Preece Family History & One Name Study - Postcards

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Postcards - identifying families

I collect postcards relating to places where various strands of my family (Preece or otherwise) lived in the past. The "golden" period for cards was from 1900 up to the Great War, and there are many great cards out there on the various websites such as Ebay and HipPostcard.

From time to time I have acquired a card addressed to a Preece family member (none of them mine I should add), and I thought it may be interesting to have a look at these in more detail, to try to locate the family involved. As you will see, it hasn't been possible for them all, but it has been fun trying! I have tried to match the closest census return to the date of the card.

Summary of cards held

Mrs Preece, Dairy Farm, Hampton Park, Hereford

Miss Preece c/o Mrs Orson, 17 John Street, Llangollen

Miss Preece, Crescent House, Newtown, Montgomery

Mrs Preece, 176 West Road, Westcliffe-on-Sea

Miss E Preece, 40 Bridge Street, Hereford

Mr E C Preece, 5 Robertson Terrace, Hastings

Miss G Preece, The Rectory, Nuttall, Nottingham

Miss Gracie Preece, Rowton, Aston on Clun, Salop

Mrs H Preece, Hill Farm, Woodside, Woolaston, Gloucestershire

Mr J Preece, The Grove, Four Ashes, Enville, Stourbridge

Miss Joan Preece, c/o Miss Willis, 5 Langdale Gardens, Hove

Miss Lillie Preece, Victoria House, High Street, Madeley

Mrs Preece, 36 Peter Street, Dover

Mrs Preece, c/o Mr Tustin, 309 Nechells Park Road, Nechells, Birmingham

Mr A Preece, 41 Killieser Avenue, Streatham Hill

Kitty Preece, Royal West of England Sanatorium, Weston Super Mare

Mrs Preece
Dairy Farm

Although this card only has a formal greeting ("Mrs" Preece), I recognised the address, and so it was quite straightforward to locate this first family. As you will see from the census return below, the farm was in Tupsley, on the edge of Hereford. The card was posted in Cheltenham in 1910, and the 1911 census return shows the following at the farm :-

1911 Census - Old Eign Hill, Tupsley, Herefordshire
First Name(s)	Surname	Relationship	Marital status	Age	Occupation	Birth place
George James	Preece	Head	Married	51	Dairy farmer	Tupsley Hereford
Elizabeth Ellen	Preece	Wife	Married	49	-	Tupsley Hereford
Herbert Wilfred	Preece	Son	Single	16	Farmers son working on farm	Tupsley Hereford
Ella Morgan	Preece	Daughter	-	14	School	Tupsley Hereford
Charles James	Preece	Son	-	9	School	Tupsley Hereford
Richard	Yapp	Servant	Single	19	Milk retailer	Moreton Hereford
Owen Charles	Jones	Servant	Single	17	Milk retailer	Mordiford Hereford
Fanny	Godsall	Servant	Single	18	General servant domestic	Newtown Ledbury

Miss
Preece c/o Mrs Orson

This is the type of card where it is difficult to trace the recipient, and that has been the case here.

There could be many reasons why "Miss Preece" is staying with (or living with) Mrs Orson, from working for her to lodging. She isn't there in the 1921 census, so her presence will remain a mystery for now.

Miss
Preece Crescent House

Once again, even though we have a named property, I have been unable to locate "Miss" Preece - unfortunately she has not been addressed directly by name. We see the card is from Eleanor in Bournemouth, but the wording suggests she may be on holiday herself.

It looks as if there is someone called Enid possibly at Crescent House - coincidentally, in the 1911 Census - the card was posted in 1907 - the Swift family are at Crescent House, and they have a daughter named Eleanor Flora Enid, which could be either - or neither - of the names mentioned here.

In the absence of further clues, this one will remain unsolved for now.

Mrs Preece West
Road

This item is a birthday card, sent in 1925. In those days practically all cards were of postcard type, the present-day style of folded cards were seldom seen until later in the 20th century.

