Re: Foyle Somerset.
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In reply to:
Re: Foyle Somerset.
alison foyle 10/06/01
Hi Roger
My mother, Millicent Gladys Johnson Luffman was the illegitimate daughter (born during WWI) of Emily May Luffma daughter of George Luffman and Juliana Foyle.Due to the stigma associated with bearing a child out of wedlock Emily lost contact with most of her family, and indeed her cousins did not even know of my mother's existance until very recently, though they knew of her mother's subsequent marriage and the children she had within that marriage.
Emily married a widower when my mother was about three and he recorded my mother in his family bible as his stepdaughterand raised her as part of his own family.Emily and her busband, William Morris, had several sons and one daughter, Elizabeth. She and her children, her brothers and one of Emily's sisters were the only contacts my branch had with Emily's family.
Elizabeth told her children (my cousins) that as a child she recalled her mother taking them to visit relatives who were well off and lived in a big house with servants - this was in Somerset. She also told them (and me too, shortly before her death)that Juliana was related to the Foyles who had the lending libraries and the publishing house. In addition she told them that Juliana had disappointed her family by marrying beneath herself when she married George Luffman.
Juliana was certainly very well educated for a woman of her time as she spoke fluent French. No ordinary working class girl would ever have been educated to that standardat that time.A member of the "newly discovered" Luffman family relatives tells me that Juliana worked as governess to a French family (possibly in Paris)before her marriage (it was him who also told me she was fluent in French)and again she would have had to have come from a fairly wealthy family to have obtained such a position,as a girl from a working class background would never have obtained such a post- a job as a maid yes, as a governess no.
So far all my information is what has come down the family.I am awaiting receipt of copies of family documents given to her son by Elizabeth shortly before her death, and which no one knew existed other than him until I informed my cousins that I was researching the family history.I hope that these papers will explain why Elizabeth firmly believed that Juliana was related to that particular Foyle family and I shall, of course, keep you informed on that one. I am told that my cousins have photographs taken of their mother as a child at the 'big house' and am waiting to see these also. Don't hold your breath though as I have been waiting for my cousin to motivate himself to get the papers copied for me.His sister is now working on him as she is keen to get them to me so I can progress the research.
Another point that could be relevant is that George Luffman was born in Holton, just outside Wincanton. Juliana's birth was registered at Wincanton. However, their marriage is registered at Barton Regis just north of Bristol. They were, therefore, quite a way from their origins when they married, though of course her family could have moved or her work as a governess could have taken her to that area.
Well, that's all I know for now and I am waiting on the elusive family papers before proceding further - I don't want to pay out for certificates only to find the family already has the originals! However, if they take much longer I shall send for Juliana's birth certificate so that at least I shall know the identity of her parents.
Maggie Williams
More Replies:
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Re: Foyle Somerset.
alison foyle 10/07/01
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Re: Foyle Somerset.
10/07/01
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Re: Foyle Somerset.
alison foyle 10/08/01
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Re: Foyle Somerset.
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Re: Foyle Somerset.