Sammy333,
Welcome and Congratulations! And great that you are descended from Frances.
Claire,
This is great news – you must be so pleased! I’m pleased too - I was always a big fan of Dorothy HOSTHEAD being your Dorothy ROBINSON and sometimes I felt that people might be thinking I was pushing this theory too hard! You’ll be able to extend your family tree – and lots of the information in this thread now turns out to be of direct relevance.
GeoffE,
Yes, I think we did have pretty good information about Frederick George ROBINSON. I think it’s as follows:
Son of Joseph ROBINSON & Mary GUEST, b ca 1821 in Gainsborough.
Married Sarah Ann BERRY in 1849 in Doncaster.
A widower living with a sister in Peterborough in 1861.
Probably the Frederick George ROBINSON who married in Peterborough, Sept quarter 1861 (two Elizabeths on the same page).
A witness at the 1871 marriage of (his illegitimate daughter) Dorothy ROBINSON to Henry CRABB.
In Peterborough in 1881 with wife Elizabeth.
A couple of loose ends …
1. Why did Dorothy HOSTHEAD/ROBINSON go to live with ROBINSON relatives?
In 1851 Dorothy was living with her maternal grandparents.
Her maternal grandmother had been widowed by 1861 and was working as a servant. She had her youngest child with her but this probably explains why she hadn't been able to continue to look after Dorothy too.
In 1859, when Dorothy stole a shawl, she was living with her paternal aunt Ellen (ROBINSON) BROOMHEAD.
Loose ends – Why didn’t Dorothy’s mother Frances Elizabeth take over care of her daughter? Why did ROBINSON relatives take on Frederick’s illegitimate daughter? Why wasn’t Dorothy’s mother named in the report from the Wakefield Refuge? The answers will probably never be known.
2. The mother of Dorothy HOSTHEAD was Frances Elizabeth HOSTHEAD (bap 1823, daughter of William & Ellen; she is possibly the Frances Elizabeth SPINDLER died age 84 in Gainsborough in 1905).
In 1851 Frances was a servant with a Gainsborough family.
In 1861 Frances married William SPINDLER (sic). In the 1861 census, the household consisted of William SHINDLEY (sic) 22, Frances SHINDLEY 33, Charles HOYLAND (sic) 11, Edward HOYLAND 4. Charles and Edward are, presumably, further children of Frances.
Charles HOSTED was registered in Gainsborough, September quarter 1849.
Edward HOSTHEAD was registered in Gainsborough, December quarter 1856.
Loose ends – where was Charles in 1851? Who were the fathers of Charles and Edward (if William’s census age is correct, he would have been only 11 when Charles was born)?
Cheers,
JAP
