Page 48 - Just another English family (Sep 2019)

There is most information about the middle child or second son, George Henry (1862-1940), who was also born in Dewsbury. Information is often aided by a comparatively long life. George Henry died in 1940 in Wharfedale at the age of 77, so there will be more about him in the next chapter. George Henry married Eunice Newby (1863-1931) in Dewsbury on Christmas Day 1882. Eunice (known more generally as Emmie) had been born in Morley, Yorkshire. Morley is a suburb of Leeds and is only about five miles from Dewsbury, so there is no surprise that George and Emmie met up. George and Emmie produced five children – Harriet (1883-1965), Harry (1886-1962), Frederick Newby (known as Fred) (1888-1960), Clifford (1891-1894) and Reta (1899-?). Sadly, the penultimate birth, Clifford, died at the age of two in 1894.
Again to summarise, Samuel and Harriet had seven grandchildren named Soothill of whom four were boys. Disregarding Clifford who, as stated, died aged two, it really comes to three male first cousins – William Barton (b.1892), Harry (b.1886) and Fred (b.1888) to carry the Soothill flag among this branch of the family.
Nothing beyond their births in Halifax is known about Thomas (1832-?) or Isaac (1837-?), the third and fourth eldest boys of Thomas and Elizabeth, while the fifth eldest, Joseph (1839-1890) gets married in Halifax in 1858 at 19 years. There is no evidence of any offspring following this union. Joseph is shown in the 1881 census as a general labourer living at Multure Hall, Old Model Lodging House, Halifax which does not sound a promising outcome. Joseph died in 1890 in Halifax at around the age of 50 years.
Finally, there is George, the youngest of Thomas and Elizabeth’s family. Sadly, George (b.1843) died in 1845 at only one year of age.
There are two areas that I wish to probe over the fifty years for each of these 44