Was there a traineeship to be a barge boy?

[Abygail]

I'm hoping to find some additional information.   The people were living at 4, Hall's Yard, Waterside, Lincoln in 1919.    The mother was Annie Louisa LAWSON age 34.   Her male friend, William NORTH, aged 68.   Annie's eldest child, Thomas LAWSON age 18 was allegedly working on a barge, her two daughters, Annie Louisa (14) and Frances Sarah LAWSON were in a Barnardo's home.   Her youngest, William LAWSON was dead, apparently the result of an accident.
I have found information about her 2 daughters and would like to find something extra about Thomas and William (NORTH).    According to the addmission papers from Barnard's NORTH was the allegedly father of Annie's 3 younger children.   Is anyone able to help find something new about this family?

[Geoff E]

A William Stanley LAWSON was buried Lincoln 10 July 1918 aged 9

possible birth

Births Jun 1909
LAWSON    William Stanley        E Retford    7b   6

[loo]

Those who operated barges were called lightermen.  There was an apprenticeship to become a lighterman.  There might be records of him being such an apprentice.  Some lightermen were also watermen, and vice versa, and the records of both should be searched, if available.  Lightermen operated cargo barges;  watermen transported people.

[Abygail]

Thanks loo,
All this info is taken on board and duly processed.   I really have no expectations with this family, nearly everything that has been passed on orally has been seriously embellished.   Seems to have been a lot of heartache over at least 3 generations.    I need to find where the mother was born, all I have is Frances's birth certificate, and her mothers age when she was taken into care at Barnardo's (34 Y). 
At least I have another avenue to research, if nothing else I am learning at lot about our history.

[loo]

Perhaps you had these births already, but here goes, from freebmd:

LAWSON,  Annie Louisa     Barton Regis  March quarter, 1886,  volume 8a, page 162.
(Barton Regis is Gloucestershire, Bristol area.)

LAWSON,  Anne Louisa     Sleaford  December quarter 1886, vol.7a  page 414.  But freebmd tells us that page 414 did not apply to this area.  After looking at several versions of the page number online, I think it must be 444, so you could try that.

I prefer the first one because it is explicitly "Annie".  However, Sleaford is apparently in Lincolnshire, so that may be more promising for you.

I would think it was worth investing in a birth certificate, although it will be difficult to say for sure if you have the right one.  But, from that, you may get a family of origin, and then siblings, etc., and descendants of siblings, and something may start to fit together.  There is no such thing as useless information!

The fact that all her children had the same surname suggests to me that she had not married.  She seemed to have lived a "difficult" life, and I would have expected more than one marriage out of it, if she was the marrying kind.

[loo]

In Lincoln in 1891, RG number: RG12   Piece:2587   Folio:40 P  age:8     
Registration District:  Lincoln
Sub District:  Lincoln South-West EnumerationDistrict:  3 
Address:  Church Lane, Harmston
LAWSON, Annie, age 5, b.Harmston, Lincs
LAWSON, Richard Head Married  34  Coal Dealer,  b.Saxilby Lincolnshire
LAWSON, Elizabeth Ann Wife Married  33,  b.Wellingore Lincolnshire   
LAWSON, John Wm Son   11  b.? Yorkshire
LAWSON, Catherine L Daughter   9,  b.Waddington, Lincolnshire
LAWSON, Watson Son   7  b. Harmston, Lincs

Censuses copyright National ARchives.

The one in Bristol area 1891 is
RG number:RG12   Piece:1980   Folio:84    Page:12 Registration District:  Barton Regis
Sub District: St Philip & St Jacob
EnumerationDistrict:5 
Ecclesiastical Parish:St Simons
Address:  22 Waverley Street, St Philip & St Jacob Out, Bristol.
LAWSON, Edwin Head Married  36  Cabinet Maker,  b.Kenilworth
LAWSON, Emily Wife Married  36   b.Bristol
LAWSON, Frances E Daughter   11   b.Bristol 
LAWSON, Annie L Daughter   5   b.Bristol
LAWSON, Edwin E Son   3   b.Bristol
LAWSON, Mabel R Daughter   1   b.Bristol
 

[Abygail]

Hi loo,
thanks for you hard work it is appreciated, I need to find out when she died and if she was still single.   My informant thinks she may have married later in life, only he doesn't remember the surname,:) Ahh nothing like a mystery to keep you awake at night.  The 1st one looks more encouraging, the repeating of Christian names.    Regards Abygail

[loo]

For the marriage and death, you could try trawling through ancestry.com, which you may be able to access for free at a public library in your area.  It may take a little time, but you should be able to find her.  If you don't have such a library, somebody here may be able to help you, someone who has an ancestry sub.

I had a situation the same as yours, actually, in terms of marriage after child, 20th C.  A newly discovered distant relative tipped me off to the marriage.  I found the marriage and the death (and the child, now 80, eventually!).  There was no substitute for trawling through ancestry, as far as I could tell.

A marriage will give you the names of witnesses, who may or may not be critically important.  If you're lucky, they will be rellies.  In the case I mentioned above, her brother was a witness, which was a surprise, as she seemed to have been alienated from her family, including this brother (whose children never knew of the marriage until I dug it up 70 years later!).  If you have something like that, it will narrow down the choice of family of origin considerably.

Have you gotten to the bottom of the Barnardo children - i.e. found out what happened to them in the end?  A lot of them got sent to Canada, and there is an organization of them here in Canada.  I believe they have been fighting for their rights of some sort, but I haven't followed the situation.

[Geoff E]

For the marriage and death, you could try trawling through ancestry.com, which you may be able to access for free at a public library in your area.  It may take a little time, but you should be able to find her.

You need not go to a library, you can do it in the comfort of your own home (free!)

http://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/rectype/vital/freebmd/bmd.aspx

Choose "Complete BMD Index 1837-1983" Births, Marriages or Deaths