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CHARLES DRUCE


Charles was born in 1831 in Frome, the fourth son of James and Sarah Druce.


Charles married Amelia Seer on 25th December 1850. A copy of the marriage certificate is shown below.

His occupation was that of a butcher, whilst Amelia was a dressmaker. Charles and Amelia lived at 33 Keyford Street, Frome, as evidenced by the 1851 Census. It is interesting to note from the Census that the residents at 32 Keyford Street were Ann Seer (widow), Emma Seer (daughter) and William Seer (son).


Charles and Amelia's first child, Sarah, was born on 25th September 1851 at Keyford, Frome. Albert, their second child, was born on 1st July 1858 at the Union Workhouse, Frome, as evidenced by the birth certificate. There is no trace of Charles at this stage, so presumably he must have moved away from the area to find work, being unable to support his family in Frome. The 1861 Census shows Amelia, Sarah and Albert still resident in the Workhouse.


Amelia died on 7th March 1866 in the Highworth District of Swindon, Wiltshire. Present at her death was sister-in-law Charlotte Druce (the wife of William, a brother of Charles). The death certificate shows Amelia as the wife of Charles Druce and her occupation as "labourer, factory".


Charles seems to have stayed in the Highworth/Swindon area which re-enforces my belief that he may have worked on the Great Western Railway. He second marriage was to Elizabeth Speck. The married on 29th August 1868 at the Register Office in the District of Highworth in the county of Wilts. & Berks. The marriage certificate states that Charles Druce, age 35, a Widower, is a Labourer and son of James Druce, a Labourer. Elizabeth Speck, age 28, a Spinster, is a daughter of William Speck "deceased", a Labourer. The residence at the time of marriage is shown as Swindon for both Charles and Elizabeth.


Charles and Elizabeth appear to have had one child, namely, Charles Herbert, born in Highworth in the September quarter of 1877. At this time the family moved to Battersea and in the December quarter of 1877 both Elizabeth and Charles Herbert died.


Charles was a mechanic at the time of his third marriage to Eliza Seale on 8th June 1878. He was 47 years of age when he married, just two years older than Eliza, a spinster (born in Cheltenham, Glos.). The marriage certificate shows that they both lived in the same street, namely, Corunna Road, Battersea (situated very close to Queen's Road Battersea railway station), Charles living at no. 25 and Eliza at no. 42. There were no children by this marriage.


The fact that Amelia had died in Swindon and that Charles lived in that area for some time and was later living near Queen's Road Battersea railway station, suggests that he most certainly worked on the railways, firstly as an employee of The Great Western Railway and later on Southern Railways. However, I still have much research to do in order to establish that this was the case.


Charles died on 7th December 1885, aged 54, at 54 Stockdale Road, Battersea. His occupation at the time of death was that of a boiler maker's assistant. The death certificate names Albert as the informant. Charles was buried at Battersea Rise Cemetery on 12th December 1885 (grave no.7977). The grave was eventually for four interments and included Ann Seale (Eliza's mother - buried on 25th November 1879, Eliza (buried on 2nd April 1814) and Harriet Hemmings (Eliza's sister - buried on 11th November 1920).



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