The Bevons came from around Wolverhampton. Ettingshall, Bilston and Sedgley. In 1881 George Bevon is living at 111 George St Bilston. (this street has largly been redeveloped since) George, a coal dealer was born in 1839 and his family consisted at this time of his wife Sarah (nee McCloud), 42 years old, Mary Jane, an 18 year old milliner, Her sisters Sarah A, and Alice both still at school 8 year old George, Thomas of 5 and finally Nellie, just two years old. (this list doesn’t mention Emily or Sidney.) It appears that Alice made her way to Desborough to take up a post teaching at the local school. By 1891, aged 21, she is living as an assistant teacher with the 29 year old Principal Lizzie Smith, and another assistant teacher, 25 year old Lucy Stevenson in 15 Gas St. (I have yet to find out where Gas St was). There the beautiful young woman captivated the industrious Julius, a German immigrant who was living at 4 Station Road, just 2 minute walk from the school. Julius is living in Station Street with lodgers and in 1893, with Julius aged 33 and his 23 year old bride travelled back to the Black Country to marry in Dudley (3rd Quarter). There followed a honeymoon in North Wales at Menai Bridge (where Julius nearly drowned in the high currents.) Shortly after this on 21st June 1894 Alice gave birth to her and Julius’ only child, christened Fritz Rudolph George Hief. It was not long before his mother Alice died in 1896, of TB aged 26. She is buried in St Giles Desborough. Her sone notes in the fashion of a doctor that she was treated by Dr Gibbons, who’s son Gerals of Barts, took over the practice. The two clearly new each other but had no contact after Frederick left Desborough.

On the death of Alice, her sister Nellie then aged around 19 came to take care of the child and keep house. This continued for about 10 years, much of Nellie’s formative years as a young woman, until around 1906, when Julius then married her older sister, Mary Jane, aged 40. Frederick would have been around 12. It was in the same year that the Hiefs moved to the newly build 4 Havelock Street. Nellie never married. She clearly devoted much of her life to Julius. At some point she travelled to Canada for 2 years to care for the child of the chairman of the Canadian Pacific Railway, a girl named Anabel. She was in Winnipeg(?) where Fritz writes to her from school proud to tell her he had matriculated. Following this she spent some time looking after the children of the British Consul in Heliopolis Cairo. These jobs cleaerly gave her much pleasure and earned well. Frederick says that she may have come close to marriage. There may indeed have been other such work. But following this work she retuned to live with her older sister and Julius and to help keep house.

Following the death of Julius when Frederick was 65, Nellie and Mary Jane left Cambridge and returned to their hometown near Wolverhampton. There they lived in a flat, in a house owned by Maslin Jones a surgeon, who was apparently very kind to the two sisters. Mary Jane, the oldest of the Beavon children died in 1945, in St andrews Hospital Northampton after becoming ‘completely disorganised’. The family took her ashes back to Cambridge to be buried next to thiose of Julius in the crematorium. Nellie, the youngest of the three girls moved to Penarth and bought a small terraced house so as to be near Frederick and Madeleine. She was just a 10 minute walk to the sea and only 6 miles from Lake Road West. She lived here with her brother George older by 6 years. It is reported that they did not get on well. George had been married to Minie Spruce, a local girl. She died when George was 67. They had no children. George died in 1952 aged 79 and despite living with his sister for about 6 years apparently left her nothing in his will. Nellie died 5 years later and her ashes are buried under the cross at the east end of the chapel of rest in Cardiff.