William Saunders Yeo was baptised in 1826 in the Cornwall parish of St John, near Torpoint to parents John Yeo and Mary Ann Sanders. His name was later recorded as William Sanders Yeo.
Sheila looked into his family with correspondent Melody Sharpe in 2001. David Yaw has also researched William’s life, and has kindly sent us his Navy service record.
William spent much of his life in Ireland, where he worked as a coastguard. He married Devon-born Elizabeth Ann Smith in Ireland in 1852; they had five children there:
– Elizabeth Yeo (born 1859)
– William Peter Yeo (see below)
– Katherine Yeo (born 1865, married Sydney Gardener)
– George Henry Yeo (see below)
– Edwin James Yeo (see below)
then moved to Bangor in north Wales where another daughter was born:
– Florence Yeo (1872–1864)
and finally to Fleetwood in Lancashire [note 1], where two more daughters were born:
– Jessie Yeo (born 1874, married James Hadfield Smith)
– Ellen Yeo (1877–1949, married John William Smith).
William Peter Yeo (1863–1940, son of William Sanders Yeo and Elizabeth Smith) was born in Ireland and later moved with his parents to Lancashire. He married Annie Letman in 1887 [note 2]; they had nine children:
– John Yeo (1888–1953, married Christobel Iddon)
– Ethel Annie Yeo (1889–1935)
– Kate Elizabeth Yeo (1890–1964, married Frederick Charles Bamber)
– Clara Yeo (1892–1963)
– William Saunders Yeo (1894–1947)
– Edwin James Yeo (1895–1950)
– Louisa Yeo [note 3] (1897–1988, married William Fleetwood Bennett)
– Jessie Yeo (1899–1986, married Robert Stephen)
– Minnie Yeo (1905–1983, married Frederick William Whiting).
George Henry Yeo (1867–1924, son of William Sanders Yeo and Elizabeth Smith) married Jane Ellen Mulholland. They had five children:
– Elizabeth Ann Yeo (1892–1939, married John Royston, died in the United States)
– George Henry Yeo (1894–1939, married Emma Boyd) [note 4]
– Florence Louisa Yeo (1896–1972, married Francis Elbert Sheain, died in the United States)
– Elsie Jane Yeo (1899–1979, married Richard Daniel Kennedy, died in the United States)
– Frederick William Yeo (1902–1960, married Margaret Whyatt [note 5]).
Edwin James Yeo (1869–1967 [note 6], son of William Sanders Yeo and Elizabeth Smith) married Alice Jane Ball. They had seven children:
– Emily Elizabeth Yeo (1893–1975, married Tom Park Christopherson and Haydn Aloysius Hart
– Doris Yeo (1898–1993, married Joshua Wright)
– Edwin James Yeo (1902–1984, married Ellen Griffiths Cooke) [note 7]
– Harry Yeo (1907–1977, married Evelyn Dewhirst, four children)
– Frank Yeo (1915–1994, married Dorothy Shaw)
– Sam Yeo (1917–1989, married Christina Hynes) [note 8].
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See also John Yeo, coastguard in Ireland.
Notes
1. William Sanders Yeo is recorded in Fleetwood in the 1901 census at the age of 74, ‘living on own means’ (i.e. retired). His wife Elizabeth is 66 and was born in Devonport. Living with them are their widowed daughter Catherine Gardener and her 12-year-old son Sidney Gardener. In 1902, William gave away his granddaughter Evelyn Claudia Yeo de Marseille.
2. Recorded by some researchers as Annie Unsworth.
3. Birth registered as Louie Yeo.
4. 1897–1991. Registered as Alice M. Boyd when she and George married in 1924. Son George Brian Yeo (1927–1998, married 1962).
5. Two daughters, including Beryl Yeo (1931–2024).
6. Recorded by Sheila as Charles Edwin Yeo, and recorded as James E. Yeo in the 1939 Register for Fleetwood.
7. Son Edwin James Yeo (1932–1998, married 1954).
8. Two children, including Dennis Yeo (1936–2013, married 1960).