frances ashton + william travell
Frances was born in Charmouth, Dorset in November 1869, the youngest daughter of John Ashton and Kezia Kenway. She was only 7 years old when her father died and 14 when she was orphaned following her mother’s death. There is no record of where Fanny lived in the years after her mother’s death but she reappears in the records when at the age of seventeen, she married William Travell in Bristol in 1887.
Several years after their marriage, Fanny and William decided to emigrate to America; William left first and arrived to New York in 1889 while Fanny followed him the following year. They initially settled in Brooklyn where their only child, Daisy, was born on 2 October 1890 but by 1900, they had moved across the country and settled in Denver City, Colorado where William was employed in Marine Insurance. Since Denver is inland, it is possible he provided insurance for vessels travelling on the South Platte River that runs through the city.
William first appears in the city directories in 1902 at Cripple Creek near Colorado Springs and his occupation was listed as a book-keeper. From 1909, he appears in the Denver City Directories residing at 1400 Cook Street and his occupation was then listed as a Mining Engineer. In 1912, his daughter Daisy also appears at the same residence and her occupation was listed as a Stenographer at the Oxford Hotel.
Daisy Travell married Linton Bradley Elliot shortly after — the marriage record has not been found but the date has been estimated based on information in the 1930 census. Linton was born in Memphis, Tennessee on 7 April 1883 and joined the US Navy when he was 17 years old. He appears in the 1900 US Census at the Naval Training Centre in Newport, Rhode Island but further details of his service record have not been located. On 15 October 1908, Linton married Jane Gravatt in Salt Lake City, Utah but they divorced four years later. By 1920, he had left Utah and was working as a Commercial Trader for an oil company in Denver, Colorado.
In 1920, Fanny was living in Denver City along with her daughter Daisy and son-in-law Linton Elliot but William does not appear with the family. There is a potential match in the 1920 Census for William at the Colorado State Hospital in Pueblo, Colorado with an entry for William W. Travell aged 56 years and born in England but he is listed as Single and both his occupation and immigration dates are unknown. The census details do not allow for an absolute confirmation that this is the correct William Travell but it would explain why he did not appear with his family. The hospital opened in 1879 as the Colorado State Insane Asylum and when it was renamed in 1917, it housed almost 2 500 patients.
By 1930, Linton and Daisy had moved to California where they were recorded in the census lodging at the Brentwood Country Club in Los Angeles. Linton was employed as a Real Estate Salesman but no children are listed. Fanny appears on a Los Angeles County voter registration list in 1928 but two years later, she was back in Denver living with William at 1533 Lafayette Street but neither had an occupation listed.
Daisy and Linton appear in several passenger lists over the next ten years, travelling from Le Havre, France in 1931, from Los Angeles to New York in 1936 and finally from Cherbourg, France to New York in 1939. These records do not include any details on Linton’s occupation or the reason for the trips but they do note that the couple had moved to Santa Monica by 1936 and then to Beverly Hills by 1939. The last known address for Daisy and Linton was 144 South Peck Drive in Beverly Hills.
Linton Elliot died in California on 31 January 1947, aged 64 years, followed by Fanny Ashton in 1952 and her daughter Daisy in 1982, aged 102 years.