census details from Mike Short 8.4.2006
1871 Cen. Living 169 Francis Street with wife Mary Ann; children James Thomas - mechanic, John Edward, Martha Elizabeth, Ellen Elizabeth & Mary Ann Maria. William’s occupation: Iron Founder
1881 Cen. General Domestic Servant living 108 Whitwam Street, Nether Hallam, Sheffield
1891 Cen. Living 49 Harrington Street, Eccleshall Bierlow, Sheffield with husband - Club Porter; children Julia H & Beatrice H. Child Lily SHORT with Martha Elizabeth’s parents
1901 Cen: living 56 Chesterfield Road, Norton, Derbyshire with husband - Gentleman’s Club Waiter; children
Lily Julia H - General Domestic Servant,
Beatrice H,
George E,
Alice M,
Albert E
HoraceKF 1881 census
108 Whitham Rd, Nether Hallam, York, England
PRO Ref RG11 Piece/Folio 4627/76 Page 1
Name Relation Marital Status Gender Age Birthplace Occupation Disability
Mary BENTLEY Head W Female 73 West Mulling, Kent, England Annuitant
Emily BENTLEY Daur U Female 34 Cambridge, Cambridge, England
Elizabeth FENTIMAN Sister U Female 75 West Mulling, Kent, England Annuitant
Martha SHORT Serv U Female 18 Birmingham, Warwick, England General Servant (Dom)
census details from Mike Short 8.4.2006
1871 Cen. Living 169 Francis Street, Birmingham with parents1881 Cen. Living 56 Langdon Street, Ecclehall Bierlow, Sheffield, Yorkshire with father and stepmother
KF's 1881 census
56 Langdon St, Ecclesall Bierlow, York, England
PRO RG11 Piece/Folio 4638/94 Page 8
Name Marital Status Gender Age Birthplace Occupation
William SHORT M Male 49 B Ham, Warwick, England Malleable Iron Founder
Jane SHORT M Female 48 Kempsey, Worcester, England
John E. SHORT U Male 20 B Ham, Warwick, England Malleable Iron Caster
Mary A.M. SHORT U Female 11 B Ham, Warwick, England Scholar
William H. SHORT Male 9 B Ham, Warwick, England Scholar
1891 Cen. Living 96 Albert Road, Heeley, Nether Hallam, Sheffield with father and stemother .1901 Cen. Living 20 Chantry Road, Norton, Derbyshire with husband - Highway Labourer; children
Ann HODGE b. 1892/3 Norton, Derbyshire;
William HODGE b. 1894/5 Norton, Derbyshire;
Harry HODGE b. 1898/9 Norton, Derbyshire;
Elsie HODGE b. 1900 Norton, Derbyshire (6 months at Cen.)
1891 Cen. living 291 Boldmere Road with husband - merchant’s Clerk and Children Henry Lowe HART & James Dempster HART.
1901 Cen. living 339 Stratford Road, Yardley with husband - Tobacconist working on own account from home and children
Henry Lowe HART b. 1885 Aston, Birmingham
James Dempster HART b. 1887 Aston, BirminghamFamily said to have moved to Devon
1871 Cen. . Living Back of 174 Great Lister Street, Duddeston & Nechells, Aston, Birmingham, with widowed father
KF's 1881 census details
Mount Pleasant, Aston, Warwick, England
PRO Ref RG11 Piece/Folio 3048/93 Page 12
Name Relation Marital Status Gender Age Birthplace Occupation Disability
James D. SHORT Head M Male 43 Aston, Warwick, England Iron Founder
Fanney E. SHORT Wife M Female 26 Bham, Warwick, England
Charlotte L. SHORT Daughter Female 22 Bham, Warwick, England
James W. SHORT Son Male 20 Bham, Warwick, England Iron Caster
Mary A. SHORT Daughter Female 18 Bham, Warwick, England Pupil Teacher
Albert SHORT Son Male 3 Stechford, Warwick, England
Florrie SHORT Daughter Female 2 Washwood Heath, Warwick, England
Earnest D. SHORT Son Male 3 m Washwood Heath, Warwick, England
Jennie NICHOLAS Visitor Female 21 Pershore, Worcester, England1891 Cen. living 291 Boldmere Road with husband - merchant’s Clerk and Children Henry Lowe HART & James Dempster HART.
