William Joseph Spry Yeo (1813–1897) was baptised at the parish church of St Andrew, Plymouth on 9 May 1813; the record of this baptism names his father as John Yeo, a dock labourer and his mother as Ann Yeo. See John Yeo and Ann Ellis.
William married Elizabeth Nicholson at Stoke Damerel on 28 September 1840. They and moved to Guernsey, where William worked as a shoemaker. Their four sons were born in there [note 1]:
– James William Yeo (1839–1910, moved to London with his parents, married Harriet Rich, four sons)
– John Thomas Yeo (1841–1903, moved to London with his parents, married Sophie Godfrey in 1859, eight children)
– George Henry Yeo (see below)
– Francis Yeo (born 1845, died as a child)
and they had a daughter after moving to London [note 2]:
– Elizabeth Sophie Yeo (born 1860 in Southwark, married Jabez Brimley).
James William Yeo (1839–1910, son of William Joseph Spry Yeo and Elizabeth Nicholson) moved to London with his parents and married Harriet Rich in 1858. Their births of their four children were registered at Lambeth:
– James William Yeo (1861–1928, married Emma Webb, no recorded children)
– George Henry Yeo (1863–1888)
– Thomas Edward Yeo (1864–1924, married Mary Ann Elizabeth Condon in 1888, five children)
– Alfred Edward Yeo (see below)
Harriet died in 1872, and James married again the following year. With his second wife Mary Jane Petrie he had five children:
– Ada Elizabeth Yeo (1874–1955, married George Quinlan)
– Frederick Richard Yeo (1878–1948, married Florence Matilda Finch, five children including Douglas Raymond Yeo, 1917–1984)
– Walter Douglas Yeo (1881–1927, married Daisy Florence Cumerford, two children)
– Alice Emma Yeo (1884–1954, married Matthew Cotter)
– Florence Jane Yeo (1887–1955, married Henry John Dent and Charles A. Painter).
George Henry Yeo (1843–1911, son of William Joseph Fry Yeo and Elizabeth Nicholson), moved to London with his parents, where he married Sarah Holland in 1869. Their ten children, born in Holborn, Shoreditch and Bethnal Green, included:
– James Alfred Yeo (1870–1909, married Amy Adams, two daughters)
– George Henry Yeo (1876–1941), married Ellen Caroline Musto, five children)
– William Yeo (1879–1944, emigrated to Canada and died in Vancouver)
– Arthur Richard Yeo (1883–1961, married Emma Ann Poole, three children)
– Francis Frederick Yeo (1885–1947, married Alice Ethel Bone, four children including William Lionel Yeo).
Alfred Edward Yeo (1865–1933, son of James William Yeo and Harriet Rich) married Emily Mahala Ginn in Battersea on 25 November 1888. They had three children:
– Richard Yeo (1889–1949)
– Hilda Emily Rose Yeo (1892–1964, married Edward J. Lane)
– Alfred Edward Yeo (1894–1917, died while on active service with the Machine Gun Corps in France [note 3]).
If you are a descendant of this line, or if you know anything else about William Joseph Spry Yeo or the reason for his imprisonment, please use the Contact Us page to send us a message.
Notes:
1. The 1841 census records William in prison in Guernsey.
2. The 1881 census records William and Elizabeth in Battersea.
3. Buried at the British cemetery at Honnechy.