Mr John James Ware 1 was born in Axbridge, Somerset, England over the summer months of 1865.2
He was the son of Charles Ware (1839-1923), a shoemaker, and Charlotte Anne Coomer (1839-1914), both Axbridge natives who were married in 1859. His known siblings were: Elizabeth Ann (b. 1860), Iona (b. 1868), Ann Coomer (b. 1870), Charles (b. 1872), Selina (b. 1874), Arthur George (b. 1875), George Coomer (b. 1877) and James (b. 1879).
John first appears on the 1871 census living at Cheddar Street in Axbridge. The family show up on the 1881 census living at Moore Lane, Axbridge but John is listed elsewhere as a visitor to the home of his maternal grandmother, Charlotte Coomer, back at Cheddar Street. His father by this time had become a gas manager and John was described as an apprentice carpenter.
John was married in Bristol in 1890 to Clara Ann Organ (b. 1865), a native of that city. The recently married couple appear on the 1891 census living at 12 London Road, Bristol and John is described as a carpenter. He and his wife had only one child, a son named Fred (b. 1892), and the small family appeared together on the 1901 census living at 53 Grosvenor Road, Bristol, an address he would live at for the remainder of his life. He became a widower in 1904 when his wife Clara passed away aged 39.
He was remarried in 1906 to Florence Louisa Long (b. 1879) and when the couple appeared on the 1911 census, again living at 53 Grosvenor Road, John was described as a builder and decorator and his son Fred as a carpenter.
John and his wife boarded the Titanic at Southampton as second class passengers (ticket number 31352, £21). They were due to have travelled on another ship but were transferred due to the coal strikes. Their destination was to have been to his younger brother Charles who was already living at 186 South Main Street, New Britain, Connecticut. When there John was intending to start up in the carpentry trade. He was taking his tools and household effects with him on the Titanic together with $1250 in cash.
Mr Ware, died in the sinking. His body, if recovered, was never identified.
His wife Florence survived and later returned to England. His son Fred later crossed the Atlantic, departing from Liverpool aboard Campania on 3 May 1913 and joined his uncle Charles in Connecticut. He, like his father worked as a painter and decorator, settled in Hartford, Connecticut and married a lady named Clara Bell (b. 1887) but had no children. He and his wife later retired to Florida and Fred died there in 1979.
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Hello! I am new to this message board and it's clear to me already that I don't know much! So please forgive gaffs and seeming ignorance. I am very interested in Florence Ware and her husband John Ware. They were 2nd Class passengers. Florrie survived, John did not. What attracted me to this couple was the fact that she was a Bristol girl, and John was from Axbridge in Somerset. I lived very close to Axbridge for many years. Florrie died in Plymouth, my grandmother's home town. I am a storyteller and recently have been asked to take a "Titanic survivor" programme into local schools ( I now reside in Pennsylvania). I should like to be as accurate as possible in my programme, hence the need for research! Is there anyone out there specifically knowledgable regarding Florrie or any of her still living relatives? Many Thanks! Fiona
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