Margaret Gammell (Jacobs) and her descendants

1801-1861

Margaret who was born on 3 January 1801 and baptised at St Giles in the Fields on 17 April 1801, was the fourth daughter of Lt. General Andrew Gammell and Martha Stageldoir.  She, like his other children, shared equally his estate, but for some reason was not mentioned in the will of her grandfather, James Gammell the banker ten years later.  She married Joseph Jacobs of Woodbridge on 28 September 1825 in St Pancras, London.  However, the family rapidly ran into financial problems, with Joseph in the debtors’ court and prison in 1929.  Financial problems continued since in December 1847 Margaret was in court was trying to protect her inheritance from her husband's debts.  But evidently things didn't improve for Margaret, for Joseph died on 27 September 1849 and by the 1851 census, she was living in Greenwich, Kent with only Abraham Andrew, and described herself as a gentlewoman in reduced circumstances - Widow. She died in Greenwich on 14 March 1861 and probate was granted to Abraham Andrew Gammell Jacobs.

Margaret and Joseph had three sons:

A1.  Abraham Andrew Gammell Jacobs (see below)

A2.  Albert Israel Gammell Jacobs was born on 18 March 1840 and died only 10 weeks later, on 23 May 1840.

A3.  Isaac Ernest Gammell Jacobs was born sometime before 1847, when he is mentioned in a court hearing, where Margaret was trying to protect her inheritance from her husband's debts, but he appears to have died sometime before the 1851 census, when his mother was living in Greenwich, Kent with only Abraham Andrew.  There are no records of either his birth or death.

Abraham Andrew Gammell Jacobs and his descendants

Abraham Andrew Gammell Jacobs, who called himself Andrew, was born on 26 December 1838. He married Emma Bennett in St Paul's, Deptford on 22 April 1866, when he described himself as a labourer.  By 1871, Andrew was a tobacconist living in Southwark. Emma died on 13 December 1897 and Andrew on 10 September 1903, leaving £210 to his son Andrew. Andrew and Emma had four children:

Andrew Gammell Jacobs and his descendants

B1  Andrew Gammell Jacobs was born on 24 February 1867 and was an accountant.  On 18 May 1891 he married Elizabeth Susan Field and they had two sons, but Elizabeth died on 18 May 1917.  Almost immediately, also in 1917, Andrew married Naomi Wood.  They had no children and Andrew died in Essex on 26 January 1954, Naomi on 12 April 1964, also in Essex.

B1.1 Frederick Andrew Gammell Jacobs was born on 23 March 1892 in Wandsworth. In 1917 he married Maud Emily Causton and was a manager with a biscuit manufacturer.  Maud died in 1969 in Worthing, Sussex.  Frederick married Winifred Margaret Livermore in 1970.  He died on 13 May 1982 in Eastbourne. Frederick and Maud had two children:

B1.1.1   Edna Maud Jacobs was born on 5 February 1921.  In 1942, she married William J Mundy and they had three sons, Christopher (1947), Robert (1950), and Andrew (1955).  Edna died on 20 July 2019.

B1.1.2   Geoffrey Frederick Jacobs was born on 3 July 1925.  In 1957, he married Joyce Catherine Warrington.  Geoffrey, who was a bank manager, died on 3 April 2015.  Together they had five children, Vivienne (1961), Valerie (1962), who had a son, Joseph Frazer Jacobs; Verity (1963), who had a daughter Grace Elizabeth Cecelia Jacobs; Iain (1967) who had a daughter Cerys Megan Jacobs; and Vanessa (1967-1988).

B1.2  Francis Ernest Gammell Jacobs (Frank) was born on 1 January 1904 in West Croydon. He married Nora Dainty on 5 September 1927.  He was a highly skilled confectioner – cake maker.  Frank and Nora emigrated to New Zealand, where Francis died on 17 May 1983 and Nora in 1994. They had no children.

Margaret Grace Jacobs

B2  Margaret Grace Jacobs was born on 27 May 1868 in Deptford, Kent. On 26 April 1900, she married Norman Gerrard Hill, a hemp and jute broker living in Sidcup, Kent. Norman died in 1926 and Margaret on 22 March 1927, both in Kensington. Probate was granted to Ernest Joseph Jacobs, stonemason (her brother) and Julia Louise Donovan, widow (her sister). Norman and Margaret appear to have had no children.

Ernest Joseph Jacobs and his descendants

B3  Ernest Joseph Jacobs was born on 21 April 1870 in Southwark. On 20 February 1898 he married Emma Savill, when he described his occupation as a warehouse man.  Curiously, shortly after his marriage, he begun to use the surname Cooper, although he didn't officially change his name until 1932. By 1911 the family was living in Camberwell and Ernest was a builder's labourer.  On Christmas day 1925, Emma died at Charing Cross Hospital.  Ernest and Emma had one son, Ernest Gerard Gammell Jacobs.  In the spring of 1931, Ernest married Hilda Florence Dye and on 10 May 1932 changed his name by deed poll to Ernest Joseph Cooper. His occupation at the time was shown as stone mason.  Ernest died on 3 October 1959 at St James Hospital, Balham.  Probate was granted to his son Ernest Gerard Gammell Jacobs. Hilda died on 31 May 1961.

B3.1  Ernest Gerard Gammell Jacobs was born in London on 25 November 1901.  He was single and a footman in domestic service in 1939. He lived his life in south London and does not appear to have married.  He died on 15 March 1962.

Julia Louise Jacobs and her descendants

B4.  Julia Louise Jacobs was born on 5 March 1873 in Southwark.  Sometime around the turn of the century, she married Henry John Donovan who worked in the printing industry as a stereotyper.  Henry died on 20 December 1917, but Julia lived on until 28 January 1968, when she died in Camden. Julia and Henry had four children.

B4.1  Grace Louise Donovan was born in Holborn on 22 October 1901 but died only 8 months later, on 5 July 1902.
B4.2  Henry Francis Donovan was born on 3 July 1903 in Holborn, London.  He was a printer’s compositor and married Ada Ainsworth in Liverpool in 1937.  Henry died on 2 June 1984 in Eastbourne.  It is not known if they had any children.
B4.3  Gerard Donovan was born on 20 June 1907 in Holborn, London. He was single and living in Holborn with his mother and sister in 1939 and was a garage attendant and the family were still living together in 1950.  He died on 20 July 1975 in Southwark.
B4.4  Grace Margaret Donovan was born on 13 April 1910 in Holborn, London. She was single and living in Holborn with her mother and brother Gerard in 1939 and was a paint can labeller. She continued living with her mother up to at least 1965.  It seems she remained single and died on 19 April 1990 in the City of London.