Person

Grace Phoebe Fletcher’s birth was registered in the first few months of 1853 in St Pancras, London. She was the second oldest of four girls born to bootmaker John Fletcher and Phoebe Providence Fletcher nee Potts, who had married in 1845.

At the time of the 1871 census, although there is no record of John, Grace’s mother was listed as a bootmaker, employing two men. Grace is working as a book keeper to a wholesale stationer’s at this time. Grace’s father died a few years later, in 1875. Grace was living with her mother and two of her sisters at the time of the 1881 census working as a bookkeeper.

It is unclear where Grace was living at the time of the 1891 census. Her marriage banns do list her address as 19 Dartmouth Park Hill which is the family’s address at the time of the 1891 census, so it may have been she was living with her family then, but was away on the night the census was taken. Two of her sisters were working as school teachers.

Grace married William Woof on 29 April 1896 in London. William was a widower from Darlington who worked on the railways. He was previously married to Hannah Woof and had at least five children with Hannah before she died in 1875. At the time of the 1901 census William and Grace were living in Darlington at 8 Pierremont Terrace.

William died on 8 July 1908 at which time the couple were still living at Pierremont Terrace. On the 1911 census, Grace is listed as the head of the household at Pierremont Terrace and described as ‘living by private means’.

At some time during her life Grace began to learn Esperanto, a constructed international language. She became a fluent speaker of Esperanto and was involved in introducing the language into the curriculum at Bishop Auckland Girl’s County School. The idea for the introduction of this language at the school was initially raised in 1917 and it began to be taught in 1918, under the headship of Dr Alexandra Fisher. Grace was employed by the school to train Miss Pearson, a French mistress at the school, in the language in order that she could teach the subject.

Grace was still living in Darlington when she died on 15 March 1924, leaving her effects to her older sister, Alice, who had remained unmarried.

Civil Parish: Bishop Auckland

Birth date: 1853

Death date: 15-Mar-1924

Armed force/civilian: Civilian

Residence: 2 York Terrace, Finsbury (1861 census)
9 York Terrace, Finsbury, London (1871 census)
5 York Terrace (1881 census)
8 Pierremont Crescent, Darlington (1901 and 1911 census)

Employment: Bookkeeper (1871, 1881 censuses)

Family: Family: Parents: John Fletcher, Phoebe Providence Fletcher
Siblings: Alice Fletcher, Clarence Lydia Fletcher, Edith Virginia Fletcher
Husband: William Woof

Gender: Female

Contributed by Fiona Johnson - Durham