Genealogy Chat

Does anyone know the answer? I am trying to track an ancestor who i believe may have been born in a workhouse and was then an orphan... regards lorraine

yes they were recorded the same as deaths were. if you can find the workhouse records you may find the birth recorded as well. I have several death certs that show the death was in the Union infirmary. People often tho werent in the Workhouse as such, they were in the Infirmary that was open for those that couldnt afford private doctors Shirley

Yes they were. My grandmother was born in Fulham Union Workhouse in 1886 and says so on her birth cert. I believe that the registrars went into the workhouses weekly to register all the births. Just because a child was born in a workhouse it doesn't mean that the mother was an in mate there. Most had an infirmary where women went just to give birth and I was told by a lady at Met. Archives that the mums and babies were usually kept in for three weeks after the birth. You would not have to find the workhouse records as the birth would be on the ordinary birth listings. Julie

My ancestors were at the Fulham Union workhouse in 1882 and when I viewed the handwritten registers held at the Metropolitan Archives I had to step outside for a smoke to calm my excitement. They contained all the details I needed to fill in the blanks in their story.

Thanks for your replies.....unfortunately i am completely reliant on the internet as i live in australia and am unable to visit any places for information.. The relative i am trying to trace is a lilian/lillie clifford born around 1882/1883...possibly in plymouth. I have no other information at all...and the only lead i possibly have is by the 1901 census which has a lillie clifford living as a servant in greenwich...i'm assuming this is her as her future husband's family are from there. On the census it says birth place of plymouth, devon.,but i can't find any trace of this in birth records....so maybe she wasn't born there? Its turning into a real mystery for me.. lorraine

Lorraine have you got the marriage cert cos that will show her dad, we may then be able to find her on the 1891 census. she should be registered because it was compulsory from 1875

Plymouth Poor Law Union and Workhouse Erected in 1852 to 1858 at Freedom Fields, Longfield Terrace, Plymouth. It became Greenbank Infirmary in 1909 and then under the NHS it formed part of Plymouth General Hospital (Freedom Fields) http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/archives Plymouth and West Devon Record Office Community Services Department Unit 3 Clare Place Plymouth PL4 0JW Phone : 01752 305940 Email : pwdro 'at' plymouth.gov.uk Workhouses Devonport Workhouse No inmates registers have survived. East Stonehouse Workhouse No inmates registers have survived. Plymouth Workhouse No inmates registers have survived. Plympton Saint Mary Workhouse Births (indexed) 1868 to 1914. Deaths (indexed) 1868 to 1914. Access to this register is restricted until 1 January 2015.

Yes there were. The records are somewhat 'blunt' on the facts............lets say it like that. There is also the chance that it'll say how long the mother was in the Workhouse before the birth, and when she left.

Paul, that must have been a wonderful experience. I am so nervous of the big offices (Im useless at the small records offices) that Ive never ventured to them. My distant cousin, who had been tracing our Acton line back to Sir Walter Acton - in the 16th century (and now beyond!) - is brilliant at walking the streets of London from one office to the other. I am so jealous of his ability. I know when he finally found our baptism link to Sir Walter he said he had to leave the office and come outside just to phone me and we both screamed. This sedate elderly gentleman from Tunbridge Wells then returned to the office and photocopied the evidence for me. Brilliant

I know what you mean Heather (sorry to take over your thread Lorraine).... I found a snippet in the China Morning Post 1846 in which my ancestor Mary Bluett claimed to have been abandoned penniless in Hong Kong by her husband. I was in the Newspaper Archive in Colindale. I rushed outside to phone my mum and in my excitement left my wallet on the table. Thank god there was no dishonest person in there at the time. These Eureka moments are rare but when they happen they make all the effort worthwhile.

There are these two births around the right time (although not in Devon):- Name: Lillie Clifford Year of Registration: 1881 Quarter of Registration: Jan-Feb-Mar District: St Olave Southwark (1837-1901) County: London, Surrey Volume: 1d Page: 237 and Name: Lillie Clifford Year of Registration: 1882 Quarter of Registration: Apr-May-Jun District: Keynsham County: Gloucestershire, Somerset Volume: 5c Page: 363 Kath. x