Death of Lavender Lakey

[harrygeorge1]

Finally a possible reason for no record of Lavender's death. After using a researcher we have come to this conclusion.

The Workhouse records contain no reference to Lavender Lakey, but the details relating to his children present a clue about the circumstances of his disappearance. The Oundle Union workhouse admission and discharge register covering April 1887 to September 1889 (ref: PL 7/307) records the admission on Wednesday 14 December 1887 of: Henry (Harry) Lakey (born 1877), George Lakey (born 1880), William Lakey (born 1881) and Ernest Lewis Lakey (born 1884). The children were all classified as ‘scholars’ and admitted from Oundle by the order of the Relieving Officer. Their first meal in the workhouse was dinner. More significantly, in the section of the record entitled ‘Observations’, the word ‘Deserted’ is written. Deserting fathers could be made to appear in court and, at the very least, be compelled to contribute towards the maintenance of their children. We checked the online newspapers without finding any reference to Lavender Lakey at court. This, together with the fact that the desertion appears to have been a fait accompli at the time of the children’s workhouse admission, suggests he had simply moved away from the area. He may well have taken a different name so that he could ‘lose’ himself in a new location, and it might be this that means there is no reference to a death certificate for him. Another possibility is that he died in circumstances (perhaps on the move between places) that made it impossible for him to be identified.