Person:Edith Sykes (1)

Edith Sophia Sykes was born on 3rd September 1866 at Deddington in Oxfordshire, daughter of Betsy Sykes, formerly Clarke, and her husband Thomas Sykes, an agricultural labourer. She appears to have been known as Sophia, with the 'Edith' not being used on her birth certificate , baptism, nor her childhood appearances in censuses, but it does appear on her marriage certificate and some of her records as an adult.

Sophia was married in 1886, aged about 20, to a horsekeeper and farm labourer named David Smith. They married at Luton in Bedfordshire, quite some distance from Deddington. Sophia and David had a son, Alfred, in Luton in 1888. Their second son, George Albert, was born in Deddington in 1890, but after that they returned to Luton, where they were to live for the rest of their lives.

The family appears in the 1891 census living at 'Why Ax Ye', which was a much photographed picturesque thatched cottage on Park Street just outside the built up area as it then was. They had a daughter, Alice Maud, in 1893, but she died at the age of two.

By 1901 the family was living at 30 Park Road West in Luton, with David working as a horse keeper. In 1911 the family was living at 46 Cambridge Street. They continued living there until about 1934, when they moved a few doors down to 38 Cambridge Street. At the outbreak of the Second World War, Sophia and David were still living there.

David died in 1941, aged 74. Sophia outlived him by just under ten years. She continued to live at 38 Cambridge Street for the rest of her life. She died in Luton on 16th April 1951, at the Luton and Dunstable Hospital. She was 84 years old.

1. ↑ ^1.0 1.1 Births index, in General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration. (London: General Register Office).

   b. Sophia SYKES, September Quarter 1866, Woodstock Registration District, Volume 3a, page 577, mother's maiden name Clarke

2. ↑ Baptisms register, in Deddington, Oxfordshire, England. Parish Registers (Oxfordshire Record Office / ancestry.co.uk).

   BAPTISMS solemnized in the Parish of Deddington in the County of Oxford in the Year 1866
   No.	When Baptized	Child's Christian Name	Parents' Name		Abode	Quality, Trade, or Profession	By whom the Ceremony was performed
   			Christian	Surname
   175	Dec[embe]r 23 1866	Sophia	Thomas & Betsy	Sykes	Deddington	Labourer	Ja[me]s Turner, Vicar

3. ↑ 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 1446; Folio 83; Page 13, 2 Apr 1871.

   Address: New Street, Deddington, Oxfordshire
   Thomas Sykes, head, married, male, 32 [1838/9], Ag Lab, b. Deddington, Oxfordshire
   Betsey Sykes, wife, married, female, 29 [1841/2], b. Deddington, Oxfordshire
   Eliza Sykes, daughter, female, 10 [1860/1], Scholar, b. Deddington, Oxfordshire
   Alfred Sykes, son, male, 8 [1862/3], Scholar, b. Deddington, Oxfordshire
   George Sykes, son, male, 6 [1864/5], Scholar, b. Deddington, Oxfordshire
   Sophia Sykes, daughter, female, 4 [1866/7], Scholar, b. Deddington, Oxfordshire
   Joseph Sykes, son, male, 1 [1869/70], b. Deddington, Oxfordshire

4. ↑ 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 1509; Folio 72; Page 5, 3 Apr 1881.

   Address: New Street, Deddington, Oxfordshire
   James Clarke, head, married, male, 71 [1809/10], Axle Maker (late Clerk), b. Deddington, Oxfordshire
   Elizabeth Clarke, wife, married, female, 65 [1815/6], Nurse Monthly, b. Wigginton, Oxfordshire
   Sarah Clarke, granddaughter, unmarried, female, 17 [1863/4], Domestic Serv, b. Deddington, Oxfordshire
   Sophia Sykes, granddaughter, female, 14 [1866/7], b. Deddington, Oxfordshire

5. ↑ 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 1273; Folio 4; Page 1, 5 Apr 1891.

   Address: Why Ax Ye, Luton, Bedfordshire
   4 rooms occupied
   David Smith, head, married, male, 24 [1866/7], Farm Servant, employed, b. Luton, Bedfordshire
   Edith S. Smith, wife, married, female, 24 [1866/7], b. Deddington, Oxfordshire
   Alfred Smith, son, male, 3 [1887/8], b. Luton, Bedfordshire
   George A. Smith, son, male, 8m [1890], b. Deddington, Oxfordshire
   Susan Sykes, visitor, single, female, 17 [1873/4], General Servant Domestic, employed, b. Deddington, Oxfordshire

6. ↑ 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 1516; Folio 149; Page 19, 31 Mar 1901.

   Address: 30 Park Rd West, Luton, Bedfordshire
   5 or more rooms occupied
   David Smith, head, married, male, 34 [1866/7], Horsekeeper, worker, b. Luton, Bedfordshire
   Sophie Smith, wife, married, female, 34 [1866/7], b. Deddington, Oxfordshire
   Alfred Smith, son, single, male, 13 [1887/8], b. Luton, Bedfordshire
   George A. Smith, son, single, male, 10 [1890/1], b. Deddington, Oxfordshire

7. ↑ 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 8995; Schedule 231, 2 Apr 1911.

   Address: 46 Cambridge Street, Luton, Bedfordshire
   5 rooms occupied
   David Smith, head, male, 44 [1866/7], married 24 years, 3 children born alive, 2 still living, Horse keeper - Borough Council - worker, b. Luton, Bedfordshire
   Edith Sophia Smith, wife, female, 44 [1866/7], married, b. Deddington, Oxfordshire
   George Albert Smith, son, male, 20 [1890/1], single, Warehouseman - Straw Plait Merchant - worker, b. Deddington, Oxfordshire
   Arthur Cecil Buck, boarder, male, 20 [1890/1], single, Marine Engineer - Marine Engineers - worker, b. Outsorn, South Africa

8.   Bedfordshire, England. Electoral Registers 1832-1986 (Bedfordshire Archives / ancestry.co.uk)
   Luton Electoral Registers.

   1933: 46 Cambridge Street: Smith, David / Smith, Edith Sohpia
   1934: 38 Cambridge Street: Smith, David / Smith, Edith Sophia
   1939: 38 Cambridge Street: Smith, David / Smith, Edith Sophia
   1945: 38 Cambridge Street: Saines, Margaret J. / Smith, Sophia
   1946, 1949, 1950, 1951: 38 Cambridge Street: Smith, Sophia

9. ↑ ^9.0 9.1 General Register Office. 1939 Register
   Luton Municipal Borough, 29 Sep 1939.

   38 Cambridge Street, Luton, Bedfordshire
   Smith, David / male / 28 Nov 1866 / married / Horse Keeper Retired
   Smith, Sophia / female / 3 Sep 1866 / married / Unpaid domestic duties

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

    d. Sophia SMITH, June Quarter 1951, Luton Registration District, Volume 4a, page 114, aged 84 [1866/7]

11. ↑ England. National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations),1858 onwards. (Ancestry.com).

    1951
    SMITH Sophia of 38 Cambridge-street Luton Bedfordshire widow died 16 April 1951 at Luton and Dunstable Hospital Luton Probate London 16 May to Joseph Langbridge retired shops inspector and Alfred Smith plant engineer.
    Effects £123 2s. 5d.