The Parrett family has only been researched as far back as the early c.19th as the main consideration has been on the Royle family line. The current family have long assumed that the Parretts came from Somerset, an assumption influenced, no doubt, by the existence of the River Parrett which flows north westwards through that county whereas it may be that the male line originated from Stamford in Lincolnshire.

What we do know is that Jonathon Parrott was born in 1846, the second of four children, to parents John and Ann. Jonathon married Mary (surname possibly Fletcher) who was born in Washington D.C., USA; her birth date is uncertain, the census returns suggesting 1848 or 1851. Jonathon is described as a sawyer in 1871 and a painter by 1881; Mary is described in several censuses as a ‘mantle finisher’ and she would have been earning only around 2 shillings (10p) per week; the 1891 London Census Transcription defines a ‘mantle finisher’ as “Someone who finished mantles for gas lamps”. In  1881 they lived at 43 Carlisle St. Jonathon and Mary appear to have had 10 children by the time Mary was 40! However there are doubts about the accuracy of the researched data as two of the children were born apparently in the same year (1879). This requires more investigation. Their ten children were:

Edmund [1] Parrett was born in Hulme, Manchester, the oldest of the 10 children. He became a painter and decorator and married Elizabeth (surname unknown). They had four children, three of whom were girls; one of their daughters, Ethel, gave birth to a son, Harry, but never married. Edmund and Elizabeth’s children were:

Edmund [2] Parrett is recorded in the 1901 census, when he was 6 years old, as living with his parent and siblings at 3 Matthew St. The census surname spelling was Parrott. Edmund married Mary Howe and eventually became a foreman in a paper factory. When their daughters were born they were living in Carnforth St.,

Rusholme, Manchester. Before the daughters were married the

family had all moved to Darley Avenue in Chorlton-cum-Hardy.

Mary had various occupations including shop assistant and cleaner.

Their daughters were:

Gladys Parrett, born in 1919 the second of the three daughters, worked in a wages office until she married Harold Royle in 1942 after which she chose to remain a housewife. When first married they lived in Palatine Crescent, Withington, Manchester, but they moved to Birmingham in 1957. Gladys was an enthusiast for the great outdoors and would make sure that all household tasks were completed by early morning so she could enjoy gardening, walking and tennis (in season). She also did voluntary work with the Women’s Institute.