I have tried to find Emma for years with no success whatsoever, but now I believe I have her at last. The point is, the lesson I have learned is 'consider everything'.
In the Census records she mostly claimed to have been born in Poole but once only, she said Wareham. To her family she claimed to be Irish, sometimes from Dublin, but mostly from Cork. The only fact that she stuck to was 1838, the year of her birth.
Finally, I discovered a previously overlooked entry in the Wareham, St Mary Parish records, all became clear. 31 Mar 1838 Emma (blank). No Mothers name and no Fathers - it was quite sad. No trace of her in the 1841 Census, but I found a Caroline Painter, in the Workhouse aged 20. Two Painter/Payntor families were in Wareham at that time, but no Emma with them. No Emma in Poole Census.
Was she a foundling ? or just a workhouse infant who needed to be baptised. Where did these babies go, was there a home nearby or in Poole, or was she taken in by another Painter family in the district.
She completely reinvented herself when she came to Poole, rather than admit she was base born. She was quite a town character, could not read or write but set up with her sweet shop in Lagland Street. She was known as 'the Irish Granny' total fantasy. When she married Peter J Way At St James, Poole. Sep 1857, she would have had to produce a birth cert and on the records she claimed her Father was a Farmer Joseph Painter of Shapwick. I did find an Emma in Shapwick, born 1838, but she died when she was 10 yrs old. Endless searches for a Joseph brought nothing. I have not been able to find an official record of her birth and this did not become compulsory until 1900 ?.
Can anyone help find Emma in 1841 or subsequent Census records. Is there a likely Home she may have been taken to or the Workhouse ? Any help or pointers in the right direction, would be really appreciated.
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Topic: Emma Painter of Wareham/Poole (Read 1323 times)