"Inmate" In An "Institution"

[avm228]

Which 1916 marriage cert have you ordered - is it Winifred E Jones/Frederick Russell Jun qtr 1916 Swindon? Obviously a middle name/initial can be very helpful if there is one.

[mergendy]

No, she actually got married in Ormskirk in 1916...I'm on safe ground with that since I know her husband's name (Harry Lott Ellis), and he was posted there during the war...my granddad was also born up North, just down the road from the Kop in fact, at 47 Walton Breck Road...it's a proper riddle all in all though...the other oddity is that I've also got a record of "my" Winifred Jones as being a domestic servant, though, maddeningly, I haven't cross-referenced, so it is possible that she was a much older servant in a house who fell pregnant by the master and went up North to have the baby...but who did she know there, and how? And was it a coincidence that she and Harry were there during the war...did she stay there from my granddad's birth in 1913 and meet Harry after his posting, or return to Wiltshire and meet Harry and go up there with him? Ah, questions questions...anyway, this is something I can look at when I get the marriage certificate and actually find out when and where she was born...then I can start from SOMEthing solid!

[Ruskie]

Does it specify that Winifred is an imbecile? Otherwise she could have been in the workhouse for any number of reasons. She or her family may have fallen on hard times - (she may have only been there on a temporary basis). She may have been ill - I think workhouses sometimes looked after the sick (though this may have been earlier than 1911 you would need to check this).

[mergendy]

The WJ at Semington in 1911 is listed as an Inmate, and I understand also an imbecile from birth...if she's the right one though, she's non-imbecilic enough to get married up North 5 years later...

[Ruskie]

anyway, this is something I can look at when I get the marriage certificate and actually find out when and where she was born...then I can start from SOMEthing solid!

I trust someone will tell me if I am wrong (as I only have marriage certificates before 1916), but I think all you will get is her age, not her date of birth. You may even be unlucky and the certificate vaguely says she is of "full age" (21 or older), and even then she may have been fibbing. 

[mergendy]

Hmmm, in that case I'll just have to fall back on father's details...as I don't know anything about him either!

[Mabel Bagshawe]

Looking at the births - there's Winifred Jane b Q1 1888 Highwood, Winifred Estelle b Q4 1888 HIghwood, and Winifred Mary b Q4 1889 Westbury

From then on the spellings are a bit variable so they are easy to miss

ON 1891 I can see Winefred, d of David and Catherine living in Swindon and Winnefred M, daughter of Frank and Jane born and living in Southwick

1901 both these two and the other Swindon born Winifred, daughter of William and Jane mentioned above. David and Catherine's daughter is Winnifred E

Looking at 1911, it is only William and Jane's daughter who is not at home - unless of course somone has recorded her at home as well as in the workhouse.

[Ruskie]

Have a look at this list of infirmaties:
http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/text/chap_page.jsp?t_id=SRC_P&c_id=9&cpub_id=EW1911GEN&show=DB

Do you have any alternative Winifred Jones's in 1911 who might be yours rather than the one in the workhouse?

[alpinecottage]

There is quite a lot of info already posted about Winifred here http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,639057.0.html