Alice Jones

Alice Jones (July 1852 – February 11, 1896) was born in the Horsley Fields area of Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, to Ann and Thomas Jones. Thomas, a Bricklayer originally from Pontesbury, Shropshire, and Ann, from Coven in Staffordshire, were both in their twenties at the time. The 1861 Census indicates that Alice had a younger brother, John, born in 1856.

At the age of 18, Alice married Abraham B Lawrence, a mariner from Jamaica, on September 1, 1870, at St Matthews Church, Scotland Road, Liverpool. The 1871 Census records Alice Lawrence, as she became known after marriage, residing at Major Street in Kirkdale. Her occupation was listed as "Mariner's Wife. At Sea," though Abraham was absent from the record. Living with her was 26-year-old Sarah Ann Jones, possibly a sister-in-law.

Over the years, Alice and Abraham welcomed 13 children, though the first five siblings tragically did not survive beyond their first three years. By the 1881 census, the Lawrence family resided at 64 Gilbert Street, Liverpool, where Abraham was still listed as a sailor. The household included boarders and even a servant, indicative of one of the four boarding houses the couple managed in the Liverpool area.

Alice Jones Lawrence passed away from "Congestio Pulmonium" (heart faliure due to fluid build up in the lungs" on February 11, 1896, in Liverpool at the age of 43. Her life reflects a journey from Wolverhampton to Liverpool, marked by marriage, motherhood, and the trials and tribulations of managing boarding houses in the vibrant centre of Liverpool, leaving a legacy that extends beyond the challenges faced by the loss of their early-born children.