1863: Mary Ann Welch's son Charles Henry Welch was born at Faversham.

1862-66: It is not clear what happened in this period. At some point, between the marriage of Mary Ann Bowles to Henry Welch and the birth of George Knott Jr in 1866, Mary Ann was no longer with Henry Welch, but was with George Knott.

1866: Mary Ann's son George Bowles Knott was born at Gillingham. By this point, she must have been in a relationship with George Knott, and George Knott was probably the father.

1869: George's third son, my great-grandfather William Knott was born on the 3rd of December at Upchurch, Kent. His father's name is given as George Knott, and his mother's as Mary Ann Knott, formerly Bowles. Mary Ann was the informant, and her address shows that he was born at home. George's occupation is given as a brickfield labourer. Mary Ann signed the register with a cross - that is, she was illiterate, and could not write her own name. The birth was registered on the 10th of January 1870.

1871: The 27 year old Henry Welch died in the Medway registration district in the 4th quarter.


1872: George married Mary Ann Welch on the 17th March at All Saints church, Frindsbury, Kent. He gave his status as bachelor, she as widow. Both of them gave their place of residence as Frindsbury. Mary Ann gave her father's name as Thomas Edward Bowles. The witnesses were Joseph Cox and Jane Cox - Jane was George's sister. Interestingly, both George and Mary Ann were able to sign the register. It is not clear why they married in Frindsbury. They were living in Upchurch in 1871 and would be later the same year for the birth of their son Fredrick. Perhaps it was the home parish of the Coxes. However, by 1886 the Knotts would also be living in Strood/Frindsbury.

1903: in Kelly's Directory of Kent 1903 is the following listing under shopkeepers:

Knott George 58, Grange Road, Frindsbury, Rochester

You can view the page here. George's name is towards the bottom of the middle column.



1911 census:

George was sixty-eight years old at the time of the 1911 census. The Knott family were living at 58, Grange Road, Frindsbury, Kent. This is the same house as in 1901, and it may even be the same house as in 1891 if they were renumbered.

George is shown as a general labourer. His wife Mary Ann is shown as 67 years old. She is shown as a shop keeper.

George was born at Gillingham in Kent, but his wife Mary Ann gives her birthplace as Strood in Kent, rather than Faversham. The transcript for their entry is here and you can see the original form here.


1913: in Kelly's Directory of Kent, Surrey and Sussex 1913 is the following listing under shopkeepers:

Knott George 58, Grange Road, Frindsbury, Rochester

You can view the page here. George's name is towards the bottom of the third column.


1916: George's wife Mary Ann died of liver cancer at 58 Grange Road on 27th November. She was 73 years old. She was buried in a newly purchased plot in Strood Cemetery, plot A192, on 30th November.


1921: Th week before the 1921 census, George died on 11th June at 96 Temple Street, Strood, Kent, the house of his son William. He was 78 years old. The death was registered on 13th June by his daughter-in-law Mary Ann Knott. He was buried in the family plot A192 at Strood Cemetery, Cuxton Road, Strood on 14th June, where his wife had been buried five years earlier.

1925: Kelly's Directory of Rochester, Gillingham, Chatham, etc shows that 58 Grange Road is still a shop, under the ownership of an Albert Hewitt. Today, it is a terraced house.