Nellie Boulter my Paternal Grandmother
Nellie Boulter was born in 1891 in Southampton, Hampshire. Her father, William, was 44 years old, and her mother, Elizabeth, was 34 years old. She had one son and one daughter with Frank A Davis. She then married James Charles Lines, with whom she had three children. She died on 24 March 1934 in her hometown at the age of 43.
In the 1901 Census, when she was 10 years old, Nellie was living at 1 Wickham Court in Southampton with father William, mother Elizabeth, siblings Fred (16), Daisy (14), Elizabeth (12), Alice (8), Henry (6), Rhoda (4), and James (3). Wickham Court was an early-Victorian court off the south side of Vyse Lane. By the 1890s, the area was dominated by slum dwellings, which were primarily built in the early 19th century. The 1893 Dilapidated Buildings Report marked these buildings for demolition, but they survived until the slum clearances of the 1930s.
In June 1854, the Hampshire Advertiser reported that during sewage works at Wickham Court, a hoard of gold coins was discovered:
DISCOVERY OF GOLD COIN IN SOUTHAMPTON. – During the past week some labourers in excavating for the sewers in progress in the town, discovered a quantity of ancient gold coin, in excellent preservation. Among them are Angels and half Angels of the reigns of Edward VI, Henry VII and VIII, and a variety of foreign coin. A large number were purchased by Mr Pegler, the goldsmith. We believe the Corporation claims them as Treasure Trove, and intend prosecuting the lucky (!) finders.
The labourers who found the gold sold it instead of handing it in to the authorities and fled the town to avoid prosecution.
At the age of 20, Nellie married Frank Arthur Davis in October 1911. At the time, she was living with her mother and siblings at 20 Empress Road. They had two children, a son, Frank, and a daughter, Nellie (also known as Sook), before Frank’s death in September 1914.
Nellie and her daughter, Sook, moved in with her mother at 4 Clifton Terrace, Southampton, and she worked as a laundry worker at Shirley Warren Infirmary. She remained there until 1922, when she married James Charles Lines, my grandfather. They lived at 22 Endle Street, Southampton, where my Dad was born in 1924.
Nellie Boulter died on 24 March 1934 in Southampton, Hampshire.
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