Florence Fletcher
b 22 Jun 1871 in Sheffield, England, d 6 Jul 1927 in St Paul, MN
Update (June 2016): Based on DNA testing I have found that Florence's parents were Alfred FLETCHER and Ann WARRINER, and consequently also found her birth certificate which does give her birth day as June 22nd as was given on her death certificate. (The year is actually 1871 not 1874 as the death certificate stated. Also the death certificate said her father was "John" which is incorrect and caused me to focus on the wrong family for many years)
Harry Hobb (b 17 Feb 1855), was the owner of the Grapes Hotel in 1901 when Florence was living there. He was a widower and had 3 children, two of whom also lived in the Hotel. I can't prove there was ever a connection between Harry Hobb and Florence, but I suspect there was. (Update 2017: I have proven that there is a genetic connection to Harry Hobb via DNA. Harry Hobb was most likely the father of Florence's children) For one thing, barmaids in hotels were usually family members or wives of the owner. Harry lived there with 2 of his children with no other domestic help. Florence also gave her children names that were quite similar to Harry's. Harry's children were: Alice Maud Thurza, Edith Emily Beatrice, and Albert Henry George. Florence named her children: Edith Florence Alice, William Henry, May Beatrice, and Albert Edward.
Harry Hobb lived in Bristol from about 1887 until about 1896 and then went to the Grapes Hotel in Chipping Sodbury. In 1904 he was back in Bristol and in 1909 he remarried. He remained in Bristol until his death in 1921. The only relatively stable time in Florence's adult life seemed to be between the years of 1903 and 1908 when she lived at 11 Clare Rd in Bristol, possibly coinciding with Harry Hobb's return to Bristol.
Harry's children immigrated to Canada and Florence would eventually do the same. There is no mention of Florence or her children in Harry Hobb's will.
If a Harry Fisher did exist, he was probably
William Henry Fisher b abt 1845 in Bath, Somersetshire, England. He came from a long line of confectioners. In 1901 he is a widower, living in Bristol and lists his occupation as "Wine and Spirits Merchant". This is the same occupation that Harry Fisher has on the birth certificates of his children. William Henry Fisher also helped with the family business and probably traveled to his brother's confectionary
in Tewkesbury, which would have taken him right past the Grapes Hotel.
The final big mystery in Florence's life is that when she immigrated to Canada she indicated that she was going there to "marry W. Bindon" in Vermilion, Canada. There was in fact a
William Bindon, widowed, living in Vermilion at the time but there is no evidence that she ever did marry him. (Update 2018: Found the marriage certificate for William Bindon and Florence Fisher in Vermilion, Alberta, Canada, so she did actually marry him in 1921) William Bindon also came from the Somersetshire area. Florence immigrated in 1919 with 2 of her children, William and May. In 1921, Edith and Albert joined her in Vermilion. May married Ronald Bird in 1925 there. Florence died at her daughter Edith's home in St Paul, MN in 1927.
