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You might like to read also another bit of Peter Higginbotham's splendid work http://www.workhouses.org.uk/life/entry.shtml which explains that people weren't actually put in the workhouse but entered of their own volition because of whatever unfortunate circumstances they found themselves in.  A possible scenario might have been that she left him as your grandfather tells the story, or he left her (with another family perhaps that is likely) and whatever, she had no means of supporting herself and had to apply to enter the workhouse.

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The story is that he paid a docker to say he had been having an affair with her so he could blacken her character, not sure if she knew of his wanderings at that time. The women had an illegitimate child and was married off to a widower after the birth. Her birth certificate said father unknown but we think he was the father. She then had two more children whose names were registered as Lewis.
My grandfather only saw his mother once after she left that's how we know that she was in Salford and it was not long before she died. There shouldn't have been any reason for her to be penniless, he had owned a fishing vessel, the home they lived in and the house that his other family lived in. He wasn't able to marry again until Mary died in 1925.
Many thanks.

Mary Shaw Lewis nee Hanley born Goole 1860.

Listed in the 1901 Kirkham Workhouse census Mary Lewis is listed as Pauper Domestic Servant. If this is my great grandmother and I'm pretty sure it is, I am trying to find the Workhouse records to see who put her there and why she was in there. She was married to a Fleetwood Skipper Leo Lewis and had 2 sons aged 12 and 10. The story my grandfather was told, the 10 year old, that she had left them and they 'went into care'. His father had another family which I don't think he was aware of and on the census records I have found him and his brother with this family. When his father and his other family left for Barnet he and his brother were left behind in Fleetwood. I have found a death record for Mary in Salford in 1925.

 Elizabeth Thomas was born in Birmingham, are there any of the ones you have found saying place of birth.  I found an Elizabeth Williams living with her daughter Elizabeth and family aged 92 on a census.  Her husband had died before John Bradley took his family to Utah and I have seen him listed as innkeeper Lamb & Flag. Maybe when they left Elizabeth moved to live with her daughter. There are a few Moses Williams but not in that area of Wales. I've looked for the BeesoJones site and can no longer find it.  It's a shame as it was a very informative site.

Hello There,

This is complicated, but I will try to make it as brief as I can:)

Information required on most of the children of:
Samuel Reynolds and Mary Bishop, both born Sutton Coldfield,Warwickshire. Samuel born c.1762 and Mary c. 1757.
They married April 29th 1778 in Harbourne Staffs.


1. Thomas Reynolds born 24th Sept 1784 Great Barr Stafford. Info. from old site of Familysearch.org
2. Samuel Reynolds Born c.1786 Great Barr Stafford. Info. same as above.
3. Mary Reynolds Born 27th April 1787 Great Barr Stafford. Info. same as above.
4. Ann Sophia Reynolds Born 11th December 1789 Great Barr Stafford. Info same as above.

5. Richard Reynolds Born 15th July 1791 in Sutton Coldfield Warks.
Christened in Great Barr Stafford and buried Sutton Coldfield.
Info same as above.
6. William Reynolds born c 1793 Great Barr Stafford.Info. same as above,
but I may have found him on the 1841, 1851, 1861 and 1871 census returns with wife Mary Churmage. Marriage found on Free Reg 22nd October 1832 in Wolverhampton Staffs.

7. Charles Reynolds born c 1795 Great Barr Stafford.Died 1795
Info. same as above.
8. John Reynolds Born c. 1795 Great Barr Stafford. Wife Elizabeth Leedham married 11th December 1815 this from old site of Familysearch.org
I may have found him on 1841 and 1851 censu returns.
9. Sarah Reynolds Born 10th December 1796 Great Barr Stafford.
Married William Prince 16th June 1817 in Sutton Coldfield
Died 16th January 1865 this from old site of Familysearch.org (I have the death cert for this)
I have Sarah abd William through 1841 Census to 1861 Census.
10. Charles Reynolds Born c 1799 Great Barr Stafford. This from NEW  site of Familysearch.org
11. Ann Reynolds Born.10th May 1802 Sutton Coldfieldfrom Old site of Familysearch.org
12.Elizabeth Reynolds Born 16th January 1806 Sutton Coldfield this also from Old site of Familysearch.org

All have the same parents Samuel Reynolds and Mary.

Great Barr Stafford and Sutton Coldfield are borderline to each other.

There is also a mystery about Thomas born c 1784, in as much as he had an illegitimate son named William born c. 1843?? who eventually became known as William Hunter Reynolds, as his 'mother' was Ann Hunter, with whom Thomas had the affair. A lot of this is proved in Thomas's (1784' Will which I have, and the newspaper report at the time, in The Times, which I have when it became a court case. This last info is from a new family connection who contacted me.

I would like to add that I only have one child born to Thomas (1784) and that is John Reynolds born c 1812 Walsall Staffs, and his mother being Sarah Gould.
Need to find her death, because my contact has Thomas (1784) as being married to someone named Frances (1841 and 1851 Census)
and Frances is also mentioned in his Will.

So, if Sarah had died, could Frances be Thomas's (1784) 2nd wife, or was she just living with him on the 1841/1851 and got married later,.
Do not know the surname of Frances, although I did find a marriage in 1844 of a Frances Hall being married to Thomas Reynolds, but they got married in Stepney???

Told you it was complicated:) Can anyone help with any of this??

All the best
Regards
Gillianr

I was just wondering if you sorted your  Thomas Reynolds as I have a Thomas Reynolds born in Great Barr with a father Samuel and same siblings but my Thomas was married to a Mary Aldridge. I won't list all of the family but if you are still hitting a brick wall then I will.