Martha Mary WILLS

1872 - 1957  (85 years)

• Name	Martha Mary WILLS
  Birth	14 Jul 1872	Melbury Osmond, Dorset, England   [1, 2]
  Baptism	5 Jan 1873	Melbury Osmond, Dorset, England   [3]
  Gender	Female
  Death	20 Nov 1957	Dorchester, Dorset, England   [4, 5]
  Cremation	25 Nov 1957	Charminster, Dorset, England   [6]
  Person ID	I1264	Furmedge
  Last Modified	18 May 2026

  
  

  Family	John FURMAGE,   b. 7 May 1881, Charminster, Dorset, England d. 10 Jul 1917, Iraq (Age 36 years)
  Marriage	26 Dec 1911	Charminster, Dorset, England   [7, 8]
  Family ID	F559	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	18 May 2026

  
  

• Event Map		Birth - 14 Jul 1872 - Melbury Osmond, Dorset, England Baptism - 5 Jan 1873 - Melbury Osmond, Dorset, England Marriage - 26 Dec 1911 - Charminster, Dorset, England Death - 20 Nov 1957 - Dorchester, Dorset, England Cremation - 25 Nov 1957 - Charminster, Dorset, England  = Link to Google Earth
  Pin Legend	: Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  
  

• Notes

  The entry in the England and Wales National Probate Calendar for Martha Mary Furmage (otherwise Mary Martha Furmage) gives her date of death as 20 March 1957; all other details are consistent with other sources. Her death certificate gives her date of death as 20 November 1957 and the parish burial register records that she was cremated on 25 November 1957. Martha Mary’s date of birth is recorded as 14 July 1882 in the 1939 Register. Her age as recorded in her 1911 parish marriage register entry would suggest she was born in about 1878 and an entry in the dataset World War One Pension Record Cards and Ledgers (transcription only, accessed on www.ancestry.co.uk) records a date of birth of 14 July 1879. There is an entry in the 1911 England census for a Martha Mary Wills working as a servant in Charminster, Dorset. She is 33 years old, which is consistent with the age recorded in the marriage register, and was born at Melbury Osmond, Dorset (Class: RG14, Folio: 12399, Schedule: 109). However, no child called Martha Mary, Mary Martha, Martha or Mary Wills was registered in the GRO Birth Index between 1876 and 1880 within the Beaminster Registration District. Martha’s age at death is recorded as 84 years giving a much earlier calculated year of birth of 1872-1873. Based on this date and the information provided in the marriage register for her father and one of the witnesses, it has been concluded that Martha Mary was born in 1872 and baptised in 1873 at Melbury Osmond, Dorset.

  
  

• Sources

  [S26] 1939 Register (England & Wales), Furmage Household, Lydham, Higher Charminster, Burton, Dorset; Reference: Class: RG101, Piece: 6954A. Date of birth for Martha Mary Furmage recorded as 14 July 1882. [S2] England & Wales, GRO Birth Index, (Name: General Register Office;), Mary Wills, Registered: Jul-Sep 1872, District: Beaminster, Dorset, Vol: 5A, Page: 379. [S529] St Osmund (Melbury Osmond, Dorset), Parish Register, Martha Mary Wills, Baptism Register Entry, 1873, PE/MBO: RE 2/1, Page: 87; digital image accessed on www.ancestry.co.uk; original data: Dorset History Centre. [S40] England & Wales, National Probate Calendars, Martha Mary (otherwise Mary Martha) Furmage, Probate London 1957; digital images accessed on www.gov.uk. [S88] England & Wales, Death Certificate, Martha Mary Furmage: Reference: Registered: Oct-Dec 1957, District: Weymouth, Dorset, Vol: 6A, Page: 673. [S176] St Mary (Charminster, Dorset), Parish Register, Martha Mary Furmage, Burial Register Entry, 1957, PE/CMR: RE 4/3, Page: 85; digital image accessed on www.ancestry.co.uk; original data: Dorset History Centre. [S176] St Mary (Charminster, Dorset), Parish Register, John Furmage, Marriage Register Entry, 1911, PE/CMR: RE 3/4, Page: 205; Digital image accessed on www.ancestry.co.uk; original data: Dorset History Centre. [S3] England & Wales, GRO Marriage Index, (Name: General Register Office;), John Furmage: Registered: Oct-Dec 1911, District: Dorchester, Dorset, Vol: 5A, Page: 791.