1901 Cen. living 339 Stratford Road, Yardley with husband - Tobacconist working on own account from home and children
Henry Lowe HART b. 1885 Aston, Birmingham
James Dempster HART b. 1887 Aston, BirminghamFamily said to have moved to Devon
email from Mike Short 14.9.2006
Albert's occupation at birth: musicianKF's 1881 census details
Mount Pleasant, Aston, Warwick, England
PRO Ref RG11 Piece/Folio 3048/93 Page 12
Name Relation Marital Status Gender Age Birthplace Occupation Disability
James D. SHORT Head M Male 43 Aston, Warwick, England Iron Founder
Fanney E. SHORT Wife M Female 26 Bham, Warwick, England
Charlotte L. SHORT Daughter Female 22 Bham, Warwick, England
James W. SHORT Son Male 20 Bham, Warwick, England Iron Caster
Mary A. SHORT Daughter Female 18 Bham, Warwick, England Pupil Teacher
Albert SHORT Son Male 3 Stechford, Warwick, England
Florrie SHORT Daughter Female 2 Washwood Heath, Warwick, England
Earnest D. SHORT Son Male 3 m Washwood Heath, Warwick, England
Jennie NICHOLAS Visitor Female 21 Pershore, Worcester, England1891 Cen. Living 366 New John St, St Georges parish, Birmingham with second wife; children of first wife Charlotte Louisa & James William - caster; children of second wife Albert, Fanny Florence, Ernest, Percival, Alfred Leonard & Ethel; also two domestic servants. James Dempster’s occupation: Licensed Victualler public house
1901 Cen. Living Aston Tavern, 10 Aston Road, Aston Manor with wife; child by first wife Charlotte Louisa - barmaid; children by second marriage Albert - musician, Fanny Florence - barmaid, Ernest Dempster - Clerk ?Brewery?, Percival - railway clerk, Ethel, Harold, Victor James & Howard; also present servant-nursemaid aged 12
Known by the family to have been a brilliant violinist, went to London for lessons, became ‘leader of the Dan Godfrey’ Orchestra. Shot in the arm during Army service, ending his musical career. It is not known when the injury occurred.
Sir Dan Godfrey was the leader of the Bournemouth Municipal Orchestra in the early part of the twentieth century. There is another Dan Godfrey. Dan Godfrey Junior, in 1922, founded the 2ZY Orchestra, the orchestra of Manchester’s first radio station, later to become the Northern Wireless Orchestra to 1931, then, in reduced form, the 9 piece Northern Studio Orchestra from 1932. These orchestras were the ancestors of the BBC National Orchestra and, from 1982, the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra.
Enquiries have been made of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (successor to the BMO) and it is hoped to report more. An undated early photograph of the BMO does show a youthful looking leader so I remain hopeful.
On the 1901 Cen. there are GIRARDAUs living in Sparkbrook, Birmingham and there are GIRARDAUs b. in Solihull in the 1890s and m. in Birmingham just after 1900. Adrien Emile GIRARDAU has not yet been found on the 1901 Cen.
