New to ancestry, in need of help :)

[spud10]

Hi Benlewis, I am new here.
I have stumbled across your thread by accident. I am looking for a Mary Delury who appears on the same 1901 Census as your relation. I'll be polite and say she was a guest at the Devon and Exeter reformatory school. She is my Great-Grandmother.
I know all about her from the time she got married to when she died aged just 35, and even tracked down where she is buried but I am struggling to find much as a single woman. I can't even find a birth certificate despite her being born in Barking (according to this census and the 1911).

Just thought I'd ask if you have had any joy finding records for the reformatory because I'm just drawing a blank?

Finally, as another coincidence, Mary spent her adult life in Woolwich (I live in Bexley) so our ancestors followed a similar path.

[benlewis1127]

Hi Benlewis, I am new here.
I have stumbled across your thread by accident. I am looking for a Mary Delury who appears on the same 1901 Census as your relation. I'll be polite and say she was a guest at the Devon and Exeter reformatory school. She is my Great-Grandmother.
I know all about her from the time she got married to when she died aged just 35, and even tracked down where she is buried but I am struggling to find much as a single woman. I can't even find a birth certificate despite her being born in Barking (according to this census and the 1911).

Just thought I'd ask if you have had any joy finding records for the reformatory because I'm just drawing a blank?

Finally, as another coincidence, Mary spent her adult life in Woolwich (I live in Bexley) so our ancestors followed a similar path.

Hello spud, ive not gotten very far however i got an email from devrec@devon.gov.uk when i enquiried about any records they held on the Devon and Exeter reformatory for Girls heres their reply:-

We hold quite a lot of records of the Devon and Exeter Female Reformatory, but there are only a few items which date from the period that you mention.  These are a Punishment Book, 1875-1934 (3899F/Z2/4); a Prescription Book, 1862-1938 and a 'House Visitors' Book' which covers the period between 1891 and 1939.
 
There's probably not a very high chance of finding much information about your ancestor, but if you want these items checked, the work would have to be carried out by our Research Service, details of which can be found on our website by clicking this link:
 
http://www.devon.gov.uk/index/councildemocracy/record_office/services_policies/research_service-2.htm
 
I hope that this information is of some assistance.

Ive not really had much time recently to see if these files are obtainable for a fee etc I think each page is 30p but then again you need to find what pages you exactly need, you can pay for researches from the looks of it? As i said ive not really looked into it. Hope this helps Let me know if you find anything!

[spud10]

That's great, thank you very much.
I will let you know what I find.
Regards