Seeking Info - Edith Ann CLARK(e), inmate of Maryarth (?) House, 1891

[ChicoChico]

Hi All – I am researching the family of the John Clark, eldest son of Thomas Clark my 2xGreat Grandfather. John Clark was born abt. 1854 in Startforth, and about 1876, he married Elizabeth Smith. By the time of the 1881 census, they were living in Lartington, North Riding Yorkshire, with their three oldest children, William, b: 1877, Teresa, b: 1878, and Edith Ann, b: 1880. By the time of the 1891 census, John Clark is a widower, Elizabeth having died in 1890. He is still living in Lartington, and working as the Estate Bailiff for Lartington Hall. With him is his oldest two children, William and Teresa, and three youngest children, Fred, b: 1883, John, b: 1887, and Elizabeth, b: 1889. The information I am seeking is what happened to Edith Ann?

It is easy to assume she died, but I have not been able to find either a BMD entry or parish register entry for that. However, I have found the following 1891 census entry;

Edith Ann Clark, age 10, born July 1880 in Lartington, inmate.  This is on the fourth of five pages of the 1891 census for “Maryarth (?) House, Home for the Aged and Infantine(?) Poor, Park Morh (?) Middlesbrough” At least that is what I believe the cover page says. I may have mistaken some of the words or spelling, since the information was handwritten (not clearly).

If this is the same Edith Ann Clark born in Lartington, 1880 as my Edith Ann - what happened? How did she end up in this particular institution, while the rest of her family continues to live in Lartington? Does anybody have any information on this institution, and why a child would be committed to it? How would a child eventually get out of such an institution? Any insights would be much appreciated.

Chico -

[cath151]

Hi,
Took a bit of finding but I think it is Nazereth House, Linthorpe, Park Road North, Middlesbrough.
RG12/4014  160/2
Ancestry has it as Nazereth House.
Run by the Sisters of Nazereth

Cathy

[crisane]

Yes, Nazareth House and below Edith Ann's name there is Winifred Clark age 6 born Lartington 1884.

[cjl]

Chico,

From what information I have found on the internet the records for Nazareth House, Middlesbrough are kept at the address shown below.  It might be worth contacting them to see whether they have any records relating to Edith Ann or Winifred. 

Poor Sisters of Nazareth
Nazareth House
169-175 Hammersmith Road
London
Tele No:  020 8748 3549

Best Wishes
CJL

[dave-the-rave]

nazareth house is a care home now 11 park road if it is of any help dave

[ChicoChico]

Hi All – Thanks so much for the great information!

Cathy – Thanks for ‘reinterpreting’ the handwriting for me. I appreciate the clarification very much, it is very helpful.

Crisane – You know, I also saw Winifred Clark listed after Edith Ann, but I was so focused on Edith Ann, that I missed the obvious. Thanks for bringing Winifred to my attention. There was a four-year gap between Fred and John, in which her birth year fits perfectly. In addition, I skimmed both the 1881 & 1891 census for Lartington, and there was only one Clark family, so she must be a member - Another child found. But it does deepen the mystery; out of seven children born, the middle two of the four girls are sent to the Nazareth house for the poor. But in the 1891 census, the family still had a ‘domestic’ that lived with them, so why send the girls to a home for the poor?

CJL – Thanks for the contact information. Perhaps that will help explain the mystery of why the girls were sent there, when they still had family, who could afford a live-in cook.

Dave – Thanks for the address. I went to google maps and looked it up. I’m guessing it’s the largish building with the turret south of Teesdale University. It’s always nice to have a visual image to go with the information.

Chico -

[JohnDipton]

Hi Chico,
I realize its a number of years since you posted your request regarding Edith Ann Clark, however I believe I may be able to fill in some of the missing detail.

I believe the Edith Ann Clark you were searching for was my grandmother. She married my grandfather Joshua Lott on 1st November 1905, in the Parish of Dipton County Durham. Her marriage certificate states she was aged 25, was a teacher and her father is listed as John Clark (Land Agent). Unfortunately I never met my grandmother as she died in 1923, almost 30 years before I was born. However, I've been able to confirm through the 1911 census that my grandmother was born in Lartington County Durham.

I also have DNA evidence from an Ancestry test and subsequent contact from other Ancestry members that I have links with Clark/ Smith / Simonette(i) families.

Regarding Edith Ann Clark being an inmate of Nazareth House in 1891: as she later became a teacher, perhaps the reason she was at Nazareth house on the day of the census was because she was staying there to study with the nuns. In any case, it doesn't appear Edith was disowned or cast out of the family as my father often talked of visiting various relatives near Barnard Castle and I can also recall as a child visiting an uncle Michael in Thornley. Also the fact she went on to become a teacher doesn't fit very well to being raised in a home for the poor.

All of the above ties in to the research you had listed so I'm confidant my grandmother is the Edith Ann Clark you were searching for.

regards, John.