Ethel Stephenson was the third child of William George Stephenson & Margaret Jean Gaudie born October 4th, 1872 at North Shields, Northumberland.
By 1881 the family were living at 64 Holgate Rd, York & Ethel had 2 sisters & an older brother.
In 1891 Ethel was at a private boarding school at Belgrave House, Downs, Altrincham, Cheshire & described as a student teacher.
Ethel married Arthur Llewellyn Russell on August 7th,1895 at St Paul's, York. The occasion was a double wedding as Ethel’s sister Gertrude married Arthur’s older brother Ernest Russell at the same venue on the same day! The brides wore ivory white satin trimmed with Brussels lace. The bridesmaids – Ethel’s sisters, Bertha & Muriel & Arthur’s sisters, Edith & Maud Russell – wore white silk & were presented with gold bangles & rings & bouquets of yellow marguerites by the groom. Arthur was christened August 20th, 1865 at Norton, Malton, N. Yorks, the son of Rachel & George Russell, a miller, brewer & maltster.
In 1901 Ethel & Arthur were living at 13 The Mount, Malton where Arthur was a solicitor. They had 2 sons – Alec G (4) & Kenneth G (1). They had a cook & a domestic servant.
Ethel & Arthur continued to live at Clutha, The Mount & in 1911 Arthur was still a solicitor. They had 1 son at home – Leslie Dunstan (3), & 3 servants – a nurse, housemaid & cook to help run the 9-roomed house. Son Alec was boarding at Sedbergh Public School at Hart House at the time of the census. Son Kenneth was boarding at Orleton House private school, Filey Rd, Scarborough.
Arthur died on June 7th, 1915, aged 49, at Malton. Probate was granted in York on July 15th, 1915 to younger brother Bernard Stanley Russell, merchant. Arthur’s effects were £5,969.16s.11d. & it was noted that he had been a shareholder in the Great Western Railway. An obituary in the Yorkshire Evening Post of June 8th, 1915 noted that Arthur had served on the Malton Urban District Council since 1906 & for the last few years had chaired the Council. He was Adjutant of the Malton Volunteer Training corps & had taken a prominent role in recruiting since the outbreak of war.
Son Alec married Eugenie Marie Joan King in April-June 1924 at Kensington, London. Joan was born in 1904 in Madras, India. Alec enlisted in WW1 in the 2nd/4th Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry & also served with the British Indian Army in the 2nd Battalion of the 89th Punjabis. He attained the rank of Brigadier & died in 1962 in Chelsea, London.
Son Kenneth visited South America while he was a student & at the age of 19 was listed as a passenger returning to Liverpool, England from Buenos Aires. Kenneth obtained his Royal Aero Club Aviators certificate on October 27th, 1931 at the Yorkshire Aeroplane Club. His address at the time was The Mount, Malton & his profession was a brewer.
Son Leslie also obtained his Royal Aero Club Aviators certificate on August 23rd, 1931 at the Yorkshire Aeroplane Club. His address was given as Clutha, Malton & his profession was a military officer. In 1948 Leslie, now a major in the Royal Regiment of Artillery, received the King Haakon VII Liberty Medal (awarded by the King of Norway for significant service during WW2) according to the London Gazette of March 19th.
Widowed Ethel was still living at 3 The Mount, Malton at the time of the 1939 register & recorded as house-holder. With her was Bernard S Russell (Arthur's brother), single & aged 59, described as co-director & Elizabeth Judson (23) who was in domestic service.
Ethel died on March 30th, 1941 at Clutha, The Mount, Malton. Probate was granted at York on August 2nd, 1941 to brother-in-law Bernard Stanley Russell, company director, & Hugh Watson Pearson, solicitor. Her effects were £8,797.2s.2d. & resworn as £8,931.16s.2d.
The children of Ethel Stephenson & Arthur Llewellyn Russell were:
s.4.1.1.3.1 Alec Gaudie Russell born July-September 1896 at Malton, N. Yorks; died 1962 at Chelsea, London
s.4.1.1.3.2 Kenneth Gaudie Russell born April 24th, 1900 at Malton, N. Yorks; died April-June 1986 at Ryedale
s.4.1.1.3.3 Leslie Dunstan Russell born May 19th, 1907 at Malton, N. Yorks; died November 1992 at Whitby, Yorks