Person:Amelia Dance (1)

Amelia Catherine Dance was baptised on 2nd July 1843 at Preshute in Wiltshire, daughter of a laundress called Amelia Dance, formerly Dows, and her husband Robert Dance, an agricultural labourer. The family lived at St Margarets, which was a suburb of the town of Marlborough which lay within the parish of Preshute. By the 1851 census they had moved across the River Kennet into the town of Marlborough itself, where they lived on the street called St Martins.

By 1861 Amelia had left home and was working as a cook at an asylum in Devizes, a few miles west of Marlborough.

On 23rd July 1865, aged 22, Amelia married John Kempson. They were married at the church of St George, Hanover Square in the Westminster area of London. At the time of their marriage they were both living nearby at Haunch of Venison Yard. After their marriage they moved to The Hyde on the boundary between the parishes of Hendon and Kingsbury in Middlesex. The Hyde at this time was a rural hamlet a couple of miles beyond London's urban area, although with Hendon railway station opening nearby in 1868 the area started to see more suburban development.

Amelia and John had six children born in the Hendon area between 1866 and 1876, although the second died at the age of two. The 1871 census finds them living at Hyde Cottage in Hendon with John working as a labourer.

In either 1876 or 1877 the family left the Hendon area and moved a few miles south to Twickenham, where they had another six children between 1877 and 1888, although the penultimate child died as a baby in 1885. The 1881 census finds the family living at Knowle Road in Twickenham, with John working as a coachman. By 1891 they had moved within Twickenham to 1 Eliza Terrace on Albion Road.

John died in 1895, aged 51.

The 1901 census finds Amelia living at 11 Radnor Gardens in Twickenham with her youngest two surviving children. They were living in just one room of the house, and Amelia's occupation is given as "kept by sons". In 1911 Amelia and her daughter Lilian (or Emily Gertrude Lilian) were living in one room at 48 Gould Road.

Amelia died in 1913, aged 69.

1.   Births index, in General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration. (London: General Register Office).

   b. Amelia Catherine DANCE, September Quarter 1843, Marlborough Registration District, Volume 8, page 347, mother's maiden name Dows

2. ↑ Baptisms register, in Church of England. Parish Church of Preshute. Parish registers, 1607-1947. (Recordak, 1947).

   BAPTISMS solemnized in the Parish of Preshute in the County of Wilts in the Year 1843
   No.	When Baptized	Child's Christian Name	Parents' Name		Abode	Quality, Trade, or Profession	By whom the Ceremony was performed
   			Christian	Surname
   1018	July 2nd	Amelia Catherine Daughter	Robert & Amelia	Dance	St Margarets	Labourer	John Edmeads

3. ↑ England. 1851 Census Returns for England and Wales. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class HO107; Piece 1838; Folio 159; Page 48, 30 Mar 1851.

   Address: St Martins, Marlborough (St Mary), Wiltshire
   Robert Dance, head, married, male, 32 [1818/19], Ag[ricultural] L[abourer], b. Preshute, Wiltshire
   Amelia Dance, wife, married, female, 31 [1819/20], Laundress, b. Collingbourn, Wiltshire
   Amelia Dance, daughter, female, 7 [1843/4], Scholar, b. Preshute, Wiltshire
   William Dance, son, male, 5 [1845/6], Scholar, b. Preshute, Wiltshire

4. ↑ England. 1861 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class RG9; Piece 1293; Folio 161; Page 18, 7 Apr 1861.

   Address: Bellevue Asylum, Week, Devizes (St James), Wiltshire
   [Many staff and inmates, including:]
   Amelia K. Dance, servant, unmarried, female, 20 [1840/1], Cook, b. Marlborough, Wiltshire

5. ↑ England. England and Wales. 1871 Census Schedules. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class RG10; Piece 1330; Folio 41; Page 13, 2 Apr 1871.

