Annie Caroline (Orriss) Clapham (1887 - 1948)

Born 7 Jan 1887 in Hundon, Suffolk, England, United Kingdom

Ancestors

Wife of John Thomas Clapham — married 1 Jun 1914 (to 1935) in Haverhill, Suffolk, England, United Kingdom

Died 11 Nov 1948 at age 61 in Ipswich, Suffolk, England, United Kingdom

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Mark Carroll [send private message]

Biography

Nancy (Orriss) Clapham was born in Suffolk, England.

Annie Caroline Orriss was born on 7 January 1887 in the hamlet of Brockley Green, near the village of Hundon, Suffolk, England, United Kingdom. ^[1] She was the second child and older daughter of Walter Orriss, a farm labourer and horsekeeper, and Caroline Wallace. The couple had four other children, though one died in infancy: Frederick William (born 1885), Clara (1890), George (1892, died 1894) and Frank (1896). In early 1891 Annie was with her parents and her sister Clara in Hundon; her older brother Frederick was staying elsewhere. ^[2] By ten years later the family had moved to Water Lane, Cavendish, not far from Hundon; Frederick was back, younger brother Frank was now with them, as was Annie's paternal grandfather, William Orriss. ^[3] The family was living in 1901 at Duck's Hall Farm there (see image, below).

Duck's Hall Farm, Cavendish, Suffolk

By 1911 Annie had left home and was working as a housemaid in Marylebone, London. ^[4] Domestic service was a common form of employment for young British women at that time. Indeed, her sister Clara had also left home to work as a servant in Marylebone. It is not known how long Annie stayed in the capital, but by 1914 she was back in East Anglia. In that year, on 1 June 1914, she married John Thomas Clapham at St Mary the Virgin, the parish church in Haverhill, Suffolk, not far from Hundon. ^[5] The witnesses were her father, her sister, and his sister, Edith Mary. John was a gardener from Bengeo, Hertfordshire. The couple went on to have three children: Edith May (1915), Cyril W. (1922) and John Richard (1922). The gap in the years of birth of the children was caused by World War 1 (1914-1918), when John was no doubt away fighting. The family lived initially in the Hertford area, but later moved to Chichester in Sussex, England.
In 1921 - according to the census of England and Wales that year - Annie and John were living in Bayford, Hertfordshire with their daughter Edith; he was a domestic gardener working for the Honorable Mr Livingstone there. John himself died at the relatively young age of 47, on 1 September 1935, at Palace Lodge in Chichester. Administration of his estate, valued at £149, was granted to his widow at Winchester, Hampshire on 1 October 1935.

Orriss family group, ca1945

Shortly after the end of World War 2 (1939-1945) Annie visited her sister-in-law, Ada (Smith) Orriss in Walthamstow, Essex (now north-east London). In the photo above, the individuals from left to right are: Ada Orriss, Annie Clapham, Margaret Orriss (Ada's daughter) and John Clapham (Annie's son). The Anderson air-raid shelter is still present in the garden at the extreme right.
Annie herself died on 11 November 1948 in the East Suffolk Hospital, Ipswich, Suffolk at the age of 61. ^[6] She had apparently been visiting her daughter Edith, whose husband, William Malcolm Young, was stationed at RAF Wattisham, Ipswich and was the informant to the death. However, her home at that time was at 10 Orchard Avenue, Chichester. The cause of death was respiratory failure caused by carcinoma of the bronchus (lung cancer). After probate at Winchester on 10 January 1949, her estate valued at £500 (net) was left to her children, John and Edith.

Research notes

• Annie (Orriss) Clapham was the maternal great-aunt of the first author and manager of her Wikitree biography, Mark Carroll. Within the family she was invariably known as Nancy.

Sources

1. ↑ FreeBMD: entry for birth of Orriss, Annie Caroline, mar quarter 1887. Reference: Risbridge RD, volume 4a, page 643. (Available: https://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?cite=K30HvW1lkjjSC6Ep8jB7KQ&scan=1 [accessed 18 July 2024].)
2. ↑ "England and Wales Census, 1891", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:4N64-P2M : Sat Mar 09 03:50:16 UTC 2024), Entry for Walter Orriss and Caroline Orriss, 1891. (Accessed 1 May 2024.)
3. ↑ "England and Wales Census, 1901," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XSV4-K8P : 21 May 2019), Clara Orriss in household of Walter Orriss, Cavendish, Suffolk, England, United Kingdom; from "1901 England, Scotland and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing Hartest subdistrict, PRO RG 13, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey. (Accessed 1 May 2024.)
4. ↑ "England and Wales Census, 1911," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XWLW-9KW : 16 May 2019), Annie Orriss in household of Hesten Frederick Overbury, Marylebone, London, England, United Kingdom; from "1911 England and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO RG 14, The National Archives of the UK, Kew, Surrey. (Accessed 18 July 2024.)
5. ↑ FreeBMD: entry for marriage of Orriss, Annie C. and John T. Clapham, June quarter 1914. Reference: Risbridge RD, volume 4a, page 1682. (Available: https://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?cite=B6Au7iJk%2B8h9fPT3PAHEJA&scan=1 [accessed 18 July 2024].)
6. ↑ FreeBMD: entry for death of Clapham, Annie C., aged 61, Dec quarter 1948. Reference: Ipswich RD, volume 4b, page 710. (Available: https://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?cite=ShDEfR5jUm773I9dZkEHKA&scan=1 [accessed 18 July 2024].)