KF's 1881 census details
Mount Pleasant, Aston, Warwick, England
PRO Ref RG11 Piece/Folio 3048/93 Page 12
Name Relation Marital Status Gender Age Birthplace Occupation Disability
James D. SHORT Head M Male 43 Aston, Warwick, England Iron Founder
Fanney E. SHORT Wife M Female 26 Bham, Warwick, England
Charlotte L. SHORT Daughter Female 22 Bham, Warwick, England
James W. SHORT Son Male 20 Bham, Warwick, England Iron Caster
Mary A. SHORT Daughter Female 18 Bham, Warwick, England Pupil Teacher
Albert SHORT Son Male 3 Stechford, Warwick, England
Florrie SHORT Daughter Female 2 Washwood Heath, Warwick, England
Earnest D. SHORT Son Male 3 m Washwood Heath, Warwick, England
Jennie NICHOLAS Visitor Female 21 Pershore, Worcester, England1891 Cen. Living 366 New John St, St Georges parish, Birmingham with second wife; children of first wife Charlotte Louisa & James William - caster; children of second wife Albert, Fanny Florence, Ernest, Percival, Alfred Leonard & Ethel; also two domestic servants. James Dempster’s occupation: Licensed Victualler public house
1901 Cen. Living Aston Tavern, 10 Aston Road, Aston Manor with wife; child by first wife Charlotte Louisa - barmaid; children by second marriage Albert - musician, Fanny Florence - barmaid, Ernest Dempster - Clerk ?Brewery?, Percival - railway clerk, Ethel, Harold, Victor James & Howard; also present servant-nursemaid aged 12
note from Mike Short 8.4.2006
A descendant reports that Fanny Florence was an excellent musician and had a high level qualification in music, possibly a degree - if this is true, a huge achievement for a woman in 1900.
Fanny Florence and her husband understood to have emigrated to Canada around or before 1910
KF's 1881 census details
Mount Pleasant, Aston, Warwick, England
PRO Ref RG11 Piece/Folio 3048/93 Page 12
Name Relation Marital Status Gender Age Birthplace Occupation Disability
James D. SHORT Head M Male 43 Aston, Warwick, England Iron Founder
Fanney E. SHORT Wife M Female 26 Bham, Warwick, England
Charlotte L. SHORT Daughter Female 22 Bham, Warwick, England
James W. SHORT Son Male 20 Bham, Warwick, England Iron Caster
Mary A. SHORT Daughter Female 18 Bham, Warwick, England Pupil Teacher
Albert SHORT Son Male 3 Stechford, Warwick, England
Florrie SHORT Daughter Female 2 Washwood Heath, Warwick, England
Earnest D. SHORT Son Male 3 m Washwood Heath, Warwick, England
Jennie NICHOLAS Visitor Female 21 Pershore, Worcester, England1891 Cen. Living 366 New John St, St Georges parish, Birmingham with second wife; children of first wife Charlotte Louisa & James William - caster; children of second wife Albert, Fanny Florence, Ernest, Percival, Alfred Leonard & Ethel; also two domestic servants. James Dempster’s occupation: Licensed Victualler public house
1901 Cen. Living Aston Tavern, 10 Aston Road, Aston Manor with wife; child by first wife Charlotte Louisa - barmaid; children by second marriage Albert - musician, Fanny Florence - barmaid, Ernest Dempster - Clerk ?Brewery?, Percival - railway clerk, Ethel, Harold, Victor James & Howard; also present servant-nursemaid aged 12
By all accounts, Ernest seems to have been ‘somewhat a beau’ in Sutton Coldfield. He claimed to have been an apprentice jockey with Captain Elsey but there must be some doubt here. Captain Elsey was decorated with the Military Cross in WW1 and after the war he assisted his father William Elsey with horse training, only becoming a trainer in his own right in 1911. Even by 1900, at the age of 19, Ernest would have been considered too old to start as an apprentice. (Captain Elsey trained large number of winners and trained some of the King’s horses. He had major successes in the 1000 Guineas and Oaks in 1949, The Oaks in 1952, 2000 Guineas in 1953, Champion Trainer and 1000 Guineas in 1956 and the St Leger in 1959 before retiring in 1960). Ernest was a heavy gambler and seems to have liked the horses, apparently he was a bookmaker’s clerk at some time, and the apprentice jockey tale may have been a tall story. Ernest became a publican and either owned, or ran, the ‘Bull’s Head’ at Tame Bridge and ‘The Swan’ at Washwood Heath. His favourite ‘tipple’ was whisky, which he seems to have drunk plenty of, and he had gout in later life. He was said to have been an extremely generous man.
email from Mike Short 8.4.2006
Said to have been one of 9 girls and 1 boy but no Cen match found. May have been child of Charles Bishop & Emily of St Peter, Worcs. but m. cert needs to be obtained by interested researchers.
