Sad listings.

[Trevellian]

Not even my own family but found while trying to find someone else on the 1911 census, this elderly lady who added some extra details about her circumstances. Very sad though nothing too out of the ordinary, it still moved me as you wouldn't normally have those extra details. Obviously the 1911 census already feels like a leap forward in having a more 'personal' record with them being the first to be handwritten by the household rather than the enumerator, and this was just another level on top of that. Evidently it's quite telling of her limited education with the poor spelling and unusual way of writing numbers, '704' for 74 and '401' for 41. At first I thought she was 104! (As did the enumerator who filled in the age column you may note) but she was almost certainly actually 73, unless she had been married to her husband for 401 years...

Edit won't let me attach a clipping of the census here but can be viewed attached to her profile here: https://www.familysearch.org/en/tree/person/memories/G6VQ-72T

[GrahamSimons]

More from our register:

Baptized John, the base begotten sonne,
of Margaret Dawson and John Harrison,
A Married Man of Graystock, as its said,
Did goe to Bed with this Notorious Jade.
But, tyme at last, will hidden things discover,
And bring to light, what darkness did pass ouer
4 May 1685

Agnes baptiz’d, none would her father be,
although her mother Joan said that three
Her spouse John Rukin, and two more beside
had knowledg of her, e'er shee was a Bride
And from them all, shee did contentment gather
Consider why this child should want a father.
8 Dec 1681

This day Baptiz’d a child Immanuell
Soe call’d, but who's his father, few can tell
Some say John Hall, because his wife's ye mother
But many censure, that he is another
Who e’re he be, let him that needs enquire
I think he sprang not from a Goddy Scire
Cornutus est, who for his long absence
Giues not his wife, her due benevolence.
12 Aug 1677

What Time brings forth ther’s none that can pressage
John Todhunter, of Eighty Yeares of Age, Wed to Anne Strickatt, who’s supposd to be A Virgin and her Age is Sixtye Three. Both of this parrish, wch causes Admiration. The like hath scarce been knowne wthin this station
25 Oct 1665

[BillyF]

I`m sorry to say the last one brought a smile to my face !

[Rena]

In the 1851 census I found an Irishman spent the night "laid in stable" at a farm in Howden, Yorkshire, but not apparently part of the household.  Only a surname, Pushman, and uncertain age, "about 23".  I suspect he was in England because of the Irish famine.  I hope he succeeded in life.

My late OH attended an agricultural college, which wasn't free, his father paid the annual fees. .  He lived in the farmhouse with the farmer and his wife.  Sleeping in the barn were two Irishmen who were fed by the farmer's wife and the farmer paid their wages.   They lived with their families in Ireland during the winter months, but  travelled around the country following the agricultural seasons.  For instance early in the year would be lifting early potatoes, the lambing season, planting other crops, etc., etc.  The English 1851 Census was taken on Sunday, March 30, 1851. which would be a busy agricultural month.

[MollyC]

Re my Reply #4  Irishman "laid in stable"

The head of the family in Howden was "Farmer of 13a of land", so not a large farm.  The household included his unmarried brother "farm labourer" and his stepson aged 16 "servant" which I take to be a farm servant, either of whom may have been working for other farms.  The Irishman has no relationship to the household entered on the form, just the word "about" written before his age, across the two columns for relationship and condition, and no occupation - only "laid in stable".

So I concluded he was not working for them, just passing through and was maybe added to the form after he had left, when the enumerator collected it.  I hope they had given him a meal.

[Viktoria]

“ We don’t know we are born,” an old saying that means we are not so badly off, certainly there are others much poorer.

I must be a real old fuddy duddy, I can’t get accustomed to people having items which to me seen not absolutely necessary ,yet they have them and are short of money.
I can’t imagine them coping with every member of their family out of work, no state benefits or pensions.
 It is hard to believe the depth of poverty that was the norm in many areas as industries failed and so imports grew so unemployment also soared.

Imagine what would happen today if men who had fought a war ,some for four years ,came back to mass unemployment and no unemployment pay ,no free health care or medications, no family allowance or maternity grants .
That was how it was in the 1920’s and 1930’s , WW2 created jobs otherwise the depression would have continued much longer.
Foreign holidays were unknown as for many was a day at Blackpool!

It is all relative and I don’t wish such deprivation again but I do feel budgetting ought to be a compulsory subject at schools!
Essentials sorted first then enjoyment secondary.
Our luxury was to have no debt but we hadn’t much else either !
It was the norm though and many were in the same situation so we did not feel deprived , just lucky we could “pay our way” .

Times change and attitudes too.
I am sometimes a bit  taken aback at my lovely grandchildrens’ life styles, and think “ that is not a necessity - we would not have done that “ but I say nothing ,times change and I suppose my parents might have tutted at us having a holiday when we had a mortgage to pay, but we had no debt so we did have the occasional treat.
Such hard times within living memory and seemingly so again even today with benefits etc, imagine having nothing,nothing at all !

It is upsetting thinking just how hard it has been for people.
Viktoria.

[coombs]

In rural Oxfordshire on the census I found a ancestor sibling or cousin who was said to be sleeping in a barn on census night in the 1851 census, and was described as "tramp".