Some advice please

[carrielovesfanta]

Hi all,

I'd relly appreciate some thoughts on the following problem. I have been looking for the parents of Sarah Ann Bevis (born c.1841). Sarah Ann tends to call herself Ann.

1901 census: born c.1839 in Fyfield. Living with her daughter, son and son-in-law in Navestock.
1891 census: born c.1841 in Willingale Doe. Living at Ongar Workhouse.
1881 census: born c.1841 in Willingale Doe. Living at Ongar Workhouse.
1871 census: born c.1840 in Willingale Doe. Living at Ongar Workhouse.
All registered under Ann.

I have her daughter Elizabeth's birth cert where she calls herself Sarah Ann.

The only possibility I have for her as a child is as follows:
1851 census: Sarah Bevis, 9 years old, born Fyfield (lodger with a family, along with her brother Isaiah)
1861 census: Sarah A Beeves, 19 yrs old, born Fyfield. (living with her father James and brother Isaiah)
Both in Willingale Doe.

Seems fairly simple except in 1871, there is an entry:
Sarah Beives, 26 yrs old, born Matching Green, livng in Willingale Doe with her father James (whose age and pob are consistent with the James from the 1861 census)

Do you guys think that it's possible that Sarah was registered twice? Once as Sarah and once as Ann, or are these two different women?

Thanks very much in advance.

Caz

[Shropshire Lass]

Do you know anything more about her?  The Ann in the 1871-1901 is listed as a widow.  That means either she started life with a different surname or do you know that the children were illegitimate and the "widow" label was to look respectable?

Monica

[carrielovesfanta]

I'm pretty sure that the children were illegitimate. Elizabeth (her second child, born 1865) is registered as Elizabeth Ann Bevis, mother's name Sarah Ann Bevis and no father, and she was born in the workhouse. Emma, her older sister (born 1863) was also born in the workhouse, along with her younger brothers Charles, Joseph and George.

Caz

[Shropshire Lass]

What a sad life the family had!  It must have been awful to be permanently in the workhouse.

This is a real puzzle.  Ancestry is being difficult for me at the moment so I can't do the searches I want (I love trying to solve a mystery like this) but I wondered about the birth reg.  There is one for an Ann Bevis, Dec 1841, Ongar, 12 - 151.  Do you have another one for a Sarah Ann?

I suppose the two 1871 censuses could just be a double entry.  Would the workhouse allow her to visit her father, maybe if he was ill?  It would be easy to see how she could be listed twice if that was the case.  I'm sure someone from the workhouse would just copy out the list of residents from their records onto the census form.

I can see how her father might still call her Sarah even if she had decided to be known as Ann.

Monica

[carrielovesfanta]

I know that you could leave the workhouse in the evenings and return the next day. That was my thought as well, that she was visiting her father and he'd registered her with him too. He ends up in the workhouse too by 1891. It sounds like they had a pretty sad life.

I have the birth reg. I've been trying to decide if it's worth getting the cert or not. It's probably a good idea I guess because if Ann's father is James then I guess they are the same person.

[Shropshire Lass]

I've repeated searches you must have done already - looked for an Ann in the earlier censuses and a Sarah in the later ones without finding them.  If she was one of mine, I would take Ann/Sarah as the same person until evidence appears to disprove it.  It's not tidy but some things just can't be proven one way or the other.

If you get the cert, let us know.  If Ann's father isn't James it'll be back to the drawing board!

Are there any surviving records for the Ongar Workhouse available?  Wouldn't it be nice to see "Ann Bevis, also known as Sarah" in the Workhouse book?

Monica

[carrielovesfanta]

The surviving records of the period are the minutes of the guardians' meetings. I've looked through them but they don't really make mention of names: it's all money matters. Although I did find a reference that money was paid out for a baptism at the time that Elizabeth was born

Pay day is friday so I think I'll order the cert! I'll keep you posted

Thanks for your help

Caz

[carrielovesfanta]

The cert arrived last night - Ann's father is James, and she was born in Fyfield. Her mother was Elizabeth, so that ties in nicely with Ann's daughter. I'm gonna take Ann and Sarah as the same person methinks. Thanks for the advice

Caz

[Shropshire Lass]

I'm glad the names matched up.  It sounds as good as you're likely to find - sometimes "proof" can't be total when dealing with the past.

Monica