Selina Charlotte Webb and Edwin Henry Dyke

When Selina Charlotte Webb was born in 1848 in Great Boughton, Cheshire, England, her father, William Webb (1807-1872), was 41, and her mother, Sarah (née Hawkins) (1806-1888), was 42. She had six brothers and four sisters.

Selina married Edwin Henry Dyke on December 12, 1865, at St. John Church in Chester, Cheshire, England.

Edwin Henry Dyke was born in 1846 in Chester, Cheshire, England. His father was a railway inspector named George Dyke. Through all censuses from 1871-1911, we find that Edwin’s occupation is listed as an “Engine Fitter”.

The couple had six sons and four daughters between 1869 and 1890:

• William George Dyke (1866-1867)
• Rosina Eleanor Dyke (1869-1952) married Albert Jones (1867-?)
• George Edwin Dyke (1871-1952) married Rosa Dale (1874-?)
• William Webb Dyke (1872-1939) married Blanche Evans (1875-1946)
• Joseph Henry Dyke (1876-1949) married Annie Beck (1877-?)
• Sarah Webb Dyke (1878-1880)
• Alfred James (Webb) Dyke (1880-1921) married Ellen Atkins (1879-?) and Euphemia Stewart McCubbin (1887-1967)
• Mary Louisa Dyke (1882-1967) married Frederick William Smith (1888-1977)
• Selina “Emma” Dyke (1885-1951) married William Jones (1885-1923)
• Frank Arthur Dyke (1890-Mar 1948) married Christina Riley (1883-1944)

We find the newly married couple on the 1871 census with son George (named for his paternal grandfather), age one month. We know from Selina’s father William Webb’s tombstone that young George was preceded by a brother, William George (named for both his grandfathers) who died at one year old. We also discover in further censuses that George has an older sister, Rosina. She is not with the family (we find her in her grandparent’s house) on the 1871 census, perhaps because her brother is only one month old. The family is living at 5 Waverly Place in Cheshire (a search of Google Maps did not identify a modern-day Waverly Place, possibly the name changed).

We find Rosina on the census with her grandparents, William and Sarah and her cousin Amery(?) at 61 Francis Street in Chester.

In 1881, the family has expanded quite significantly and has moved to 5 James Street in Nantwich (I haven’t found it in Google Maps – there are several James Streets in Crewe). Daughter Sarah Webb Dyke was born in 1978 and died before the census. Rosina has returned home, and we also find George, age 10, William, 8, Joseph, 5, and young Alfred, 9 mos. A neighbouring home (number 7) has a Jones family, but no Albert (who eventually married Rosina).

By 1891, the family has grown so large, they’ve moved to 79 Ludford Street in Crewe, presumably to accommodate all of the children, although only seven of the eight are currently living at home (Rosina has presumably married by this time). Modern Ludford Street shows a row of similar houses.

And finally, in 1911, we find Edwin, Selina, and only Frank at 1 Wistaston Road in Crewe (I suspect that the building they lived in no longer exists – this is what’s there now).

Edwin Dyke died in September 1923 in Nantwich, Cheshire, England at the age of 78. Selina died in December 1937 in Crewe, Cheshire, England, at the age of 89. A search of probate and burial records has not turned up any information, and their burial location is unknown.

Main image:Parish of Nantwich early 19th century (image via Wikimedia)