Joseph Locke was appointed engineer on the Paris and Rouen Railway and thousands of British navvies, miners and bricklayers were brought over to build it – including this ancestor, it would seem.
So that was how he met his wife. But why Rouen? Investigation on the internet led to the discovery that the construction of railways in Northern France in the mid 1800s was largely undertaken by British companies as they had the experience and expertise. Joseph Locke was appointed engineer on the Paris and Rouen Railway and thousands of British navvies, miners and bricklayers were brought over to build it – including this ancestor, it would seem.