EDGOOSE:
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EDGOOSE, Emily Rachel
1898 - 1960 (62 years) Has 56 ancestors and 2 descendants in this family tree.
1867 - 1907 (40 years)-
Name EDGOOSE, Emily Rachel Birth 18 Jan 1898 West Walton, Norfolk 
Gender Female Death 12 Nov 1960 West Walton, Norfolk Person ID I518 Edgoose Last Modified 28 Jun 2026
Father EDGOOSE, Robert James, b. 3 Mar 1867, Walpole St. Andrew, Norfolk d. 12 Mar 1907, West Walton, Norfolk (Age 40 years) Mother EAGLE, Eliza, b. 5 Jan 1866, Montacute, Marlock, Somerset, England d. 12 Jun 1929, West Walton, Norfolk (Age 63 years) Marriage 24 Jul 1888 North Pickenham, Norfolk, England Family ID F352 Group Sheet | Family Chart
Family SMITH, Bertie Leonard, b. 19 May 1897, Wisbech Registration District, Cambridgeshire d. 1984, King's Lynn Registration District, Norfolk (Age 86 years) Marriage 5 Nov 1919 West Walton, Norfolk Children 1. SMITH, Joyce Olive, b. 21 Dec 1920, Wisbech Registration District, Cambridgeshire d. Apr 1997, Fenland Registration District, Cambridgeshire (Age 76 years)2. SMITH, Mollie Doreen, b. 3 Mar 1928, Wisbech Registration District, Cambridgeshire d. 1986, King's Lynn Registration District, Norfolk (Age 57 years)Family ID F357 Group Sheet | Family Chart Last Modified 27 Jan 2026
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Event Map 
Birth - 18 Jan 1898 - West Walton, Norfolk 
Marriage - 5 Nov 1919 - West Walton, Norfolk Death - 12 Nov 1960 - West Walton, Norfolk = Link to Google Earth
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Biographies 
EDGOOSE, Emily Rachel (1898-1960), wife of Bertie L. SMITH (1897-1984)
Emily Rachel EDGOOSE was born at West Walton, Norfolk, on 18 January 1898, daughter of Robert James and Eliza EDGOOSE.
(GRO March Q 1898 [EAGLE] Wisbech 03B 583)
Robert James EDGOOSE had married Eliza Eagle at North Pickenham, Norfolk, on 24 July 1888.
The 1901 census return for Church End, West Walton, Norfolk:
Robert James EDGOOSE, head, aged 34, gardener, born at Walpole, Norfolk;
Elizabeth EDGOOSE, wife, aged 35, born at Andover, Hampshire;
Carrie Elizabeth EDGOOSE, daughter, aged 12, born at West Walton;
Edith Maude EDGOOSE, daughter, aged 9, born at West Walton;
*Emily Rachel EDGOOSE, daughter, aged 3, born at West Walton;
Robert James EDGOOSE, son, aged 9 months, born at West Walton.
(RG13/1557/65/10)
From the 1911 census of Church End, West Walton, Wisbech:
Thomas BATLEY, head, aged 75, married, retired carpenter, born at Wisbech, Cambridgeshire;
Eliza BATLEY, wife, aged 45, married 2 years, no children, born in Hampshire;
Edith Maud EDGOOSE, daughter-in-law, aged 19, single, apprentice dressmaker, born at West Walton, Norfolk;
*Emily Rachel EDGOOSE, daughter-in-law, aged 13, school, born at West Walton, Norfolk;
Robert James EDGOOSE, son-in-law, aged 10, school, born at West Walton, Norfolk.
(RG14/9309)
Ernest William EDGOOSE was born on 5 January 1918 at The Lewes Cottages, Church End, West Walton, Norfolk, the son of Emily Rachel EDGOOSE, unmarried daughter of Robert James and Eliza EDGOOSE. The name of his father has not been recorded. Emily was described as a fieldworker of The Lewes Cottages, Church End, West Walton, on the birth and death certificates of her son in 1918 and 1919.
(GRO March Q 1918 [EDGOOSE] Wisbech 3b 716 [or 718 on www.ancestry.co.uk])
Emily R. EDGOOSE married Bertie Leonard SMITH, a 22 year old West Walton labourer, at West Walton on 5 November 1919. Witnesses were Robert James EDGOOSE and Edith Maud EDGOOSE.
(GRO December Q 1919 Wisbech 3b 1779)
Their daughter Joyce Olive SMITH was born on 20 December 1920.
(GRO March Q 1921 [EDGOOSE] Wisbech 3b 934)
From the 1921 Census of Church End, West Walton, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, taken on 19 June 1921.
Bertie Leonard SMITH, Head, Born 1897 at Elm, Cambridgeshire, England, Aged 24y 1m, Farm Labourer, Employer W. G. MARSHALL, Farmer & Fruit Grower.
*Emily Rachel SMITH, Wife, Female, Born 1898 in Suffolk, England, Aged 23, Home Duties.
Joyce Olive SMITH, Daughter, Born 1921 at West Walton, Norfolk, England.
Reference: RG15.
Their daughter Mollie Doreen SMITH was born on 3 March 1928.
(GRO March Q 1928 [EDGOOSE] Wisbech 3b 758)
From the 1939 Register of Church Lane, Marshland R.D., Norfolk:
Bertie L. SMITH, born 19 May 1897, yardman on farm, married;
*Emily R. SMITH, born 18 January 1898, unpaid domestic duties, married;
Joyce O. SMITH, born 21 December 1920, domestic servant daily, single;
Mollie D. (SMITH) HORSPOLE, born 3 March 1928, at school, single.
(RG101/6566F/008/05 TRQN)
An Index of the Will of Edith Maud EDGOOSE (1891-1943), spinster and housekeeper:
01*Edith Maud EDGOOSE (1891-1943), the Testatrix
Beneficiaries :
02 Eileen MEANS
03 Ernest Robert GOODMAN, executor
04*Emily Rachael SMITH, sister of the Testatrix
05 Carrie Elizabeth SPARKES, sister of the Testatrix
06 Robert James EDGOOSE, brother of the Testatrix
07 Joyce Olive SMITH
08 Mollie Doreen SMITH
Others:
09 Arthur Naylor MEANS, executor
10 Maud Mary SLEIGHT, witness
11 Edward M. STARBUCK
(District Probate Registry, Lincoln, 1943)
Emily Rachel SMITH died at 7 Dale Terrace, West Walton, Norfolk, on 12 November 1960 at the age of 62. She was described as the wife of Bertie Leonard SMITH, a canning factory hand, of the same address.
Cause of death:
Coronary Thrombosis,
Arteriosclerosis,
Rheumatic Carditis.
(Death Certificate)
(GRO December Q 1960 King's L. 4b 535)
Bertie Leonard SMITH died on 20 February, 1984.
"SMITH ---- On February 20,1984 suddenly but peacefully at his home, 103 School Road, West Walton, Nr Wisbech. Bertie Leonard, beloved husband of Joyce and Mollie. Father in láw of Aubrey. [Aubrey H. HORSPOLE].
(Fenland Advertiser, February 22, 1984, Page 2 accessed via FindMyPast.)
NOTES & QUERIES:
What became of Joyce Olive SMITH whose birth on 21 December 1920 was registered at Wisbech?
She was still single and at home according to the 1939 register.
She was a benificiary of the will of Edith Maud EDGOOSE in 1943.
Certainly no mention of a husband in the newspaper report of her father's death on 20 February 1984.
The death of Joyce Olive SMITH was registered in 1997. The registration records that she was born on 21 December 1920.
(GRO April 1997 Fenland 3381A E1A 74)
(reprinted 28.06.2026)