??Daughters in Law??

[Yorkshire Rose]

1861 Census
I have come across one of my ancestors Harriet Goldthorpe (c.1842) born Castleford (father Richard, mother Mary) and, Sarah Ann Goldthorpe (c.1840) born Hunslet (father Robert, mother Mary). They are living with James Child (c.1814) born Armley and wife Mary (c.1816) born Wyersdale Lancashire, they are listed as James Child's Daughters in Law. Now if they were his Daughter's in Law surely they would be called Child??

Can anyone advise

[stanmapstone]

It means step children.

Stan

[stanmapstone]

Nineteenth-century usages for kin relationships were sometimes different from those used today. Marriage relationships appear to cause particular problems. A brother-in-law or son-in-law could be described as a 'brother' or 'son', while a 'daughter-in-law' might mean a step-daughter. Similarly, the offspring of married children resident in the household were sometimes called 'son' or 'daughter' rather than grandchild; referring to their parents rather than the head-grandparents.

Stan

[behindthefrogs]

It is worth adding that before 1850 you are extremely unlikely to find the term step...... used anywhere. 

On marriage similarly all your spouses relatives became yours with the same named relationship.  This particularly important in understanding wills where for example "my brother Smith" means "the husband of my sister who married a Mr Smith."

The other relationships which you need to be aware of are:

Cousin - any relative of the same generation (or sometimes an earlier one) who is not a brother or sister
Nephew - any relative of a younger generation who is not a son or daughter.

The two above cases will sometimes be met, where the term "in-law" with either meaning might have been added as well but will be dropped.

David

[Yorkshire Rose]

Flippin 'eck. It's confussing isn't it. So my Harriet and Sarah Ann could be any kind of relative to the Childs!!!

I have traced Harriet on the 1881, 1871 and 1861 censuses, the first two she was a Lupton (married) but can't find her at all before that, so am now stuck on who her parents Richard and Mary were. I found them as her parents on IGI but can't find them on any census with or without Harriett........

[stanmapstone]

It is worth adding that before 1850 you are extremely unlikely to find the term step...... used anywhere. 

David

I don't agree with that The first of many references to Stepson I can find  in "The Times" is in 1826, and for Stepdaughter is in 1820.
In the 1851 Census there are 14,272 Stepdaughters and 16,109 Stepsons.

[behindthefrogs]

That's interesting Stan because I have quickly checked my own family and can't find a single "step" whereas I have many "in-laws" with that meaning.  I wonder if it is a Town vs Country thing because I have virtually no relatives in London or large towns in my 32 extended branches in the1851 census.

David

[tazzie]

   This may or may not shed some light on the relationship.

 Q4 1850 Leeds vol 23 page 567

 James Child
 Mary Goldthorp     both on same page.

 There is a death of a Richard Goldthorp Pontefract 1842 march Q.

  If you order the cert it will state if Mary was a widow. The death cert is speculative.

                        Tazzie

[Yorkshire Rose]

Your a star Tazzie

That would explain things. I reckoned to have searched for ther marriage and Richards death, I just didn't go back far enough

Thanks again