Phillis Mays was the second child of George Mays & Phillis Wickenden christened July 6th, 1845 at East Grinstead, Sussex.
In 1851 Phillis, her brother & sister & her parents were living at Gate Lodge, Shovelstrode, East Grinstead.
By 1871 Phillis had left home & was working as a servant for the Knight family at 99 Victoria Park Rd, Hackney, London.
Phillis married Benjamin Hitchman, a porter, on September 14th, 1873, at Ifield, Sussex. Witnesses at the wedding were Harry? Jenner & Phillis’s sister Sarah Mays. Benjamin was born November 22nd, 1847 at Morden Lane, Mitcham, & christened November 25th, 1847 at Morden St Lawrence, Surrey, the son of Eliza & Thomas Hitchman, a gardener to Rev R Tritton.
In 1881 Phillis & Benjamin were living at 16 Cross St, Clapham, London & Benjamin was an optician’s salesman. They had 3 children – Ernest B (6), Herbert Sydney (2) & Elsie B (2 months). They also had a boarder, Alfred Bishop (23), an assistant cellarman.
Phillis & Benjamin were still at 16 Cross St in 1891 & Benjamin was now an optician’s assistant. At home were Ernest, a clerk, Elsie, Florence (8), Frank (5), Sydney (4) & Ethel (1).
In 1899 son Ernest married Florence Holder at Hammersmith, London. At the time of his mother’s death in 1926 he was working as an undertaker’s clerk. By 1939 Ernest & Florence were living in Lymington, Hampshire & were boarding house keepers.
The family was still living at the same address in 1901 & Benjamin was still an optician’s assistant. Four children were at home – Florence, a dressmaker’s assistant, Frank , an optician’s assistant, Sydney C, a leather case maker & Ethel Violet.
In 1904 daughter Elsie married William George Bassam, a messenger in the railway office, in Bromley, Kent. Elsie & William were living in Croydon in 1911 with 2 sons & a daughter. By 1939 Elsie was widowed & living in Bromley.
In 1906 daughter Florence married Joseph William Parkes, a petty Officer in the Royal Navy, her father being a witness. In 1911 they were living in Rainham, Kent with 2 sons & a daughter. By 1939 widowed Florence was living in Gillingham, Kent with a son & daughter.
In 1911 Phillis & Benjamin were still at 16 Cross St & Benjamin still worked as an optician’s assistant (shop). Daughter Ethel was a baby linen assistant, son Sydney was a leather worker & Frank was a glass worker (lens work). It was noted on the census that Phillis & Benjamin had had 7 children, only 6 of whom were still alive.
Son Frank married Olive Sarah Sophia Upton in 1912 in Clapham. In 1939 they were living in Barnet, Hertfordshire with son Ernest & Frank was an optical lens maker.
Son Sydney appears not to have married and in 1939 he was living in Hammersmith & working as a cutter of leather & canvas.
Benjamin died, aged 66, in Oct-December 1914 at Clapham.
In 1916 daughter Ethel married Henry William Austin in Hammersmith, her brother Sydney Charles being a witness. In 1939 they & their family were living in Chelsea, London where Henry was a police constable.
Phillis died, aged 81, on October 5th, 1926, at Hammersmith Infirmary, London. The cause of death was fracture of the skull & pelvis. Phillis, of Minford Gardens, who was blind in one eye & deaf, was returning home from church when she was knocked down by a motor car in Shepherd’s Bush Rd. She died 2 days later as a result of her injuries. (West London Observer, October 15th, 1926)
The children of Phillis Mays & Benjamin Hitchman were:
m.7.2.1 Ernest Benjamin Hitchman born November 7th, 1874 & christened March 28th, 1875 at Clapham, Surrey; died Oct-December 1946 in New Forest, Hampshire
m.7.2.2 Herbert Sydney Hitchman born Oct-December 1879 at Clapham, Surrey; died July-September 1883 in Clapham
m.7.2.3 Elsie Blanche Hitchman born February 2nd, 1881 at Clapham, Surrey; died August 22nd, 1969 at 8 Bloomfield Rd, Bromley, Kent
m.7.2.4 Florence Hitchman born March 7th, 1883 at Cross St & christened May 13th, 1883 at Clapham, Surrey; died 1970 in Witshire; died August 15th, 1970 in Devizes, Wiltshire
m.7.2.5 Frank Cyril Hitchman born May 24th, 1885 & christened July 19th, 1885 at Clapham, Surrey; died at Barnet General Hospital, Hertfordshire & cremated January 18th at St Marylebone Cemetery
m.7.2.6 Sydney Charles Hitchman born February 19th, 1887 at Cross St & christened May 15th, 1887 at Clapham, Surrey; died July 22nd, 1974 at Barnet, Middlesex
m.7.2.7 Ethel Violet Hitchman born November 16th, 1889 at Cross St, Clapham, Surrey; died December 31st, 1950 at St Lukes Hospital, Chelsea