Lionel Moreton, b1893 London - disappears after 1911

[Sandy_W]

Hello everyone. I've hit a brick wall trying to find out what happened to one of my father's cousins. He was born illegitimately in the first quarter of 1893 in Clerkenwell as Lionel Claude Wright. His mother was Rhoda Hannah Wright. In the following quarter of 1893, Rhoda married Arthur Moreton and they had five more children.

On the 1901 census, the family were living in St Luke's, Finsbury and Lionel is listed as Lionel Moreton.

Rhoda died in 1903 and it appears that Arthur abandoned his children. I have found workhouse records on Ancestry which show that Rhoda's mother tried to take care of the children but when she became ill, the children were sent to Leavesden School. They were eventually split up. One of Lionel's siblings stayed at Leavesden, one was sent to Canada, and three were boarded out to separate families in Newbury, Berkshire.

On the 1911 census, Lionel was at Bridge Industrial Home, Witham, Essex, and is described as "feeble minded". He is again listed as Lionel Moreton. After this, I can't find any trace of him. I have looked on Ancestry, Find My Past, The Genealogist  FamilySearch, freeBMD and the GRO, using both Wright and Moreton and variants but I can't find a death record for him, or any other trace of him.

I know from the National Archives website that the Bridge Home was closed in 1922 and the inmates were transferred to Darenth, so it's possible that Lionel was one of those.

I've traced all of his siblings through to the ends of their lives and it's so frustrating that I can't do the same for  Lionel, so any help would be much appreciated. Many thanks.

[Milliepede]

One to rule out perhaps

Lionel F Moreton marriage Jun 1927 Camberwell to Rose P Davies

Can't immediately see a Lionel F birth that could have married in 1927 (there is one born but in 1924)

[Sandy_W]

Thanks Milliepede. That did look promising but there's a Lionel Moreton on the 1911 census in Camberwell with his family, born 1904, so I think that marriage was probably his.

[Milliepede]

Yes I think you’re right 

[Jomot]

London Metropolitan Archives has the following, which may shed some light:

Bridge Industrial Home: general files, 1895 - 1927 (MAB/2268-2272).
Contains Admission and Discharge registers 1911 - 1922, death register 1905 - 1922, chaplains' report book and papers relating to the sale of property.

Nothing of much use in the Darenth files though by the looks of it:
Darenth Schools and Asylums: general files, 1875 - 1929 (MAB/2307-2325).
Contains annual reports 1875 - 1885, descriptive notes about the institution, a catalogue of flat needlework, memorandum on proposal to empty Darenth for Smallpox cases 1902, reports of Visiting Commissioners 1901 - 1924, papers relating to the appropriate of land for use as a burial ground and legal papers.

[Sandy_W]

Thank you Jomot, the Bridge Home files look as if they might hold some useful info. Unfortunately, I can't get to the LMA easily as I live a fair distance from London. I'll have to try and get up there during the summer and maybe go to the National Archives too as I think they also have some relevant papers.

I'm pretty much resigned to the fact that I'm not going to get any answers from internet records and that I'll have to do some good old-fashioned paper research!

[Milliepede]

There are a couple of private family trees on ancestry that have him listed - maybe you already know about them and they have no more info, but if not you could try messaging them.

[jonwarrn]

Bridge Industrial Home
(for feeble-minded children)
Witham, Essex

Moreton, Lionel
born 1893
admission date 28 June 06
" from Schools
discharge date 23 Oct 1911
where to - Absconded

Moreton, Lionel
born 1893
admission date 26 Oct 1911
" from Recaptured
discharge 1 July '12

"where to" looks blank, but just possibly there may be a faint "Darenth" hovering there!
Entry above is Harry Gutteridge born 1894 and he was discharged to Darenth on that date.
John

[jonwarrn]

And that is from
STPBG/191/002
St Pancras Board of Guardians
Register of Children Sent to Special Schools, Jan 1903 - Dec 1914