- Define the Problem
- Timeline
- Evaluate Evidence 1
- Evaluate Evidence 2
- Evaluate Evidence 3
- Evaluate Evidence 4
- Evaluate Evidence 5
- Evaluate Evidence 6
- Search for New Evidence
- Brown Family Certificates Received!
- Robert Unwin Will
- Search for New Evidence 1
- Search for New Evidence 2
- Charles Healey Will
- Going Around the Brickwall
- The Lost Children
In this post I continue to review all of the existing evidence and see if there are any more clues that I missed the first time around.
Reviewing the Evidence
Birth of George Brown
- 1885: George Brown, son of William Joseph and Emily Theresa Brown, is born on 30 Jun 1885 in Sheffield
George Brown was my grandfather. He was born on 30 June 1885 at 58 Elton Street. His father, William, was a carter and his mother, Emma Brown, registered the birth. This certificate shows different information than William and Emily’s marriage certificate. There, her name was Emily Foers while here it is Emma Fores, however it should be noted that she signed by making her mark, indicating that she was not literate. She may not have known how to spell her name(s).
Birth of Nellie Smith
- 1886: Nellie Smith, daughter of George and Ann Smith, is born about 1886 in Sheffield
Nellie Smith was 5 years old on 5 April 1891 and 15 years old on 31 March 1901 so her birth year is most likely 1886. The most likely birth registration is the only one in 1886.
England & Wales, “FreeBMD Index 1837-1983,” database, FreeBMD (http://www.freebmd.org.uk/: accessed 27 March 2010), birth of Nellie Smith; citing Ecclesall B Dec [quarter] 1886, vol 9c: 519.
Death of George Brown
- 1889: George Brown Jr was buried on 7 October 1889 at City Road Cemetery, Grave 12020, Section X
Elaine Pickard, “Burial Records,” database, Sheffield Indexers (http://www.sheffieldindexers.com: accessed 31 July 2011), Brown, George (file cutter, age 52), died at 23 Pea Croft; buried on 7 Oct 1889 in consecrated ground.
George Brown died at 23 Pea Croft, the same address that his widow, Mary Ann Brown lived at two years later at the time of the 1891 census. This address is also close to Scotland Street. George was 52 years old, a file cutter and was buried in consecrated ground at the City Road Cemetery. Unlike at Burngreave Cemetery where people in the same grave are often times related, at City Cemetery, this does not seem to be the case.
Assuming that this is the correct burial for George Jr., there is only one relevant death registration:
England & Wales, “FreeBMD Index 1837-1983,” database, FreeBMD (http://www.freebmd.org.uk/: accessed 27 March 2010), death of George Brown; citing Sheffield Dec [quarter] 1889, vol 9c: 285.
Possibly the death certificate would confirm that this is George Jr.
Birth of Verden Smith
- 1889: Verden Smith, son of George and Ann Smith, is born about 1889 in Sheffield
The birth year for Verden Smith was estimated based on his age at the time of the 1891, 1901 and 1911 census.
There is only one birth registration for a Verden Smith but this is in the third quarter of 1888:
England & Wales, “FreeBMD Index 1837-1983,” database, FreeBMD (http://www.freebmd.org.uk/: accessed 27 March 2010), birth of Verden Smith; citing Sheffield Sep [quarter] 1888, vol 9c: 416.
Birth of Lily Brown
- 1890: Lily Brown, daughter of William Joseph and Emily Theresa Brown, is born in the March quarter of 1890 in Sheffield
Lily Brown’s birth year is estimated based on her age at the time of the 1891 census when she was a year old. There is one relevant birth registration for Lily if she was born in 1890:
England & Wales, “FreeBMD Index 1837-1983,” database, FreeBMD (http://www.freebmd.org.uk/: accessed 29 October 2011), birth of Lily Brown; citing Sheffield Mar [quarter] 1890, vol 9c: 524.
1891 Census
- 1891: Census taken on 5 April 1891 shows the Smith family including George Smith, head, married, aged 46, cabinet maker, employer, Yorkshire, Sheffield; Ann Smith, wife, married, aged 42, Yorkshire, Sheffield; Isabella Smith, daughter, aged 18, French polisher, Yorkshire, Sheffield; Fred Smith, son, aged 15, French polisher, Yorkshire, Sheffield; Annie Smith, daughter, aged 13, scholar, Yorkshire, Sheffield; Lucy Smith, daughter, aged 10, scholar, Yorkshire, Sheffield; George Smith, son, aged 8, scholar, Yorkshire, Sheffield; Nelly Smith, daughter, aged 5, scholar, Yorkshire, Sheffield; Verden Smith, son, aged 2, scholar, Yorkshire, Sheffield all living at 112 Scotland Street
George and Ann Smith are living at 112 Scotland Street in 1891, as they were in 1881. There is no entry in the column for the number of rooms in the house, so there must have been five or more rooms at 112 Scotland. George, at the age of 46 was a cabinet maker and he was listed as an employer. Ann was 42 years old. Their daughter, Isabella, was 18 years old and was working as a French polisher, perhaps for her father. Fred, who was 15 years old, is also working as a French polisher. Annie, who is 13 years old, is shown as a scholar, as are Lucy, age 10, George, age 8, Nelly, age 5 and Verden age 2.
