In the 1841 Census, Fanny was living with her parents, Frederick and Mary, and Jane Anderson, Mary’s mother. Frederick was a shoemaker.
Fanny was baptised at St Martins, in the village, and her mother recorded, rather fancifully, as Marianna.
There are many Organs in my cohort, all of whom were related. The best place to view these connections is Andrew Plaister’s book on the Organs, and the facebook page dedicated to the family.
Mary Ann died the next year, and Frederick remarried in 1848. The entry in the register can be seen below. The clerk has unfortunately reversed the names of the parents!
In 1851, Fanny was living in the parish with her father and step-mother, and James Organ, an apprentice from Wotton under Edge. Ten years later she was a housemaid at Thirlestaine Hall, in Cheltenham. In fact, she was one of 3 housemaids – it was a grand household!
In 1868, she married John Thornton, an eating house keeper. The Albion Eating House was opened by John’s family in the 1850s. Fanny later relocated the business to where is now number 3 Albion Street, next to Albion Walk (formerly America Passage). Sadly the building does not survive, having been rebuilt in the 1960s.
The couple had two daughters. In the ’71 Census, they were living on Albion Street, Cheltenham. John died in 1873, and was buried in North Nibley.
Three years later, Fanny married James Hayward, a clerk at a brewery. In the following census, in 1881, James is recorded as such, and Fanny is still an eating house keeper. Among the rest of the household are her two daughters and her two aunts, Fanny and Elizabeth.
In 1891, the widowed Fanny is keeping a boarding and refreshment house on Albion Street, with her aunt Fanny, her two daughters and 3 servants. In 1901 she was still working in the same role, though recorded as a coffee-house keeper, perhaps reflecting a change in fashion. Her aunt Fanny and one daughter was still with her, as well as boarders.
In 1901, Fanny died, aged 60, and was buried in Cheltenham cemetery.
Before his death, in 1895, Frederick had married four times.
North Nibley One-Place-Study 