159. George Joseph6 Nichols (George7) was born in London, Middlesex, England 1838 and died 07 Apr 1879 at 6 Relton Mews, Brompton, London, England. He died of pneumonia and exhaustion at 40 years of age and left his wife with eight children. He was buried 10 Apr 1879 in Brompton Cemetery, London, England. During his life he was a Groom/Coachman. During the 1870 census, he was employed as a Coachman at Wellbury House, Offley, Hertfordshire.
He married Ruth Blundell 28 Apr 1863, in Saint Alkmund, Derby, Derbyshire, England. Ruth was born 29 Jan 1840 at Sketty, Swansea, Glamorgan, Wales to Robert and Ann (Sambrook) Blundell. Ruth died 20 May 1913 at 94 Kent Road, Southampton, England. She was buried 23 May 1913 at All Saints Church Yard, Witley, Surrey, England. Ruth worked as a maid throughout her life.
George Joseph Nichols and Ruth Blundell had the following children:
155 i. Alice Maude Nichols was born 10 Sep, 1864 at 13 Crompton St. Derby, Derbyshire, England, and died 5 Dec, 1938 at Witley, Surrey, England. She married Fred Mullard on 22 Apr, 1889 at All Saints Church, Witley, Surrey, England. Fred was born 17 Mar, 1865 at Witley, Surrey, England, and died 26 Jul, 1919 at Witley, Surrey, England. Fred was the son of Matthew Mullard and Maria Willett.
Fred was a carpenter, builder and an undertaker according to the 1901 and 1911 census. They had:
156 ii. Emily Edith Nichols was born 9 Jun, 1866 at Aldershot, Hampshire, England, and died 26 Jan, 1945. She was buried 1 Feb 1945 in All Saints Church Yard, Witley, Surrey, England. She married David Ayling on 12 Dec, 1888 at All Saints Church, Witley, Surrey, England. David was born 6 Aug, 1864 at Culmer, Witley, Surrey, England and
worked as a Gardener throughout his life. He died 18 Mar, 1941. He was the son of David Ayling and Ann Roe. They had four children:
157 iii. George Joseph Nichols was born in 1869 at Pimlico, Middlesex, England and died 20 Apr, 1925 at Grange Lodge, Merrow, Surrey, England where he was employed as their head gardener. He married Ethel Golder on 1 Oct, 1896. Ethel was born 13 Aug, 1871 in Kent, England and died 14 Feb, 1937 at Farnham County Hospital, Hampshire, England.
They had:
158 iv. Francis "Frank" Richard Nichols was born 1 Jun, 1870 at Pimlico, Middlesex, England and died 24 May, 1938. Frank worked in New York City starting in 1889 as the manservant to Lucy Charlotte (1858 - 1934), wife of Frederick W. Whitridge of New York, President of the Third Avenue Railway Company, and daughter of
British poet and critic Matthew Arnold, Her Majesty's Inspector of Schools, and Frances Lucy, who was daughter of Sir William Wightman, Justice of the Queen's Bench. They were living at 16 E 11th Street during the 1920 census and 39 E. 79th Street during the 1930 census. Lucy Whitridge was also President of the British-American War Relief Fund during WW I. Frank was buried 26 May 1838 in All Saints Church Yard, Witley, Surrey, England.
159 v. Caroline "Carrie" Ruth Nichols was born 29 Aug, 1872 at Coombe Wood House, Kingston, Surrey, England, and died 2 Jan, 1943 at South Stoneham, Southampton, England. She was a laundress and a "chair servent". She married William "Hubert" Christian on 9 Jun, 1894 at Parish Church, Preston, Lancashire, England. He was born about 1863 and died 11 Dec, 1899 at Hoghton Towers, Peston Lancachire. He was the son of Thomas Christian. They had:
+ 66 vi. Edith Mary5 Nichols was born 15 August 1874 in Brompton, Middlesex, England.
160 vii. Walter Henry Nichols was born in Brompton, Middlesex, England 10 May 1876. He was baptized 2 Jun 1876 at Brompton Holy Trinity Church. He died 23 Jan, 1960 at West Moors, Dorset, England. He married Florence Helen Sheath on 2 Sep 1901 at Christ Chapel, Richmond, Surrey, England. Florence was born 27 Jul 1869 and died 11 Dec 1955.
