licensed lodging house mid 1800's

[mkcmiller]

I have come across a record showing my 3 x great grandmother aged 11 living in Blakenys Buildings Licensed Lodging House Islington on the 1861 census.

I am wondering if anyone knew what kind of people lived in lodging houses or why they lived there?

[charlotteCH]

Hi,
Were any other members of her family living there?

What did the census  show  as her occupation?

charlotte

[stanmapstone]

If you Google Victorian Lodging House you will get many hits.
Stan

[mkcmiller]

Thanks Stan, I'll see if I can find anything that helps on google.

Hi Charlotte this is the part of the entry on the  census showing her and her possible family in the order it is written on the census.

James Arnold      Married         26      Working/Hawking Cutter?? (hard to read)
Jane Arnold        Married         32        no occupation given
Joseph Arnold                          6         Scholar
James Arnold                          2months
ISABELLA ARNOLD               11      Scholar (my 3 x g.mother)

Not sure how Isabella is related to the others. The list above is in the order that the entrys are, so am assuming she must be a neice of James? Isabella gets married at 16 so the next census shows her with her husband. I have no records to this of her either on the pervious census or a birth entry.
I was only wondering as I am trying to trace the Romany line on my fathers side and am not sure whether it is this line or the other family line!

[charlotteCH]

Hi again, Isabella could have been the illgitimate child of Jane who would have been aged 21 at her birth.  When Jane married James accepted Isabella into his family by using his surname.
Do you know when James & Jane married? Probably c. 1855 given the age of Joseph unless they had earlier children who died. Have you their marriage cert?  That would give Jane's  name before marriage to James, and tell you if she was a widow or spinster. the  you could  search for Isabella's birth and see if she was Jane's daughter.
The thing that  raises a red flag is the order of the kids in the census. I gather from what you give as the census info, no relationship to head of house is stated? Is that correct? 

charlotte