It appears likely that this has been sent from further along West Road ("all at 397"), but I've been unable to locate a Preece family at West Road thus far, so another mystery yet to be resolved.

Miss A E Preece
Bridge Street

Quite an enigmatic card, with just an initial for the sender (it is surprising just how often you do see this kind of "secretive" message on the older cards!).

Posted in 1904, in Windsor, the card does throw up a mystery, but the recipient has also been identified - she is Ann Elizabeth Preece, born in 1870, in Hereford, and daughter of Peter and Elizabeth Preece.

This is her at Bridge Street in 1921, with her sister Ellen :-

1921 Census - 40 Bridge Street, Hereford
First Name(s)	Surname	Relationship	Marital status	Age	Occupation	Birth place
Ann Elizabeth	Preece	Head	Single	50	Shop keeper (hardware)	Hereford
Ellen	Preece	Sister	Single	44	Shop keeper (hardware) Partner	Hereford

However, the card was sent in 1904, and in both the 1901 and 1911 Census, Ann Elizabeth is at home with her parents (Peter Christopher and Elizabeth) at 92 Ross Road, also in Hereford. 40 Bridge Street was a shop, as can be seen from the census above - and indeed still is (now a Chinese Takeaway!) - but it seems odd that the card was sent to the shop in 1904, when the Preece family lived elsewhere, albeit nearby (just across the river in fact).

Mr E C Preece

I had thought initially, when I started to look at this card, that it might be quite straightforward to trace him.

We see his initials - A C - and he is addressed as Ted, so he's Edward.

I can see an Edward Charles Preece born in 1910, in Romsey, in Hampshire. However, as you can see the stamp has been removed and along with it direct dating evidence - but, you will notice the postage rate quoted in the top right corner is 1/2d, which was the rate for postage until the end of the Great War i.e. 1918.

It is possible that this is him - the card could be posted well after 1918 - but there is nothing definitive so far.

Miss G
Preece The Rectory

This card was posted in 1922, so the previous year's census was a good place to locate her - she was working as a parlour maid for the Boden family at the Rectory in Nuthall, where her whole family was living at that time. She though, was born in Melton Mowbray, and as will be seen in the 1991 census below, her parents were from very different counties...

1911 Census - Albert Avenue, Nuthall, Nottingham
First Name(s)	Surname	Relationship	Marital status	Age	Occupation	Birth place
George	Preece	Head	Married	35	Colliery Banksman	Nash, Shropshire
Rosalie May	Preece	Wife	Married	35	Market gardener	Launceston, Cornwall
Grace	Preece	Daughter	-	8	School	Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire
Marjorie	Preece	Daughter	-	6	School	Nuttall, Notts
George Launcelot	Preece	Son	-	4	-	Nuttall, Notts
Barrington	Preece	Son	-	4m	-	Nuttall, Notts

The most interesting element of this card is arguably the sender. When I first looked at it, I thought that possibly it was Grace's brother Tom, and he was maybe in the Navy, or had been abroad, as he mentions returning aboard ship.

However, looking into Grace a little more, I find that she married (in 1930) a Thomas Cooper Livermore, who was in the Royal Navy for an extended term, so my supposition is that the card is from her future husband.

Miss Preece Rowton

Another card where I have so far drawn a blank. Despite having the name - Gracie (may be Grace?), and even a named place, I've been unable to pinpoint her.

I have checked the entries for Rowton for 1901 and 1911 - the card being sent in 1905 - but no Preece families or individuals are there.

Mrs Preece Hill
Farm

A 1918 card sent from the USA. This time it is posted to "Mrs" H Preece, but of course quite often the convention was to use the husbands initial for the wife when sending correspondence, and so it has proven on this occasion.