- 1891: Census taken on 5 April 1891 shows the Brown family including William J Brown, head, married, aged 39, carter, Yorkshire, Sheffield; Emily T Brown, wife, married, aged 34, Yorkshire, Sheffield; Joseph Brown, son, aged 16, wheelwright, Yorkshire, Sheffield; Arthur Brown, son aged 15, scholar, Yorkshire, Sheffield; Walter Brown, son aged 10, scholar, Yorkshire, Sheffield; George Brown, son, aged 5, scholar, Yorkshire, Sheffield; Lily Brown, daughter, aged 1, Yorkshire, Sheffield, all living at 1 H 2 Ct Ashberry Road
My great grandparents, the William Brown family, were living at 1 H 2 Ct Ashberry Road in 1891, in four rooms. William was 39 years old and was employed as a carter and Emily was 34 years old. In this entry, her name is recorded again as Emily, rather than Emma, and her middle initial is shown as ‘T’. Their oldest son, Joseph, aged 16, was employed as a wheelwright, while Arthur, aged 15, Walter, aged 10, and George, aged 6, were all scholars. Lily was 1 year old.
Ashberry Road was almost a mile to the west of the Scotland Street neighbourhood in Nether Hallam and is today a pleasant residential street of row houses, although they do not appear to date back to the 1890 time period.
Birth of Ellen Brown
- 1892: Ellen Brown, daughter of William Joseph and Emily Theresa Brown, is born in the June quarter of 1892 in Sheffield
Ellen Brown’s birth year was estimated based on her age at the time of the 1901 and 1911 census. There are two possible birth registration entries to consider:
England & Wales, “FreeBMD Index 1837-1983,” database, FreeBMD (http://www.freebmd.org.uk/: accessed 29 October 2011), birth of Ellen Brown; citing Sheffield June [quarter] 1891, vol 9c: 604.
England & Wales, “FreeBMD Index 1837-1983,” database, FreeBMD (http://www.freebmd.org.uk/: accessed 29 October 2011), birth of Ellen Brown; citing Ecclesall B June [quarter] 1892, vol 9c: 345.
The 1892 entry seems the most likely although it is possible that she was born just after the census was taken on 5 April 1891.
Birth of Albert Smith
- 1892: Albert Smith, son of George and Ann Smith, is born about 1892 in Sheffield
Albert Smith’s birth year was estimated based on his ages at the time of the 1901 and 1911 census. There are too many possible birth registrations to list.
Birth of Annie Brown
- 1894: Annie Brown, daughter of William Joseph and Emily Theresa Brown, is born in about 1894 in Sheffield
Annie Brown’s birth year was estimated based on her age at the time of the 1901 and 1911 census. Again, there are too many possible birth registrations to list.
Birth of Edith Brown
- 1896: Edith Brown, daughter of William Joseph and Emily Theresa Brown, is born in about 1896 in Sheffield
Edith Brown’s birth year was estimated based on her age at the time of the 1901 and 1911 census. A birth date of 28 January 1896 was recorded without any source information and my guess is that this was given orally to the family when Edith Brown visited Canada in about 1970. Assuming that this date is correct, the relevant birth registration entry is likely:
England & Wales, “FreeBMD Index 1837-1983,” database, FreeBMD (http://www.freebmd.org.uk/: accessed 29 October 2011), birth of Edith Brown; citing Ecclesall B Mar [quarter] 1896, vol 9c: 378.
Death of Ann Smith
- 1897: Ann Smith, wife of George Smith, died on 10 February 1897 at home at 112 Scotland Street by suicide by laudanum in a state of temporary insanity.
The entries in my database for the death and burial of Ann Smith are without a source citation although I believe the information came from my cousin. Certainly Ann Smith does not appear with the family in the 1901 census and George Smith was recorded as a widower. If this is the case, the relevant registration would be:
England & Wales, “FreeBMD Index 1837-1983,” database, FreeBMD (http://www.freebmd.org.uk/: accessed 29 October 2011), death of Ann Smith; citing Sheffield Mar [quarter] 1897, vol 9c: 278.
- 1897: Ann Smith was buried at St. Philips Church on 13 February 1897 in Sheffield
Again, this entry in my database has no source citation and my transcriptions of St. Philips burials only extend to 1880.
Death of Mary Ann Brown
- 1899: Mary Ann Brown died in the December quarter of 1899 in Sheffield
Mary Ann Brown’s death most likely occurred between 1891 and 1901 since no census entries are found after the entry in 1891. The only death registration between 1891 and 1912 for a Mary Ann Brown with a consistent age is as follows:
England & Wales, “FreeBMD Index 1837-1983,” database, FreeBMD (http://www.freebmd.org.uk/: accessed 29 October 2011), death of Mary Ann Brown; citing Sheffield Dec [quarter] 1899, vol 9c: 279.
There is also an entry in the Sheffield Indexers database that shows a 58 year old widow named Mary Ann Brown died at 19 Solly Street and was buried at City Road Cemetery on 4 October 1899 in consecrated ground in Grave Number 17684, Section CC.
This concludes my longer than expected review of the existing evidence for George Brown and Ann Healey and their children and grandchildren. Because George and Ann died in 1882 and 1874 respectively, I made an arbitrary decision to cut off my review at the turn of the century. In my next post, I will begin to search for new records based on the gaps in my existing research.
