William LAYNE ¹

   User ID: P00034503.

  General Notes:

When young Will was working for his father at G. H. Layne & Co., he was dispatched to deliver a bicycle to Miss Ethel Louise Rowe in Helston, Cornwall, that had been ordered for her by her then-fiance who had gone to work in the diamond mines in South Africa. Sparks flew, the engagement was broken, and when Will went to America he wrote his mother, saying that she should get Effie a ring and put her on a ship to America. His mother complied, and the young couple married as soon as Effie arrived in New York City. Will took her to Highland Park, Michigan, where he was employed by Ford Motor Company. The engagement ring from Effie's first engagement was given to her granddaughter, Diane Alayne Hughes, on Diane's 16th birthday. Diane, in turn, gave the ring to her daughter, Christine Alayne Geddes, on Christine's 16th birthday. The ring purchased by Will's mother for Effie was worn for years as a wedding ring by Effie and Will's granddaughter, Darcie Louise Layne.

In 1920 William was sent to Belgium by his employer. While William was in Belgium, Ethel and the children went to England in November of that year, living for a while in Brigg and Manchester and part of the time in Cornwall with Ethel's family. Their son, William, was born over the business in Brigg. They returned to the States in October 1923. When in Highland Park, William worked at Ford's River Rouge plant as a manager.

William had a lovely voice and was described by his daughter as a loving husband and father, always singing and laughing.

The 1891 census states that William was born in Wrawby.
¹

  Noted events in his life were:

• Cemetery: Acacia Park Cemetary, Dec 1972, Beverly Hills, Oakland, Michigan, USA. ¹

William married Ethel Louise ROWE on 20 May 1914 in New York State, USA.¹ (Ethel Louise ROWE was born on 11 Nov 1889 in Helston, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom,¹ died on 30 Sep 1972 in Highland Park, Wayne, Michigan, USA ¹ and was buried in Beverly Hills, Oakland, Michigan, USA.)