Bond Family Chronicles Chapter Three

The Preston Chapter of the Bond Family Chronicles takes us back to William Bond’s parents, Thomas and Alice Bond who lived in Preston, Lancashire. Their story is a story of young love and passion, of religious differences and of family tragedy in the industrial north of England.

Third Generation

Thomas Bond

1. Thomas Bond was born about 1824 in Salford, Lancashire, England. ¹Ancestry, “1861 England Census,” database on-line and digital images, Ancestry.co.uk (http://www.ancestry.co.uk : downloaded image 15 July 2006), Class: RG9, Piece: 3128, Folio: 141, Page: 61, and GSU roll: 543083; Census Returns of England and Wales, 1861. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives of the UK (TNA): Public Record Office (PRO), 1861.  He died of apoplexy on 4 March 1896 at the age of seventy two at the Fulwood Workhouse in Preston, Lancashire, ²England, Certified Copy of an Entry of Death (long form), Thomas Bond, 1896; General Register Office, London, England.  Preston vol. 8e: 467.  and was buried in Preston Old Cemetery in Preston. ³Cemsearch-uk, transcriptions, “Preston Old Cemetery New Hall Lane,” Cemsearch-uk (http://www.cemsearch.co.uk ; emailed text file of Bond Surname in Old Preston Cemetery 14 August 2007), Thomas Bond died 4 Mar 1896.  On 9 January 1843 at the Kirkham Parish Church in Kirkham, Lancashire, Thomas Bond married Alice Barnes. ⁴England, Certified Copy of an Entry of Marriage (long form), Thomas Bond and Alice Barnes, 1843; General Register Office, London, England.  Fylde vol. 21: 249.

Thomas’s Parentage

Thomas Bond’s death certificate shows that he died at seventy four years of age at the Fulwood Workhouse near Preston on 4 March 1896.  This would indicate that he was born about 1822 or 1823.  The 1861 census shows Thomas was born in Salford, a district in Manchester.  The marriage certificate for Thomas Bond and Alice Barnes shows that Thomas’ father was Thomas Bond, a mechanic. No christening record has been found for a Thomas Bond, with a father Thomas in Salford or Manchester or the surrounding area around 1822.  The 1871 census, however, shows a Cordelia Heywood living with the Bond family in Preston as the widowed mother of Thomas. Thomas and Alice Barnes married in Kirkham, a small town near Preston in 1843 and searching the 1841 census shows a family living in Kirkham that includes Delia Haywood age fifty, Thomas Haywood age fifteen, a mechanic and Mary Haywood aged fourteen.  A search of the IGI shows a marriage entry for John Haywood and Daley Bond on 26 November 1825.  The corresponding entry in the parish register shows that John Haywood is a widower of Salford and Daley Bond is also a widow of Salford.  Daley appears to be a short name for Cordelia.  Another search of the IGI shows an entry for a marriage between Thomas Bond and Esther Birch at Prestwich on 11 August 1822.  Yet another search of the IGI shows the baptism of a Cordelia Esther Birch on 17 July 1791 and the corresponding register entry indicates that her birth was 25 April 1791 in Lancaster.  This birth date is consistent with the age of eighty-four years on Cordelia Heywood’s death certificate and the birth place of Lancaster is consistent with the information shown in the 1871 census record.

Despite the absence of a christening record for Thomas and the many names by which his mother appears in records, all of these records together combine to present a compelling case that Thomas Bond’s parents were Thomas Bond and Cordelia Esther Birch.

Alice Barnes

1. Alice Barnes was born 13 October 1818 in Wesham, Lancashire, England and was christened Aliciam Barnes at The Willows Roman Catholic Church on 16 October 1818 in Kirkham, Lancashire, England. ⁵The Willows RC, Wesham (Kirkham, Lancashire, England), Mowbrick Hall and Kirkham, Newhouse – v. 16 transcription, Aliciam Barnes born 13 October 1818 and baptized 16 Oct 1818; FHL microfilm 599,710, Items 1-2.  Alice died of senile decay on 28 July 1899 at the Fulwood Workhouse in Preston, Lancashire, England, ⁶England, Certified Copy of an Entry of Death (long form), Alice Bond, 1899; General Register Office, London, England. Preston vol. 8e: 472.  and was buried in Preston Old Cemetery in Preston, Lancashire, England. ⁷Cemsearch-uk, transcriptions, “Preston Old Cemetery New Hall Lane,” Cemsearch-uk (http://www.cemsearch.co.uk ; emailed text file of Bond Surname in Old Preston Cemetery 14 August 2007), Alice Bond died July 28, 1899.

