In my genealogy coursework reading yesterday, the information was about using electoral rolls to find your ancestors. So, I thought that looking at my husband’s grandparents lived using the electoral rolls was a good way to understand what information I could find.
When Arthur John Algar and Bridget Whelan were married in 1923. He was living at 19 Chesley Gardens in East Ham…
… and she living at 320 Fulham Palace Road in Fulham.
They both worked in London and met through work, but definitely did not live in easy commuting distance of each other. They married in the register office with Arthur’s mother and brother standing as witnesses. As Bridget had come over from Ireland when she was a teen to work, it is not surprising that she had no relatives to stand up for her. Arthur was Protestant and Bridget was Catholic, so marrying in the register office removed any religious disagreements as well.
They moved to 18 Nutbrowne Road in the parish of Dagenham in the Dagenham Ward. I am not sure if this was their first house, but by 1925 they were living there and raising their daughter Beattie.
In 1927 they moved to 50 Stanford Way in the parish of Mitcham in the East Ward. It was there that Paul’s mother Peggy was born.
In 1932 they moved closer to central London to 9 East Way in Shirley, Croydon, which is in the polling district of Addington. It was here they brought up their two girls. They lived at 9 East Way for the remainder of their lives.
As you can see, the distance between these residences is not huge, but I imagine the neighbourhoods were very different.
