What was life like for the ordinary people who lived and died in Swindon at the end of the 19th century? So many were incomers, attracted to the town by the many opportunities presented by the Great Western Railway Works and the affiliated jobs that grew up around it, including the food and vibrant retail industries. Some families put down roots and stayed, others moved on. The Jeanes family did both.
Widowed Mary Jeanes appears to have arrived sometime in the 1870s with her daughter Ellen 21 and her 15 year old son (Frederick) John. The family were originally from North Petherton, Somerset and arrived in Swindon via Bridgewater.
By 1881 they were living at 46 Regent Street where Mary’s son worked as a Master Baker. Frederick married and settled down in Swindon. His sister Ellen married Frederick Barnstaple/Barnstable and left. By 1891 they were farming at Llantarnam, Monthmouthshire.
Mary Jeanes died in February 1887 aged 65 and was buried in grave plot A1038. When Ellen and Frederick’s 15 year old daughter Florence Nelly died in 1888 they chose to have her buried with her grandmother Mary in Radnor Street Cemetery.
Radnor Street Cemetery 