Alice’s Parentage

Alice Bond’s death certificate shows that she died at the age of eighty years at the Fulwood Workhouse near Preston on 28 July 1899 which would indicate her birth would have been about 1818.  The marriage certificate for Thomas Bond and Alice Barnes shows that her father was Richard Barnes, a weaver.

On the 1891 census, Alice’s birth place is shown as Westby with Plumpton.  On the 1881 census, it is shown as Kirkham.  On the 1871 census, her birth place appears as Preston. On the 1861 census, her birth place is again shown as Westby with Plumpton.  On the 1851 census, her birth place is shown as Plumpton.  Although these entries appear contradictory, these places are all within ten miles of each other.  Westby with Plumpton was part of the parish of Kirkham and Kirkham was a few scant miles from Preston.

The 1841 census, taken just prior to Alice’s marriage to Thomas in Kirkham, shows the Richard Barnes family in Kirkham that includes Richard Barnes aged forty, Frances Barnes aged forty, Alice Barnes aged twenty, Joseph Barnes aged twenty, Betty Barnes aged fifteen, John Barnes aged fifteen, Thomas Barnes aged fourteen, Robert Barnes aged ten and Ann Barnes aged eight.

Examining the registers from The Willows Roman Catholic Church in Kirkham we find a christening entry for Aliciam Barnes with parents Rich and Francisca Barnes from Little Plumpton on 3 October 1818.  Referring back to the 1841 census record for Alice’s probable siblings, we find another christening entry at The Willows for Josephum Barnes, parents Rich and Francisca in 1822 and yet another for Johannes Barnes in 1826 before the transcribed registers end in 1827.  With the same family grouping appearing in the christening registers and in the census records, it is almost certain that this is the same Barnes family.

A marriage record for Richard Barnes and Francisca Etherington is found at St. Michael’s Church in Kirkham and this is the only marriage record in a search of the IGI, local indexes and filmed parish registers in the area surrounding Kirkham and Preston which shows a marriage between Richard Barnes or Barns and a Frances or Francisca.

It is therefore reasonable to conclude that the parents of Alice Barnes were Richard Barnes and Frances Etherington.

Children of Thomas Bond and Alice Barnes

2                    i.   William Bond, born 11 April 1843, Kirkham, Lancashire, England; died 26 August 1893, London, England. ⁸Lancashire, Certified Copy of an Entry of Birth (long form), William Bond, 1843.

1. Frances Bond was born 7 September 1845 on Brunswick Street in Preston, Lancashire, England, ⁹Lancashire, Certified Copy of an Entry of Birth (long form), Frances Bond, 1845; on-line index at www.lancashirebmd.org.uk; Superintendent Registrar, Lancashire Registration District, Preston, Lancashire, England. PRES/33/27. and was baptized on 21 September 1845 in Saint John Church, Preston (recorded in the register as James Bond). ¹⁰St. John’s Church Preston (Preston, Lancashire, England), Baptisms, p. 125, James Bond, son of Thomas and Alice Bond; FHL microfilm 1,278,755.
   Frances died 24 September 1845 of diarrhoea at the age of two weeks on Brunswick Street in Preston. ¹¹Lancashire, Certified Copy of an Entry of Death (long form), Frances Bond, 1845; on-line index at www.lancashirebmd.org.uk; Superintendent Registrar, Lancashire Registration District, Preston, Lancashire, England. PRES/24/45.

iii.   Frances Bond was born on 28 March 1847 at Pleasant Street in Preston, Lancashire, England. ¹²England, Certified Copy of an Entry of Birth (long form), Frances Bond, 1847; General Register Office, London, England. Preston vol. 21: 691.  She was baptized at the age of sixteen at Saint John Church, Preston on 15 June 1863. ¹³St. John’s Church Preston (Preston, Lancashire, England), Baptisms, Frances Bond, daughter of Thomas and Alice Bond; FHL microfilm 1,278,757.  Frances died of epithelioma vagina on 26 July 1915 at the age of sixty eight at 17 St. Jonahus Square in Preston. ¹⁴England, Certified Copy of an Entry of Death (long form), Fanny Robinson, 1915; General Register Office, London, England. Preston vol. 8e: 555.  She married William Watson Robinson, son of Thomas and Mary Robinson, on 14 January 1872 in Preston. ¹⁵England, Certified Copy of an Entry of Marriage (long form), William Watson Robinson and Fanny Bond, 1872; General Register Office, London, England. Preston vol 8e: 797.