The H in this case stands for Henry, and his wife was Elizabeth, and in 1911 their daughter Evelyn was with them, joined by Ella by the 1921 census :-

1921 Census - Woodside, Woolaston, Lydney, Gloucestershire
First Name(s)	Surname	Relationship	Marital status	Age	Occupation	Birth place
Henry R	Preece	Head	Married	50	Farmer	Herefordshire
Elizabeth J	Preece	Wife	Married	40	Home duties	Herefordshire
Emily Evelyn	Preece	Daughter	Single	17	Home duties	Gloucestershire
Ella Katherine	Preece	Daughter	-	9	-	Gloucestershire

In 1901 Henry was at home with his parents, on a farm also called Hill Farm, though it is a different farm! They are not too far apart, but in different parishes.

1901 Census - Hill Farm, St Briavels Common, Gloucestershire
First Name(s)	Surname	Relationship	Marital status	Age	Occupation	Birth place
Samuel	Preece	Head	Married	58	Farmer	Preston on Wye, Herefordshire
Sarah	Preece	Wife	Married	59	-	Clodock, Herefordshire
Henry Roger	Preece	Son	Single	29	Farmers son	Preston on Wye, Herefordshire
Sarah Ann	Preece	Daughter	Single	19	-	Preston on Wye, Herefordshire

J Preece Esq

It is unclear if this is addressed to "J" Preece or "T" Preece - by 1939, Thomas Preece was running the farm at the Grove, with his widowed mother, so it is most likely to be to him. His father Jesse had died in 1932.

However, the family has been identified, and this is the entry from 1921 :-

1921 Census - Grove Farm, near Enville, Stourbridge
First Name(s)	Surname	Relationship	Marital status	Age	Occupation	Birth place
Jesse	Preece	Head	Married	63	Farmer	Enville, Staffordshire
Susan Ann	Preece	Wife	Married	55	Home duties	Areley Kings, Worcestershire
John Strafford	Preece	Son	Single	26	General Farm Work	Enville, Staffordshire
Jesse Edmond	Preece	Son	Single	21	General Farm Work	Enville, Staffordshire
Thomas	Preece	Son	Single	20	General Farm Work	Enville, Staffordshire
Susan Moore	Preece	Daughter	Single	16	Home duties	Enville, Staffordshire
Mary Jane	Sanders	Servant	Single	15	General Domestic Servant	Quatt, Shropshire

Miss
Preece c/o Miss Willis

This has proven to be another of those tricky "care of" addresses, and I have been unable to confirm the correct person.

I can see a number of Joan Preece records in the 1939 Register (the card was posted in 1937), but none of them are in Sussex. Miss Willis is indeed still at Langdale Gardens in the Register, but the person with her is not Joan.

For the moment, this will be unsolved.

Miss
Preece Victoria House

This has been a card that I had hoped would be quite straightforward to match up with census records, as I have the recipients name (Lillie) and her parents are referenced in the card suggesting Lillie is possibly at her home address.

However, the family I have located for her is at a different address, so perhaps she was with relatives at Madeley? Madeley and Stirchley are both part of present-day Telford, only 3 miles apart. The other interesting part of the family is that her name is actually spelt "Lillie", rather than the usual Lily, and that is how the card is addressed. It is a very unusual spelling (in my experience), and this leads me to think that this is her. Ironically in the 1921 Census it has been spelt Lily, although it is correct in the 1911 census, and in the Birth Registrations for 1905.

1921 Census - The Village, Stirchley, Shropshire
First Name(s)	Surname	Relationship	Marital status	Age	Occupation	Birth place
William	Preece	Head	Married	54	General Labourer at Wrekin Chemical works	Stirchley, Shropshire
Clara Annie	Preece	Wife	Married	55	Household duties	Shropshire
Hilda Jennie	Preece	Daughter	Single	24	General Domestic	Shropshire
William Frederick	Preece	Son	Single	19	Platers Help Iron Works	Stirchley, Shropshire
Ruth Mary	Preece	Daughter	Single	18	General Domestic	Stirchley, Shropshire
Lily	Preece	Daughter	Single	16	Household duties	Stirchley, Shropshire

Mrs Preece Dover

Another interesting card, posted from "your loving son and daughter" Tom and Ada. Sent to Mrs Preece in Dover in late September 1917, an address search quickly found both the recipient and sender in the 1911 census...

