A chance discovery of a newspaper notice of a marriage between a Great Ellingham shopkeeper and the daughter of a ‘gentleman’ from the nearby town of Attleborough, led to me to wonder whether the bride could later be described a ‘deserted wife’.
From the Norfolk Chronicle of the 23rd May, 1868:
Marriage
KING-SPARROW on the 12th inst., at Attleborough, Mr F W King, grocer and draper of Great Ellingham, to Emma eldest daughter of Mr Jonathan Sparrow of Attleborough
The wedding took place in the Parish Church in Attleborough. The parish register gives the bridegroom’s full name as Frederick Walter King and, at the time of the marriage, he is said to be living in Attleborough. This conflicts with his abode given in the newspaper notice.
However, the entry in the Attleborough Banns Register gives Frederick King’s abode as Great Ellingham.
Further, the Electoral Registers for Great Ellingham for 1870 and 1871 lists Walter Frederick King as a ‘£12 Rated Occupier’ of a House & Shop in Church Street, Great Ellingham.
There were several shops in Church Street at this time. However, the two main shops (both grocers & drapers) were the ones then owned by Thomas Leeder (the shop later known as the ‘Supply Stores’) and the premises owned by Daniel William Cocking Warren (this shop was later known as ‘Ye Olde Thatche Shoppe’). Accordingly, King will have been a tenant in one of these two shops.
Liquidation by Arrangement
However it seems that all was not well with Frederick King’s finances. The London Gazette of 25th November 1870, includes a notice under the Bankruptcy Act 1869, relating to Frederick Walter King. King is said to be a Tea Dealer, and Draper, Dealer in Bread and Flour, and General-shop keeper of Great Ellingham.
It relates to County Court proceedings in relation to a liquidation by arrangement or composition with creditors, which was set in motion by King. Basically King had come to an arrangement with his creditors to pay off debts over time.
A first general meeting of his creditors would be held in Norwich on the 13th December, 1870.
1871 census
The national head-count of 1871 captures 26 year old shopkeeper, grocer and draper, Frederick W King with his 26 year old wife Emma at the household of Frederick’s brother, 35 year old William H G King, in Methwold, some 25 miles from Great Ellingham.
William and Frederick’s sister, 20 year old Anna Maria, is also with the household. William King employs 17 year old local girl Sarah Tompson as a domestic servant.
There is no indication as to whether or not Frederick and Emma King are just visiting Frederick’s family. However given the voluntary arrangements for liquidation, it is probable that the Kings were no longer at the shop in Great Ellingham and had (perhaps temporarily), moved in with Frederick’s family.
1881 census
At the time of the 1881 census, 38 year old Emma King, described as ‘wife of Grocer & Draper’, is at the home of her parents, Jonathan and Mary Sparrow at Belle Vue House, London Road, Attleborough. 70 year old Jonathan Sparrow relies on the income he receives chiefly from land. Also in the household is Emma’s sister, Louisa who is 29, and a niece, 8 year old Edith A Sparrow.
The census confirms that, apart from Jonathan Sparrow, all members of the household were born in Attleborough. Jonathan Sparrow gives his place of birth as Besthorpe, a small parish adjacent to Attleborough. However other census returns mention Attleborough.
It is possible that Emma is a visitor at her parents’ home on census night. However, given that I have not been able to find her husband on the census, and she is not with Frederick on any future census, she likely moved back to live with her parents.
1891 census
Emma (now 48) is again found with her parents on the night of the census of 1891. Her status is given as ‘married’. Accordingly we are led to believe that Frederick Walter King is still alive. However, again, I cannot find him on the census.
1901 census
Ten years later, 58 year old married woman Emma King is in Winton, Bournemouth. The 1901 census finds her at the home of her widowed brother-in-law William Woodhouse living in Wimbourne Road, Winton, Bournemouth.
William Woodhouse’s late wife was was Emma King’s sister Charlotte. Sadly Charlotte Woodhouse died at the age of 50 in 1900.
William Woodhouse is a certificated schoolmaster. Also in the household are William Woodhouse’s children 20 year old William, Millie 18 and 16 year old Ida. Emma King is described as a domestic housekeeper. It follows that Emma King is keeping house for her brother-in-law. Once again, there is no sign of the whereabouts of Emma’s husband, Frederick Walter King, on the census.