1. Cordelia Bond was born on 18 August 1848 at 30 Brunswick Street in Preston, Lancashire, England. ¹⁶England, Certified Copy of an Entry of Birth (long form), Cordelia Bond, 1848; General Register Office, London, England. Preston vol. 21: 661. She died of diarrhea on 9 December 1848 at the age of four months also at Brunswick Street in Preston. ¹⁷England, Certified Copy of an Entry of Death (long form), Cordelia Bond, 1848; General Register Office, London, England. Preston vol. 21: 403.
2. Thomas Bond was born at 11:58 pm on 17 December 1849 at Brunswick Street in Preston, Lancashire, England. ¹⁸England, Certified Copy of an Entry of Birth (long form), Thomas Bond, 1849; General Register Office, London, England. Preston vol. 21: 654.  He was baptized on 11 April 1851 in Saint John Church, Preston. ¹⁹St. John’s Church Preston (Preston, Lancashire, England), Baptisms, Thomas Bond, son of Thomas and Alice Bond; FHL microfilm 1,278,757.  Thomas died of meningitis on 4 May 1859 at the age of nine at Oxford Street in Preston, ²⁰England, Certified Copy of an Entry of Death (long form), Thomas Bond, 1859; General Register Office, London, England. Preston vol. 8e: 314. and was buried in Preston Old Cemetery, Preston. ²¹Cemsearch-uk, transcriptions, “Preston Old Cemetery New Hall Lane,” Cemsearch-uk (http://www.cemsearch.co.uk ; emailed text file of Bond Surname in Old Preston Cemetery 14 August 2007), Thomas Bond died 4 May 1859.
3. Cordelia Ann Bond was born on 28 June 1852 at Brunswick Street in Preston, Lancashire, England. ²²England, Certified Copy of an Entry of Birth (long form), Cordelia Ann Bond, 1852; General Register Office, London, England. Preston vol. 8e: 392.  She was baptized on 20 July 1852 in Saint John Church, Preston. ²³St. John’s Church Preston (Preston, Lancashire, England), Baptisms, Cordelia Ann Bond, daughter of Thomas and Alice Bond; FHL microfilm 1,278,757.  She died of aphtha on 25 July 1852 at the age of four weeks in Brunswick Street, Preston. ²⁴England, Certified Copy of an Entry of Death (long form), Cordelia Ann Bond, 1852; General Register Office, London, England. Preston vol. 8e: 261.

Thomas Bond – Early Years 

Thomas Bond was born about 1824 in Salford, Lancashire, England to parents Thomas Bond and Cordelia Esther Birch.  Thomas senior was a mechanic.  Before baby Thomas was even old enough to remember his father, Thomas senior passed away and Cordelia married a widower named John Haywood on 26 November 1825 at Manchester Cathedral in Lancashire.  Soon there was a new baby on the way.  Mary Haywood was baptized at Manchester Cathedral on 4 March 1827.  Sometime after Mary’s birth, the family moved towards Preston, Lancashire but times were difficult and John became ill, possibly from too much drink, and they all were admitted to the Fylde Union Workhouse.  On 20 November 1839, John died of chronic inflammation of the liver.  Although Thomas was only fifteen years old, he was the informant on the death certificate of his step-father.  After John’s death, the family left the workhouse and moved to Kirkham.  At the time of the 1841 census, Delia was fifty years old, Thomas was fifteen and working as a mechanic and young Mary was fourteen and working as a spinner.  Not long after the census was taken, Thomas caught the eye of Alice Barnes, a young lady of Kirkham, and before long, she was expecting a child.