1891 Cen. Living 366 New John St, St Georges parish, Birmingham with second wife; children of first wife Charlotte Louisa & James William - caster; children of second wife Albert, Fanny Florence, Ernest, Percival, Alfred Leonard & Ethel; also two domestic servants. James Dempster’s occupation: Licensed Victualler public house
1901 Cen. Living Aston Tavern, 10 Aston Road, Aston Manor with wife; child by first wife Charlotte Louisa - barmaid; children by second marriage Albert - musician, Fanny Florence - barmaid, Ernest Dempster - Clerk ?Brewery?, Percival - railway clerk, Ethel, Harold, Victor James & Howard; also present servant-nursemaid aged 12
email from Mike Short
It has long been the story in my family, and among the descendants of Percy and Winifred, that Winifred TAYLOR was the sister of Herbert TAYLOR, stage name Dan ROLYAT, comic actor and pantomimist of the Edwardian stage.For many years, I have researched Dan ROLYAT and his one time ‘wife’ (they were not actually married), the legendary actress/singer and international super-star Florence SMITHSON. I have a pile of cuttings, postcard photographs, autographs and other information on both. The genealogy of both is confused. They adopted and used their stage names, even on official documents, and Florence’s parent’s names on official documents may have been their stage names. They both frequently changed their ages. They both had more than one ‘marriage’. Dan ROLYATs name seems to have ‘grown’ throughout his career from Herbert TAYLOR to include two further forenames including, helpfully, ‘Marsh’.
Reports of Dan Rolyat’s funeral mentions the ‘grieving widow’ but it later emerged that he was not married to her either. He died intestate in 1927 of cancer of the tongue and his last partner and their children were not recognised as beneficiaries. Advertisements were placed in the newspaper asking for potential beneficiaries. An Ernest Dempster SHORT descendant responded but was told she was too distantly related. Researcher Andy BROCKWAY believes he has stored documents that may help me, including a copy of the newspaper advertisement seeking descendants.Increasingly, it looks as though Winifred TAYLOR was sister to Dan ROLYAT but I would like to firmly establish it and the first steps would be to obtain Percy and Winifred’s m. cert. and Winifred’s b. cert.
Dan ROLYAT has been largely forgotten as has, to a lesser extent, the great Florence SMITHSON. They were huge stars of their day and deserve to be remembered. I would love to put together all the information I have and circulate it to interested family members.There is another reason to complete the research. It is the story in my family that Percival SHORT and Winifred TAYLOR were cousins. Although I know of two other SHORT-TAYLOR marriages, I can find no connection between those and our SHORT line. It does not seem from the information collected so far they cannot be closely connected but I would like to establish the link.
1891 Cen. Living 366 New John St, St Georges parish, Birmingham with second wife; children of first wife Charlotte Louisa & James William - caster; children of second wife Albert, Fanny Florence, Ernest, Percival, Alfred Leonard & Ethel; also two domestic servants. James Dempster’s occupation: Licensed Victualler public house
What happens to Alfred Leonard SHORT next is a little unclear. Legend had it that he emigrated to America reputedly on his own at the age of 16, lying about his age to secure a passage. Recently, I have been told an alternative story was that he had ‘run off with the boss’s daughter’!
In fact he married June Q 1901 Bromsgrove, Edith Lavinia BAYLIS. Edith Lavinia BAYLIS was b. 1875 in Redditch, Worcester (b. reg. Dec Q 1875 Bromsgrove). From various censuses it appears that her father was Francis BAYLIS b. 1834/5 Redditch, a Joiner who later also kept a Grocery Shop on Red Lion Street in Redditch. From Censuses it appears that her mother was Ann who had died before 1901. The wider BAYLIS family manufactured fishing tackle and made fish hooks. At the 1901 Census, Edith Lavinia BAYLIS was living with her older brother and family in Redditch.
