Page 137 - Just another English family (Sep 2019)

Now to discuss the survivors of James’s first family who were expected to appear in the 1911 census. Colonel (1872-1951) had married Annie (1872-1960) in Bradford in 1899 and they had two children – Henry Hooper (1899-1983) and Martha Annie (1901-?). Henry Hooper married Ethel Holmes (1901-1963) in Bradford at St John’s Church, Bierley, in April 1928 and they had two children – Vera (1930-?) and Derek (1933-?). Vera married in Bradford in 1954 and became Vera Stopford, but there is no evidence that Derek has ever married.
Clara (1880-1951) who does not seem to have ever married is in the 1911 census, but nothing more is known about her. Arthur (1882-?) married Alice Smith (1883-1971) in Bradford in September 1910, but there is no evidence that Arthur and Alice had any children. So, by the time of the 1961 census, the descendants of James and Eliza’s seven children who were still alive and still called Soothill are remarkably few. Henry Hooper and his wife, Ethel, will still be alive, together with their children Vera and Derek, but Vera is now married and Derek seems to have no heirs. Similarly, while Arthur and Alice are both probably alive for the 1961 census, again there are no heirs.
Next, we can consider William and Mary’s two boys who had issue – George and Arthur. George (1848-1925) had married Margaret Jane (1847-1926) [SURNAME?] in 1870 in Bradford and had four children – Alfred H. (1871-1943), Florence Mary (1875-?), Bertha (1878-?) and Lily (1882-?) – who were all born in Bradford. George and Margaret both died in Bradford – in 1925 and 1926 respectively and so they can be regarded as a Bradford family. Their eldest child, Alfred H., had at the time of the 1911 census been married to Hannah for 10 years. Alfred was a grocer with Hannah assisting in the business. They had a live-in general domestic servant aged 22 who was a Yorkshire-born single lady. Certainly having a domestic servant put them in a higher stratum than most Soothills to date. Hannah died in Bradford in 1915 and there is no evidence that Alfred and Hannah had any children. Later Alfred married Janet Forshaw/Downham in Bradford in 1928, but again there is no evidence of any children. Alfred died in Wharfedale in 1943. It is not clear when his wife, Janet, died. All the three sisters of Alfred married before the 1911 census so they do not appear there as a Soothill. Hence, it seems unlikely that anyone directly
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