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Topic: Policeman in Goodrich 1840s (Read 317 times)
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slewi4
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Posts: 199
Census information Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
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I have a John HARRISON in my family who was born circa 1813 in Hereford, married Harriet KING in 1831, and had 10 children. Four of those children were born in Goodrich, and their father's occupation was listed as policeman for the first three (1844, 1847 and 1848), but Shoemaker for the 4th in 1850. In the 1871 and 1881 Census he was a shoemaker and hairdresser.
I am sure that this is the same man, but the sudden change of occupation has me confused. Is "policeman" what we know today as policeman, or could it be used to describe a nightwatchman or guard on a railway or similar. Where could I look to find more?
Thanks
Sandra
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England: Brown Kingscliffe NTH, Ellis Balsall WAR, Lewis Hereford HEF, Oliver Morpeth NBL, Wall Coventry/Balsall WAR, Watkins Eardisley/Clifford HEF
Ireland: Culhane Limerick; Doolan Clare
Wales: Lewis BRE/DEN, Jones Eglwysbach DEN
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Puffcat
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Census information Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
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There is a book on the Herefordshire Constabulary by Vera Hadley which gives the early history. Certainly the local 'constable' in this area was multi talented in his occupations !
But this enquiry rings some bells, has someone looked into this before 
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slewi4
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Posts: 199
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Thanks EBN,
I'll see if I can get my hands on a copy of the book.
I've also done a bit of googling and found that the HFHS Journal had an article on police ancestors in Jul 2000. I think that my local genealogical society has copies of the HFHS journals, so I'll be planning a visit there soon.
I also found this page http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/history/policing/police-archives-guide/west-mercia-constabulary.htm which looks promising (items 119 to 122) There might even be a personnel file.
I haven't asked about this before, and couldn't see any similar questions in the archived posts - perhaps it was on another forum. Anyway, if that person is still looking, I hope my finds will be useful to them.
Sandra
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England: Brown Kingscliffe NTH, Ellis Balsall WAR, Lewis Hereford HEF, Oliver Morpeth NBL, Wall Coventry/Balsall WAR, Watkins Eardisley/Clifford HEF
Ireland: Culhane Limerick; Doolan Clare
Wales: Lewis BRE/DEN, Jones Eglwysbach DEN
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Valda
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1841 census HO107 421/18 folio 4 page 4
New Street Ross Herefordshire
John Harrison 25 Police Officer
Harriet Harrison 25
John Harrison 9
Caroline Harrison 6
Eliza A Harrison 4
Mary A Harrison 1
all born Herefordshire
1851 census HO107 2061 folio 863
166? House Great Francis Street Aston Warwickshire
John Harrison 36 Head Married Policeman St Owens Herefordshire
Harriett Harrison 36 Wife Married Family Laundress Hanley Worcestershire
Frederick Harrison 19 Son ? St Owins Herefordshire
Eliza Ann Harrison 14 Daughter ? St Owins Herefordshire
Mary Ann Harrison 11 Daughter ? Ross Herefordshire
Catharine Harrison 10 Daughter St Owins Herefordshire
Alice Harrison 9 Daughter Ross Herefordshire
Elizabeth Harrison 9 Daughter Ross Herefordshire
William Hy Harrison 7 Son Son Goodrich Herefordshire
Henry C Harrison 3 Son Goodrich Herefordshire
1861 census RG9 2732 folio 39
1 Edgemount 18 Paddington West Derby Lancashire
John Harrison 47 Head Married Shoemaker Hereford Herefordshire
Harriet Harrison 47 Wife Married Hanly Worcestershire
William H Harrison 17 Son Goodrich Herefordshire
Henry C Harrison 12 Son Goodrich Herefordshire
Elizabeth E Harrison 9 Daughter Goodrich Herefordshire
Clara A Harrison 8 Daughter Handsworth Staffordshire
Herefordshire County record office and Birmingham record office may be worth checking for John's service records in their respective police forces and why he left the service.
