Hi Jane.
Had this been the more run of the mill family, we would take the age of the eldest child and look for a marriage either side of that year. Alternatively, we would find the marriage and look for the eldest child's birth either side of that date. But this is not a run of the mill family and therefore breaks all of the rules. So a marriage as we know it may or may not have taken place and although births happened, in all probability, registration or a baptism of that child may not have been done either. So unless 'L' or a sibling conforms to civil or ecclesiastical protocol at some stage, or transgresses the law in some way, you are left to speculate.
I have applied a little logic but that too is based on some speculation. Firstly we have to know if the Linda found on the 1881 census is the person sought ? (otherwise its a waste of time) If that is her, even the most simple of enumerators should be able to deduce the growth differences between a hardly walking and possibly still breast fed 1 year old and a rampaging five year old that is already undertaking simple domestic chores, so a birth year nearer to 1880 should be more acceptable. Roy G