Interestingly, the Woodhouse family home is called ‘Attleborough‘. Was the house named after Charlotte Woodhouse’s home town in Norfolk? It is also where Charlotte and William Woodhouse also married.
1911 census
Emma King is still keeping house for her brother-in-law William Woodhouse at the time of the 1911 census. Her status is still ‘married’. The census also confirms that no children were born to Emma during her marriage.
Nevertheless, and again, I cannot find her husband, Frederick Walter King, on the census.
1921 census
Emma is still with her brother-in-law’s household at the time of the 1921 census. The household comprises of 78 year old William Woodhouse (now retired), his unmarried daughters 36 year old Ida Woodhouse and 34 year old Flossie Woodhouse, 78 year old Emma King and Emma’s sister, 69 year old spinster Louisa Sparrow.
This census requires persons over the age of 15 to state ‘Single’, ‘Married’, ‘Widowed’ or if marriage dissolved by divorce to write ‘D”.
Emma King states she is ‘married’.
Death of Emma King
Emma died on the 17th January, 1924, at 34 Wimborne Road, Bournemouth. She was 81.
It is no surprise to find that the registration entry concerning her death reveals that she died of old age and heart failure. However, the entry is also enlightening in that it describes her as the ‘Widow of Walter Frederick King, a Clothier’. It would seem that Emma’s husband has predeceased her. But where and when did he die?
Marital Separation
We can but wonder what led to Emma King to live with her parents between the census of 1871 and the 1881 census. Finding Emma without her husband on all of the census returns – save for the census return of 1871 , suggests that the couple separated not long after their marriage. Was the separation due to King’s money problems or the marriage itself? Did Emma leave the marriage or did Frederick abandon Emma?
Where is Frederick King?
But where is Frederick Walter King at the times of the various census returns? Was he living in the UK or is he living abroad? Has he changed his name or assumed an alias? There are so many questions to which I have no answers.
Divorce
Did King’s money problems cause a rift between the couple as well as with Emma’s family? Did either (or both) of Emma and Frederick have extra-marital affairs? Was the relationship abusive or did the relationship just breakdown? Did the couple amicably agree to live apart? Again, I have no answers.
Divorce for women in the Victorian era was somewhat difficult. However the Matrimonial Causes Act of 1857 did allow ordinary people to petition for divorce. Having said that, the grounds and procedures were particularly unequal for women. It would have been tough and costly for Emma to pursue a divorce (even if she wanted to).
Nevertheless, it may have been in her reach with the help of her father, Jonathan Sparrow, who appears to have had some standing in the community and some wealth.
Family Support
In those times, many deserted, separated or divorced women, faced immense hardship and struggled financially. In addition, they could also encounter social stigma.
By going ‘home’, Emma had the support of her family, particularly financial support. Indeed this family support is continued by Emma’s brother in law, schoolmaster William Woodhouse.
She may have chosen to remain ‘married’ for reasons of faith or to avoid any social stigma. It may, of course, also be the case that Emma King was just content to remain ‘a married woman’.
There is also the unanswered questions of when and where Frederick Walter King died? Did he die between the time of the 1921 census (when, again, Emma states she is married) and 1924? Alternatively, had he died many years before Emma, but Emma was content to continue to refer to herself as ‘married’?
Sources:
UK Poll Books & Electoral Registers 1538-1893. Ancestry.com. UK, Poll Books and Electoral Registers, 1538-1893 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012. Original data: London, England, UK and London Poll Books. London, England: The London Archives and Guildhall Library. Images produced by permission of The London Archives (City of London Corporation).
England, Norfolk, Register of Electors, 1832-1915″, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2HBP-GBL : Wed Feb 28 05:02:06 UTC 2024), Entry for Walter Frederick King, 1871
1921 census The National Archives of the UK (TNA); Kew, Surrey, England; 1921 Census Returns; Reference: RG 15/5485, ED 10, Sch 279; Book: 05485
Ancestry.com. 1921 England Census [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2025.
1911 census RG14/5841/17
1901 census RG13/1039/109
1891 census RG12/1549/13
1881 census RG11/1974/16
1871 census RG10/1873/77
Attleborough Parish Registers. Norfolk Record Office PD 438/8 & PD 438/13. Viewed via www.ancestry.co.uk
GRO Index FreeBMD website
Death Registration Image Emma King 17.01.1924. Obtained from GRO
The London Gazette 25th November 1870