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England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => England => Topic started by: benlewis1127 on Thursday 19 May 11 12:51 BST (UK)
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I wonder if I could get some assistance to this block I have come across, I am very new to this and so I am hoping my block is due to inexperience. This is how the story plays out so far:
My great great great granddad George Lewis and Sarah Lewis (Maiden Name Martin)
George Lewis Born 1852 Hopton Wafers, Shropshire, England
(parents THOMAS LEWIS 1823-???? & Ann Morris 1824-????)
Married Sarah Martin born 1856 (unknown Marriage date – have not been able to find a source of their marriage)
parents (John MARTIN 1826 – ???? & Jemimah Painter 1831 – ????)
They had 8 children William, Kezia, Emma, John, Rhoda, Thomas John, Edwin and Jemima
There has always been a dark rumour that George Lewis did something terrible and went to jail and ended up spending the rest of his life there, it wasn’t mentioned at all within the family, no one spoke of this secret/rumour. I’m desperate to find out the truth, so far what I have found proves that this ‘rumour’ could be plausible.
Here is what I have thus far:
1881 Census shows:
Family all together.
Source Citation: Class: RG11; Piece: 2625; Folio: 33; Page: 12; GSU roll: 1341631. (no idea if that means anything in terms of reference)
1891 Census shows:
George with 7 of his children but no Sarah in the Family Home in Shropshire
Source Citation: Class: RG12; Piece: 2091; Folio 26; Page 10; GSU roll: 6097201.
Sarah is found working as a servant for the Pope Family in Shropshire.
Source Citation: Class: RG12; Piece: 2091; Folio 24; Page 6; GSU roll: 6097201.
1901 Census shows:
Sarah back at home as head of the family home with 4 of the children (one of the missing children is Jemima Lewis who was an inmate at the Devon and Exeter reformatory for girls – but that’s another block for another time :( )
George Lewis is no where to be found
I don’t have deaths for either one and I have nothing after 1901. I am hoping perhaps someone can help fill in the gaps and most importantly find out if George really did get sentenced to life in jail.
Also with Sarah as a servant in 1891 would she still of been with George? Did money get tight and so she become a servant or do you think there could be more to it than that?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
- Ben
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Ben,
Have a look at the National Archives in Kew, London. Much of their data is online but some is in archive at Kew due to the vast amout etc... do a search on google for The National Archives and once on the site search in the record/registers box -make sure you type in words etc that are associated with the story. Begin with his name and see where it gets you....
I have done this regarding a crime in my family and it helped me endlessly...
usually under PCOM or MEPO files depending on the nature of his crime etc...
You could also check local newspapers - they will be on microfilm in most libraries for you to look through. See if you can access their local studies area and it should also help.
What area was the crime, was it still shropshire?.... do you know what year?
Murf
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I would not read too much into Sarah's absence from the family home on census night 1891. She isn't all that far away from her family, and may have only been staying overnight at her employer's house for some reason.
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Ben
Have you looked at the census records for the gaols around about?
I believe inmates at gaols and asylums were identified by initials only, but you may be lucky, especially as you know his place of birth.
I don't have any experience with UK census (my folk all came to Australia before 1841) but a friend of mine found a rellie in an asylum this way.
Dawn M
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Ben
I believe inmates at gaols and asylums were identified by initials only, but you may be lucky, especially as you know his place of birth.
Dawn M
That is a myth :) It was only in the 1861 Census that the initials of inmates, patients, prisoners, paupers in institutions needed to be returned, although some were shown by initials in later censuses. In the 1901 England Census there are 18,003 Prisoners and only one is shown just by an initial.
See also http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,524691.msg3795814.html#msg3795814
Stan
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I stand corrected. Maybe my friend found hers in the census you stipulate, Stan.
However, if Ben thinks his George Lewis was in gaol, he needs to look at the census in gaols around the country, doesn't he?
Dawn M
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If he was in prison then the best way to find him is to put 'Prisoner' in the "Relation to Head" box. As I said there are 18,003 Prisoners in the 1901 census, but only three George Lewis.
Stan
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Sarah and George married in 1873:
Marriages September quarter 1873
LEWIS George Cleobury M. 6a 1088
MARTIN Sarah Cleobury M. 6a 1088
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Thanks for all the replies so far! Im at work at the moment so will be abit slow at replying!
@MurphysLaw
I have not tried that yet which is silly as i was on the national archieves the other day trying to find out why Jemima was in a reformatory school, i will have to give that a go!
I dont know what the crime was nor do i know when he was sentenced all i ahve is the census information so far.
@Galium
That makes sense, especially if she's a servant there then i imagine it would be normal for her to stay over some nights.
