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The Varney Families
For a long time, the only information we had about the Varney families was that Vera Victoria Varney (1901), married George Champion (1897) in 1921. And that Vera's Father was Henry Edward Varney.Vera just "missed" the 1901 census, being born a month after the census was taken !
In March 2008 I noticed a topic on the www.RootsChat.com discussion forum about Varneys in London. When I looked at it, it turned out that these Varneys were from St. Pancras (as was Vera) and that one of the children, born 1855, was called Henry E. Varney. Could this be Vera's father ??
I added a query to the topic and it turned out that Henry E. was indeed Henry Edward. Our "Varney contact" verified that the children on the 1901 census were indeed his aunt's and uncles, so we had a match !!
The RootsChat searcher was looking for Edward Varney:
| 1841 Census: HO 107/1135 Piece 13 Folio 32 Page 11 Leamington Priors, Warwickshire King Street |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Relation | Age | (Born) | Born in County | Occupation | |
| Varney | James | 50 | (1791) | N | Labourer | |
| Varney | Susanne | 40 | (1796) | N | ||
| Varney | George | 25 | (1816) | N | ||
| Varney | Ann | 20 | (1821) | N | ||
| Varney | Edward | 16 | (1825) | N | ||
| Varney | William | 13 | (1828) | N | ||
| Varney | Thomas | 5 | (1836) | N | ||
| Varney | Mary | 4 | (1837) | N | ||
| Varney | Elizabeth | 3 | (1838) | N | ||
| Varney | Thomas | 1 | (1840) | Y | ||
In 1851 Edward wasn't at home .. he was visiting the Brown family ..
| 1851 Census: HO 107/1496 Folio 888 Page 16 St Pancras, Middlesex 30 Clarendon Street |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Relation | Age | (Born) | Birthplace | Occupation | |
| Varney | Edward | Visitor | 25 | (1825) | Baldon, Oxford | Railway porter |
| 1861 Census: RG9 113 Folio 18 Page 38 St Pancras, Middlesex Up Seymour St 113 115 |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Relation | Age | (Born) | Birthplace | Occupation | |
| Varney | Edward | Head | 35 | (1825) | Bourton, Oxfordshire | Railway Guard |
| Varney | Catharine | Wife | 38 | (1822) | Birmingham, St Phillips | Guard\'s wife |
| Varney | Louise M | Daughter | 8 | (1853) | Olney, Oxfordshire | Clerk |
| Varney | Henry E | Son | 6 | (1855) | St Pancras, Middlesex | Clerk |
| Varney | Walter J | Son | 1 | (1860) | St Pancras, Middlesex | Scholar |
| 1871 Census: RG10 223 Folio 68 Page 15 St. Pancras, Middlesex 104 Seymour Street |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Relation | Age | (Born) | Birthplace | Occupation | |
| Varney | Edward | Head | 45 | (1825) | Bourton, Oxfordshire | Railway Guard |
| Varney | Catharine | Wife | 47 | (1823) | Birmingham, St Phillips | Guard's wife |
| Varney | Louise M | Daughter | 18 | (1853) | Olney, Oxfordshire | Clerk |
| Varney | Henry E | Son | 16 | (1855) | St Pancras, Middlesex | Clerk |
| Varney | Walter L | Son | 11 | (1860) | St Pancras, Middlesex | Scholar |
| Varney | Kate A | Daughter | 9 | (1862) | St Pancras, Middlesex | Scholar |
| 1881 Census: 10 Clarendon St., London |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Relation | Age | (Born) | Birthplace | Occupation | |
| Varney | Edward | Head | 55 | (1825) | Bourton, Oxfordshire | Railway Guard |
| Varney | Catharine | Wife | 58 | (1822) | Birmingham, St Phillips | |
| Varney | Louise | Daughter | 28 | (1853) | Oxford | Civil Service Clerk |
| Varney | Walter | Son | 21 | (1860) | London | Scholar |
| Varney | Kate | Daughter | 19 | (1862) | London | Scholar |
| 1891 Census: RG12 1040 102 16 Pinner, Middlesex Rickmansworth Rd. |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Relation | Age | (Born) | Birthplace | Occupation | |
| Varney | Edward | Head | 65 | (1825) | Bourton, Oxfordshire | Retired Railway Servant |
| Varney | Catharine | Wife | 68 | (1822) | Birmingham, Warwick | |
When I saw the 1861 census, I started getting interested;
Could this Henry E. Varney be 'our' Henry Edward ??
Here he is in 1881 ....
| 1881 Census: RG12 1040 102 16 Pinner, Middlesex Rickmansworth Rd. |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Relation | Age | (Born) | Birthplace | Occupation | |
| Varney | Henry | Head | 26 | (1855) | St Pancras, Middlesex | Civil Service Clerk |
| Varney | Eliza | Wife | 21 | (1860) | Thorpe, Lincolnshire | |
| Varney | Nellie | Daughter | 8m | (1880) | Islington, Middlesex | |
And then someone found a possible marriage: Henry Edward Varney and Eliza Thornally in 1880 ...
