View Full Version : Life in the 19th Century - a conundrum
Miss Understood
26-12-05, 08:53 PM
.... but I'm sure someone will tell me where I should put it really - ooh er Mrs Fnahh Fnahhh.... :blush:
One of my interests is tracing my family tree - in fact I do some work for others on an expenses only basis. One of my Christmas presents was a census CD for a particular county which I had asked for.
Whilst padding the bones (or is it leaves?) of my family tree this morning using this CD, I got diverted by the tale of Sarah Jane, daughter of a humble carpenter.
She was born in about 1848 in a small village in the Midlands. She never married (all census entries show her as single and still with her maiden name). But, by 1881, she had four children. All with another surname (and the same one) as their middle name.
Now, one child out of wedlock was just about acceptable in those days - but four?????
I looked around for a likely candidate father with the surname that was the middle name (quite unusual, and not prevelant in the village over the generations) and came across a quarry owner George, and his brother Alfred.
Now, George was about the same age and never married and was down as 'single', even in the 1901 census. Sarah Jane's eldest son was called George (after his father?)
His brother, Alfred, was younger but did marry and had several children by 1901.
So which one of them was the father of Sarah Jane's children? If it was George (as I suspect) why did he never marry her?
Put your thinking caps on people please and give a suggestion as to why they didn't marry and lets see'f we can find a plot for a romantic novel out of this conundrum.
MU
ooh,MU, I LOVE family history, and if I am not on here, I am doing that!
I have a great aunt who had several children out of wedlock, but that was at the beginning of the 20thC and they all had different fathers :bigeyes:
I have other ancestors who all had the mothers maiden name as their middle name, but they were married. Sooo, I can only think of checking the mother and George on other census'. If you don't have them, I have a subscription to the Ancestry.com site which has the census' from 1851. If you like, PM me and I can look up the census either side of the one you checked to see if that holds any further clues :D
I will see if I can think of anything else too
Miss Understood
26-12-05, 09:24 PM
SP, I have a subscription to Ancestry too. Which is how I've managed to track Sarah Jane (and her children) from 1841 to 1901.
But thank you for your very kind offer :notworthy:
I guess I'll never find out who the father was (but will order one birth certificate just in case...). It was the romantic side I was thinking of. (Though my friend's husband this evening was quite astute and suggested I looked for the will of the potential fathers to see if the children are mentioned)
But then again, maybe there was no romance. Instead of star crossed lovers, maybe she was 'put upon' by her childrens' father and once one was born, she had no hope with anyone else and he just kept visiting and visiting....
I feel I'm morphing into Catherine Cookson mode ....
;)
Hhhhmmm, what about the parish records?
I know most of them don't give much extra info, but occasionally you come across a few gems that give a few clues or insights into their lives. Or else, it was a very grumpy minister recording the info :lol: :unsure:
In my research, I was checking the parish records for a paricular Wiltshire village, when I came across this on a collatarel line -
'Robert, b*****d son of Jane C*****, a threehalfpenny prostitute from the crossroads......................... reputed father Blah blah'
take it the minister didn't like Jane then? :lol: there was quite a bit more about poor Jane which really discredited her character!!!! Mind you, it was the 1760's.
I have come across a few instances like this, so it may be worth checking.Just a thought. :D
coppernob
27-12-05, 01:42 PM
You too!! My obsession is my family tree, other half thinks I'm mad as I'll never meet them- no hope converting him!! I too have the subscription to ancestry.com, a must! And my best crimbo pressie? My lot came from Wadsley Bridge in Yorkshire and a new found cousin e mailed me a photo of the church and garvestones of my lot-other half is seriously spooked out by me!!
CN
Miss Understood
27-12-05, 01:47 PM
I think what i like the best about it is that it's like a jigsaw puzzle - but you have to find the pieces first!
Knightley
27-12-05, 03:14 PM
My mums brother became obsessed with all of this when he hit 65 and got his first PC and he`s a member of that Ancestry site as well.He found a few nod nod wink wink relatives as well :D .I have found it all facinating as well,and love the writing on the photocopies of the various certificates.Its always so delicate
Knightley
:D :thumbs: Mr sp can't understand my total obsession either :lol: He drives me all over the country hunting down villages, churches and graveyards but just doesn't 'get it'. There is NOTHING I would rather do than take a walk around a village or in a church where my ancestors once stood/lived/married etc. I find it totally, totally overwhelming and very emotional.
As for when a new census comes online he doesn't understand why I get so excited I can't sleep the night before :blush: :unsure: or why I would much rather have a family history CD for birthdays and Christmas than jewellery or perfume.
Men, eh?!! :lol: :hihi:
I don't have to do this as cousins on both sides of the family have already not only done the research but privately published the results. Any member of the family is free to buy the books. It's very interesting and in the case of my mother's family, not hard as they didn't move far from where they settled after the Norman Conquest. They were also literate so there is quite a lot of documentary evidence.
One recentish bit of information was confirmed by the research. My grandmother came from a wealthy, titled family and wanted to go to university and study chemistry (pharmacy). This was in the days when women had to have their father's permission. Her parents wanted her to marry a local farmer and settle down. She ran away when they were out one day. She worked "in service" for a while until she had saved some money and took herself off to Edinburgh and trained as a nurse.
Whilst in Edinburgh she met my grandfather who came from a village not far from where she was born. He was trained as a blacksmith and was in a Scottish Regiment due to WWI. She told me she chose him because she and her friend used to sit on a bench under some wrought iron steps that led up to the barracks and look up the soldiers kilts (well there's a variation on the theme). He was in a cavalry regiment because he was an excellent horseman, but being the army he actually spent the war in the Royal Flying Corps as a cartographer.
They married and she took him home to meet her parents. They made them get married again as they had originally married in a Church of Scotland church. Nana was methodist so Great grandparents didn't approve. Now to the point. They didn't approve full stop. Grandpa had a different name from his father. His mother had him when she was only sixteen and unmarried. She was also a gypsy. She did marry my grandpa's father and they went on to have another 12 (lived to grow up) children. Grandpa was brought up by his maternal gypsy grandmother and was always known by her family name and not his fathers. They lived in the next cottage to his parents so it wasn't as if he didn't know his family!
Nana was disinherited but managed to get some of her share of the family wealth when she found out something (Idon't know what) about her eldest brother who was a solicitor and executor to her father's will. She used it to open a private hospital which she ran until the NHS started and she retired.
Reads a bit like a Mills and Boon novel but it's true.