Alfred John Langford is my Great Great Grandfather through
my Grandmother on my mom’s side.
Alfred was born on March 22nd 1875 in Gravesend,
Kent, England. According to my research, he was the youngest child of William
George Langford and Sarah Hills. Alfred was christened just a few months after
his birth on May 9th (I only have information from an indexed
record, not a scanned copy of the record). We first see him in the 1881 England
Census as a six year old. He is listed as a scholar in that census, which means
that his family may have had some means to allow all of the young children to
be educated. One interesting note to this census is that the census
specifically lists their address as the Baker’s Shop at 13 Russell Street. The
family lived above the bakery where his father worked as a baker and confectioner.
1881 Census (1)
We next find Alfred in the 1891 Census. At the age of 16 he
is still living at home with most of his family from the previous census in the
same address at 13 Russell St, which is still specifically called the baker’s
shop. He is listed as being a plumber’s apprentice, which suggests that he did
not want to participate in the family bakery business. The census shows that at
least three of Alfred’s siblings (Thomas, Emily, and George) all were bakers or
worked at the shop in some form, but Alfred decided to take a more handyman
route.
1891 Census (2)
Alfred is still living at home at the age of 26 in the 1901
census. However, the family is no longer living in the baker’s shop, but they
are still living in Gravesend. His father has passed away, his mother is now the
head of household, and only a few of his siblings still live together. Alfred
is listed as a “journeyman” with specific emphasis as a house painter. A
journeyman was an individual that was trained to perform a craft but was not
yet a master (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journeyman).
Therefore, Alfred must have apprenticed being a painter and was employed to do
so.
1901 Census (3)
Alfred (and Maud, for that matter) married at an older age.
Alfred married Maud Alice Watkins in 1904 in Gravesend, Kent. I do not have the
marriage record, and the best evidence I have of their marriage date is the
Free BMD Marriage index that lists Alfred and Maud on the same page for where
the actual marriage is located.
We find Alfred and Maud (and two of their children) together
in the 1911 census. They are still living in Gravesend. He is listed as a ship
painter in the census, which means he continued with the painting career from
the previous census.
1911 Census (4)
Alfred and Maud had three children together: Cyril Alfred
Langford, Leslie George Langford, and Marjorie Phyllis Langford (who is my
Great Grandmother).
Undated Photo (personal collection). The two standing adults to the left are not known. Alfred is adult male standing right. Maud Alice is adult woman sitting right. Elderly woman sitting is presumably Sarah Hills. She is holding baby Marjorie. Young boys are Leslie and Cyril. While the photo is undated, Marjorie is probably under a year old, which make this photo in the 1912-1913 range.
They lived in Gravesend throughout their lives. According to
the Free BMD Death Index, Alfred passed away in June 1957 in Dartford, Kent.
Dartford is just a few miles west of Gravesend, so this supports the general
narrative of where they lived.
My Great Grandfather Robert John Turner, who married Alfred’s
daughter Marjorie, recounted in a recording dated April 14th, 1979 that
when he was courting Marjorie she “…asked me to visit her Mother and Father,
who as you know, were very wonderful people. I liked them very much as I did to
the end of their lives on earth.” He also recounted a specific interaction he
had with Alfred. After Robert and Marjorie had been dating for almost two
years, they had an argument because Marjorie wanted to get married while Robert
was not ready. He actually stopped talking to her for a day because of the row,
and Robert recalls that “…on the second night that I did not call for Marjorie,
her father, Mr. Langford, came to see me at my parent’s home in [uninterpretable].
And he said that Marjorie was very upset. I told him that I also was very
unhappy, ‘But Mr. Langford, we could not get married at our age. I love
Marjorie very much, but without money, it would be the wrong thing to do. It
would not help us to happiness.’ He said, ‘You are quite right Bob, just go on
being friends.’ The following evening, I was back again once more with my
beautiful…Marjorie.” I appreciate Alfred stepping in and helping to mediate the
situation or I might not be here today!
Marjorie with Langfords, undated (personal collection)
(2)Census Returns of England and Wales, 1891. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives of the UK (TNA): Public Record Office (PRO), 1891. Class: RG12; Piece: 645; Folio: 155; Page: 18; GSU roll: 6095755
(3)Census Returns of England and Wales, 1901. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives, 1901. Class: RG13; Piece: 712; Folio: 49; Page: 37
(4)Census Returns of England and Wales, 1911. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives of the UK (TNA), 1911. Class: RG14; Piece: 3822; Schedule Number: 238
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