Alice Barnes – Early Years 

The Barnes family had been Roman Catholic for generations, back to a time when Catholicism was not tolerated in England either by general society or by the laws of the land.  Alice’s great grandfather, John Barnes, had been listed in the “Returns for Papists” taken in the diocese of Chester in 1767.  This listing was prepared by Charles Buck, the Vicar of Kirkham and his letter that accompanied the listing stated

In the years after 1767, however some acceptance for the Roman Catholic religion began to appear and new laws were passed allowing the Catholics some freedom of worship.  The Relief Act of 1791 permitted Catholics to worship and allowed the building of Catholic chapels.  In 1809, the Catholic chapel “The Willows” was built in Kirkham parish and in 1845 St. John The Evangelist was constructed there.  The bells in it’s spire were said to be the first Catholic bells to ring in England since the time of the reformation.

[aesop_image imgwidth=”600px” img=”https://www.thesocialhistorian.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/St_John_the_Evangelist_The_Willows_Kirkham.jpg” credit=”Copyright Alexander P Kapp via Geograph.uk.org and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.” align=”center” lightbox=”on” caption=”St John the Evangelist, The Willows, Kirkham” captionposition=”left”]

Alice Barnes was the eldest child of Richard Barnes and Francisca Etherington.  She was born in Little Plumpton on 13 October 1818 and was baptized Aliciam at The Willows Roman Catholic Church in Kirkham three days later on 16 October.  Her sponsors were Laurentius Etherington, Frances’ brother, and Elizabeth Barnes, who was probably Richard’s sister.

When Alice was about two years old, her sister Catherine was born on 11 April 1820 in Little Plumpton and was baptized as Catharinam two days later on 13 April at The Willows.  Her sponsors were Rob Rigby and Helena Barnes, another sister to Richard.  When Alice was four, her brother Joseph was born and he was baptised as Josephum shortly after the New Year commenced on 6 January 1822.  His sponsors were William Nickson and Maria Barnes who, again, was probably one of Richard’s sisters.

In about 1825, Alice’s sister Elizabeth was born and the following year, her brother John was born and baptised as Joannes on 15 April 1826 at the Willows.  John was followed by a brother Thomas in about 1827, a brother Robert in about 1831 and finally a sister Ann in about 1833.

Like many Kirkham residents, Alice’s father Richard worked as a weaver, probably of either cotton or flax.  As Alice and her siblings got older they also began to work in the textile industry as weavers, spinners and reelers.

[aesop_image imgwidth=”600px” img=”https://www.thesocialhistorian.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Weavers-shop.jpg” credit=”Barbara J Starmans” align=”center” lightbox=”on” caption=”At the mill.” captionposition=”left”]

When Alice was twenty, her sister Catherine married Samuel Fleetwood at St. Michael’s Church in Kirkham on 1 July 1839.  Alice was a witness at the ceremony.  Although only in his early twenties, Samuel was an overseer, probably at one of the textile mills in Kirkham.  Sometime after her sister married, Alice began keeping company with Thomas Bond, a mechanic.  Thomas was still in his teens and considerably younger than Alice but they became involved and soon Alice was pregnant.

Thomas and Alice Bond – The Married Years 

On 9 January 1843 at St. Michael’s Parish Church in Kirkham, Thomas Bond married Alice Barnes. The circumstances of her hasty marriage to Thomas when she was seven months pregnant could not have sat well with her family or with Father Sherburne, the family’s priest and the weeks of calling the banns must have seemed indeterminable to Alice.  Finally they stood in the church and spoke their vows.  Alice’s new brother-in-law Samuel and her younger sister Elizabeth stood as witnesses.  Two months later, almost to the day, baby William was born on 11 April 1843.

On 22 September 1844, Alice’s sister Elizabeth and Robert Moon were married by Father Sherburne at the Willows chapel with Mary Moon and Elizabeth’s brother Joseph acting as witnesses.  The following month, Joseph married Mary Baines on 12 October 1844 at St. Michael’s Church of England with Elizabeth Baines and William Whalley acting as witnesses.

In 1845, William’s mother became pregnant again and before the baby was born, the little family moved about eight miles east to Pleasant Street in the larger town of Preston.  Baby Frances was born 7 September 1845 but within two weeks, had developed a deadly case of diarrhea and Thomas and Alice raced to make arrangements for a baptism at St. John’s Church in Preston.  Baby Frances was baptised on 21 September in a hurried ceremony. Her baptism was recorded in the registers as being for “James Bond” but regardless of the mistake, Thomas and Alice must have been relieved that the baptism was in time.  The baby continued to weaken and on 24 September, she died quietly in the Pleasant Street house, with her father in attendance.

