The Burnley Union

[glen11]

Hi,Yes,both of them.The Library looked,they have nothing and the archives say i can go and look at the directories-as if-i live in the West Midlands!

[mosiefish]

Looking at the Lancashire Library Catalogue Burnley, Colne and Nelson Libraries hold copies of Barretts 1905 and 1908.   1905 has already been checked by Claire.

Mo

[glen11]

Its 1906 i need.

[Pennines]

Stockbridge Rd, Padiham still exists -- you can see it on Google Street View. A fairly long street of normal terraced houses.

If you 'walk' along it, you should be able to get a downloaded picture of number 12 (if you want it!).

Have you checked for a baptism for this child? Did this take place after returning to the home town - or might there be one in Padiham? If there is one in Padiham, the house owner may have been a godparent - as presumably, no close family members would be there.

The on-line baptisms for St Leonards Padiham, cover that period and can be found on this site;
www.lan-opc.org.uk

Maybe it's a simple case of the parents of the pregnant girl wanting her to have her baby elsewhere - to prevent gossip. Someone could have known someone - who knew someone else - who would be willing to take her in during this time.

[glen11]

We dont know where she was living before the baby was born.Took her back to some relatives and registered her as per declaration,so she was recorded as having been born in Padiham.Then the trail goes cold until 1911 when her mother was back home with her parents,no sign of the child.Her mother married 1912 and the girl who was now 6 was brought up by her step-father.Thanks for all your thoughts and help.

[mosiefish]

The 1908 would probably be the better option than the 1906.  The information for these directories was sometimes as much as 18 months old by the time it went to print.

If I get the chance I will check the 1908 directory.

Mo

[glen11]

If you could,it would mean so much.Glenys

[littlelorn]

Further to your enquiry I have just received a PDF (these have just been released this week) of a relatives birth certificate from the GRO that has 'The Burnley Union' for the Superintendant Registrars District.  I already had a copy of her birth certificate that I ordered years which only says 'Burnley'. As we know that the PDF comes from the original register I think that the districts are one and the same and that she was NOT born in the workhouse but in the district that surrounds it. However I am going to make further enquiries into this and will, hopefully, keep you posted.

[AntonyMMM]

Registration Districts were set up in 1837 using the geographic areas covered by the existing Poor Law Unions, in the early years many districts used the word "Union" in the District name, but quite quickly this seems to have been dropped.

It has no connection to a birth being in the workhouse.