Census lookup 1881-1891 - GOODWIN

[Terryjc]

Hi

Trying to find the names of the parents and siblings of Edith Francis Goodwin, born 19 July 1879 in Dawlish.

Edith later emigrated to Christchurch, New Zealand where she was married in Feb 1901.

Regards

Terry

[trish251]

Hi Terry

You can check the 1881 yourself here
http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/frameset_search.asp?PAGE=census/search_census.asp

Are you sure of the details? The only possibility I can find in the BDM records
is Edith Fanny Goodwin Sep Qtr 1880 St Thomas Devon (Dawlish is in Devon, not Somerset  from my Parloc program) Vol 5b page 80

You should be able to find the family in 1881 on the above link. They are all said to be born in Kenton, which is 4 miles from Dawlish. They are living in Kenton - this is the reference RG11 / 2148   Fol 94 P 4
Parents are Thomas 29,  Fanny 28 and they are living with the parents William 73 and  Mary 64. Edith is listed as 7 months

Let me know if this is the right family & I'll check 1891 for you

Trish

[Terryjc]

Hi Trish

The information comes from family records/letters.  Perhaps I have been hasty in accepting them and not doing the hard yards with formal death and marriage certificates.

She was known officially in NZ as Edith Frances and the burial info from the cemetery records gives her date of death as 2 Aug 1955 and age as 75, making her birth date before Aug 1880.  However the same record gives her years in NZ as 65, when it is also known that she left the UK on 6 May 1898 in the company of a Mr & Mrs C J Kerr.  Her birth place on the burial record is given as Exeter, but family history has her coming from Dawlish.

Where to go from here

Regards  Terry

[trish251]

Hi Terry

I wouldn't be concerned about the Fanny and Frances - I have so many family members baptised with a shortened form of their name (probably by the father  ) and called by the full name and of course the reverse. FreeBDM is virtually complete for the approx time of her birth and there are no other possibilities that I can find. You could search the full registers for perhaps 2 years around your date - but I doubt your will find another person - however, you probably need to do this to ensure for yourself that the 1880 lass is yours. If you know the 19th July is correct, then purchasing the certificate will confirm whether or not this is the date. I don't see alot of other options, if you currently have no idea of the parent names.

I have a number of misleading facts on some Australian relatives - a gravestone in Victoria states born 1832 - the parish record in Scotland says 1830 (perhaps a deliberate lie to the Australian wife - she was significantly younger  )

Dawlish is very close to where the family I found were living in 1881, so that fits reasonably well. Was there some reason you thought the family came from Somerset rather than Devon, because all the place names seem to fit Devon - My UK geography is not the best.

Did Edith come to NZ by herself? or with other family members - this would help to determine if we found the right family. Alternatively, We could check 1901 to see if  she is missing from the family I found in 1881.

The registration district of St Thomas makes no mention of Dawlish, but it was replaced by Exeter. Kenton is part of this District.
http://www.fhsc.org.uk/genuki/reg/districts/st%20thomas.html

I shall check 1891 - perhaps the family moved to Dawlish.

Trish

[trish251]

Hi Terry

I can't find any of the family I found in 1881 in 1891. This had me going back to your details.

- If she died 2 Aug 1955  aged 75, a birthdate of  19Jul 1880 would fit this age. She would have just turned 75.

- If she came to Australia aged 10 (and thus not on the 1891 census) she would have been in NZ for 65 years. Is it possible the family came out & perhaps sent her back to School & she came out again later with Mr & Mrs Kerr?

It may just be that I can't find them on the census, but I have tried alot of options.

Trish

[Terryjc]

Hi Trish

The original posting on the Somerset board was a simple error on my part and probably would have continued if you hadn't picked it up, so thanks for that.  Thanks also for the effort that you have put into searching the records for me.

To give a little more background, Edith was the only family member to come to NZ and as a young single girl she was accompanied on the voyage by a married couple.  She took the position of housekeeper to the family of a widower (5 children ages from 3 to 15), ended up marrying the widower and went on to have nine children of her own.  She must have been a very stong lass.

Don't know why the family should vanish. Did your 1891 census search cover all of England and Wales?
and are they still missing in the 1901 census?

I think the best thing for me to do is to start properly and search the NZ marriage cert in the hope of picking up the names of Edith's parents and hopefully come back again with more information.

Thanks again

Regards Terry

[trish251]

Thanks for the extra information - I have been searching all of England and Wales (but not Scotland - maybe they went North  ). I shall have another look - meanwhile, if you do find  the parent names it will be easier to verify any data found.  It's good practice for "name interpretation" looking for other folks families on the census - but much more satisfying for all, if you can, in fact, find them.  It's hard to have to admit defeat.

I am, still of the opinion that the birth record found could well be your lady.

Trish

[Terryjc]

Trish

I would have to agree with you that the Edith Fanny birth record is probably the correct one.  A closer look at family documents shows that she named her eldest daughter Edith Fanny , not Edith Frances.


I will still try and confirm the parents with a marriage cert as soon as I can, and then begin the hunt for them.

Regards

Terry

[trish251]

Hi Terry

I could not find any other information on the family I found in 1881    Given that you think this may be your correct Edith, I'll have another look, but there seems to have been some enumerator spelling or transcription of same that I am finding hard to find.

Trish