Regards
Valda
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Valda
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Sandra
St Owen parish registers have no coverage on the IGI past 1705.
Eliza Ann was aged 14 on the 1851 census (could be 15 in that year if her birthdate was after census night and her age is exact) so born no later than 1837 and possibly the second half of 1836. Civil registration began 1st July 1837, so her birth/baptism would be unlikely to be found on either the IGI or FreeBMD.
Catherine was aged 10 and therefore could have been born just after the census of 1841. You have only one census entry to go on, so it is possible her name, place of birth, age could all be in some way incorrectly written on this census.
I think just because you haven't yet found evidence of either girls' parentage it is still quite a jump to conclude they therefore must have been adopted. I would definitely want to check the St Owen's registers before I began to question either girls' parentage especially since John at the time was a police officer and therefore could be sent to different places by the service, and in the early days of registration not every birth was registered and not every birth that was registered made it onto the GRO index.
Regards
Valda
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Puffcat
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There is a birth for Eliza Ann Harrison in March Qr 1838 in Hereford GRO ref Hereford 26, 147
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Puffcat
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Birth for Mary Ann Harrison June Qr 1842 GRO ref Hereford 26 185
Copy certificates will be obtainable from Hreford Register Office Town Hall Hereford HR1 2PJ
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Valda
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ELIZA ANN HARRISON
Christening: 08 JUN 1838 Saint Martin, Hereford, Hereford
Father: JOHN HARRISON
Mother: HARRIETT
There is a daughter called Mary Ann aged 1 and 11 on the 1841 and 1851 censuses besides Catherine.
Regards
Valda
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slewi4
RootsChat Member
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Posts: 199
Census information Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
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Thanks Valda and EBN,
Perhaps I should clarify that it is Catherine aged 10 in 1851 and Elizabeth aged 9 in 1851 (not Eliza Ann aged 14) that I think may be adopted.
If the ages are correct, Catherine would have been born circa 1841, and Elizabeth circa 1842. Both are after 1837, and both should therefore have been registered. There was no Catherine Harrison registered anywhere in Herefordshire between 1839 and 1842.
Trying to establish a more precise date of birth using known dates:
Mary Ann is not disputed. She was born Sep qtr 1840 at Ross, and christened at Ross 14 Aug 1840 (so born very late Jun at the earliest and mid Aug at the latest).
Alice is also not disputed. She was born Mar qtr 1842 and christened 3 April 1842 at Ross (so born late March at the latest).
If Catherine is a sister, she would have to have been born after Apr 1841 (to allow 9 months from the earliest possible birthdate of Mary Ann) and before Jul 1841 to allow 9 months for Alice. Its a tight timeline, but possible, and it would explain why she was not on the 1841 Census.
Elizabeth and Alice are both listed as 9yrs old in 1851 - suggesting that either they were twins, or one was still 9 but about to turn 10 and the other was 8 but close enough to call it 9. If they were twins, only one (Alice) was registered and baptised - very odd. If they were sisters very close in age, Alice must be the older - there is no room for Elizabeth to have been born before Alice if Catherine is a sister too.
William Henry is also undisputed. He was born in Mar qtr 1844 and christened 26 May 1844 in Goodrich. So he was born late Mar 1844 at the very latest, subtracting 9 months from this gives Jun 1843 as the latest possible birthdate for Elizabeth, and Jan 1843 as the earliest. Its a less crowded timeframe, but there is no birth of an Elizabeth Harrison in this period anywhere in Herefordshire.
I have a second theory on Elizabeth - her age in 1851 should have been 9 months, not 9 yrs. John and Harriet had a daughter Elizabeth Elliott Harrison who was christened 1 Sep 1850 at Goodrich, yet she is not recorded as an infant with her parents on the 1851 Census.