So it's looking better and better ...
| 1891 Census: RG12 134 101 48 St Pancras 17 Quadrant Grove |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Relation | Age | (Born) | Birthplace | Occupation | |
| Varney | Henry | Head | 36 | (1855) | St Pancras, Middlesex | Telegraphist |
| Varney | Eliza | Wife | 31 | (1860) | Thorpe, Lincolnshire | |
| Varney | Nellie L | Daughter | 10 | (1881) | Islington, London | |
| Varney | Constance V (*) | Daughter | 7 | (1884) | Camden Town | |
| Varney | Leonard H | Son | 4 | (1887) | Tottenham | |
| Varney | Kate L | Daughter | 2 | (1889) | Kentish Town | |
| Varney | Clare M | Daughter | 2m | (1881) | Kentish Town | |
| Varney | Walter J | Brother | 31 | (1860) | St Pancras, London | |
| Varney | Annie L | Neice (Visitor) | 15 | (1876) | St Giles, London | |
| 1901 Census: RG13 155 20 32 St Pancras 18 Lismore? Road |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Relation | Age | (Born) | Birthplace | Occupation | |
| Varney | Henry | Head | 46 | (1855) | St Pancras, Middlesex | Telegraphist |
| Varney | Eliza | Wife | 41 | (1860) | Thorpe, Lincolnshire | |
| Varney | Constance V | Daughter | 17 | (1884) | St Pancras | Dressmaker |
| Varney | Leonard H | Son | 14 | (1887) | St Pancras | |
| Varney | Kate L | Daughter | 12 | (1889) | St Pancras | |
| Varney | Else | Daughter | 10 | (1891) | St Pancras | |
| Varney | Alfred | Son | 7 | (1894) | St Pancras | |
| Varney | Winifred | Daughter | 4 | (1897) | St Pancras | |
His mother isn't on the census as she was born a few weeks later - Roll On 2011, when the 1911 census becomes available !
He also sent me a family tree of the Verneys from 1216 to the end of the 17th. century, that his mother had found when she was researching the family name, with the comment, that the Verneys changed their name to Varney at some time.
So all (all ??) we need to do now, is to find a connection between our Varneys
and the 17th century Verneys, and we have a family tree going back to 1216
Here are a few other Varney details:
Henry Varney had a brother Walter (b. 1860). In 1891 he was visiting Henry, but in 1901 he was at home:
| 1901 Census: RG13 1210 9 9 Pinner, Middlesex Rickmansworth Road |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Relation | Age | (Born) | Birthplace | Occupation | |
| Varney | Walter J | Head | 31 | (1870) | St Pancras, Middlesex | House decorator, Painter |
| Varney | Ellen | Wife | 24 | (1877) | Moulton St James, Lincs. | |
| Varney | Clement | Son | 3m | (1901) | Pinner, Middlesex | |
| Varney | Catharine | Mother | 78 | (1823) | Birmingham | |
Walter is suddenly 10 years younger ??.
And it looks like his mother is living with them. There is a death cert. for an Edward Varney in Hendon in 1899
There is a marriage registered for a Kate Ann Varney in St Pancras in 1885.
This could be Sister Kate A. If so, she married a Willy Bishop.
| 1891 Census: RG12 143 11 pages 15-16 St Mary, Islington 190 St Tuffnels Park Road |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Relation | Age | (Born) | Birthplace | Occupation | |
| Bishop | Willy | Head | ( ) | Paddington | Solicitor\'s clerk | |
| Bishop | Kate A | Wife | 29 | (1862) | St Pancras | |
| Bishop | Percy B | Son | 5 | (1886) | St Pancras | |
| Bishop | Ethel A | Daughter | 4 | (1823) | St Pancras | |
| 1901 Census: RG13 1208 8 8 7 St Helens Road |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Relation | Age | (Born) | Birthplace | Occupation | |
| Bishop | Willy | Head | 39 | (1862) | Paddington | Solicitor |
| Bishop | Kate A | Wife | 39 | (1862) | St Pancras | |
| Bishop | Percy B | Son | 15 | (1886) | St Pancras | Railway Clerk |
| Bishop | Ethel A | Daughter | 14 | (1823) | St Pancras | |
| Bishop | Ernest F | Son | 7 | (1823) | St Pancras | |
A cautionary note:
Much of this is speculative. The data fits well with the known facts (names and places), and the chronological sequences are plausible, but a proper study would mean confirming the data with the appropriate birth and marriage certificates or entries in parish registers.
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