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Topic: Address/1891 Census District for Ashwood House - Kingswinford (Read 568 times)
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Jenny Wood
RootsChat Extra
Posts: 88
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Hi,
I'm hoping someone may be able to help out. I am trying to find a g-g-g-aunt of mine on the 1891 census.
Her name is Julia Wood and she was born in May 1817 in Oaken, Staffordshire. She was institutionalised by her family in 1875 after being significantly involved with the New Forest Shakers and died in an institution in 1903.
In 1891 I believe she was in Ashwood House (Lunatic Asylum), Kingswinford. She was moved from Laverstock in Wiltshire in Dec 1881 (I have the 1881 census), but a book on institutions ( Louisa Lowe, The Bastilles of England or The Lunacy Laws at Work (London, Crookenden and Co.) 1883.) believes she was in Ashwood House, Kingswinford at the time of publication. I know she was there in 1903 when she died and I've found her in the 1901 census Kingswinford (RG13/2758) marked as a lunatic and living on own means.
The asylums seem to respect the privacy of their patients by using only the initials of the patient within the census return, so it is really necessary to go page by page. The problem I am having is finding the right district in the 1891 census to review. I have looked at the description of each district in Kingswinford and St Mary and cannot find any that refers to Ashwood House I'm hoping that some kind person may be able to help with the address or help with how I can work out which district to search - is there a map of the districts? (I've even tried searching without names to find patients in Kingswinford - with no success.)
Jenny.
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AYRES - Surrey, Maitland
ATKINS - Kent, Sydney, Brisbane
CAMPBELL - Isle of Skye, Chatsworth Island NSW
CONNORS - Scotland, Ireland, Sydney
FLANAGAN - Scotland, Sydney
HOUWELING - Netherlands
PETCH - Kent, Australia
TREVITT - Newark
VICKERS - Birmngham, Oaken
WATSON - Isle of Man, Chatsworth Island NSW
WATTS - Kent, Maitland
WOOD - Oaken, Broseley, Barrow, Penkridge, Brisbane
WORTELBOER - Netherlands
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casalguidi
Global Moderator
RootsChat Marquessate
Posts: 11918
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Hi Jenny
It isn't always the case that the full names of patients aren't given in the census returns. Chartham Asylum in Kent has them all listed in 1891.
Casalguidi
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casalguidi
Global Moderator
RootsChat Marquessate
Posts: 11918
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The following link gives a list of institutions in the 1901 census. Obviously the reference numbers won't be the same for 1891 but most of the places probably would be:
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/jeffery.knaggs/Instuts.html
Whilst I can find plenty of info on asylums, I can't find anything online about Ashwood House. Was it known by some other name at some stage?
Casalguidi
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Jenny Wood
RootsChat Extra
Posts: 88
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Thanks for the replies they are really appreciated and are very helpful.
It is Ashwood House on her death certificate, Ashwood Asylum on the 1901 census, and Ashwood House in the 1883 book. I can find an Ashwood House, Ashwood Marina, Ashwood, Kingswinford on the British post office site, but I went through the district descriptions looking for Ashwood and didn't find the word.
The link you found which has the index for the 1901 is really useful - it suggests that Ashwood House is not large enough to be classified as an institution and would be recorded in amongst the other returns for the area (at least it wasn't in 1901). This supports my theory that the return will be embeded in the middle of a district and may explain why I can't find it. There are 46 districts in Kingswinford I may just have to go through them all.
The Birmingham census is facinating (what a huge institution) - but I couldn't see her there. They have referred to the patients using first initial and surname. I have tried through the online index searching for J W, Julia W, Julia Wood and J Wood - as well as for patient and inmate in Kingswinford. The 1901 census for Ashwood refers to her as J W as does the 1881 for Laverstock (which is where she was until Dec 1881).
There is the remote option that she wasn't in *that* institution at that time - there had already been some strange goings on with her being discharged and readmitted the same day so that they could say in parliament that she had been released (they neglected to say she had been readmitted immediately). There was quite an uproar about her initial commitment as her lunacy was in holding different religious beliefs to her family (and funding the New Forest Shakers purchase of a house) and there was a strong view that she was commited to take away her money and to stop her embarrassing the family not because of her lunacy. The book that I am using as reference states that "She is now understood to be at Ashwood House, Kingswinford, near Dudley"
That all being said I am sure she was in some form of institution as she died in 1903 (at the age of 86) in Ashwood House.
I'll have to keep thinking. Thanks for the help as you have given me more information to throw into the mix.
Jenny
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AYRES - Surrey, Maitland
ATKINS - Kent, Sydney, Brisbane
CAMPBELL - Isle of Skye, Chatsworth Island NSW
CONNORS - Scotland, Ireland, Sydney
FLANAGAN - Scotland, Sydney
HOUWELING - Netherlands
PETCH - Kent, Australia
TREVITT - Newark
VICKERS - Birmngham, Oaken
WATSON - Isle of Man, Chatsworth Island NSW
WATTS - Kent, Maitland
WOOD - Oaken, Broseley, Barrow, Penkridge, Brisbane
WORTELBOER - Netherlands
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casalguidi
Global Moderator
RootsChat Marquessate
Posts: 11918
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Found it!!
Do you have access online?
RG12/2306 folio 145 page 26
I looked at 1901 and found some people living nearby and looked for them in 1891.
She's there. J W boarder 74 living on her own means b.Codsall (lunatic)
Whilst scouting around, I found just a couple of refs. to it on the web - it was obviously privately run and, I should imagine, expensive as those refs. that I have found relate to people with "money". Money was quite a powerful thing wasn't it!
A sad story but very interesting.
Best wishes
Casalguidi
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Jenny Wood
RootsChat Extra
Posts: 88
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I don't know how to thank you for the help. What a wonderful piece of lateral thinking. Absolutely amazing.
I do have access online so I will look it up.
The story is very sad. The book that I have refers to her in 1883 as having become resigned to her fate and administering assistance to the less fortunate in the asylum with her (that was after 8 years). She then lived for another 20 years.
She had travelled to America and was independant and wealthy from prior to her fathers death in 1849. Her mistake was funding the New Forest Shakers who were basically a religious cult who believed a lady named Mary Ann Girling was the reincarnation of Christ (okay so its a little weird but no more so than some of the current religions that exist). Her brother was trying to get ahead in the C of E and she kept on ending up in the Times and embarrassing him. Her situation was brought up in parliament and was frequently used as an example of an unjust usage of mental institutions by more powerful male relatives - but to little success. The religion basically disintegrated once she was incarcerated.
Again I can't thank you enough for the help.
Jenny.
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AYRES - Surrey, Maitland
ATKINS - Kent, Sydney, Brisbane
CAMPBELL - Isle of Skye, Chatsworth Island NSW
CONNORS - Scotland, Ireland, Sydney
FLANAGAN - Scotland, Sydney
HOUWELING - Netherlands
PETCH - Kent, Australia
TREVITT - Newark
VICKERS - Birmngham, Oaken
WATSON - Isle of Man, Chatsworth Island NSW
WATTS - Kent, Maitland
WOOD - Oaken, Broseley, Barrow, Penkridge, Brisbane
WORTELBOER - Netherlands
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