1911 Census - 36 Peter Street, Dover, Kent
First Name(s)	Surname	Relationship	Marital status	Age	Occupation	Birth place
Diana	Preece	Head	Widow	70	-	Woolwich, Kent
Ada	Preece	Daughter	Single	37	Laundress	Plumstead, Kent

This however, isn't quite the end of the story. It seems Ada had lost her father Walter when she was very young (1 year old), and had lived with her mother since that time, the two of them appearing in the census firstly in London and then Kent. Walter had been in the Royal Engineers, and was in barracks in both the 1851 and 1861 census.

Many years later, in the third quarter of 1917, Ada finally married at the age of 43, to Thomas Lloyd. Looking at the date of the postcard - 30 September 1917 - I would imagine that this is Tom and Ada on honeymoon, and writing to their mother to say they would soon be home. Diana died in 1920, and Ada and Tom are still in Dover in the 1921 census...

1921 Census - 2 Glenfield Road, Dover, Kent
First Name(s)	Surname	Relationship	Marital status	Age	Occupation	Birth place
Thomas	Lloyd	Head	Married	45	Skilled labourer	Cross Hands, Carmarthenshire
Ada Maud	Lloyd	Wife	Married	47	Home duties	Kent, England

Mrs Preece
Nechells

I assumed this would relate to a Herefordshire family (J & P West) possibly with family living in Birmingham, thinking there may be West family links still in the area today, and there could be Preece links.

Well, I was sort of right - I looked up the Tustin family, and they are indeed in Nechells in both 1901 and 1911, but they are all from Staffordshire (he is an engine driver), and no sign of "Mrs Preece".

Turning to the West family (in fact James Clulow and Harriet Martha West) are also from Staffordshire, though clearly now in Lower Bartestree as shown in top left corner of rear of the card.

The connection between the two families is the two wives, who are actually sisters (Griffiths) from Wednesbury.

It seems that James was from a farming family in Leek, and by 1901 had moved to Hatchford, at Woolhope. Why he made such a move I've not looked into. By 1911 they are at Lower Bartestree, and in 1921 his wife has died and he is with one of his sons on his farm at Powick over the border in Worcestershire.

Really interesting to see what comes out of a simple postcard, and I have no idea who Mrs Preece is! There was a Preece family at Bartestree Court, so she "may" be linked to them, but I think that will remain a mystery!

Mr Preece
Streatham

This card was posted in 1929, and helpfully we have the recipients first name (Arthur). The address took a little deciphering, and "Killieser" is certainly an unusual name.

He was Arthur Frederick Preece, and had a number of siblings, and I located them in the 1921 census :-

1921 Census - 41 Killieser Avenue, Streatham, London
First Name(s)	Surname	Relationship	Marital status	Age	Occupation	Birth place
Charles Frederick	Preece	Head	Married	42	Grocer	Ledbury, Herefordshire
Laura Louisa	Preece	Wife	Married	39	Home duties	Camberwell, London
Arthur Frederick	Preece	Son	-	11	-	Balham, London
Amy	Preece	Daughter	-	8	-	Balham, London
George William	Hearn	Step-Son	-	11	-	Balham, London
Joan Margaret	Hearn	Step-Daughter	-	4	-	Balham, London
Lily Kate	Brydone	Servant	Single	31	General Domestic Servant	Camberwell, London

Miss Kitty Preece

Posted in 1912, I initially thought that perhaps it would be easy to identify "Kitty", as she was hopefully at the Sanatorium in the 1911 census, but to no avail.

Reading the card, it seems she was there due to ill health, rather than working as I initially hoped.

Kitty is a form of Catherine/Katherine - the card has been posted in Hereford, so the assumption is that she was from the county. Unfortunately, there are a number of Catherine/Katherine's in Herefordshire, so without further information I have not located her. I did have a look at the name "Ida", to perhaps see if she was a Preece, but she wasn't, and there are plenty of Ida's in the county in 1911 so it's not possible to track Kitty through her.

Sadly, this will remain on the "unsolved" list for now.