General Chat

I was very lucky to get a copy of a births audit from a workhouse, as most had been destroyed during the Blitz on Bristol during WW2.
It was a page from May to November 1912 of 29 births of which only 4 were legitimate.

I have a g/g/aunt who had all 10 of her children in the local workhouse infirmary. All survived to live long lives and they lived in dire conditions.

Most of our old 'cottage hospitals' started out as workhouse infirmaries.

I was going to say something similar to Vera.
Despite my g grandfather having a good job (ship steward) , my great gran had all her children in the 'workhouse' because, quite often there was a hospital attached - and the doctor was FREE!!

St David's Hospital in Cardiff was known as the workhouse but it was also a hospital, and still is

Annie may not have been an inmate in the workhouse. The workhouse infirmary was often used like a local hospital. Homes were sometimes overcrowded with no privacy or facilities for giving birth so mothers to be went to the workhouse. I have an ancestor whose mother went in to the workhouse when in labour, gave birth the next day and left a week or two later to take her baby back to the family home.

Took me ages to find his birth as the workhouse authorities had baptised him Walter when he was a couple of days old, but every record for him up to his death in 1930 was in the name of Thomas. I don't think his mum liked the name Walter!

???????????

Name: Ann Jane Irvine
Event Type: Census
Event Date: 1891
Gender: Female
Age: 9
Birthplace: Shetland
Registration District: Lerwick & Gulberwick
County: Shetland
Birth Year (Estimated): 1882
GS Film number: 208608

?????????

Name: Ann Irvine
Event Type: Census
Event Date: 1891
Gender: Female
Age: 12
Birthplace: Shetland
Registration District: Lerwick & Gulberwick
County: Shetland
Birth Year (Estimated): 1879
GS Film number: 208608

??????????

Name: Thomas Irvine
Event Type: Census
Event Date: 31 Mar 1901
Gender: Male
Age: 1
Relationship to Head of Household: Adopted Son
Birthplace: Birmingham, Warwickshire
Schedule Type: Household
Registration District: Birmingham
Sub-District: St Martin
Ecclesiastical Parish: Immanuel
Civil Parish: Birmingham
District/Parish/County: Warwickshire

Name: Thomas Henry Irvine
Spouse's Name: Margaret Cope
Event Date: 06 Jun 1920
Event Place: Kingsbury, Warwick, England
Indexing Project (Batch) Number: I02053-9
System Origin: England-EASy
GS Film number: 198736
Reference ID: yr 1912-1924

Name: Thomas Henry Irvine
Event Type: Census
Event Date: 1911
Gender: Male
Age: 11
Birthplace: Birmingham, Warwickshire
Schedule Type: Household
Registration District: Birmingham
Sub-District: Ladywood
Parish: Birmingham
County: Warwickshire

Far too many of all of our ancestors were born in the Workhouse. The last in my family was my wondeful Gt/Aunt who was born in 1897.

However, many girls would have left the family home (either by force or voluntarily) to have the baby away from the area. To avoid the 'shame' and the gossip.

Another thing that would happen (in the more affluent families) Mother & pregnant daughter would go away for a long 'holiday' as mum was expecting and needed the rest. Lo and behold both come back, with the new baby. So baby is now brought up as sibling to mother. And very common for working class, to just let grandparents bring up child as their own, eventually people just forget that the child is actually a grandchild and all ive happily ever after.

Different times, different standards and mores <3

Hi Michelle

It would be in your best interest to delete this thread and post it on the "Find Ancesors" board.

Have you searched on "Scotlandspeople" to find a birth registed for Annie?

Prickles.

:-( gg gran Annie Irvine mother to Thomas Henry Irvine....later became taborn before legal adoptions. Birth cert of Thomas tells me that Thomas was born in workhouse Weston road Birmingham in 1899. Father not named. Annie herself b .Lerwick Shetland isles, but can not find her birth as yet.
Found it sad Thomas was born in workhouse, what made annie leave home and travel down the country???? Sad really

Michelle