Licenced hawkers and census'

[daza_1973]

I'm currently trying to track down a branch of my family with very little success,
I have posted on the main Lancashire board, to try and find the any info on whereabouts of a certain Enoch Plant(b.circa 1875), his wife Hannah (b.circa 1875) and their daughter Beatrice (b.1908) in the early 1900's.

 On Friday I subscribed to the 1911 census 'on find my past', but only found two Enoch plant's neither having a wife Hannah.(one was Annie tho )
 The thing that is making me wonder is that when Beatrice married in 1926 her fathers occupation was listed as licensed Hawker, so is it feasible that they all could have slipped under the radar for the 1911 census?
 Also would it be possible in that era for a family of  'Licensed Hawkers' to not register a birth as I am struggling to find evidence of Beatrice's birth in 1908 too.

   Any ideas???

[jaytoot]

Hi,

first it is certainly possible that the birth may not have been registered and i know of this happening many years later.

The other thing is that if Enoch and Hannah were not married then the birth may have been registered under the mothers name.

If you search on the 1911 census for Beatrice Plant born 1908 + or - 3 years with another person in the same household called Enoch it gives a return for someone in Conway born 1909.
If you do a search of the name Plant in conway it gives you a list of name and ages and shows Enoch born approx 1879.
If you do an advanced search for Enoch Plant and enter occupation as chimney sweep this will bring up the same Enoch in Conway born approx 1879.

The 1881 census shows a Enoch plant age 26 occupation chimney sweep with wife Hannah also a son Enoch age 1 year. Maybe the younger Enoch takes on the same profession as his father and is the one in Conway.

On the next page of the 1881 census is William Plant born about 1830 also a chimney sweep. In the 1891 census he is shown as father in law to enoch and Hannnah but now they are shown as Enoch and Hannah Ford!!

I am not sure but someone with an occupation of chimney sweep may have been a licenced hawker?

Regards,

Jim

[daza_1973]

Thanks for that Jim

The Beatrice/ Enoch in Conwy is the one I've been looking at for a while, but as you say the chimney sweep to Licensed Hawker is a bit of a grey area.
Also ordered the birth certificate for that Beatrice and again is inconclusive - Father Enoch, Mother Mariah Plant (nee markerly)??

Also I forgot to mention on the 1927 marriage certificate for Beatrice all four parties i.e The bride, the groom, brides father and grooms father are all listed as Licensed Hawkers.

I suppose if I can't get anything concrete, I'll just have to wait and hope that they will turn up in the 1921 census.....when that gets released in the next decade   

[Steve G]

Daza; I personally see no problem with such a man being a 'Sweep and holding a Hawkers License. Indeed, why shouldn't he? Bit like " Builder and Landscape Gardener ", isn't it?  Every Builder will have some hardy blokes at his disposal. Maybe own a mini digger? So, between major contracts, he may shift some soil.

 Same way, ye man there could doubtless use his 'Sweeps cart to do a bit of hawking in the quieter part of the year. I don't suppose most people gave their chimneys much thought at the height of summer. Do you? Having them swept would be more of a fore and after sort of consideration of their use.

 Anyway, that license would last a year and would just be handy, in those days, to have. I'm quite comfortable with what ye have there, in that regard. Seen it all before 

[daza_1973]

I see you point Steve - I'll keep at it and see if I can get a cast-iron link between them all.
 
 Cheers 

[WealdenClark]

Hi There,

Regarding sweeps and hawkers - I'd put money on them being the same family. My family both swept and hawked within the same year, and thought nothing of switching between the two.

Being Travellers its possible they had even more strings to their bow.