The following year, Alice became pregnant again and on 28 March 1847, the couple had another baby girl.  Still wanting to name a daughter after Alice’s mother, they again called the baby Frances and this time the baby was healthy which was a blessing because before Frances was a year old, Alice realized that she was expecting yet again.

On 18 August 1848, Cordelia Bond was born in the new house on Brunswick Street and named for Thomas’ mother.  After a few weeks, Thomas and Alice were reliving the nightmare of having a baby sick with diarrhea and despite their struggles to nurse Cordelia, she died on 9 December 1848.

Alice had little time to mourn baby Cordelia because within months she was pregnant again.  Just before Christmas, on 17 December 1849, baby Thomas was born. He was the third in three generations of Thomas Bond’s.

On 11 February 1850, Thomas and Alice probably bundled up their young family and headed back to Kirkham for the day, possibly taking the Preston and Wyre Railway into town.  Alice’s brother Thomas was marrying Alice Catterall at St. John the Evangelist church which everyone still called The Willows.  The new church had been built in 1845 by Father Sherburne.  The building was designed in the Early English style by architect Augustus Welby Pugin and could easily seat five to six hundred people.  Its spire was 110 feet high and could probably be seen from miles and the peal of its bells called many to worship.

Before the year was out, Thomas and Alice would be travelling back to Kirkham once again to see Alice’s brother John marry Jane Nickson at the Willows on 23 September 1850.

Early in 1852, Thomas and Alice received word that Alice’s sister and her family had a narrow escape from a house fire back in Kirkham.  They probably read the news article in the Preston Guardian on Tuesday, February 10 with horror at what could have happened to their small nephews.

[aesop_image imgwidth=”500px” img=”https://www.thesocialhistorian.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/RobertMoon.jpg” credit=”British Library” align=”center” lightbox=”on” captionposition=”left”]

Robert and Betty had put young William, James and John down for the night and had gone across to the pub for a pint.  Not long after their parents had left, the young scalawags had come downstairs and managed to set the curtains on fire while lighting a candle!  Thankfully a passerby had come to the rescue, pulling the boys out of the house and dousing the curtains before the whole house had caught fire.  According to the paper the only casualties were a broken door and ruined curtains but its likely that Alice’s mischievous nephews would be doing some extra chores and be eating their meals standing up for some time.

On 28 June 1852, Alice gave birth to another baby girl.  Still hoping to have a child named after Thomas’ mother, they called her Cordelia Ann.  On 20 July 1852, the baby was baptised at St. John’s Church in Preston.  Like her sister before her, Cordelia Ann died at the age of four weeks on 25 July 1852 at the family home on Brunswick Street.  Her death certificate shows her cause of death as aphtha which is an archaic term for thrush, a disease which is characterized by small painful ulcerations usually of the mouth. Since thrush on its own is not normally fatal, probably baby Cordelia was unable to nurse and expired from dehydration.

For some years, Alice’s parents were living in Preston with her sister Catherine and her husband Samuel on Bedford Street and it was nice to have them close by. But during the year of 1854, the whole family likely became increasingly worried about Alice’s mother.  She had been unwell and the doctor had said it was her heart.  On 22 November 1854, Fanny Barnes succumbed and was dead at the age of fifty-eight.  She was laid to rest under the Willows at St. John The Evangelist in Kirkham.

[aesop_image imgwidth=”400px” img=”https://www.thesocialhistorian.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Coldstream-Regiment-of-Guards.jpg” offset=”-300px” credit=”Petr Kratochvil via Wikipedia” align=”right” lightbox=”on” caption=”A sentry at Buckingham Palace” captionposition=”left”]

During the summer of 1855, Alice received what for her was probably more bad news.  Her brother, Thomas, had made the decision to enlist in the British Army and on 30 August he joined the Coldstream Regiment of Guards in Preston and made quite a sight in the tall black hat and red tunic the regiment sported.  Thomas was soon transferred to duty in Surrey and off he went with his wife Alice in tow.

