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Workhouse admissions
- Thread starter Bbithell
- Start date
ok let us know if you need any help...i was just pondering on this and just say for instance that the husband did not want to have anything more to do with his wife and she was not of sound mind to even know her name he could have had her placed in the workhouse under her maiden name...just a thought..thinking outside of the box
lyn
mw0njm.
A Brummie Dude
yes, it was possible for a husband to place his wife into a workhouse under her maiden name, though the practice wasn't the primary or easiest method of workhouse entry. A husband's marital authority meant he could legally control his wife's life, and if she was a "burden" to him, a husband could arrange for her to enter a workhouse. A husband could place his wife into a workhouse under her maiden name to avoid her being a financial burden to him.
are you subscribed to ancestry as they have some admissions online...if not and you would like those who are subscribed to take a look for you we would need more info ..such as a name..when born and where they lived
lyn
What crossed my mind with this is prior to 1914 divorce was rare. It was considered a scandal and only for the wealthy. There were a lot of legal restrictions requiring proof of adultery or violence to the truly desperate. So an alternative was to have your spouse committed to an asylum or other institution.
Ok, this is what I have so far. There is already a post on here regarding the Wheeler family and, more specifically, Liliy Baker (born 1878). She is my Great Aunt, her sister in law is my Great Grandmother.
The original post was put up by JaneMTaylor and is still an open thread I think. Please feel free to transfer this over if you'd prefer it there.
To recap, she was married to George Frederick Wheeler (born 1877) - they had 5 children, two of which died in childhood.
in the 1911 census they were living in 9bk 9 Arley Place, Tower Street :-
George Frederick
Lily
Florence. 9
Doris. 8
Ellen. 6
Eva Gertrude. 2
The family story is that there was massive falling out between the couple and that Lily had just disappeared at this point. Previous research done on here by Jane and others established that Lily didn't die and I have come to the same conclusion. To me though the story feels too black and white.
In August 1911 the youngest child, Eva Gertrude, died at the age of 2.
I think it is more likely that Lily had severe mental health issues because of it and couldn't cope. My theory is that she was admitted to either a hospital or workhouse and so effectively 'disappeared' from the community. George may have had difficulty accepting it.
On October 7th. 1912 the three remaining children were put into St. Josephs Home for Girls, Brougham Street, and George can be found in Rowton House from this point on.
I asked the question about a husband admitting his wife using her maiden name as I've found a Lily Baker on the discharge lists for Coventry Workhouse in 1918 and 1921.
I'm not suggesting that any of this is more than a theory at this point as I don't know how to search for workhouse admission lists and such like but I feel that it would be very unlikely that a mother of three young girls would simply walk away and never return unless there was some serious reason.