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Grayson
Introduction


Graysons of Nottinghamshire

William Grayson Sr. (Nocton, Lincs)

William Grayson Jr. (Nocton and Timberland)

Thomas Porter Grayson Sr. (Martin, Lincs & Westerham, Kent)

Thomas Porter Grayson Jr. (Donnington Lincs & London)



OYLER

PRICE

MADDOCK

BERNARD

GAYER

ABOUT ME



Thomas Porter Grayson (Jr.)
, my grandfather was born on 25th July 1870 in Donnington, Lincolnshire. 

In 1881 at the age of 10 he is a boarder with several other boys at the home of James Hadgins (Hodgins?) a schoolmaster in Holbeach. He was the youngest pupil living there. Lincolnshire.

In 1883 his parents moved to Westerham in Kent and Thomas continued his schooling at the Quebec House School which had only recently opened to take pupils.

QHS

Thomas Porter Grayson (Jr.) was not enumerated in the 1891 UK census when he would have been 21. It is probable that he was serving in the Merchant Navy at this time although there is no record of his service because "Between 1858 and the First World War the Merchant Navy did not keep registers of its seamen. This means that for these years the only record you are likely to find of an individual merchant seaman is his appearance in agreements and crew lists, for which you usually need to know the names of the ships he served on" (1)

In 1899-1900 Thomas Porter Grayson (Jr.) served in the Boer War in The Light Horse Infantry. His Discharge Certificate reads:
"This is to certify that Sergeant T.P Grayson was enrolled in the Imperial Light Horse (Natal) on the 30th day of Sept. 1899 at the age of 29 years at RMB, that he served 377 days and he is discharged at his own request. Character – good. Dated Oct. 17 1900."
 
In January 1901 he wrote a letter to his brother from South Africa describing his situation.
 
Discharge certificate (part 2) provides a description:
  • Age: 29
  • Height: 6’2”
  • Colour of hair: Brown
  • Colour of eyes: Hazel
  • Complexion: medium
  • Rank: Sergeant Name: TP Grayson
  • Date of Disch: 17/11/1900
  • Description: Elandeslaagte and operation previous to siege of Ladysmith. Byjarlsberg. Relief of Mafeking. Operations round Pretoria( next line unreadable).
Thomas Porter Grayson (Jr.) was awarded the South Africa medal with 6 bars, South Africa 1901/ South Africa 1902/ Transvaal/ defense of Ladysmith/ Elandeslaagte / relief of Mafeking

In the 1901 census Thomas Porter Grayson (Jr.)  is found as a patient in the London Hospital Whitechapel. This would have been six months after he returned from the Boer War in South Africa. His occupation is shown as shop assistant. This is the year before he married Alice Oyler.

In the same census Thomas Porter’s brother William Henry is living in Cheshunt, Herts with his wife, Agnes (Oyler) Grayson, (Agnes was Alice’s cousin) sons: (Jack) Kenneth and Eric (Tom). Either living with William and Agnes, or visiting, is his sister Caroline (Grayson) Ingersoll.

1902 - Thomas Porter Grayson (Jr) and Alice Oyler (b. 1876) married in Edmonton, Essex (now a borough of London). They lived in West Ham, Essex. He was described, on his marriage certificate, as a fruit salesman. Alice was the daughter of Thomas Potter Oyler and Bridget Glyn.

TPG+AO wedding

Evidence that Thomas Porter Grayson (Jr.)  served in the Merchant Navy comes from his membership in the Merchant Navy Lodge (# 781) of the United Grand Lodge of England Freemasons based in Limehouse, London. He joined on 14th February 1905, aged 34 when he was a salesman living at 3, Gower Road, Forest Gate, London. Although I have no record of his service in the Merchant Navy in order to be accepted into this Lodge members must have served in the Merchant Navy. He was a steward of the Lodge for 17 years and was also a Past Master.

1911 census the lists the family at 15 Osborne Road, Forest Gate, Essex. Thomas Porter Grayson aged 41 - Lodging House Keeper, Alice 38 Dorothy 8, Gwendoline 6, Thomas 3, William [Ronald] 18 months, Florence Gregre [Gregory] - a maid

1912 and 1913 the electoral register lists him as living at 15 Osborne Road, Parliamentary Borough of Tower Hamlets, Bow & Bromley Division

1919 to 1925 the electoral register lists him in the Constituency of Stepney, Mile End Division / Stepney Division / Limehouse Division, but no address is given

1921 census. The family does not appear to have been enumerated as there is no record for them in the 1921 census

1926 Spring. The electoral register lists him in Flamstead End, Hertfordshire. He was probably visiting his brother William at the time of enumeration as, in the autumn of the same year he is listed again in the Constituency of Stepney, Mile End Division

In 1933 the family moved to Old Hall Farm, Much Hadam, Hertfordshire, not far from Thomas's brother William Grayson. Thomas Porter Grayson is listed in the directory as a fruit farmer.

In 1934 Thomas Porter Grayson died in The London Hospital and was buried in St Mary's Churchyard in Westerham, Kent. His funeral was reported in the Westerham Herald 5th May 1934.

Funeral p1
Funeral p2

1941 Alice (Oyler) Grayson died at the age of 65. She was living at 18 The Woodlands, Esher, Surrey at the time of her death.The notice appeared in the Sevenoaks Chronicle and Kentish Advertiser 28th March 1941. With her were her son William (a textile salesman and a member of the Auxilliary Fire Service) and her daughter Gwen Jewell (a woollen frock manufacturer and buyer. Also a a member of the Auxilliary Fire Service) Source: 1939 England and Wales Register


Alice death



Children of Thomas Porter Grayson (Jr.) and Alice (Oyler) Grayson:
  • Alice Dorothy Born 1903
  • Mary Gwendoline Born 1904
  • Phyllis Marjorie Born 1906.
  • Thomas Leslie 1907-1988 attended school in Loughton, Essex (about 8 miles from Stratford). He then went to Queen Mary College, University of London and graduated with a licentiate of Dentistry. Thomas Leslie Grayson married Ella Maddock in 1934(daughter of G. F. Maddock). T.L. Grayson was a Captain in the Army during the Second World War. He served with the Royal Army Dental Corp and was based in Swindon, Wiltshire while the family lived in Marlow, Bucks. Tom and Ella continued to live in Marlow until their deaths: T.L. Grayson in March 1988 aged 81. Ella Grayson in November 2000, aged 96.
  • William Ronald, 1909-1947
  • Eileen Beryl Born 1912

Grayson children
Left to right (at the back): Alice (Oyler) Grayson, with Beryl, Marjorie, Gwen and Dorothy,
Left to right at front: Tommy, (nanny) and Ron




Note – ages in census collections are not always accurate



The grandchildren of Thomas Porter Grayson (Jr.) and Alice Oyler are not listed as they are still living.

(1)   National Archives
(2) 1939 England and Wales Register. "Initially taken due to the onset of war with the purpose of producing National Identity Cards, the register later came to be multi-functional, first as an aid in the use of ration books and later helping officials record the movement of the civilian population over the following decades and from 1948, as the basis for the National Health Service Register. The 1939 Register is an extremely important genealogical resource, not only for the rich detail and information recorded for each person and household, but also in helping to bridge a thirty-year gap in census data. The census taken in 1931 was destroyed during the Second World War and no census was carried out in 1941 due to the ongoing conflict".  Ancestry.com. 1939 England and Wales Register

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