In October 1891 at age 15, Walter started working in Witley for the London and South Western Railroad as a Junior Clerk at £30 per year. In November he was tranferred to Wimbledon Park. A year later he moved to the
Regent Street office. He was called upon to resign 7 June 1893 by the Traffic Committee. He then started working in the shipping industry.
In 1912 Walter was serving as Second Class Saloon Steward on the HMS TITANIC:
| Picture of
Walter | Picture of Walter and Florence | Newspaper Article
| Story told by his grandson |
He transferred from the St. Paul to
the Titanic where he received monthly wages of £3 15s. When the Titanic sunk, Nichols captained Lifeboat 15. [From http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/bio/c/v/nichols_wh.shtml]
As the surviving crew were discharged from the White Star Line when their ship sunk (per their contract), Walter was stranded in the United States without means to purchase a return
ticket home, although he stayed with his sister Edith in Newport, Rhode Island. In order to earn money, he penned an article for the New York Times recounting the sinking.
Upon his return to Englnd he was detained initially as an illegal immigrant as he had no passport (because he was ship-bound while working on ships Walter never
possessed a passport). He had difficulty in finding work until the outbreak of the First World War when he served On His
Majesty's Government Service aboard the troopship SS Royal Edward , the HM Hospital Ship Panama, and on a former Russian
ship, SS Czar - operated by Cunard. After the war he worked on passenger ships, including SS Orbita and Orduna, until he came
ashore to become village postmaster in West Moors, Dorset. During the the Second World War, Walter returned to working at military
establishments at Holton Heath and the Red Barracks, Weymouth. In 1958/59 he was interviewed for the film about the Titanic
docudrama "A Night to Remember".
Walter and Florence had the following children:
161 viii. Ruth Louise Nichols was born 26 January 1879 in Brompton, Middlesex, England. Ruth was a professional dressmaker who worked primarily in New York City. Her clientele appears to have included aristocrats associated with her brother Frank, manservant to Mrs F. W. Whitridge, daughter of Matthew Arnold. During the 1910 census Ruth and her mother were both living with her sister Edith in Newport, RI. During the 1915 New York census, Ruth was living with William John Harvest and Emily Stock, who's daughter Dorothy would one day marry her sister Edith's son in Newport, RI. Was Ruth the match-maker? In the 1920 census she was living with the Stanley F. Allen family at 118 W. 89th Street in New York. Ruth also held a US Social Security number that was issued before 1951.
Ruth travelled extensively. A partial record of her voyages are as follows:
1902, 30 October To Southampton, England - S.S. Southwark
1906, 28 October To NYC - RMS Umbria 27yrs (5' 5 1/2" Br hair Blue eyes "Visiting brother at 16 E. 11th St. Visited previously in 1901")
1908, 2 October To NYC - RMS Lucania
1912, 7 November To NYC - SS New York (C/O Mrs Nichols (Mother) 94 Kent Rd, St Denys, Southampton)
1926, 9 July To Southampton, England - RMS Orbita (C/O D. Ayling Sandhill, Witley, Surrey)
1926, 20 September To NYC - RMS Orbita
1928, 8 June To Southampton, England - RMS Majestic
1928, 9 November To NYC - RMS Aquitania
1930, 16 July To Southampton, England - RMS Olympic
1930, 6 October To NYC - SS Westernland
1932, 25 July To London, England - SS Samaria
1932, 2 November To NYC - RMS Aquitania
1934, 6 August To Southampton, England - SS Westernland
1938, 22 August To NYC - RMS Queen Mary
1947, 23 October To NYC - RMS Queen Mary
1952, 22 April To Southampton, England - RMS Mauretania
1952, 30 June To NYC - RMS Queen Elizabeth (visiting 53 W 94th St NYC)
1954, 9 October To NYC - TWA
Ruth died 13 January 1970 at 90 years of
age at Otara Nursing Home, Haslemere, Surrey, England.
Send email to preparer: vtandrew@mac.com
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