Stepney Address.

[dsandsue]

yes....  he was born around 1862 (according to the censuses) in Poland (or perhaps Lithuania), and I calculate he and his wife reached London in the 1880s....I have him/them in 1891, 1901 and 1911....
because of his very common name (Isaac Levy) it took me literally years (and pounds and pounds) to find his death certificate and burial, but I have them...

Best wishes
Derek
PS This is probably a little off-topic for Rootsweb - will happily continue by e-mail if you like.

[Romilly]

No go, re: 'Supervised searches' I'm afraid. This is the reply I've had from the LMA:

'Due to Data Protection legislation you will not be able to search the records yourself.  We do not have the staff resources to allow 'Supervised Searches' of the kind you suggested.  As explained previously, you will need to use our Family History Research Service'. 

Best Wishes, Romilly.

[dsandsue]

Oh !!!!!!!!!!!!!
Derek

[Romilly]

Oh !!!!!!!!!!!!!
Derek

Quite...

I shall let it lie for now, - but will possibly look into it at some stage in the future.

Best Wishes, Romilly.

[dsandsue]

Hello again Romilly
It's been years since we exchanged messages about Southern Grove....I had to leave my research for some time because I was ill....a on the mend now and hope to  go to England early next month to visit LMA and hopefully to get some info on Southern Grove....did you ever get any joy from LMA?  Do you have any advice for when I visit?
With kind reagrds
Derek

[Romilly]

Hi Derek,

No, I got no further with the LMA:-( They are sticking to the '100 year rule' on opening such records. I was told, (over the phone) that all I would get from viewing the records that they do hold would just be a few dates, i.e date of admittance, etc.

Since my original post I have been able to find much more info on my late Uncle though. I obtained copies of his CS10 forms, (Merchant Navy Service). These gave me the dates of his Service, and when he left. He then spent some time as a Ship's Night Watchman. However, his health deteriorated, and my late Father, (who was a Welfare Officer with the LCC) facilitated his entry to Southern Grove. I have now located where he was Buried.

In view of this, I haven't persued the LMA's paid research option. I doubt that it would tell me anything that I haven't already been able to find out.

Best Wishes with your research,
Romilly.

[dsandsue]

Hello again
Thanks for taking the trouble to reply.  Things are even worse now..their charge for them to look at the records is now 80 pounds per hr.  I had asked them about a particular school record and they replied "An Admission & Discharge Register for girls from Old Montague Street School for 1903 - 1926 is held here. School Records are subject to a period of restricted access in order to protect the confidentiality of living individuals. This follows a recent decision by the Information Commissioner. It is therefore not possible for you to consult the records yourself. However if you are able to provide proof of the death of the individual concerned we are able to undertake the search on your behalf."
This is crazy: I specifically asked about the register for 1911 - well over 100 years ago!  And yes! I do have the death certificates - and why the restriction on this specific school when other registers are freely searchable both online and on site.   
And how come the confidentiality is respected if a strange archivist looks at the record and not a direct descendant?
Sorry to sound off, but it annoyed me.
Glad that your research seems to going well, good on ya!
Best wishes
Derek

[msmaureen]

By the way, I also found the following on Google, just in case you haven't seen it:
http://www.mile-end-residents.co.uk/the-south-grove-workhouse/

Derek

By the way, I also found the following on Google, just in case you haven't seen it:
http://www.mile-end-residents.co.uk/the-south-grove-workhouse/
Derek

Yes thanks I'd seen that one.

Btw, have you found your GreatGrandfather on the various Censuses?
Romilly.

wow, that's terrific...  really good to know... thanks so much
Derek

Hello to Romilly and DsandSue,

Hope you will forgive my ignorance, but this is my first time on this website and found by just doing some browsing.

When I was 6 years old in 1948, right after the war, we had nowhere to live. So my mother and three sisters and I were sent to live in Southern Grove Lodge.  It was called an institution in those days, however some women sang workhouse songs. 

I do recall elderly residents who lived in another area of Southern Grove Lodge because whenever I walked past them, they would want to talk to me, but I was scared of them. 

Only women and children (up to age 15) were allowed to live there - in dormitories.   Men were not allowed to even enter the building.  I recall one morning upon waking up and there was talking about an elderly man had come into our dormitory, opened a window and jumped out, and killed himself.

We went to Guardian Angels School, where the playground was on the roof!

We stayed at Southern Grove Lodge for several months. Mum wanted to move, however we did return to it again in about 1952/3, and we were given a house in Harold Hill, Romford.

I would say about why the LMA will not give out the personal information for you to see because of any living relatives who think it's a stigma.  I've always thought that people should never be ashamed of being poor.

I'm 77 now, but remember my childhood and, the strange thing is, we remember more the older we get.

Over the years, I've often searched for Southern Grove Lodge without much success. No doubt, the 'powers that be' want to hide the majority of workhouses.

Kind regards,  Morsie x

[Romilly]

Hello Maureen,

And welcome to Rootschat.

I don't know if you followed Derek's Link, (above) but I'll re-post it here, so that you can have a look:

http://www.mile-end-residents.co.uk/the-south-grove-workhouse/

I'm sorry to hear that parts of your childhood were so tough,
- sadly I think things are even worse nowadays:-(

And yes, - you're right, - the older we get, - the more we remember times past!

All Best Wishes, Romilly.