Genealogy Chat

ok, doing some research, but who isn't ;-)
came across an entry (in Yorkshire), on the census, with a child listed as " a child of Liverpool unknown" any one got any ideas as to why or how this might happen?
see in my mind, if he's a foundling, why say he's from Liverpool?
oh, please help ;-)

Maybe he was found in Liverpool and taken in and then placed with a family in Yorkshire

Sadly some illegitimate babies were secretly born and then abandoned by the mum and didnt survive . Those that were found would be foundlings with no family names but would hopefully go to a family that took them on as their own

well maybe. the thing is i think there's more to it than simply that.
in the christening records (when he was 7-ish) they say THEY found him on their doorstep. but in the census (where he's 5) hes called edwin thompson. see my puzzle is why say his surname is thompson if he is "unknown".

They unofficially adopted him maybe

Official adoption didn't start till 1927

can you give more details like birth year etc and who he is living with so we can take a look

In the 1851 census Edwin is 5 years old and living in Dewsbury with John and Martha Jowett as a visitor.

It doesn't say that his name is unknown - "a child from Liverpool not known" is written under the occupation heading.

Kath. x

Yes I found that too .

seems he was a visitor but other than he was born Liverpool they didn't know any background of him

so can we see the christening record too ??

Name: Edwin Jowett
Parish: Birstall, St Peter
Baptism Date: 3 May 1855
Father's name: John Jowett
Mother's name: Martha
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
1851

Edwin Thompson
abt 1846 Birstal, Yorkshire, England Visitor Gomersal, Yorkshire

In 1871, Edwin says birth place Not Known


1871 Census

Name: Edwin T Jowitt
[Edwin T Jowett]
Age: 24
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1847
Relation: Head
Spouse's Name: Sarah Jowitt
Gender: Male
Where born: N
Civil Parish: Gomersal
Ecclesiastical parish: Birstall
Town: Birstall
County/Island: Yorkshire
Country: England
Registration district: Dewsbury
Sub-registration district: Gomersal
ED, institution, or vessel: 3
Household schedule number: 17
Piece: 4587
Folio: 55
Page Number: 4

Edwin T Jowitt 24
Sarah Jowitt 24



On his marriage certificate to Sarah Platt, there is no father named for Edwin.


I suspect that he was found by the Jowetts, who later had him baptised with their surname.

He would have been about 12 when he was baptised, and therefore about to look for work. Many, if not most, employers insisted that people working for them be baptised. If the Jowetts did not know whether or not Edwin had been baptised, then they may have decided to make sure.

His birthplace is also shown as Unknown


from ancestry ...........

West Yorkshire, England, Births and Baptisms, 1813-1910

Name: Edwin Jowett
Parish: Birstall, St Peter
Baptism Date: 3 May 1855
Father's name: John Jowett
Mother's name: Martha Jowett


On the actual register, is written ......

This child was left with John Jowett of Birstal, Miner, & his wife Martha as a foundling in April 1846, and was believed then to be about 2 months old. Thye have never been able to discover who were his parents.

signed by the Vicar



I think you are stuck with the fact that the story is that he was left on their doorstep, and no other information is available.

MAYBE there was a note with him that said his name was Edwin Thompson ............

MAYBE they had a suspicion who might have left him but never managed to find the mother again.

MAYBE they knew there had been some itinerant workers in the area from Liverpoole

MAYBE Martha had a pregnancy that she managed to keep secret from her husband, then she managed to keep the baby secret until he was 2 months old, and decided to "find" him on the doorstep .................. very unlikely IMHO


It does seem likely that they decided to have him baptised at around age 9 ............ so he could go out to work without any questions being asked, and that they gave him their surname.

They did have all their other children baptised

I think adding further credence to my suggestion is the fact that in 1861, his occupation is Pupil Teacher and in 1881 he is Sexton and School Keeper. In 1871, he is a Gardener

Both Pupil Teacher and Sexton would probably require him to have been baptised.

thanks for you help and thoughts guys. i think points one or/and two seem to have more credence. i think thaey a mother might leave a child with a "nice" couple. so they might have more than an inkling who the mother was, now sadly lost to time.

The child was left with the Jowetts *as a foundling* not that they had found him........what happened in these cases was they were often given the name of a vicar or well known person.or the person who found him........nowdays the state names foundlings.

Babies left at convents were named by the nuns in early times.

kay????? you're right i've not spotted the "AS" before. what with the start of the potato famine that year it makes more sense. so edwin thompson could just have been his recorded foundling name for "financial records". right another trip to the foundling museum in gray's inn.