Genealogy Chat

I have an album full of postcards sent to my great grandmother at various fever hospitals from 1904 to 1912, but know nothing about her prior to this date. From her death certificate I estimate her birth to be about 1880. She doesn't show up in any census return. Does anyone know where I can find anything on fever nurse training at this time? - I've googled it but come up with very little. I am getting quite desperate to find a way to trace her.
Many thanks
Dawn

The Royal College of Nurses may be able to help.
Liz

What was her name?

Violet Emma Foggerty - I know there are likely to be Irish roots there, hope so anyway, but I'm pretty sure that she was born in England, possibly Derbyshire, but with links to Birkenhead.

In the 1901 census -

Emma Fogarty
Age: 21
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1880
Relation: Servant
Gender: Female
Where born: Derby, Derbyshire, England

Civil Parish: Birkenhead
Ecclesiastical parish: Tranmere St Catherine
County/Island: Cheshire
Country: England

Street address:

Occupation:

Condition as to marriage:

Education:

Employment status: View Image

Registration district: Birkenhead
Sub registration district: Tranmere

Could this be her?

Could this be her family?

Do you have the names of any uncles, aunts or relatives that may help to identify her?

Emma Fogerty
Age: 7
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1874
Relation: Daughter
Father's Name: George
Mother's Name: Annie
Gender: Female
Where born: Little Eaton, Derbyshire, England

Civil Parish: Little Eaton
County/Island: Derbyshire
Country: England

Street address: Wharf
Education:

Employment status: View Image

Registration district: Shardlow
Sub registration district: Spondon
ED, institution, or vessel: 12
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members: Name Age
Annie Fogerty 30
Emma Fogerty 7
George Fogerty 28
George Fogerty 5
Henry Fogerty 3
William Fogerty 4


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Original
Record

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Thank you for doing this, I did find this entry in the census and wondered if it could be her! I will post all the info that I have later (toddlers and typing don't seem to mix in my house - they just want to go to the cbeebies website!). I am most grateful for any help.

I know for certain that Violet had a sister called Alice who married a Robert David Bellis in Birkenhead in 1907. They had three daughters, Olive, Marjorie and Frances. I'm certain that their families are out there somewhere. I know this from the postcards, and family photos.
I too had found 'Emma' Foggerty in Birkenhead in 1901, stating that she was from Derbyshire. There is also an Alice working as a servant in 1901 in the same area, but here birth record states Birkenhead?
I dug back a bit further and found an Emma, Alice and Arthur at the Birkenhead Union School (poor house) in 1891. I found an Emma Faggerty? born Birkenhead, Alice Foggerty born Birkenhead, and Arthur Foggerty born Derbyshire. I assume they could have got the names and places of birth a bit wrong.
Having dug back futher still, I think it stands a good chance that the Little Eaton family mentioned above could be them. I found a William and George Foggerty both born Derbyshire and both working as servants in 1891 when the others were at the union school. Their father George was lodging with a family in Derbyshire, with no sign of the rest of his family in 1891, so something may have happened to thier mum, and the family was split up. On other interesting thing is the link to Birkenhead. Annie Foggerty (Nelson) their mother was born there, so I suppose it is possible that dad packed then off to relatives in Birkenhead and they ended up instead in the Union School.
I have done a lot of research and gone back quite a long way, but have nothing definate to tie Emma, the servent in Birkenhead in 1901 to my Violet Emma in 1904.
I have so many questions: Could she have made the leap from servent to nurse? I thought nurses needed to pay for their training back then, surely she wouldn't have the money? The only other possibility is that she trained at the workhouse/union school, when it became St Catherines Hospital around this time. I've been in touch with Birkenhead Archives as they have some information about the Union School, but they are moving over the summer, so couldn't help.
This post is much too long, sorry, but if anyone has any ideas, I'd love to hear them - there must be something I've missed.

I suggest you look at the Research Guide to Nursing records on the National Archives website. It seems that there was no central registration of nurses before 1919, and many were untrained.

Who sent the postcards you have? could they be relatives? What I mean is do they hold any clues? Sorry - just doing an edit! I see you answered that already!

Well if all else fails, the new census is hopefully due for release next year!

Thanks everyone! I had a look on the Nursing Records bit on the National Archives site and after typing in the names of all the hospitals that she had worked in over the period, found an entry from a nurse that she worked with and who some of the postcards were from!
Her letter was posted in the competition section:
"To the Editor of the British Journal of Nursing, Many thanks for the two volumes of 'A History of Nursing ' recieved today 6th April (1908). Some of my fellow nurses and I have enjojed looking at them this morning. New City Hospital, Liverpool. N Bradley".
I'd like to think that Violet was perhaps one of the other nurses reading the books. Sometimes its the tiny scraps of information like this that mean the most.

People who worked in fever hospitals were normally survivors of the disease themselves, as they had immunity. So she may be on record as a patient previously.