Henry Yeo married Ellen Physic at Alphington parish church in Exeter in 1862. This record seemed straightforward enough, but there was no trace of Henry’s baptism.
Research by Sheila Yeo and Dee Reynolds revealed that Henry had been baptised at nearby Heavitree in 1843 [note 1] and that he changed his surname after his mother married James Yeo [note 2] in the Exeter parish of St Mary Arches in 1854.
The 1861 census records Henry Yeo in two households, probably because one of the households listed him even though he did not spend the night of the census there – this was a rare occurrence. In both households he is described as a merchant’s clerk.
In 1902 Henry was tried at the Old Bailey on two counts of perjury in connection with affidavits sworn while he was as an accounts clerk. He was found guilty but no sentence was imposed, which suggests that there were mitigating circumstances.
Perhaps this brush with the law led to Henry’s change of occupation. The 1911 census records him at 29 Salisbury Road, Walthamstow, a manufacturer of galvanized goods.
An inquest was held after Henry died in 1914 in the waiting room at Exmouth Station following a stroke. His address is given as 52 Waverley Road, Exmouth and his occupation as metal worker.
Henry’s wife Ellen Physic was born in 1843 to gardener William Benjamin Gribble Physic (1805–1889) and his wife Ann Bealey (1805–1873), and died in 1919 at the age of 76. She and Henry had ten children:
– Henry Francis Yeo (1863–1863)
– James Henry Yeo (1864–1949, married Alice Annie Brond)
– Ellen Yeo (1866–1947)
– William Yeo (1868–1927)
– George Albert Yeo (born 1870)
– Clementina Mary Yeo (1871–1958, known as Kate or Kitty)
– Frederick Albert Yeo (1873–1917)
– Philip Yeo (born 1876)
– Stanley Gordon Yeo (see below)
– May Dunning Yeo (1877–1877)
Stanley Gordon Yeo (1876–1959) married Mary Lilian Margaret Whitton, with whom he had a daughter:
– Mary Muriel Yeo (born 1910, married Gilbert Emmanuel Carlsson and Thomas William Victor Henshall) [note 3]
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Other people who changed their surname to Yeo when their mother married or re-married were:
– Albert Pool Yeo, 1908–1985 (birth registered as Richards)
– Norah May Yeo, 1908–2003 (birth registered as Fowler) [note 4]
– Mary Celia Yeo, 1861–1932 (birth registered as Croden) [note 5]
– Percy John Yeo, 1912–1990 (birth registered as Palmer)
– Queenie Isabel May Yeo, 1914–1989 (birth registered as Barkell)
– Jacqueline Marie Yeo, 1972–2013 (birth registered as Smith).
People who changed their surname to Yeo for unknown reasons included:
– Charles John Yeo, 1873–1942 (birth registered as Hill)
– Charlotte Phyllis Yeo, 1882–1962 (birth registered as Triscott)
– John Yeo or John Reuben Yeo, born 1896 (birth registered as Remnant) [note 6]
– Hilda Yeo, 1897–1974 (birth registered as Whitehead)
– Kathleen Elizabeth Yeo, 1899–1983 (birth registered as Remnant) [note 6]
– Rose Yeo, born 1900 (formerly Remnant; birth not registered) [note 6].
Notes
1. ‘Henry Albert Dunning son of Mary Stoneman Dunning servant’. Mary had been baptised at North Tawton on 23 February 1820.
2. James Yeo (1803–1878) was a son of James Yeo and Susannah Pryor. He retired as a Chelsea Pensioner after his army service.
3. We have not found a record of Mary’s death. Can anyone provide this information?
4. See David Morrick and Norah May Yeo.
5. Daughter of Ann Croden, who married William Yeo in 1862. Mary is recorded as Yeo in the 1871 census but married as Crowden in 1909. See Robert Yeo and Jane Paddon.
6. See George Yeo and Rose Emily Marshment.