In the spring of 1859, Alice’s youngest son, nine year old Thomas, took sick.  He probably began by complaining of a great pain in his head, holding his forehead and the top of his head in agony.  Alice would have hustled him off to his bed and brought cool cloths to lie across his eyes.  Later, Thomas would have complained that his neck hurt and that he was unable to move his head without pain.  His parents may have called the doctor to make a house call at that point but there was little that could be done.  Thomas had meningitis.  Despite all their efforts, Thomas died on 4 May 1859 at the family home on Oxford Street in Preston.  He was buried in the Preston Old Cemetery on New Hall Lane.  Alice had brought six children into the world and four of them had been taken from her.  She determined to hold tight to William and Fanny.

On 7 April 1861, when the census taker came to call, the Bond family was living quietly, still on Oxford Street.  Thomas was now thirty-seven years old and working as a machinist in the agriculture industry.  Alice was forty-two years old.  William was seventeen years old and working as a plumber and young Fanny was only fourteen but already working as a cotton weaver.

[aesop_quote type=”block” background=”#282828″ text=”#ffffff” width=”content” align=”center” size=”3″ quote=”Alice was making good on her promise to hold tightly to her remaining children.” parallax=”off” direction=”left”]

About June 1866, the word from Kirkham was that Thomas’ sister Mary had taken ill.  With Thomas and Mary’s mother almost seventy, there was no one that could look after Mary properly and she was admitted to the Fylde Workhouse infirmary where she died a few months later on 4 September of a severe infection of the bladder.  With Mary gone, Thomas could not leave his elderly mother to live alone and he brought her to his house on Elizabeth Street to live.

Perhaps William felt smothered by his mother Alice’s constant worrying or maybe he had heard of the life that his uncle Thomas Barnes was leading in Surrey or perhaps he just wanted to find his own adventure.  On 17 October 1867, he enlisted in the Royal Artillery in Lisburn, Ireland.  Alice was unable to hold him back.  In December, she heard that he was being sent to Malta and she probably consoled herself that at least he wasn’t being sent into battle.

Thomas’ father had been lodging with the Loftus family on Shuttle Street in Preston for some time and on 8 November 1871, Thomas Loftus sent word that Richard had passed away at the age of seventy-six and he was laid to rest next to his wife Frances in Kirkham.

Around that time, Alice’s daughter Fanny began keeping company with a young man by the name of William Watson Robinson.  Thomas and Alice did not approve.  He was a nice enough young man but he belonged to the Church of England!  Although Thomas and Alice had married at St. Michael’s Church of England in Kirkham and they occasionally attended St. John’s Church of England in Preston and had even baptised their children there, in their hearts, they were very much Roman Catholic.  Despite the adamant disapproval of her parents, Fanny married William on 15 January 1872 at the Register Office in Preston. Thomas and Alice followed through with their threats and disowned her.  With William gone off to who knows where with the Royal Artillery and now Fanny married outside the Catholic faith, Alice and Thomas had lost both their remaining children.

Thomas’ mother Cordelia was eighty two years old when she died at the Fulwood Workhouse of old age on 28 January 1874. Not only had Thomas and Alice lost their children, but now both their parents were gone as well.  By the time of the 1871 census, on 3 April, Thomas and Alice were boarding with Thomas and Ann Loftus on Atherton Street, the couple with whom Alice’s father had spent his last days.  Thomas was fifty-six and still working as a machine fitter and Alice was now sixty years old.

At the next decennial census on 5 April 1891, Thomas and Alice had moved into the Preston Union Workhouse, no longer able to care for themselves.  Thomas was sixty-nine and Alice was seventy-two years old.

[aesop_image imgwidth=”600px” img=”https://www.thesocialhistorian.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Fulwood-Workhouse.jpg” credit=”Copyright Andrew Gritt via Geograph.org.uk and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.” alt=”Fulwood Workhouse” align=”center” lightbox=”on” caption=”Former workhouse in Fulwood, Preston now part of the University of Central Lancashire.” captionposition=”left”]

On 4 March 1896, Thomas died of a stroke and was buried in the Old Preston Cemetery near his young son Thomas, dead these many years.  His death was registered by his estranged son-in-law, William Watson Robinson.  Thomas was no longer in a position to object and at the age of seventy-seven, Alice was suffering from senility.  Finally, on 28 July 1899, Alice joined Thomas in death.  Her estranged daughter Fanny, now a widow herself, made the arrangements and Alice was laid to rest with her husband and her son.