My great grandmother was Ellen Eldridge and
she died on this day in 1905.
She was born on December 6, 1868, in the village of Bodiam, in
Sussex, England. Her parents were William Eldridge and Caroline Poile.
Ellen was baptized in the local church and lived in the area whilst still a child. Life took a tough turn when her father passed away just a few years later.
Despite this, Ellen’s mother, Caroline brought the children up and remarried a
few years later. By the age of 12,
Ellen had taken on the role of a domestic servant in nearby Stonegate.
As she grew older, she met George William Clark, a postman
from Hastings. They married on September 28, 1889 in Salehurst, Sussex. They were both just 20 years old. They settled in Hastings, where they built their family of
five children: William, Rose, Thomas, George, and Bertram.
Tragically, Ellen’s life was cut short when she passed away
on 15 September in 1905 of diabetes. Her daughter Rose recounted how she had to look after the younger
children until her father remarried Jessie Short in 1907. George continued his work as a postman and
ensured their family remained together until they married and left home. He passed away in 1935.