Genealogy Chat

The girls are right. The trick of checking other words with the same letter is a good one. It's housekeeper.

Well after reading this thread curiosity got the better of me and I had to look at the original of the 1911. I zoomed in and I am sure it is Assistant Housekeeper with the s and the e close together. Baring in mind that her mother is 79 it is feasible that Florence assisted her mother in the running of the house etc

Wendy x

Kath-not the enumerator's fault this time as it's DIY!
Just that back flourish on the last straight bar of the "h" and I agree-letters squashed together.

Reading back...I had a good laugh at PigletsPals's comment about "pet rocks". LOL!!!!!

Maureenx
(I know I promised,but heck.........)

I think that the enumerator has just squashed together the "s" and the "e" in the word Housekeeper, but I guess none of us can ever be certain - although if it was my relative I would definitely be recording her as Assistant Housekeeper.

Kath. x

Despite your persuasive arguments, I'm still inclined toward "storekeeper." While there are some "S" differences, there doesn't seem to be a definite comparison to the "H" either. Another problem is that there doesn't seem to be enough characters for "housekeeper." If the first letter is "H" that leaves what appears to be o-?-e-keeper. "House" is five letters, but it appears there are only four.
But it really doesn't make a lot of difference. I was hoping there really was an occupation of "stonekeeper" because it sounds so cool.
Thanks for your input.
Dave

I agree Maureen. I'd be willing to bet that the occupation is Assistant Housekeeper, but we'll have to let David make up his own mind.

Kath. x

I agree Maureen. I'd be willing to bet that the occupation is Assistant Housekeeper, but we'll have to let David make up his own mind.

Kath. x

At the risk of sounding like a broken record (too late,probably!)....David,have a good look at the words Single,Scunthorpe and Sanderson on that image. The esses look nothing like the first letter of "that word".
I truly think it's supposed to be an "h". Very similar to the "h" in "Hugh".

And I promise that's the last word from me on the subject. grin

Maureen

To answer Maureen's question, yes, I've seen the original image.
The word does indeed look like "stonekeeper" to me, but "storekeeper" is the more likely explanation, I think.
I've consulted some lists of old occupational titles and "stonekeeper" does not appear in any of them.
Seems to me the transcriber just entered what it seemed to them was on the form, without applying some common sense. "Somderson" is an example. No such name seems to exist anywhere else in England. Lots of Sandersons, though.

Stonepicker - someone who cleared stones from fields prior to sowing crops. Sounds possible if she was on a farm.

Stoneman / Stonewarden - Highway surveyor

Just a thought off the top of my head but if it is "stonekeeper" would it be anything to do with checking dry stone walling for repairs etc

Bee

Um,David,have you seen the actual census image,though? The first letter,as I said, does NOT look like an "s". (if you don't have the image,PM me with your e-mail addy and I'll send it to you.)

I see Kath has come to the same conclusion!

Maureen

Edit:Off to bed now

An addition: It seems that the transcriber of this entry was somewhat careless. There are at least two other mistakes:
Butler is transcribed as "Butter."
Sanderson is transcribed as "Somderson."
Not surprising that "storekeeper" would be transcribed as "stonekeeper."
Cheers.
Dave

Although Florence described herself as married, she had been abandoned by her husband at some point between 1906 and 1911. It would not be surprising, therefore, that she was working outside her parents' home.

I've found two transcriptions of the 1911 census entry, and both describe her as an assistant stonekeeper, not storekeeper.

The census form most definitely does not say "assistant housekeeper," although "storekeeper" is a possibility.

The surprising thing is that there were nine assistant stonekeepers in England at the time. Could all of them have been transcription errors?

I have come across some indication that the occupation "stonekeeper" has something to do with lighthouses, but I'm skeptical. I'm leaning toward a misinterpretation of storekeeper, because the census form says she was employed on a farm.

Thanks to all.
Dave

I'd say the 1911 census definitely says Assistant Housekeeper. It says on the image that her employer is a "Farmer", and the head of the household is a Farmer.

Kath. x

1881

Thomas B. BUTTERS Head M Male 26 Castlemaine British Subject, Australia Farmer
Hannah BUTTERS Wife M Female 21 Lutton, Lincoln, England
Florence BUTTERS Daur U Female 5 m Lutton, Lincoln, England


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source Information:
Dwelling Daniels Gate
Census Place Lutton, Lincoln, England
Family History Library Film 1341765
Public Records Office Reference RG11
Piece / Folio 3209 / 40
Page Number 12

In the 1901 Census John James Johnson is definitely down as an Assistant Factory Storekeeper.

Ah yes. I'm having a problem as I don't think that the first letter of "stone/storekeeper" is actually an "s". Looks more like an "h"?? so Homekeeper or Housekeeper?

Maureen

My guess is that her occupation has been mistranscribed and that if she has an occupation (Unusual for a married woman with a child in 1911) it is that of Assistant Storekeeper at the farm.

1911:
KENDALL, George Head Married
53 years M 79 1832 Farmer Linc Ashby VIEW
KENDALL, Catherine Wife Married F 73 1838 Lincs Scunthorpe VIEW
BUTTER, Florence Isabel Daughter Married
6 years F 31 1880 Assistant Stonekeeper Lincs Ffrodingham VIEW
BUTTER, Arnold Grandson M 5 1906 Lincs Cosby VIEW
SOMDERSON, Hugh Grandson Single M 19 1892 Farm Labourer Lincs Scunthorpe VIEW
RG number:
RG14 Piece:
20089 Reference:
RG14PN20089 RG78PN1201 RD424 SD2 ED22 SN16B

Registration District:
Glanford Brigg Sub District:
Winterton Enumeration District:
22 Parish:
Bottesford

Address:
Bottesford County:
Lincolnshire

Marriages Jun 1905 (>99%)
Butler George William Glanford B 7a 1822
KENDALL Florence Isabel Glanford B. 7a 1822

1901:

Name: Florence J Kendall
Age: 21
Estimated birth year: abt 1880
Relation: Daughter
Father's name: George Kendall
Mother's name: Catherine Kendall
Gender: Female
Where born: Frodingham, Lincolnshire, England
Civil Parish: Brumby
Ecclesiastical parish: Frodingham St Lawrence
County/Island: Lincolnshire
Country: England
Street address:

Occupation:

Condition as to marriage:

Education:

Employment status:

View image
Registration district: Glanford Brigg
Sub-registration district: Winterton
ED, institution, or vessel: 18
Neighbors: View others on page
Household schedule number: 167
Household Members:
Name Age
George Kendall 68
Catherine Kendall 62
George A Kendall 33
William S Kendall 21
Arthur J Kendall 25
Florence J Kendall 21
Joseph H Sanderson 9
Frederick Wilkinson 20
Jane Loftus 20