The lack of corroborating evidence still doesn't sit well with me. If their births weren't registered, I've only got the possibility of a marriage/death certificate or burial record to confirm that they were daughters. Its going to be difficult to know what to think about these two until I can find something concrete.
Sandra
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Logged
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England: Brown Kingscliffe NTH, Ellis Balsall WAR, Lewis Hereford HEF, Oliver Morpeth NBL, Wall Coventry/Balsall WAR, Watkins Eardisley/Clifford HEF
Ireland: Culhane Limerick; Doolan Clare
Wales: Lewis BRE/DEN, Jones Eglwysbach DEN
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Puffcat
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Posts: 1149
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You say that there is no Catherine or Elizabeth registered anywhere in Herefordshire around these dates - does this mean you have contacted the Register Offices to request a search for any possible registrations ?
I notice that the Mary Ann I found cannot be the one on the 1841 Census, but I do believe that Eliza Ann is one of the family.
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Valda
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I rechecked the 1851 census page. I ordered the names originally from the indexed list of names and ages and unusually accepted those ages which is pretty poor on my part and far from my usual standards - but I was rushing a bit for work and just decided to insert one last census entry into my reply. I should have settled for less on this occasion, but the fact John was a policeman in Birmingham caught my attention so I decided to add the census entry quickly. Trying to do things at speed no matter my good intentions obviously on this occasion just didn't pay. You can't get it right if you allow yourself to get distracted by the ticking clock and the worry about the Monday morning rush hour and how you should really have stopped typing 15 minutes ago.
From your comments and your hypothesis re Elizabeth I went back and rechecked the census page itself. Elizabeth is actually placed last in the household and now I can read the word I couldn't make out before (and it really isn't very clear) which is written in the occupation column and not the age column - I would now say it is'months'. Placing her in order of age (9) meant when I looked across I misaligned her place of birth.
Catherine remains Catherine from the census page entry, though if the 1841 census is correct she was actually Caroline, but her age therefore would be 16 and not 10 as indexed. The entry below is readjusted for both girls and makes much more sense from the information you have further given.
1851 census HO107 2061 folio 863
166? House Great Francis Street Aston Warwickshire
John Harrison 36 Head Married Policeman St Owens Herefordshire
Harriett Harrison 36 Wife Married Family Laundress Hanley Worcestershire
Frederick Harrison 19 Son ? St Owins Herefordshire
Catharine Harrison 16 Daughter ? St Owins Herefordshire
Eliza Ann Harrison 14 Daughter ? St Owins Herefordshire
Mary Ann Harrison 11 Daughter Ross Herefordshire
Alice Harrison 9 Daughter Ross Herefordshire
William Hy Harrison 7 Son Son Goodrich Herefordshire
Henry C Harrison 3 Son Goodrich Herefordshire
Elizabeth Harrison 9 months Daughter Goodrich Herefordshire
The two question marks in the occupations for daughters I have mulled over and I would say were 'servant' dittoed. I still can't be definite about Frederick's occupation but on the 1871 census Frederick John Harrison aged 39 born Ross, living in Birmingham was a 'fish salesman'.
Regards
Valda
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slewi4
RootsChat Member
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Posts: 199
Census information Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
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Ah, all is now clear, 
Thanks for taking the time to recheck the image Valda. Finding Caroline as Catherine solves the mystery of where she was in 1851 - all I had was the christening in 1835 and a very probable marriage (groom uncertain) in 1853 at Aston registration district. I should have guessed that this family considered the names interchangable - there was a niece (daughter of Eliza Ann) whose birth was registered as Catherine, but was christened Caroline.
Thanks again
Sandra
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England: Brown Kingscliffe NTH, Ellis Balsall WAR, Lewis Hereford HEF, Oliver Morpeth NBL, Wall Coventry/Balsall WAR, Watkins Eardisley/Clifford HEF
Ireland: Culhane Limerick; Doolan Clare
Wales: Lewis BRE/DEN, Jones Eglwysbach DEN
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