Introduction

Martha faced adversity early in life with the loss of her father, which forced her to take on responsibilities to help her family. Her marriage to William George Bishop in 1895 provided her with security and stability, but sadly, they did not have any children.

Early life at Hardington

Martha was born on 4 December 1870 at Hardington, the youngest of three children born to Albert and Martha Squire, who ran a bakery and shop.[1]  When she was fifteen, her father died of heart disease, Bright’s Disease and dropsy at the age of 44. After his death, her mother closed the bakery but continued running the shop. Martha and her older sister, Ellen, assisted her, and the 1891 census described Martha as a grocer’s assistant.

Death of a sister

On 11 February 1892, Martha’s eldest sister, Elizabeth Emily, died at Yeovil Hospital from spinal meningitis and pneumonia at the age of 24.

Marriage of her other sister

On 19 June 1893, her other sister, Ellen Mary, married a butcher named Percival Gould.

Marriage

On 5 August 1895, Martha married William George Bishop at Hardington.[2] He was a printer’s compositor who probably lived and worked in Yeovil.

Husband’s background

William had worked himself up from a disadvantaged background. He was born on 30 December 1865 at Fordington, the third of eight children born to William and Mary Jane Thorne. When his parents married at Fordington, Dorset, in 1858, his father was a sailor while his mother was a servant. By April 1861, his father had found work as a mason’s labourer, and he and his wife lived in Mill Lane, Fordington— the poorest part of Dorchester. Ten years later, they lived in Holloway Row, which was little better. Two of their children died in infancy, and a daughter, Ada Elizabeth, died in 1889 at the age of nineteen.[3]

William was ambitious and showed an aptitude for patient, conscientious work. By the age of fifteen, he was a printer’s apprentice. Ten years later, he was working in Reigate as a printer compositor. Within the next four years, he moved to Yeovil to work for the Western Gazette Company, where he remained until he retired.

Life in Yeovil

By March 1901, William and Martha lived at 101 Goldcroft, Yeovil. By April 1911, they had moved to a six-room house at 3 Crofton Park. The 1911 census shows Martha’s mother and an eighteen-year-old male boarder living with them.

William died on 15 August 1944, at the age of 78, leaving an estate valued at £483 10s.

Martha died on 31 October 1951, at the age of 80, leaving an estate valued at £2,088 14s.

Children

William and Martha did not have any children.

References

[1] Civil Registration Birth Index; 1871 census; 1939 Register.

[2] Western Gazette, 9 August 1895, p.8.

[3] Western Gazette, 28 June 1889, p.1.