 7 Apr 1901, whom they name Ethel Amy.
I cannot find either John Fox or his wife Louisa in the 1911 Census. I found their daughter, Ethel aged 9, living with her mother’s married sister Annie Lea, living at 6 Essex Road in Willesden. Annie Lea and her husband William James Lea have been married for 19 years and are childless. I do not know if Ethel’s parents are unable to look after her, or indeed whether her mother has died since my search goes cold for any further records for Louisa Fox.
What I have found is that John Fox (Jnr) died, aged 40, in the Infirmary of Mile End Old Town workhouse in the latter part of 1912. He died of Enteric Fever, also known as Typhoid, and was buried in Ilford.
George Fox 1872-1917
It is interesting as to why George Fox got married in Kensington Registry Office on 2 Mar 1898 to Edith Pharaoh. At this time his father is still working as an official of the church as a Verger and one would assume that the wedding would take place in his father’s place of work. One possible explanation is that Edith was heavily pregnant with their first child when they married since baby George arrived two months later in May 1898. George and Edith welcome their next child at the end of the following year 1899 whom they name William.
In the 1901 Census the couple were living at 8 Clarence Mews in the district of St. Mary Abbots in Kensington. George is aged 28 and is employed in the church office of Assistant Verger. Ten years previously this role was carried out by his older brother John as found in the 1891 census. His wife Edith is 22 and looking after their son George 2. The baby William is presumed to have died but I have not, with any certainty, found his death or burial records.
Over the next few years George and Edith add to their family with three more sons. In the 1911 census Edith Fox is living at 85 Campden Houses off Peel street in Kensington with her four sons – George 12, Leonard 8, Charles 6, and Frederick 10m. Her sister Minnie Pharaoh is lodging with her and works as a waitress. I cannot find her husband George in this census year.
George and Edith add to their family with the birth of their son Frank who is born on 4 Jan 1913 and who is baptised five days later on 9 Jan 1913 at St Mark’s church in Marylebone. His birth is registered in St Marylebone district yet, according to the baptism record, they continue to live at 85 Campden Houses in Kensington and George no longer holds the church office of Verger but now works as a Carman.
Their last child was born in the latter part of 1914 and is named Albert whose birth is registered in Kensington. Sadly this seventh son dies in the same quarter in which he was born.
With the outbreak of the first world war George Fox (Jnr) volunteers to fight for his country and enlists at Hammersmith Recruiting Office on 14 June 1915 in the army Service Corps – Short Service Attestation or for the duration of the war, Regimental No: 110737, Rank: Private, Age: 42, Occupation: Porter, Age: 42, Height: 5’ 6”.
George set sail on the SS Queen Alexandra from Southampton just eleven days later bound for Le Havre in France. During the next few years, perhaps the conditions of warfare take their toll on George and he is hospitalised on four occasions suffering from Bronchitis.
On 16 Apr 1917 George was granted a ten-day furlough from military duties. He did not spend this time with his wife, there was Edith’s infidelity afoot but that is another story which our John Fox, George’s father, was spared knowing since he died in 1908, but instead stayed with his sister Jane Lawrence at 24 Archer Street in Kensington.
During this time of family troubles, which also involved the taking into care of his four younger sons due to his wife’s neglect, George would have been informed of the death of his eldest son, George (Jnr), who was killed in action on 26 July 1917. (See explanation below).
George was again admitted to hospital on 1 Nov 1917 at the VAD Hospital in Bridlington, Yorkshire, (VAD – Voluntary Aid Detachment), which proved to be his last hospital admission. George was extremely unwell suffering from pulmonary oedema (fluid building up in the lungs indicating a weak heart) and died three days later on 3 Nov 1917 aged 46, from valvular disease of the heart and pulmonary oedema. What a brave man to sign up for active service when in his forties and clearly not in the best of health.
The British War Medal WWI The Victory Medal WWI awarded to both father and son Awarded to both father and son.
Meanwhile George and Edith’s eldest son, John Fox’s first grandchild, George (Jnr) also volunteers for the army and signs up with the Royal Welsh Fusiliers. Like his father’s, his Attestation is for Short Service or for the duration of the war. George Fox is 19 yrs of age, is 5’ 7”, lives at 67 Peel Street, Kensington, and his occupation is given as a Bootmaker, perhaps this trade was learned from his grandfather?
With his father also serving in the armed forces George’s next of kin is declared as his mother Edith Fox who also lives at 67 Peel Street in Kensington. George swore his oath at Shepherd’s Bush. George Fox’s grandson was killed in action on 26 July 1917 in France & Flanders theatre of war WWI.
William Fox (1873-1942)
What became of John’s third son who in the 1901 census, at the age of 27, was the Steeple Keeper, his father being the Church Verger? William married Emily Louisa Ashby on 15 Jan 1908 at St Barnabas in Kensington. William was now aged 34 and worked as a Boot Repairer.
He gave his address as 136 Warwick Road where his sister Jane and her husband were living, and his father the previous year. His father John was still alive at this time but whether he attended the marriage is unknown since he was soon to be extremely unwell with pneumonia and most likely in the Kensington infirmary by this time. His mother Lucy Fox signed the register as a witness.
William and his wife Emily had five children, three sons and two daughters. From the Electoral Registers we find William living at 21 Seagrave Road in Fulham, and in the 1939 Census he is listed as a Plumber (Retired). From Greengrocer’s assistant (1891), to Church Steeple Keeper (1901), to Boot Repairer (1908), to Labourer (1909), and finally Plumber, William tried his hand at anything that came along! He died in Fulham in 1942 aged 69.
Jane Fox 1876-1954
John’s daughter Jane married Arthur Leonard Lawrence on 15 Sep 1903 in Kensington, exactly where the marriage took place is unknown at this time. Their first child Arthur Leonard, named after his father, was born in 1904 in Hammersmith within the Fulham registration district. Their daughter Violet was born in 1906 in the Kensington registration district, and from the Electoral Registers covering 1906-1907, we know that John Fox and his son-in-law lived at 136 Warwick Road in Earls Court in the Royal Borough of Kensington.
It would appear that the Lawrence family, John’s daughter Jane and son-in-law Arthur, had after their marriage moved away to Fulham, then returned to Kensington and by 1906 were living in the same house as her parents. I wonder what prompted this move? By the time the next year’s registers were compiled, 1907-1908, John had moved to 158 Warwick Road, but the Lawrence family remained at number 136 Warwick Road.
After her father’s death in 1908 and by the 1911 census the Lawrence family had returned to Fulham and were living at 55 Adeney Road. Remember that her widowed mother Lucy and younger brother Albert have also moved from Kensington to Fulham and live in this good-sized house sharing three rooms apiece. Arthur Leonard Lawrence 31, works as a Window Cleaner, his wife Jane 34, cares for the children Athur Leonard (Jnr) 6, and Violet 5. Jane gives birth to her third child in 1914, a daughter whom they name Marjorie.
From the Electoral Registers we can see that the Lawrence family continue to live at 22 Adeney Road and this is where we find them in the 1939 census. Jane’s husband Arthur is still employed as a Window Cleaner. Jane’s unmarried younger brother Albert still lives with the family and is employed as a Builder’s Labourer.
A happy way to end John Fox’s story – the wedding of two of his grandchildren
Frederick Fox, the son of John’s third son William Fox, and Marjorie Lawrence, the daughter of John’s daughter Jane Lawrence née Fox, were married in 1939. I am sure that their grandfather would have been delighted to have seen two of his grandchildren so happy.
The Wedding of Frederick Fox to his cousin Marjorie Lawrence 1939.
