Does anyone have access to the Christchurch Union Workhouse records?
If so, could you assist with this one?
My great x3 grandmother Elizabeth (or Eliza) Spooner left her husband in 1860. She was pregnant at the time, and her son John was born in the workhouse on 1 January 1861. When registering the birth she made her mark ... which is odd, given that she signed the register when she was married. Since people do not tend to forget how to sign their name (particularly young people of child-bearing age), I am wondering if this is evidence that she was exceedingly weak ... perhaps because she was dying from complications of childbirth.
Can we try to find the date of her admission to the workhouse (probably late 1860) ... and see whether there is anything to indicate that she died while she was there (the birth was registered on 17 January 1861 so it would have to be after that, but possibly only by a matter of days).
And if she DID die in the workhouse ... is there any indication of what became of John?
Many, many thanks in advance for any help or assistance you are able to offer.
EDITED to add ... it looks as though John may have died before his first birthday. Death of John Spooner registered London, St Saviour, Southwark 1861 Q4 volume 1d page 10.
But do the workhouse records confirm that this was he??
There's also an Eliza Spooner death registered in West Ham 1861 Q1 ... but if she died in the workhouse in Southwark, they wouldn't register it there. However, if she discharged herself leaving her son in their care, then that might make some sense, as West Ham is closer to her "home stamping ground" (her parents and younger siblings are in Islington in the 1861 census ...)
