Gertrude Mary Stokoe was born 8th November 1883 at 35 Prince Consort Road, Gateshead, Durham. She was the eldest child of William Henry Stokoe and Martina Stokoe (nee Anderson).
On 11th November 1883 Gertrude Mary Stokoe was baptised at St Joseph's Catholic Church, High West Street, Gateshead, Durham. She was baptised as Mary Gertrude.
On 5th April 1891 the Census was held. Gertrude Mary Stokoe was living at 21 Coburg Street, Gateshead, Durham, with her parents William Henry Stokoe and Martina Stokoe (nee Anderson), her sisters, Minnie Stokoe and Lillian Stokoe and a boarder by the name of William A Woddeson.
On 31st March 1901 the Census was held. Gertrude Mary Stokoe was living at 13 Midland Road, Gloucester, Gloucestershire, with her mother Martina Stokoe and her sister's Minnie Stokoe and Lillian Stokoe. Gertrude was working as a Short Hand Clerk.
On 28th March 1910 Gertrude Mary Stokoe married Thomas Gerard Wiggins at Pontefract Registery Office, Pontefract, York.
The marriage entry reads;
1910. Marriage solemnized at The Register Office in the District of Pontefract in the County of York
When Married. Twenty Eighth March 1910 Name and Surname. Thomas Gerard Wiggins/Gertrude Stokoe Age. 39 years/26 years Condition. Bachclor/Spinster Rank or Profession. School Teacher B.A./Shorthand Typist Residence at the time of Marriage. 31 Winckler Square, Preston/Swindon House Park Avenue, Red Hill, Castleford Father's Name and Surname. Thomas Wiggins (Deceased)/William Henry Stokoe Rank or Profession of Father. Corporation Official/Engineer (Journyman)
Married in the Register Office
This Marriage was solemnized between us, {Thomas G. Wiggins/Gertrude Stokoe} in the Presence of us, {Mary Jackson/ Mary Sanderson
Sometime after getting married, Thomas Gerard Wiggins decided to change the surname from Wiggins to Walton, the reason for this is not known.
On 2nd April 1911 the Census was held. Gertrude Mary Wiggins (nee Stokoe) was living at 797 Ecclesall Road, Sheffield, Yorkshire, with her husband Thomas Walton. At this time Gertrude was five months pregnant with their only child Agnes Eleanor Wiggins/Walton born 20th August 1911.
By the 1920's Thomas Gerard Walton, Gertrude Walton (nee Stokoe) and Agnes Eleanor Walton had moved to 14 Collegiate Crescent, Sheffield, Yorkshire.
In about 1928 the piano needed re-tuning, so Thomas Gerard Walton went into central Sheffield and found a piano store owned by two brother's who were of Russian-Jewish decent, they had come over to England from Russia in about 1918. One of the brothers, called Jacob Issacs was employed to re-tune the piano, whilest in the house, Thomas' daughter Agnes Eleanor Walton was on holiday from her convent boarding school, The Convent of the Sacred Heart, and she decided to seduce Jacob, which he fell for. On discovering his daughter's activities, he forbade her from having any contact with Jacob, mainly because she was underage and being a Roman Catholic family there was a lot of animosity towards Jewish people.
Agnes Eleanor Walton carried on seeing Jacob Issacs, whenever she could and by April 1929 found herself pregnant. During 1928/29 Thomas Gerard Walton had employed a young car mechanic by the name of Colin Cook, to be his chauffer along with a cook, by the name of Mrs Turner and a house maid.
Thomas Gerard Walton realised that Colin Cook had feelings towards his daughter and decided to offer the young man the chance of a lifetime. He asked him to marry his daughter and legitamise her unborn child. Seeing that he came from a working class family and believing that he could one day inherit his future father's house, which Thomas Gerard Walton did not, because he was renting it from a Dentist called John Dennell, at the rate of £70 pa. The property was a large detached four bedroom house in the well to do part of Sheffield, he did not hesitate to agree.
Agnes Eleanor Walton was farmed off to Thomas Gerard Walton's sister's family in Worcester, for the rest of her confinement and married on 8th October 1929 at St George's Catholic Chapel. They then returned to 14 Collegiate Crescent, Sheffield, Yorkshire, where on 11th November 1929 Agnes gave birth to her daughter Margurite Theresa Cook.
On and off Agnes kept on seeing Jacob Issacs secretly, which annoyed her father.
On the night of 14th April 1933, the Walton's got prepared for a journey to Liverpool. Early in the morning of 15th April Thomas Gerard Walton, Gertrude Mary Walton (nee Stokoe) and Colin Cook set off for Liverpool, leaving Agnes Eleanor Cook (nee Walton), Margurite Theresa Cook and Colette Gertrude Cook, Colin and Agnes' younger daughter, born 1932.
Believing that they would be staying in Liverpool, Colin Cook was surprised that late into the evening, Thomas Gerard Walton insisted on leaving and heading back to Sheffield. The car was coming down Manchester Road, Sheffield, Yorkshire, near midnight. In the back Thomas and Gertrude were sleeping, as the car rounded the bend, near the Rivelin Dams, the steering appeared to stick and as Colin tried to correct the steering he lost control of the car and it overturned twice, before he could up right it and move it to the side of the road, so that he could allow a bus to pass. Thomas and Gertrude were ejected though the roof of the car, Thomas was lying in the road in front of the car, whilest Gertrude was sent over a wall into a field. Colin was trapped in the car by the steering wheel and column. He managed to crawl through the shattered roof and checked in the car to see if Thomas and Gertrude were alright, upon discovering the the car was empty, he then found Thomas on the road and Gertrude the other side of a wall. He found a house up Ronksley Lane and was able to rose the household and called for an ambalance, which took them to the Sheffield Royal Hospital, were Thomas was declared dead, Gertrude was admited suffering from concussion and severe injuries to her back and Colin was treated for cuts to the forehead and to the right wrist.
On 28th November 1934 Gertrude Mary Walton (nee Stokoe) died at 14 Collegiate Crescent, Sheffield, Yorkshire of Cancer of the Liver, she was 51 years old.
On 22nd February 1935 Gertrude Mary Walton's will was approved. She left an estate worth £1376 4s 11d to Thomas Herbert Barlow and Jessie Elizabeth Wright (wife of Arthur Wright), which in today's money is worth £55,000.
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