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Adkins families

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Parents:
Thomas ADKINS
(1850 - 1921)
John TOWNSEND
(~1855 - )
Ellen SOTHAM
(1843 - ~1937)
Hannah Warner ALLEN
(~1865 - 1944)

Married: 12 Sept 1923; Parish Church, Solihull UK
Henry Francis 'Frank' ADKINS
(1878 - 1950)
Ida Laura TOWNSEND
(1888 - 1972)
 bd.  14 Nov 1878; Kings Norton, Staffordshire UK
 dd.  20 Aug 1950, age 71; Paternoster House, Ottery St Mary, Devonshire UK [46]
 brd.  Ottery St Mary parish church
 edu.  Rossall School, Fleetwood, Lancashire UK. See notes
 occ.  Barrister at law with Douglas Wenham
Later, accountant with William Wenham
 mil.  17 Aug 1916: 33559 Private in the Worcestershire Regiment
 res.  1881 Census - Living in New Road, Woodleigh, Kings Norton, Staffordshire
Grays, 5 Church Hill, Solihull Warwickshire to 1929
Eastcroft, Herbert Road, Solihull to January 1939
Paternoster House, Ottery St Mary, Devonshire UK from January 1939 until his death. UK [10]
 src.   [8]
 bd.  27 Dec 1888
 dd.  19 Oct 1972, age 83; Brockhill Nursing Home, Broadclyst, Devonshire, UK
 brd.  Ottery St Mary parish church
 res.  Grays, 5 Church Hill, Solihull Warwickshire to 1929
Eastcroft, Herbert Road, Solihull to January 1939
Paternoster House, Ottery St Mary, Devonshire to late 1950
The Vicarage, Ottery St Mary
Yew Tree Cottage, North Street, Ottery St Mary, Devon, UK
 src.   [8],[95]
Spouses: 1, 2

Henry Francis ADKINS b.1878 Henry Francis 'Frank' ADKINS b.1878 Paternoster House, Ottery St Mary

Ida Laura TOWNSEND b.1888 with daughter Evelyn ADKINS Ida Laura TOWNSEND b.1888 in her later years

Child:

Evelyn Laura ADKINS (1925 - 2007)

Notes for Henry Francis 'Frank' ADKINS

While at Rossall School he won a book prize of Dickens' Curiosity Shop which is endorsed 'Rossall School H. F. Adkins 1st Arithmetic examination Xmas 1896 from CBD'. The book has been returned to the school for its historic archive.

Frank's ambition was to be an accountant. However, his father wanted him to become a solicitor so he joined up with Douglas Wenham, a relation of his brother-in-law (sister Evelyn's husband, William Wenham). As independent solicitors they were not successful and the partnership failed, perhaps also because his heart was not in it. He then took the opportunity to become an accountant under the management of his brother-in-law William Wenham. He provided accounting services for various people and companies and was paid secretary of Oulton Golf Club.

He moved the family to Ottery St Mary on the outbreak of war in order to protect them from the danger of bombing. From then on he was frequently away from home in the week. The family had a presence in that part of Devon until 2000 when his son Dennis moved up to Cheshire. [10]

Frank obtained a coat of arms in 1923. The principle feature was reproduced as a monogram in two rings, one for himself and the other for his son Dennis. On Henry's death Dennis took to wearing his father's ring, and later gave his own to his nephew, Tim Boddington. Regrettably, Henry's ring was lost while Dennis was in care and Tim replaced it with a copy made from his. On Dennis's death (2005) this ring went to another nephew, Jonathon Boddington. [11]

Notes for Ida Laura TOWNSEND

Ida joined the Adkins family sometime after 1912 as governess to the children. When Frank's first wife, Barbara, died young, he married his children's governess, Ida.

On the death of Frank she moved to The Vicarage, Ottery St Mary, Devonshire UK and later to Yew Tree Cottage, Ottery St Mary. She was brought up in Staffordshire.

The picture (left above) was taken at a family gathering on the lawn at Mickleover Vicarage (her step-daughter Pat's home) in 1948 when she was 59. The girl behind is her daughter Evelyn then aged 23.

It is regrettable that Ida and her own child, Evelyn Adkins, were never fully accepted by some of the Adkins children as being a full part of the same family. [95]

Sources

8.  Document, Evelyn GOODMAN research
10.  Census, 1881 British Census, Kings Norton, Worcestershire, England
11.  Interview, 21 July 2001, Dennis Adkins, Interviewed by STB
46.  Interview, Dennis Adkins
95.  Personal information, Tim Boddington (STB, Webmaster)

Family record last updated: 31 March 2023

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