Genealogy Chat

I may have just found my ancestor living in Dunchurch, Warwickshire when he was 15 years old. He should have been living in Hatfield Broad Oak, Essex. Does anyone know if it was "common" for teenagers to leave their county? Thanks so much, I'm now rushing off to work!

Lisa, I dont knpw the date that this happened but they left school earlier than they do today, then they took work wherever it happened to be, so yes this is possible. Of course they shpuldn't appear on the census for 2 different places. June

Lisa What was the relationship to the head of the household? Was he with relatives or an employee? Margaret

The school leaving age "raised" to 12 in 1899, 14 in 1918. I'm sure many would have worked away from home in those days. Bob

Hi Lisa, it was very common to get teenagers earning a living as soon as possible, my ggrandmother came from Barby in Northamptonshire and was working as a servant in Dunchurch at the age of 14, but her step sister also 14 and had gone to Bridport Dorset to work. Hope this helps. April

I don't know which tear you are refering to, but yes, it probably happened more than we realise. He may have gone to be an apprentice with relatives. If you're talking about the mid 1800s then industrialisation was prompting more people to move to urban areas - and Birmingham was one of the fastest growing towns. If he was a boarder then he may well have left Essex to look for work, although why he didn't go to London is beyond me at this late hour!

Thank you everyone for responding! Sorry for not adding the date; I was in a rush to post the message before I left for work (when I return from work, most GC people are asleep). I have been searching for two ancestors for 25 years (I would like to find ALL of them, but two in particular are very important to me). James Mumford has been extremely difficult to track. I just found a James Mumford, age: 15, occupation: butcher j, born in county: no - on the 1841 Census for Dunchurch, Warwickshire, District 2. It is just a listing of names, so the above information is all that is shown. ("My" James was born in 1826, in Hatfield, England. I am trying to somehow confirm that he was born in Essex.) Possibly "butcher j" might be junior butcher? Two people were kind enough to search the 1841 census in Essex and he was not listed there. He was in Canada prior to 1858, so I have been hoping to find him in Essex in 1851. I believe his father was James Mumford who was a butcher in Essex. My James was a butcher in Canada, as were his three sons. If anyone has any other suggestions, I would love to hear them. Thank you so much June, Margaret, Bob, April and Kathryn -- sounds like the James I found could be "my" James.

Susan, if I have found the correct parents for my ancestor, then it would make sense that the older children left home, as there were 7 children that survived the first years of childhood (a lot of mouths to feed). The Mumfords seemed to have been in Essex for "some time", but perhaps his mother's family was from Warwickshire. I shall have to follow up on the 1841. Thanks so much for your input!

Hi Susan. I tried the website but got "Error on the URL you selected." (I removed the ( ) first, of course.) Do you have any idea what I could have done? (Tried it four times.) Thanks so much.

http://www(.)hunimex(.)com/warwick/census/warkcen_1841(.)html Hope you find him

I've GOT to stop looking at GC right before work!!!! Now I have to sit at work all day, wondering what the site looks like!!! Thanks so much, George. (I've 13 minutes before I have to open the office, RUN!)

Susan and George: Thanks so much for the addresses. Unfortunately, Susan, the site you gave me is the same site I just found -- containing James' name, occupation and age. George, it looks like your site has more districts so I am trying all of the districts right now. Thank you both very much for trying to help me. Maurice: I almost feel like I am walking down the path with my ancestor -- thank you for the "tour". Unfortunately, I don't even know if the James I've found is mine, and I don't have an address. If I ever confirm that he is mine and obtain an address I would be thrilled to have you look up the address. My thanks to EVERYONE again -- I really, really can't tell you how much this means to me. I know all of my gt-gt-grandparents' names and countries of birth, but the only two I desperately want to find are James Mumford and John Ovens (with the help of "Paul" I am in the middle of finding out information about John Ovens).

Hi Susan. My face couldn't be more red. Obviously, I am not used to looking at an English census, as I clearly didn't know how to read it. The Neville family is in house no. 13, as well as a few other people, including a James Mumford. So, that means that James was living with the Neville's, correct? Thanks so much for writing again to explain it so even I could understand it! I know very little about James' life in England, so I'm not surprised to have never heard of the Neville's. About the only thing I do know is that he married someone from Surrey (her family was originally from Sussex) -- whom he either met in England or in Canada. The next time I come across a new document, I'll have to (once again) ask my older son to help me. Thank you very much for your help, Susan (and please thank your son for me?).