Genealogy Chat

My great grandfather and his brother were in the British Orphan asylum at Slough, they had to be voted in by the board , who must think they were a derserving case .Their mother was alive but could not support them. There father had been a professor of language . The orphan schools were very harsh. Both of them joined the army and went into banking/stockbroking so did ok out of it. But i don't think there was much understanding or compassion about their predicament. Kim

Hi Josephine There is a website, www*missing-ancestors*com that has all about industrial schools. There is an alphabetical list of schools and people attending. Thought you might find it useful. Helen

Many thanks to everyone for your help. It would seem that he may well have been in an orphanage even though his mother was still alive. This is the real life part of doing family history - not just dates but real lives. Does anyone know what an orphan working school is? Does it mean they worked and got the odd bit of basic education? Anyone know where I could look to find out more? Thanks again everyone.

I found a child in Tewkesbury Workhouse in 1841, aged only 4, while her recently widowed mother was working as a Frame Work Knitter in Derbyshire. In 1851, glimpsed oh so briefly when Ancestry let us see it, she had remarried and sent for the child and her brother and they were living with their step-siblings in Derbyshire. I can't begin to imagine how difficult it must have been to have left a child of that age behind. And how desperate she must have been.

My Collins Dictionary (1957) states an orphan is: a child bereft of one or both parents. My more modern Oxford ED (1990something) says both parents...... Merry

1891 mistranscribed as Rutt Rutt, Elsie G M abt 1882 St Pancras, London, England Daughter Hampstead London Rutt, John abt 1845 Bristol, Gloucestershire, England Head Hampstead London Rutt, John W abt 1888 St Pancras, London, England Son Hampstead London Rutt, Mary E abt 1886 St Pancras, London, England Daughter Hampstead London Rutt, Matilda E abt 1849 Wootton Bassett, Wiltshire, England Wife Hampstead London Rutt, William H G abt 1879 St Pancras, London, England Son Hampstead London Source information: RG12/109 Registration district: Hampstead Sub registration district: Hampstead ED, institution, or vessel: 19 Folio: 75 Page: 85 sorry gives you an Elsie unaccounted for in 1901!!

Hi Josephine, I've found them 1891!!!!!Mistranscribed as RUTT (it does look like RUTT) Rutt, Elsie G M abt 1882 St Pancras, London, England Daughter Hampstead London Rutt, John abt 1845 Bristol, Gloucestershire, England Head Hampstead London Rutt, John W abt 1888 St Pancras, London, England Son Hampstead London Rutt, Mary E abt 1886 St Pancras, London, England Daughter Hampstead London Rutt, Matilda E abt 1849 Wootton Bassett, Wiltshire, England Wife Hampstead London Rutt, William H G abt 1879 St Pancras, London, England Son Hampstead London 12 Lisburn Rd, Hampstea Debbie

I haven't found the evidence yet, but my mother told me that when her great-aunt was widowed in her early 30s with 6 children to support, the two eldest girls went to an orphanage. nell

Hi Thanks everyone. Jess - His sisters were Elizabeth Ann and Mary Jane. His brother William had Sarah, Thomas and Grace by 1881 wife aged 49 so unlikely she had anymore. Only brother I haven't found is James born 1848 Bristol - don't know what happened to him. - I couldn't find them in 1891 and only found John Walton Nutt in 1901. Couldn't find Matilda Nutt born Wootton Bassett Wiltshire 1848 or my direct ancestor William Harold Gibbons Nutt born Kentish Town 1878. Sorry I have forgotten the name of the other lady who responded but yes I too felt very sad when I read this. They were a reasonably well off family it would seem, Matilda was a Professor of Music and John a Cabinet Maker and when their first child was born they had a servant so it must have been awful for them when they fell on hard times. I don't understand why Matilda's family didn't help them, or John's, but maybe things were different then. All very sad.

Hi Josephine, Sadly, yes, he could have been there! In 1891, 2 of my gr-gr-grandmothers nieces were in an orphanage, several counties away - status - Orphan Girl!! (aw bless) Their mother was very much alive, but her husband had died 2yrs earlier. The 2 girls were the middle children of 9. I can only assume, Gr-gr-granny's sister just couldn't bring them all up on her own. In 1901 the girls were back in their home town. I often wondered who took them and left them there, (presumably not their mother?) Must have been heartbreaking! Made me really sad the day I found that entry, and thought about it a bit! Debbie

Didn't have an older sister called Matilda did he, that could have been the witness? have you found them in 1891 census? post it if you have please

I think I've found a relie in 1901 census - John Walton Nutt aged 13 Scholar Kentish Town Orphan Working School. 2 questions please: 1. What is an Orphan Working School? 2. Could my relie have been in there if his mother was still alive? His father John died in 1895 but I have not found a death for his mother Matilda Nutt. Plus a Matilda Nutt was a witness at antoher son's wedding in 1907. I have found most of John Nutt's siblings and their families but there are no Matilda's. Can anyone help please?