Genealogy Chat

I think I may have asked this before, but would just like to see what you think...

Looking for a Catherine Seal b 1874 on 1881 and 1891 census. Can find Kat(i)e R Seal on both, with parents John and Mary. There is a Kate Barefield with parents David and Eliza on 1891 census but on 1881 census she seems to have been 'replaced' with a Caroline.

Please let me know what you think, as Kate isn't an obvious shortening of Caroline to me (although this is probably before the days of Caz...). I have ordered Catherine's marriage certificate to George Barefield in 1892 but am being impatient!

Also, she would have been fairly young to be married, what would the legal age limit have been in 1892, does anyoneknow? Thank you all!

Karen x

Sounds like a transcription error to me.


My great grandmother Ellen is down as Claire on one census and it is most definitely her! Even the original says Claire but she is correctly down on every other record either side of the date and "Claire" has the same age and birth place plus same husband (with unusual job) and children.

Sue
x

What,s in a name?
In those times, if you took a job as a servant, and your name was Maud, your employer could give you a working name. So when the census man came a knocking, if you were "known as " Elizabeth thats what was entered and Maud disappeared..
None of my gran mothers family ever used their given names
Elizabeth was Bert, Gwendoline Jane, amd Valerie was Peggy, Me I've always been Poppet.in the family . nothing like one!

Good point, Lindsey. I have heard that there were very lazy employers around who couldn't be bothered to learn the names of their new servants. So if their last housemaid was called Elizabeth and you happened to be named Florence, they might call you "Elizabeth" because it saved them the inconvenience of having to learn a new name.

It's a little like the case of my great-great grandfather's sister, Sarah Siggs. She is carefully noted down as having been born in Wheldrake, Yorkshire on every census between 1851 and 1901 except in 1891. Then her birthplace was down as "N K, Yorkshire". I suspect that she was not consulted when the form was filled in and her employer may have just thought, "She's from Yorkshire - I don't know which bit but Yorkshire will do to go on the form".

Thanks, will wait till I receive her marriage certificate but I think Kate and Caroline are one and the same person. Ages are 10years apart between the censuses and siblings are the same (apart from there being more in the second one!). Thanks for confirming what I had been wanting to think! Karen x