Every census tells a story

[Rishile]

I have been doing some transcribing of 1871 census records for Familysearch and one just caught my eye.

I don't remember their names but their situation seemed really sad to me.

Head - Age 79 yrs - Occupation - receives partial relief - bedridden
Wife - Age 75 yrs - Occupation - dressmaker
Son - Unmarried - Age 55 yrs - Occupation Ag, Lab
Son - Unmarried - Age 53 yrs - receives partial relief - weakminded and blind
Daughter - Unmarried - Age 49 yrs - receives partial relief - weakminded and blind
Daughter - Unmarried - Age 47 yrs - Occupation - dressmaker

How hard was the wife's life?  I suppose we can only guess.

Rishile

[Colin Cruddace]

How sad. It sounds as though there might have been some genetic problem with that family.

When I did some transcribing for Freecen, there was an entry that brought a tear to my eye for different reasons. It was for Margaret Pinkney, a 60 year old schoolmistress in the village of Barton, North Riding of Yorkshire, but enumerated in the district of Darlington, County Durham. I really hope that her husband James age 77 wasn't part of the school staff 

RG9/3682/67/4 (I hope I've got that right!

[Alexander.]

When I did some transcribing for Freecen, there was an entry that brought a tear to my eye for different reasons. It was for Margaret Pinkney, a 60 year old schoolmistress in the village of Barton, North Riding of Yorkshire, but enumerated in the district of Darlington, County Durham. I really hope that her husband James age 77 wasn't part of the school staff 

I'm a bit confused about what you mean - James was a castrator (sometimes known as a gelder), so clearly wasn't involved in the school. He castrated farm animals for a living, it's quite a common occupation on the censuses. 

Rishile, I've come across one of my ancestors in the 1851 census which was kind of similar. Only one of their eight children (my ancestor obviously) married and had kids of their own. As Colin says, there was probably some sort of genetic problem.

Alexander

[Colin Cruddace]

I'm a bit confused about what you mean - James was a castrator (sometimes known as a gelder), so clearly wasn't involved in the school. He castrated farm animals for a living, it's quite a common occupation on the censuses. 

It's my over-imaginative view of the situation. The schoolmistress warns the boys to behave or she will call her husband in!   OUCH 

[Alexander.]

It's my over-imaginative view of the situation. The schoolmistress warns the boys to behave or she will call her husband in!   OUCH 

Ahh...that would certainly inspire order in the classroom. Well there's an easy way to check - on the next census, did those village boys from 1861 have any children?      I'm sure it wasn't a pleasant occupation, but a very necessary one.

[jenny36]

This thread would be so different on an Italian genealogy site.
My question would have been: "are the boys from an Italian family and can they sing"?

[Nick29]

How sad. It sounds as though there might have been some genetic problem with that family.

Syphillis (which was very common in the 1800's, because prostitution was rife) also caused the same symptoms.

And.... another more polite name for a prostitute in those times was 'dressmaker' 

[Rishile]

And.... another more polite name for a prostitute in those times was 'dressmaker' 

I didn't know that Nick.  I'm finding a lot of dressmakers during this transcribing.

 

Rishile

[Nick29]

I suppose it was one way of explaining how a woman was making an income without leaving the house ? 

I suppose there were some genuine dressmakers among them