However, the Lexington Cemetery records show Edith’s parents as Francis BAYLIS & Florence NEWALL. No trace of a Florence NEWALL m. to a Francis BAYLIS have been found. The Cemetery records show both Alfred Leonard and Edith Lavinia as b. Redditch: Edith was, Alfred Leonard was b. Birmingham.
Where Alfred Leonard SHORT is when the Census is taken is not known although there is a ‘A Leonard SHORT’ working as a barman at the ‘Builder’s Arms’ in Amblecote, Staffordshire. The age is given as 22 whereas Alfred Leonard SHORT was only 16. On the face of it, this cannot be him but Alfred Leonard was known to be very tall and knew the pub trade - his stepfather and mother were running the Aston Tavern at the time. In all probability this is not him because Amblecote is about twelve miles to the West of Birmingham and Redditch is five miles to the East of Birmingham, but it is interesting nonetheless.
Family letters made available to me by the GUEST family of Birmingham, their memories, and a researcher in USA, helped put the story together. Sixteen year old Alfred Leonard (always known as Leonard) left for the USA with his new twenty-six year old wife. It does seem that he added years to his age and his wife deducted some from hers and they carried their revised ages throughout their lives. Possibly he had to add years to enable his passage and she may have felt some embarrassment at the age gap. Once they had official ages in USA, it was probably difficult to revert to their real ages.
The couple settled in Lexington, Massachusetts and had one known child, Leonard Victor SHORT b. 3 Jul 1905 Lexington; died May 1983 residing Belmont, Middlesex, Mass. He was a Doctor of Medicine and lived with his wife Winifred at 1433 Lexington Avenue, Lexington 73, Mass. They had three children but they, and their many grandchildren, of which I know only a few, have been omitted from this record for reasons of privacy.
Leonard Victor SHORT corresponded with Constance Nora SHORT (m. GUEST). During the winter months, Leonard Victor and his family spent time in their property on the Caribbean island of St Martin/St Maarten (a place I love very much!). They also spent time in Florida. After WW2, with food still rationed in Great Britain, Leonard Victor and family sent food parcels to the GUESTS with tinned goods, comics, chocolates and nylons. They came to England to visit the GUESTs in the late 1960s.
Alfred Leonard SHORT was bur. 1 Jun 1944 in Westview Cemetery, Lexington, Mass. USA. His age is given as 63 but he was, in fact, 59.
His wife Edith Lavinia BAYLIS d. or was buried at the same place as Leonard on 15 Mar 1957 with a recorded age of 79 but was, in fact, 81. They are commemorated on a plaque.
email from Mike Short 8.4.2006
David SALMON’s sister is understood to have been Principal of Cardiff College, Wales
1891 Cen. Living 366 New John St, St Georges parish, Birmingham with second wife; children of first wife Charlotte Louisa & James William - caster; children of second wife Albert, Fanny Florence, Ernest, Percival, Alfred Leonard & Ethel; also two domestic servants. James Dempster’s occupation: Licensed Victualler public house
1901 Cen. Living Aston Tavern, 10 Aston Road, Aston Manor with wife; child by first wife Charlotte Louisa - barmaid; children by second marriage Albert - musician, Fanny Florence - barmaid, Ernest Dempster - Clerk ?Brewery?, Percival - railway clerk, Ethel, Harold, Victor James & Howard; also present servant-nursemaid aged 12
1901 Cen. Living Aston Tavern, 10 Aston Road, Aston Manor with wife; child by first wife Charlotte Louisa - barmaid; children by second marriage Albert - musician, Fanny Florence - barmaid, Ernest Dempster - Clerk ?Brewery?, Percival - railway clerk, Ethel, Harold, Victor James & Howard; also present servant-nursemaid aged 12