Jessie Harriet Williams was born at 26 George Street in Ryde on the Isle of Wight on the 27th of November, 1857 to George Williams and Harriet Williams, nee Storey. Her father’s occupation at the time of her birth was a gardener journeyman. She was their first child.
In 1860, when Jessie was 3 years old, her brother George Henry was born. At the time of the April 1861 census the family was living on St John’s Road in Ryde. George was 35 and employed as a gardener. Harriet was also 35. Their children were listed as Jessie H, aged 3 and George H, aged 1.
In 1862 her brother Arthur Sydney was born but sadly, the next year, her brother George Henry died. Jessie was six. When Jessie was eight, her sister Florence Louise was born but was not strong and died before her first birthday. In 1867, when Jessie was ten, her youngest sister Laura Jane was born.
In the April 1871 census, the family was still living on St John’s Road at number 31. Geroge was 46 and still a gardener. Harriet was shown as aged 44. Their children were shown as Jessie, aged 18, Arthur, aged 8, a scholar and Laura Jane, aged 4, a scholar.
Despite the sad deaths of first her brother and then her sister, Jessie lived a stable life. The family had moved to St John’s Road soon after she was born and lived there until Harriet’s death in 1906.
When Jessie was twenty one, she met a soldier stationed at Sandown. His name was William Bond and he was a bombardier in the Royal Artillery. Although William was thirty six, fifteen years her senior, the couple was in love and anxious to marry.
