Esther Brown
Clerk
Esther Brown’s birth was registered in the second quarter of 1891 in Keighley, however at the 1891 Census, taken on 5th April, she was one month old. Her parents were John and Sarah Jane/Sarah Anne Brown. Her father was a plasterer labourer. Esther had two brothers, Frank and Percy, four and two years older than her. They lived on West Lane in Sutton.
The 1891 Census showing Esther and her family
By 1901 they had moved to 47 High Street, still in Sutton. John had changed his occupation to a stone cutter, and 12 year old Percy was a worsted spinner, Frank and Esther were scholars.
By 1911 the family had moved a few doors away to 47 High Street and John was a shopkeeper and greengrocer. Frank and Percy were working as solicitor’s clerks, and Esther was working as a shop assistant, possibly for her father. The census indicates that Esther had a fourth sibling who had died in infancy.
The Red Cross VAD records indicate that Esther worked as a clerk at the war hospital from 12th July 1916 until 3rd June 1919.
She lived at 3 Elm Grove in Keighley according to electoral registers from 1919 and 1920, but by 1957 had moved back to Sutton, to Prospect House. I have not been able to locate her on the 1939 Register but found her brother Percy with a wife and daughter (Barbara) at Crag View in Sutton.
She remained unmarried throughout her life, and died on 11th September 1963, leaving her estate to her niece, Barbara Barr.
Sources:
England and Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1837-1915
1891 England Census
1901 England Census
1911 England Census
West Yorkshire, England, Electoral Registers, 1840-1962
England and Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007
England and Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1995
