1851 Census Norwich

[aelf]

Hello again,

Quick note - I went back to Norwich last week.  Spent most of the time on other branches of my tree, but did establish I had mis-transcribed Stephen Bloom's burial; date was 7 April 1854 not 7 Feb.

Larry

[JerryWymer]

Hello again,

Quick note - I went back to Norwich last week.  Spent most of the time on other branches of my tree, but did establish I had mis-transcribed Stephen Bloom's burial; date was 7 April 1854 not 7 Feb.

Larry

I believe Stephen Francis Bloom, to give him his full name, was my great great great grandfather.  He died on 1st April 1854 at Brooke's Yard, St Martin at Oak.  The informant was E Knights who was present at death, which logically would be Emily Knights.  His age was given as 75, which means the information on this thread about him being 70 on the 1851 census doesn't quite tally up. 

If anyone can supply more information about him, his removal order etc, it would be most welcomed.

[aelf]

I doubt whether any age in the 1851 census can be trusted to be accurate for the Blooms/Knights.  Charles Knights, my great-great grandfather is said to be 10 but all the other censuses (including 1841 where hios surname is Bloom) and certificates suggest he would have been born around 16.  I don't think the family was particularly keen on giving accurate information to the authorities - not surprising if they thought they might be shipped off to Suffolk at short notice!
The removal order is in the Suffolk Record Office in Ipswich.  I haven't seen it but the listing on the Access To Archives site shows him as a linen-weaver with wife Lydia and 2 children, from "St George of Colegate" to Mendlesham.  I think by this time you could only be "removed" if you were actually about to become a charge on the parish, so presumably they were broke by 14 April 1829.  What I don't know is how they could stop you coming back, if you found a way of getting enough cash to avoid being noticed.  They were back within 2 years because their last child, Richard, was baptised in St George Colegate on 29 July 1831 and Lydia was buried on the same day.  She died on the 26th, presumably in childbirth, so presumably that was also Richard's birthday.

[JerryWymer]

Thanks for that information.  His death certificate says he was a weaver so it fits in.  His son Francis Stephen set up a succesful Horsehair Manufacturing business in Norwich, which lasted for well over 50 years.  It's early days yet for me as I have only started researching this, but it would appear that Stephen's poor situation could have been a catalyst for his son to be successful. 

There is a large family memorial in Rosary Cemetery which I presume was instigated by Francis, and an indication of the wealth they would have had then, compared to his father.

I also tend to agree with the earlier comment that Stephen could have fathered the children of his step-daughter Emily Knights. 

[aelf]

Charles Knights probably worked for the same business - he was a horsehair draughter, died 12 December 1895 in Norwich though I don't have the address.
Charles's son Charles John Knights was my great grandfather and was also a horsehair draughter.  He was born 21 October 1859 and died 23 June 1883 at Duck Lane, St Benedict's.  His death was reported by the coroner, as natural causes.  I believe he died some time after being injured in some sort of accident involving a cart, but this is a third-hand report via my daughter, who was not given any names when she was told; the source of the story now has Alzheimers so I'm unable to verify the facts.
We may be libelling Stephen concerning the paternity of Emily's children, but there's no other father in sight and the births start a few years after Lydia's death.  I think it's either that, or Emily was a prostitute because if there was any other sort of informal relationship there tends to be some indication such as the father's surname being used as a middle name for the child - at least that seems to be the pattern with many of my ancestors.  Fortunately the dead can't sue.

[JerryWymer]

Hopefully I will find out more soon and let you know.  As for libelling, as you point out the dead can't sue.  As both a writer and publisher I can assure you we have nothing to worry about here! 

Would be intrigued to know more behind your thinking that Emily could have been a prostitute.  Just speculation? 

As I said I've only just started looking in to my family but I hope to go through old newspapers soon.  There might be info about the removal order, and perhaps if she was a prostitute, she may have come in contact with the law.  What do you think? 

[aelf]

Yes, the prostitution theory is pure speculation, if "pure" is the right word in this context.  I don't mean it was necessarily a full-time career, just that her economic situation might make her rather more open to negotiation than someone with a bit more financial security.  It's an argument from absence, but with all my other Norfolk ancestors (and they are all from Norfolk back to 1800 and beyond, except for Emily from Hoxne) there is a man in the background somewhere in this sort of case, and there are plenty of them - Victorian values weren't invented until the 1920s.

I also hope to go through some old papers as well, particlarly to see if there's a report of an inquest on Charles Knights as well as another ancestor in a different branch who die "by the visitation of God".

Even if the dead wanted to sue they would lose.  The ones in Hell would have their evidence disbelieved and the ones in Heaven would probably have difficulty finding a lawyer.

[JerryWymer]

As I am focusing on the Bloom's I want to try and get to the bottom of this.  Firstly I want to establish when Stephen's son Francis established his horsehair business.  I think it was probably in the 1850s, although clearly too late to financially support his father who was clearly quite poor. 

I know that an 1892 Trade directory lists Francis Stephen & Son, horsehair manufacturers at Oak St, St Martins at Oak & Horsham St Faith's.  There is also a map of Norwich dated 1885 showing the factory in St Martin's St (I think it might have been renamed Oak Street).  On the south side of the factory is Queen Caroline Yard and on the north side, what was commonly called White Lion Yard, but on this map is listed as Bloom's Yard, so clearly Francis had become a very succesful business man, unlike his father who if all the theory's are correct was not only poor but something of a rogue as well!  I have had copies of this map made.

[aelf]

I'm pretty certain some members of the extended family viewed Bloom and Knights as interchangeable surnames.   I have also heard deeply politically incorrect rumours passed down from a deceased aunt, who married into the line, that the Knights were probably, shock horror, gypsies.  May be true, certainly brushmaking which involved horsehair draughting seems to have been an intinerant occupation.  I also wonder whether the Bloomfields who lived around Mendlesham may have been distantly related.
It's sometimes a relief to get back from this branch to look at the family my Knights grandmother married into; their surname doesn't change, on the other hand it's Smith.