Alice Pauline Roughton

Daughter of Samuel Roughton and Susan Parker Elliott, mother of Arthur George Ellis and wife of John Ellis

Alice was born at 2 The Puzzle, Kettering, Northamptonshire, on 15^th July 1880. Her father was then a Corn Porter.

Ethel, John Ellis’s Aunt, reported her nephew saying about Alice that “She’s been a puzzle ever since”

According to the 1881 Census, Alice was aged 8 months and she and her family were living at 8 Gibraltar Place, Kettering.

According to the 1901 Census, Alice was a domestic servant, aged 21, to Mr George Thomas Clarke Kendall and his wife Martha, aged 41, at the Woolsack Inn, Sheep Street, Kettering.  Martha was Alice’s older sister

On 20^th June 1905, Alice married John Ellis at the Parish Church, Kettering.  George Kendall, see above, and his son, Harry Norton Kendall, were witnesses at the wedding.

After the birth of John and Alice’s children, the couple separated in the 1920s but did not divorce.

In 1944, Alice was living c/o 12 Granshaw Close, Kings Norton, Birmingham.  By 1945 she had moved to 37 Quinton Road, Harborne, Birmingham.

Alice died in Selly Oak Hospital, Birmingham on 8^th December 1965 aged 85, the widow of John Ellis, Grocer.  The informant was her son Arthur George Ellis. 

Her will, dated 1^st May 1950 was proved in Bristol on 7^th January 1966.   Executors were her eldest son, John Roughton Ellis, in 1950 living at 65 Severns Avenue, Acomb, York, and her daughter, Ethel Gladys, with lived with her at 37 Quainton Road.  Her will is very touching and worth recording:

I give and bequeath unto my daughter Ethel, being the only unmarried member of the family, all the residue of furniture, jewellery, articles and effects of every kind which may be about my dwelling house except monies or securities for money.

I would however like each of my sons, also Margaret, Hilda, Dorothy and Iris to each have some small item from the home if they wish, for their love and kindness and devotion to me at all times.  I leave this entirely in the hands of Ethel who has been such a loving and devoted daughter, but I want everyone to be happy and each have what they would wish, the compartum in my room is now Ethel’s, she having paid me for it.  If Mrs Lane is living I would like her to have my clothes. It is my wish that I should be cremated and that all funeral expenses and debts (if any) shall be paid for and settled out of monies or securities for money that I may hold or become due to me at the time of my death. It is my wish that the residue of such monies or securities for money shall be divided into two equal parts, one part to my only daughter Ethel and the other part equally divided between my grandchildren living at the time of my death and their respective parents to have the power to accept these amounts on their behalf until they become of legal age.  In this my will which I have tried to dispose of carefully not knowing whether the assets will be large or small, I desire to express my thanks to all my five children for their love and devotion to me at all times, especially during trouble and illness. I also want to thank Jack who was particularly good to me during my big trouble when he was a boy. I would like to mention you all, Jack, Joe, Ethel, Arthur, Howard, my fond love and many thanks to you all.

                                                   Alice Ellis (Mrs)   

Alice wrote this 15 years before she died but the sentiments probably did not change

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