Theodore and Gertrude
Theodore marries Gertrude in 1887
In the summer of 1887 Theodore Francis Garrett married my great grandmother Gertrude Annie Journeaux
He was only forty-two years old yet the records already reveal a life marked by professional success, repeated
bereavements, changing households and an extended family whose relationships defy easy explanation. As a
confident Victorian gentleman standing at the altar he had already lived several lives.
Gertrude Annie Journeaux was about eighteen years old (the census isn't always accurate) when she married
Theodore at St Clement Danes in London. She came from the Jersey community whose families had maintained links
with London for many years. At the time of their marriage neither of them could have known that Gertrude would
become the mother of the youngest branch of Theodore's family and the woman with whom he would spend the
remainder of his life.
- Annie Garrett, daughter, also aged twenty-two,
- Violet Garrett, daughter, aged ten,
- baby Constance, daughter, only one year old and
- Annie E Pollikett, a servant.
At first glance this appears to be an ordinary middle class Victorian family.
It is anything but.
As the records accumulated, it became clear that Theodore's domestic life was far more complicated than it first appeared.
I struggled to understand the apparently conflicting records of marriages, names and dates. The women he married were not unrelated individuals brought together by chance, but members of the same extended Jersey family.
Understanding how that came about became one of many puzzles for me.
I wanted to know more about the daughters in the 1891 household.
AnnieAnnie and Gertrude were near enough the same age so they can't be mother and daughter. A marriage certificate shows that Theodore married Annie's mother also named Annie - Annie Marion Evans in 1867 and Annie Maud Evans was born in 1868. So now I knew that Annie Maud's mother was Annie Marion Evans.
Violet Birth and death dates show that Violet could not have been Gertrude's daughter. Gertrude would have been only twelve when Violet was born. So someone else had to be her mother. Was it also Annie Marion?
Constance The birth certificate for Constance shows Gertrude and Theodore as her parents.
Now the household has a husband and wife and three daughters, two of which must have been from a previous marriage.
Violet is described as Theodore's daughter but I didn't know who her mother was. It could be Annie Marion but at this stage there was no proof.
So were Violet and Annie sisters? That seems like a reasonable assumption. However, Annie Marion (Annie Maud's mother) died in 1871 and Violet was born in 1880. That means Violet and Annie can't be full sisters.
At this point there are three children in the family from three different mothers. I know two of them but who was Violet's mother?
Uncovering more information by searching for Theodore Garrett in various marriage sites produced a marriage to Mary Jane Evans in 1875.
This was a bit confusing as Annie Evans (Theodore's first wife) had the same surname. I knew that Annie was from Jersey and I wondered if Mary had some connection. The Jersey genealogy website produced a surprising answer.
They were sisters!
In Victorian England marriage laws were very complicated and at the time England did not permit marriage to a deceased wife's sister.
I'm not sure where this leaves Theodore having married his dead wife's sister.
This still doesn't answer who Violet's mother was. I thought it could be Mary as Theodore and Mary married in 1875 and Violet was born in 1880 but this was simply a possibility with no proof. As we know Theodore married Gertrude in 1887 so what happened to Mary? Mary and Theodore married 13 years earlier in 1875. Divorce was possible, though rare. The records revealed no trace of one. Instead, I found her death certificate.
Mary had died the previous year - 1886.
So Mary could have been Violet's mother but nothing proved she was or wasn't. At this stage Violet's mother's name still remained unresolved.
I was interested in the Evans family connection so I researched further but this time in the Jersey archives.
This lead to contact with another researcher in St Hellier. When I looked for marriage certificates previously I found a date and no name for the bride but one for Theodore in January 1879. I had dismissed this because I knew that Theodore was married to Mary at that time.
However the St Hellier researcher produced a name - Elizabeth Ann Buckhurst - who curiously wasn't from Jersey but Chatham in Kent. I found the marriage listed on the marriage index and, sure enough, Theodore had married Elizabeth whilst married to Mary!
I was really surprised and in disbelief. What is happening? Theodore has married Annie and then her sister Mary after Annie died contrary to the current English law.
He the married Elizabeth whilst married to Mary - all in the space of 10 years!
A census record for 1881 shows a curious set of names. The head was Francis Garrett, his wife was Ann Garrett
and two daughters Maud aged 11 and Violet aged 11 months.
This record correlates directly to Theodore, Elizabeth, Annie Maud and Violet and shows a mixed household
with Theodore, his current wife Elizabeth, Annie his daughter from a previous marriage and a new daughter
Violet.
Why would they use their middle names and why would Theodore lie about his profession (he said he was an art
embroider)?
I can only surmise that it's because he is still married to Mary and wanted some anonymity and
respectability. It's also curious that Annie Maud was in the same household but at least Theodore took his
parental responsibilities seriously.
Another census record for the same year (1881) shows MJ Evans living in London as a 'companion' and shown as a
widow. The age and place of birth matches Mary Jane Evans so it's more than likely that they have separated and
she was using the title 'widow' to remain respectable.
A historical newspaper letter (shown right) written by Theodore in 1883 shed some light on the middle names in the census. It
shows that the split with Mary was by agreement between them. It seems that the 'relatives in England refused
to recognise the marriage'. It makes me wonder what the reasons for this were and who objected.
Another puzzle to solve at some point!
Theodore was working at a medical practice when
one of the doctors committed suicide and he was a witness in the inquest.
His private life was questioned to try and prove that he was a poor witness and the state of his marriages
was used to prove this. However it seems that the attempted character assassination only asked about him
marrying his dead wife's sister not that he was married to two living wives at the same time!
Known as the Hounslow Tragedy it made national headlines. More about that later.
So we know Violet's mother was more than likely Elizabeth Buckhurst as Violet was just 11 months old in the census. This explains the residents and their relationships in the house in 1891.
Annie Maud's mother was Annie Marion Evans
Violet's mother was Elizabeth Buckhurst
Constance's mother was Gertrude Journeaux.
This explained the household in 1891 so I thought I had found most of the secrets of Theodore's earlier private life.
Once again I was wrong.
Two more children emerged from the records showing two infants - Frederick Frances Garrett (died 1872 age less than 1) and Bertha Frances Garrett (born 1873 and died 1874). Further research showed Theodore as the father and the mother as Rosalind Octavia Bertha Evans.
Was this another sister?
The Jersey research showed that yes Rosalind was another sister. It also shows that she died in 1874 age 25.
No trace of a marriage certificate for Rosalind could be found but this relationship occurred between Annie Evans dying and Theodore and Mary marrying so the timeline fits.
It's complicated keeping track of the names and dates so here's a summary
- 14th May 1867 Theodore marries Annie Marion Evans
- February 1871 Annie Marion dies age 24
- 1872 Theodore might have married Rosalind
- July 1874 Rosalind Octavia Evans dies age 25
- 20th February 1875 Theodore marries Mary Jane Evans
- January 1879 Theodore marries Elizabeth Buckhurst
- 1883 Elizabeth Buckhurst dies age 33
- 1886 Mary Jane Evans dies age 30
- July 1887 Theodore marries Gertrude Annie Journeaux
This is very complicated and has a lot of odd relationships and sorrow within the Evans family. I do wonder what the rest of the Evans family thought of all this and how they coped.
When the census enumerator knocked on Theodore's door in 1891 he could not have known that the apparently ordinary household reflected more than twenty years of marriages, bereavements and intertwined family relationships. Annie, Violet and Constance each represented a different chapter of Theodore's life, while Gertrude had inherited a family history far more complicated than it first appeared.