Lancaster County Asylum 1889

[Galium]

I have not bought a marriage certificate yet but may have to if I want to solve this one.

If you are intending to buy a certificate from the GRO for this marriage, I should tell you that it will simply be a copy of the marriage register that you have already seen, so you will learn nothing new.  Although there is a space where the bride's occupation can be entered, 19thC registers rarely show it, regardless of whether she worked for her living or not. (I think I have only three in my collection, even though I know that most of the women did in fact have occupations.)

Lancaster Moor Hospital was huge, as Victorian asylums often were, and it was usual for staff to be accommodated on site.

[lancaster.jim]

Hi, Cristeen,

Thanks for the added information.  You wrote -

> I had suspected Clara was illegitimate and the marriage record I hopefully have attached corroborates this. I have not bought a marriage certificate yet but may have to if I want to solve this one.

The marriage record you have shown us is the entry for the marriage at Christ Church.  It states that the marriage was 'according to the rites and ceremonies of the Established Church'.  This means that the record shown is an image of one of the two records of the marriage made at the ceremony.  Marriages in the church of the Established Church (the Church of England) were (and are) recorded in each of two registers.  When they are full, one copy is kept by the church for religious purposes (and your copy will be from that one) and the other copy is sent to the local Superintendent Registrar as the record under civil law.

Sending for a marriage certificate will get you a copy (maybe handwritten or maybe a photocopy) of the second church register.  I have seen instances where the two registers differ, BUT the record you show is a complete record and is signed by the couple as being correct, so it is extremely unlikely that the civil copy will have different information.

I see Galium has already responded in a similar way.

Hope this helps,

Jim Lancaster (Bury, Lancs.)

[cristeen]

Thank you to Jim and Galium for saving me some pennies 

[andrewalston]

One of my distant relations has the asylum as her residence at her marriage in 1890. No occupation is given, but she had been a nurse at the previous two censuses.

Most clergymen left the Occupation field empty for the bride; there was an assumption that women would give up work at marriage, and this was often enforced by employers.

The main exception to this seems to be in textile towns, where a large proportion of the workforce would be married women.

[stanmapstone]

In the 19th century most women did not have an occupation shown on a marriage certificate even when most women worked.

Stan

[lancsann]

consistent father

Baptism: 30 Mar 1862 Holy Trinity, Poulton-le-Sands, Lancashire, England
John Gardner - Son of Richard Gardner & Mary
    Abode: Poulton
    Occupation: Fisherman
   
Baptism: 24 Apr 1863 St Mary, Lancaster, Lancashire, England
Clara Gardner - [Child] of Richard Gardner & Mary
    Born: 13 Dec 1862
    Abode: Morecambe
    Occupation: Fisherman

[lancsann]

1881 for ref

Name   Age
Ellen Woodhouse   40
William Woodhouse   20
Wilfred Woodhouse   19
Ann Woodhouse   17
Jane Woodhouse   15
Elizabeth Woodhouse   13
Henry Woodhouse   10
Richd. Woodhouse   7
Clara Gardner   18 - niece - general servant

All Ellen's children were born in Heaton a sub district of Lancaster with mmn = Gardner

Clara's birth is shown in the same district with mmn also Gardner

Her birth certificate will prove her parentage

[lancsann]

1871 for ref

24
Household Members:   
Name   Age
Ann Gardner   74 - fisherman's widow
Richard Gardner   14
Clarie Gardner   8 (image says Clara) Granddaughter

[cristeen]

Thank you for that lancsann. The Richard in the 1871 is also illegitimate I believe! I am unsure who his mother was but his marriage record states father as deceased carpenter named Richard Gerrard
The baptism for Clara states Richard as father, this was a common family name and the baptism was at Lancaster whereas all the other family baptisms were at Bolton le Sands, the local church.