Geoffrey Kenyon

Geoffrey was born on 31st October 1885 at Field House, Thorne, Yorkshire, the son of George and Rachel Burn Kenyon (nee Godfrey). His parents were married in 1878 (marriage registered J/F/M Thorne) and they had four children; Muriel (birth registered 1879 J/F/M), Harold Godfrey (b. 28 October 1880), Rachel Marjorie (b. 1883) and Geoffrey (b. 1885). In 1881 George (30), a solicitor, and Rachel (24) were living at 'The Maples', South Parade, Thorne, with their two children, Muriel (2) and Harold (infant). Also in the household was a nurse and a cook. Their second daughter, Rachel Marjorie, was born two years later in 1883 and their second son Geoffrey in 1885. In 1891 George and Rachel were still living on South Parade but only Geoffrey, now 5 years old, was at home on the night of the census. George employed a cook/domestic servant, Elizabeth Arrand (25). Geoffrey's sister, Rachel, was living in the Vicarage, East Lane, Stainforth, in the household of Rev. William Smith, the vicar of Stainforth, and his wife, Jane Ann, Rachel's aunt. Rachel was described as 'under home tuition' and as her Aunt Jane's unmarried sister, Lilian Mary Kenyon (23), a governess, was also in the household it is probable that Lilian was home tutoring her numerous nephews and nieces, including Rachel. The two older siblings, Muriel and Harold, have not yet been traced on the 1891 Census. Although aged about only 12 and 10 respectively they might have been away at boarding school; there is a record that Harold was educated at Charterhouse School. Geoffrey's mother, Rachel, died on 7 September 1892 and his father married Sarah Ward in 1894 (marriage registered Scarborough). Geoffrey's eldest sister, Muriel, married Morris Dalton Holmes, a chemical manufacturer, in 1900 (marriage registered in O/N/D Thorne). George Kenyon continued to live in the family home on South Parade, Thorne, after his marriage, and in 1901 he and Sarah were living there alone (apart from two housemaids and a cook). At the time of the 1901 Census Geoffrey (15) was away at school in Godalming, Surrey (probably Charterhouse School, which his brother attended), and Rachel (19) was a pupil at a school in Sussex Square, Brighton, Sussex. Their eldest sister, Muriel, and her husband Morris Holmes, were living at Markham Hall, Newark, and their brother, Harold (20), a Cambridge undergraduate, was living with them. Harold had been admitted to Pembroke College Cambridge in October 1899 and matriculated (BA/LLB) in 1902. He qualified as a solicitor in January 1906 and practised in Gray's Inn, London, and in Thorne and Doncaster. In 1911, George and Sarah were still living in Thorne but at the time of the census his two youngest children, Rachel and Geoffrey, were with their sister Muriel and her husband at Markham Hall. Muriel and Morris now had two children, Rachel (7) and John Morris (3). Morris employed five female indoor staff. Their brother Harold (30) was living in London at 1 Palmer Street, Westminster, in rooms jointly occupied by Charles Humphrey Carden Noad (31, b. Lucknow India), a barrister-at-law. Rachel Marjorie married Thomas William Adam in 1913 (marriage registered A/M/J Thorne). George Kenyon died the same year on 13 October 1913; his executors were his son Harold and his son-in-law, Morris Holmes. Although various Thorne local history websites give the information that Geoffrey, who had qualified as a solicitor, had managed a tea plantation in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) before joining the family firm after his father's last illness and death in 1913, he remained on the Electoral Register for the Doncaster Parliamentary Division and Osgoldcross Parliamentary Division continuously from 1909-1915. His address was variously 'Thorne' or South Parade Thorne (1910, 1911) or 'The Maples' [South Parade](1912). Geoffrey married Henrietta Eugenie Kenyon, of Maryborough, Queen's County (now County Cork). The date and place of their marriage has not yet been identified. Geoffrey's widow and his brother Harold were executors of his Will. Harold also served in the war as a Major in the Royal Field Artillery. He was in France from May 1917, was wounded twice and was Mentioned in Dispatches. He qualified for the British War Medal and Victory Medal. Harold was to marry Olive Dorcas and although the date of their marriage has not yet been traced both Harold and Olive Dorcas Kenyon were on the electoral roll in the Borough of Camden Borough from 1918 until the mid-twenties. They were living at Highfield Lodge, Ware, Hertfordshire, when Harold died on 15 September 1930 (Buried Amwell). His widow died on 8 April 1958; she died in Hertford County Hospital but her home was still at Highfield Lodge. Probate was awarded to her son, George Vicary Kenyon, solicitor, and Ronald Henry Melville, civil servant. George's widow and the children's step-mother, Sarah Kenyon, died aged 67 in 1929 (death registered September Scarborough). Muriel's husband died suddenly on 6 June 1937 at 'Markham', Widdicombe Avenue, Parkstone, Dorset. His executors were his widow, Muriel, and children Rachel Dalton Holmes and John Morris Holmes. Muriel died aged 71 in 1950 (death registered September East Retford). Rachel Marjorie Adam died on 29 March 1949; she was living in Norfolk at the Riddlesworth rectory, Riddlesworth, where her husband, Rev. Thomas William Adam, was the vicar. She is buried in the churchyard of Riddlesworth St Peter. Her executors were her husband and her nephews John Morris Dalton Holmes and George Vicary Kenyon.

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