Emmeline Ivy WOODHOUSE - how did my grandmother avoid the census man (twice)?

[bemusedofsandiacre]

Parsimonious as I am (Derbyshire born, Derbyshire bred), it didn't take long to work out how to locate entire families on the 1911 Census website, but my grandmother has me stumped. For that matter, I was never able to track her down in 1901 either. Here are the details:

She was born Ivy DICKENS in the Bakewell workhouse in 1897 (mother Louisa Dickens, father unknown).

She was baptised Emmeline Ivy Dakin WOODHOUSE, aged 14 (ie: around Census time), having been taken in/fostered/adopted by William Woodhouse (b1851, Ednaston, Brailsford, Derby) and his wife Mary (nee Smith).

She herself had an illegitimate daughter, Ivy, in 1927, before marrying as Emmeline Ivy Woodhouse in 1928.

I've tried every combination of names I can think of and have still been unable to find any of these good folk in either 1901 and 1911. Is there anyone out there smarter than me (er yes, definitely!) who can help solve any of the mysteries of where she was and what she did between 1897 and 1911?

[didowells]

Hi bemusedofsandiacre

I have found a William Woodhouse on the 1901 census but the wife is Ruth.  With them is an adopted daughter EMMA aged 3 birthplace unknown.

RG13/3212/17/26 Draycott

Could that be her?

Di

[bemusedofsandiacre]

Hello Di,
Well, at first glance this would seem rather unlikely, given the two pieces of information at odds with what I thought I knew. That said, Draycott is definitely the right neck of the woods and my grandma liked to be called Emmie, which might sound like Emma to an elderly census enumerator!

But...
I just double-checked my records and found that somebody (might have been me!) had put in a dodgy entry. I have a copy of William Woodhouse's birth certificate and it shows his mother as Mary Woodhouse, nee Smith, so in fact we never knew what his wife's name was after all - and it could well have been Ruth.

I just revisited 1911, but could only find a William and Ruth Woodhouse in Dudley (and no Emma/Emmeline/Ivy in the same household). I don't actually think she/they ever moved out of the Derby/Borrowash/Long Eaton area.

Sorry for the confusion.

[ivanidea]

1911 Search

1 results found. You searched for: 
First names EMMA
First names Algorithm Exact
Last names WOODH
Last names Algorithm Prefix
Relationship To Head ADOPTED
County Derbyshire
District Shardlow

HOUSEHOLD WOODHOUSE EMMA F 1898 13 Shardlow Derbyshire

William and Ruth also at Shardlow.

Ivan

[ivanidea]

Possible marriage for Wm and Ruth:

Marriages Mar 1876   
Dunn  Edward    Nottingham  7b 387   
Ellis  Dinah     Nottingham  7b 387   
SMITH  Ruth     Nottingham  7b 387   
Woodhouse  William     Nottingham  7b 387

So in 1911 married about 35 years.

Ivan

[bemusedofsandiacre]

Cracking stuff! I never spotted the "Relation to Head" search field.

So the wee young thing was born Ivy, adopted as Emma and baptised as Emmeline Ivy Dakin. Marvellous!!

Do you happen to know whether the Draycott to Shardlow shift suggests a house move or just a reorganisation of the census districts?

The marriage record is certainly feasible if Ruth came from Nottingham. It ought really to be a criminal offence to marry somebody from t'other side o' t' brook (ie: the Erewash), but that doesn't make it impossible, I guess. If he's only related by adoption, then I may not have to seek trauma counselling after all!

And how close might "Nottingham" have been to Draycott/Shardlow in registration terms. Does the marriage entry suggest the city of Nottingham or could it have been a village closer to the Leicestershire or Derbyshire border?

[ivanidea]

In 1901 Draycott was in the Rural District of Shardlow and so it is entirely possible that in 1911 the family were still living in Draycott.

It looks as though in 1876 the Nottingham Registration District comprised Nottingham St. Mary, Nottingham St. Nicholas, Nottingham St. Peter and Standard Hill – presumably all in central Nottingham.

Draycott is about 10 miles from Nottingham; Shardlow about 15 miles from Nottingham.

Ivan

[bemusedofsandiacre]

Yes, those are all in central Nottingham. Thanks for all the info.

You don't happen to know how I could find out any more about Louisa Dickens, do you? Bakewell Workhouse records, maybe?

[ivanidea]

For details of Bakewell Workhouse see the following website:

http://www.workhouses.org.uk/index.html?Bakewell/Bakewell.shtml

Apparently few Workhouse records survive but those that do are kept by Derbyshire Records Office. Records supposedly include Admissions and discharges (1896-7) so you might be lucky.

Ivan