   Address: Hyde Cottage, Hendon, Middlesex
   John Kempson, head, married, male, 26 [1844/5], Labourer, b. Tattenhoe, Beds or Bucks
   Amelia C. Kempson, wife, married, female, 27 [1843/4], b. Marlborough, Wiltshire
   William F. Kempson, son, male, 5 [1865/6], Scholar, b. Hyde, Hendon, Middlesex
   Henry E. Kempson, son, male, 11mo [1870], b. Hyde, Hendon, Middlesex
   Hannah Richardson, lodger, unmarried, female, 28 [1842/3], Ironer, b. Bracknell, Berkshire
   John Richardson, lodger son, male, 1 [1869/70], b. Blackwater, Berkshire

6. ↑ England. 1881 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands: . (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class RG11; Piece 1342; Folio 102; Page 10, 3 Apr 1881.

   Address: Knowle Road, Twickenham, Middlesex
   John Kempson, head, married, male, 36 [1844/5], Coachman, b. Bilington, Bedfordshire
   Amelia C. Kempson, wife, married, female, 37 [1843/4], b. Marlborough, Wiltshire
   William F. Kempson, son, male, 15 [1865/6], Errand Boy, b. The Hyde, Kingsbury
   Henry E. Kempson, son, male, 10 [1870/1], Scholar, b. The Hyde, Kingsbury
   Augustus Kempson, daughter, female, 8 [1872/3], Scholar, b. The Hyde, Kingsbury
   Herbert W. Kempson, son, male, 6 [1874/5], Scholar, b. The Hyde, Kingsbury
   Arthur R. Kempson, son, male, 5 [1875/6], Scholar, b. The Hyde, Kingsbury
   Christina R. Kempson, daughter, female, 4 [1876/7], Scholar, b. Twickenham
   Albert F. Kempson, son, male, 9mo [1880], b. Twickenham, Middlesex
   Jane Dance, visitor, married, female, 56 [1824/5[, b. Ramsbury, Wiltshire
   Ellen A. Dance, visitor, unmarried, female, 19 [1861/2], Domestic Servant, b. Marlborough, Wiltshire

7. ↑ England. 1891 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class RG12; Piece 1027; Folio 21; Page 35, 5 Apr 1891.

   Address: 1 Eliza Terrace, Albion Road, Twickenham, Middlesex
   John Kempson, head, married, male, 46 [1844/5], Domestic Servant, employed, b. Great Billington, Bedfordshire
   Amelia Kempson, wife, married, female, 47 [1843/4], b. Marlborough, Wiltshire
   Henry E. Kempson, son, single, male, 20 [1870/1], Postman, b. Hendon, Middlesex
   Arthur R. Kempson, son, single, male, 15 [1875/6], Domestic Servant, employed, b. Hendon, Middlesex
   Rose C.J. Kempson, daughter, single, female, 13 [1877/8], b. Twickenham, Middlesex
   Albert F. Kempson, son, single, male, 10 [1880/1], b. Twickenham, Middlesex
   Emma A. Kempson, daughter, single, female, 9 [1881/2], b. Twickenham, Middlesex
   Emily G.L. Kempson, daughter, single, female, 5 [1885/6], b. Twickenham, Middlesex
   Edward J.F. Kempson, son, single, male, 2 [1888/9], b. Twickenham, Middlesex

8. ↑ England. England. 1901 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class RG13; Piece 1189; Folio 104; Page 9, 31 Mar 1901.

   Address: 11 Radnor Gardens, Twickenham, Middlesex
   1 room occupied
   Amelia Catharine Kempson, head, widow, female, 57 [1843/4], Kept by sons, b. St Margarets, Marlborough, Wiltshire
   Emily Gertrude Lilian Kempson, daughter, single, female, 18 [1882/3], Daily Nurse Maid, b. Twickenham, Middlesex
   Edward John Francis Kempson, son, single, male, 12 [1888/9], b. Twickenham, Middlesex

9. ↑ England. 1911 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. (Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom: The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.))
   Class RG14; Piece 6850; Schedule 178, 2 Apr 1911.

   48 Gould Road, Twickenham, Middlesex
   1 room occupied
   Amelia Kempson, head, female, 68 [1842/3], widow, b. St Margaret, Preshute, Wiltshire
   Lilian Kempson, daughter, female, 28 [1882/3], single, Fancy Worker, own account, working at home, b. Twickenham, Middlesex

10. ↑ Deaths index, in General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration. (London: General Register Office).

    d. Amelia Catherine KEMPSON, June Quarter 1913, Staines Registration District, Volume 3a, page 15, aged 69 [1843/4]