@Billyblue
Im on ancestry.co.uk and i have tried searching their criminal records but im unfamiliar with 'Gaols' would the come under ancestry's criminal's search?
@Galium
Thats great! Do you have a reference for that so i can find the document and attach it to my tree? :)
@stanmapstone
Ooh i didnt think of that, i will check to see if ancestry has that kind of search function and try that now quickly.
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1901 Census shows:
Sarah back at home as head of the family home with 4 of the children (one of the missing children is Jemima Lewis who was an inmate at the Devon and Exeter reformatory for girls – but that’s another block for another time :( )
George Lewis is no where to be found
- Ben
Sarah is at home with two of her children, Thomas and Edwin. There is also a Mildred Lewis, granddaughter and an Edward Edwards, a boarder. RG13 Piece 2515 Folio 24 Page 15.
Stan
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1901 Census shows:
Sarah back at home as head of the family home with 4 of the children (one of the missing children is Jemima Lewis who was an inmate at the Devon and Exeter reformatory for girls – but that’s another block for another time :( )
George Lewis is no where to be found
- Ben
Sarah is at home with two of her children, Thomas and Edwin. There is also a Mildred Lewis, granddaughter and an Edward Edwards, a boarder. RG13 Piece 2515 Folio 24 Page 15.
Stan
Thanks for pointing that out, i forgot to mention that however i didnt realise Mildred was a grandaughter so thats news to me, another link to investigate!
Im still not really finding any results for George Lewis when i search the ancestry criminal database and theres no way of searching between dates, i know he wasnt in prison in 1891 but by 1901 he is missing so no doubt between those dates is when he was shipped off.
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The marriage reference is on the GRO index, which you can see at:
http://www.freebmd.org.uk/
If you want to order a copy of the certificate you can do so from:
http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/
Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be anywhere online that you can see further details of this marriage (you can sometimes do so using the familysearch site).
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George could be an inmate of the Union Workhouse Cleobury Mortimer in 1901
George Lewis, 52, Married, Labourer (General), place of birth not known.
Regards,
Mo
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George could be an inmate of the Union Workhouse Cleobury Mortimer in 1901
George Lewis, 52, Married, Labourer (General), place of birth not known.
Regards,
Mo
He was born in 1851/1852 so would have been 54-55 unless they made a mistake? He was a coal miner in 1881 and in 1891 a Quarry Labourer. I imagine it would be most likely that he was in a local jail? Or if his crime was serious would he of been shipped off somewhere alot further?
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He would still appear in the census if he was in a prison anywhere in England and Wales. Transportation ended in 1867 so that can be ruled out. Dartmoor was a prison for the most serious crimes.
Stan
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He was born in 1851/1852 so would have been 54-55
That doesn`t quite add up :)
He was aged 1 on the 1851 census and 11 on the 1861 census and so would have been 51 on the 1901 census.
Baptism of George Lewis to parents Thomas and Ann at Hopton Wafers on 11th November, 1849.
Mo
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He was born in 1851/1852 so would have been 54-55
That doesn`t quite add up :)
He was aged 1 on the 1851 census and 11 on the 1861 census and so would have been 51 on the 1901 census.
Baptism of George Lewis to parents Thomas and Ann at Hopton Wafers on 11th November, 1849.
Mo
Ah so he is! Ancestry has him at aged 10 but it does show him as 11 on the census. I need to pay more attention. Ive found the census you mentioned, hes the only one there who's in shropshire, where do i go from here? Is it possible to see how many george lewis's were born around that time, if im lucky he may be the only George Lewis! (wishful thinking :P? )
[quick edit] why on the 1851 census has it got his age as 1 but then it being crossed out?
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[[quick edit] why on the 1851 census has it got his age as 1 but then it beign crossed out?
It is not really crossed out. It was check mark done when collecting the statistical information required from the sheets, if you actually viewed the original it would possibly be shown in a different coloured ink.
Mo
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ah i see, well arnt you a wealth of information :D
Do you think the George in the union work house is my George or is it too soon to say? Where do i go from here? D:
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Hi
The Criminals Register is only covered until 1892 so he may not be on there, you could check with Shrewsbury Archive to see if they have any Newspapers for that time.
Good luck Margp
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ah i see, well arnt you a wealth of information :D
The census enumerators books were regarded by the GRO as the raw material from which to produce the tables published in the 'Census Reports'. In this process the books were altered and annotated, on the original books these are in coloured inks, crayon, or pencil, and can easily be differentiated from the enumerators' returns. On monochrome microfilm these additions are difficult to differentiate.
For examples of actual census pages in original colour see http://www.rootschat.com/links/02fc/ which is RG13 piece 297 folio 22 page 1, and http://www.rootschat.com/links/02fd/ which is RG13 piece 1835 folio 94 page 35.
Stan