« on: Saturday 16 August 08 21:02 BST (UK) »
Hi
At the LMA a few weeks ago I found the very useful register of "Admissions and Discharges to Workhouse in Holborn Union District" 1860-1900. This proved to be a goldmine as this contains all the workhouse admissions and discharges of every institution in the Holborn Union District, arranged by surname, then in the first column, the name of the particular workhouse they went to eg, Grays Inn Workhouse, Clerkenwell Workhouse, City Road Workhouse, Highgate Infirmary or Mitcham Workhouse and I found the Infirmary admission of my ancestor Thomas Roberts in the composite register where the original registers for Holborn Infirmary have not survived. I was ecstatic at that but it has also thrown up a new query. See below:-
In November 1878, Thos Roberts and his family moved to 69 Leather Lane in Holborn, after losing money on a beer house in Walworth in South London. They were so destitute that they applied for poor relief on the 2nd December that year. All the family members appear in the relief application. The register says "Whether Husband, Wife Or Child Sent to a Workhouse, Asylum or elsewhere, state particulars of each chargebility" it says "Yes", meaning they were sent to a workhouse. They became chargeable to Clerkenwell, probably meaning Clerkenwell would pay for their relief.
But there is no record of any of my ancestors going into any of the workhouses in the Holborn Union District at that time according to that above mentioned composite register of Holborn Union admissions and discharges.
Two years later by 1881 census the Roberts were living just round the corner from 69 Leather Lane at No 9 Portpool Lane, Holborn and Thomas was a night watchman and two of his daughters were now tailoresses so they were back on their feet again so they stayed in the Holborn area from 1878 onwards until Thomas and his wife died in 1886 and 1889.
Was every workhouse order actually succeeded or would they have withdrawn their relief application at the last minute or something? Or just recieved Out Relief instead? It is strange why I cannot find a workhouse admission for them.
I have attached the image to make opinions easier.
Ben
Researching:
LONDON, Coombs, Roberts, Auber, Helsdon, Fradine, Morin, Goodacre
DORSET Coombs, Munday
NORFOLK Helsdon, Riches, Harbord, Budery
KENT Roberts, Goodacre
SUSSEX Walder, Boniface, Dinnage, Standen, Lee, Botten, Wickham, Jupp
SUFFOLK Titshall, Frost, Fairweather, Mayhew, Archer, Eade, Scarfe
DURHAM Stewart, Musgrave, Wilson, Forster
SCOTLAND Stewart in Selkirk
USA Musgrave, Saix
ESSEX Cornwell, Stock, Quilter, Lawrence, Whale, Clift
OXON Edgington, Smith, Inkpen, Snell, Batten, Brain
