General Chat

Please add - Updated - if you know of any books that may have reference in them to people we might be researching, please add them, many thanks ;-))

Whilst researching I came across an entry in the 1881 census that shows 23 Prostitutes in residence at the Lock Hospital in Aldershot Lock Hospital’s were set up as voluntary hospitals for the treatment of venereal diseases. Often to be found in area’s where there were military bases, they set out to ‘supervise and decontaminate prostitutes in garrison towns’ Some had ‘Asylums for the Reception of Penitent Female Patients’ attached to them, where girls were taught needlework and other skills, in an attempt to stop them returning to the streets.

I found one the other night who was a footman for the Bishop of Hereford at the Palace in Monmouth.

River Hospitals Most of us are probably aware of Prison Hulks, as depicted in the Dickens classic Great Expectations. However ships have also been used as isolation hospitals. During the smallpox epidemics in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s ambulance steamers were used to bring smallpox patients from Rotherhithe and Blackwall to Dartford. At Dartford there were 3 hospital ships, the Atlas, Endymion and Castilia. The Atlas and Endymion were chartered from the Admiralty and the Castilia had been built as a cross channel ferry. The hospital ships continued in use until 1903 when the permanent Joyce Green smallpox hospital was opened on a site nearby.

Whilst looking for my ggg-grandfather,on the 1881, I spotted one poor soul whose address was: 'In a shed'. Dee, are there listings of patients for the hospital ships? My great-grandfather was apparently a patient,s on one of these ships, during the smallpox epidemic c1887

Ruby The book I have does not give names of patients. There is a good site with info on the Joyce Green River Hospitals http://users.ox.ac.uk/~peter/workhouse/MAB-JoyceGreen/MAB-JoyceGreen.shtml Hope you find it interesting, it may give you links to find patient lists. Dee xx

The book Fagin's Children, Criminal Children in Victorian England by Jeannie Duckworth, gives details of several child felons. William and John Marshall, aged 11 and 10 in 1852, are mentioned in the journal of the chaplain of Preston House of Correction, Lancashire. Most of the children mentioned come from the Rookeries in London, made famous in Oliver Twist

Life in the village of East Hoathly, Sussex, is well documented in The Diary of Thomas Turner, 1745-1765. Lots of details of families who are receiving poor relief etc. As a book to read it is quite hard going, but if you think you may have relatives in the area it is well worth a look at the index

In 1841 in Headcorn the local enumerators would have had a difficult job. The railway was being built and there was a huge army of excavators and engineers, some with their families, living in temporary accomodation in the area These guys would have been moving all over the country, following the growth of the railways. No wonder we can't find some of our relatives

If you think your relative was in service, like Paul's footman, be aware that the name may be mistranscribed. Rose Harsent, who was the young servant murdered at Peasenhall, was mistranscribed in the 1901 census. Because she was not living with her parents it would be quite easy to completely miss her if you were searching on the census for her. I only found her as I knew the name of the family she was servant to Rose's murder is mentioned in Suffolk of one hundred years ago, by Humphrey Phelps. Dee xx

I have one who was House Steward to William Penn in Pennsylvania.

Looking for female relatives? Women of Victorian Sussex by Helena Wojtczak may be worth looking out for, it contains the names and occupations of 100's of Sussex women The Federation of Women's Institutes did a series of books describing life Within Living Memory. In one of them I found my parents old neighbour, she had been a district nurse and was well remembered for being at the births of several local children, as well as laying out several of the older folk

Thanks Dee, I'll follow that up.

One of mine was hanged then gibbeted in the Quantocks. Gwynne

Several members of a family I have been researching turned up in 'Daily Life in Bromley and Neighbourhood 1858-1900' by Peter Boreham One mistreated a heifer, a small child died through drinking poison, and an in law was involved in an affray. The book is extracts from local newspapers and gives a fascinating insight into life in the area at the time

Gobsmaked to learn that a branch of my husbands family OWNED Sandrigham Estate before the Royals and that they have monuments in Sandringham Church and St Pauls Cathederal!! The family name is HOSTE. Much happiness debi

Dee, when I get a chance (that means get round to it!) I will put more info on but for now, I bought the following books after getting into family history. Loads of rellies must be in them but the social history is interesting anyway. In the order on my shelf: The Hanoverians (British History 1714-1815) Last of the Line - Traditional British Craftsmen Faces of Britain 1880-1919 People and Places - In Search of Britain and Northern Europe Britain Then and Now Journeys Into the Past - Life on the Home Front Journeys Into the Past - Life in the 20s and 30s Villages of England A History of Sussex Timpson’s Towns of England and Wales Edwardian Album Faber Book of Reportage England in the Age of Hogarth (18th century) Already had The Peoples England (social history of workers) Goods and Chattels of Our Fathers (Frampton Cotterill & district probate inventories 1539-1804) Folklore Myths & Legends of Britain Xx Jen

I came across a very good book about Wensleydale. Two female authors whose names I forget, think one may have been Hartley) but the book was called A Yorkshire Village.

Mine isnt really an interesting place. but my dad and his brothers where told that there grandfather Anthony Harrison came from Cornwall so when we started searching our family tree we found out that he never came from Cornwall he came from Tanfield in Durham and was a coal miner. Dad was devastated. Not only that cos were all dark skinned in our family I was always told my grandmother was spanish, was she spanish? no she was born in Bishop Auckland in Durham. And here was me looking forward to finding some spanish ancestors. What a let down LOL Regards Yvonne

Our Lovely Hops – Memories of Hop-picking in Kent – an age exchange publication This book is full of memories and photos of people who went hopping in Kent up until the hopping process was mechanised in the 1950’s ----------------------------- Kent 1800 – 1899 A Chronicle of the Nineteenth Century by Bob Ogley A fascinating insight into Kentish History, including a report on the murder of PC Israel May in 1873 in Snodland and the death of 43 ‘strangers’ in 1849. These strangers were hoppers, who had come to Barming and died there of cholera.