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Ruth Waterton - help finding an unwed mother on 1891 census

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  • Ruth Waterton - help finding an unwed mother on 1891 census

    I'm hoping someone might be able to find my great great aunt on the 1891 census for me!

    Ruth was born in 1864 to William Waterton and Hannah Gravestock. in 1888, Ruth gave birth to a daughter - Florence Ella Waterton - out of wedlock. The reason I know about Florence is because she's living with her Grandmother Hannah and Uncle David (my gt. grandfather - who is erroneously listed as her father on Ancestry) on the 1891 census. A little bit of digging revealed she was actually Ruth's daughter, and can be found in 1911 living with Ruth and her husband - whom Ruth married in 1897 - Charles Gunn.

    The problem I'm having is that I can't actually find any record of Ruth on the 1891 census! She's not listed as being with Florence, or any other family member I've traced for that matter - I've even traced her employer from the 1881 census (where she was working as a domestic servant) and no luck there either.

    Can anyone give me a hand? I'd like to know what happened to her after she had Florence!

    Cheers!

  • #2
    sorry I have looked and can't see her.. was Florence born in Hertfordshire as well?
    Julie
    They're coming to take me away haha hee hee..........

    .......I find dead people

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    • #3
      Ruth was born in 1864
      erm, so she wasn't born in 1867 then?

      Name: Ruth Waterton
      Date of Registration: Apr-May-Jun 1867
      Registration district: Berkhamstead
      Inferred County: Hertfordshire
      Volume: 3a
      Page: 395
      Julie
      They're coming to take me away haha hee hee..........

      .......I find dead people

      Comment


      • #4
        Yes sorry she ws born in 1867 I don't know why I put 64 haha! Florence was born in Hertfordshire Oct-Nov-Dec quarter 1888 - I've found Florence's marriage certificate and it lists her father as 'Unknown' too so I don't think there's much hope of finding him so I haven't tried.

        http://trees.ancestry.co.uk/tree/197...on/18892203113 This is what I have on Ruth on my family tree (I hope the link works!)

        ~Robyn

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        • #5
          Hi Robyn

          I was wondering perhaps if Florence was born in Herts then it might help narrow down where her mother was in 1891, but I don't suppose it does really..

          only other thing I can think of atmo is to trawl the census 1891 for Berkhamstead...
          Julie
          They're coming to take me away haha hee hee..........

          .......I find dead people

          Comment


          • #6
            Have also tried and failed! She could always be mistranscribed by Ancestry, I recently found one of hubbys ROONEYS, mistranscribed as KORNEY.!!!
            KAREN xx

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            • #7
              Oh yes I've found some wonderful mistranscriptions on my tree - Waterton seems to have quite a few too! Waltarton, Waterson, Warburton... The list goes on!

              The reason I ask is that I can't understand why her daughter would have gone to live with her grandmother for the next 10+ years (Florence is still with her grandmother aged 12 on the 1901 census - by this time Ruth has married Charles), it makes me speculate that maybe Ruth was sent away from the family to have Florence? Maybe ordering Florence's birth certificate might shed some light on the situation, it should have her address at time of birth...

              What an expensive hobby this is!

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              • #8
                I have just received a illegitimate birth certiificate this morning!!! Some of you may remember Hugh Rooney? It does just give Catherine as mother, thought it would, it does however give an address, so if i can put my tree down for 5 mins will get back to hubbys!!

                It may well be that Ruth couldn't support Florence at first, and perhaps she didn't tell husband Charles about Florence until she had been married a while. This is when the time machine comes in handy!!
                KAREN xx

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                • #9
                  Ah that's wonderful! You may well be right that she couldn't support her - from what I can find the family seems to be very poor so that definitely is a possibility. Speculation is a wonderful thing!

                  It's nice to see though in later years, Florence is living with Ruth and her husband on the 1911 census and goes on to marry and live next door to Ruth and Charles for quite a few years afterwards so I get the impression they would have been quite close.

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                  • #10
                    Am so pleased to hear that at least it did have a happy ending. My story did also, Catherine Rooney married Richard Cearns a couple of years later and the child took his name. I will never know if Hugh was Richards son or if he just accepted him as his own. I suppose I will never know.
                    KAREN xx

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                    • #11
                      That's the problem with doing family research when there's no one to ask! So many questions that can't be answered! I'm fairly certain Charles isn't Florence's birth-father as he's from a completely different area to Ruth, I think she met him later on, although where and how I don't know. I suppose Florence's birth father will have to remain a mystery!

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                      • #12
                        Yes it very frustrating isn't it. Like you we have no-one to ask about Hugh and with the absence of a name where the father should be we will never know. think is unlikely to be Richard as they married 2 years after his birth, it could be him of course but then why didn't he put his name on the certificate? Oh well I suppose we have to accept that doing this tree building lark we will never get all the answers we want!!
                        KAREN xx

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                        • #13
                          Indeed! I think I've opened up more questions than I've answered! I think when I get paid I'll order Florence's birth certificate and see where she was born - hopefully it may have somewhere specific and I might be able to narrow it down as to where Ruth went to have her.

                          Do you think there's any possibility she was sent off to an unwed mothers home?

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                          • #14
                            the birth certificate may give you some clue as to that. My Hugh according to the birth certificate was born in the workhouse hospital. If the family were poor I would guess at the workhouse hospital and then the child being supported by grandparents. You may find someone else on the forum with much more experience than me able to offer more advice. I have only ever encountered this once. My lot sometimes had children out of wedlock but pretended to be married to the father, lied to the registrar and then lied to the emunerator come census day!!!
                            KAREN xx

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