From: Norman Gallop <[email protected]> > An intriguing tale is signalled by these little extracts. > Who's Jane's father? How did Grace end up in the poorhouse? How did Ralph meet her? Seems they never wed - right? > > Any information from any Sherlock would be most welcome. Thanks Norman > G. > > 1851 census; FD 33, Piece 2307, Folio 176, Schedule 146, #50/1 , Poor house, Bradford, East End; Miller Grace Inmate Unm F 26 Weaver Worsted > Scotland Miller Jane Daur - F 1 M - Yorks., Bradford > > 1861 Census; > 19 Roberts Street, St. Peter's, Bradford South, West Riding, > Yorkshire; Ralf [Ralph] BELL, head, mar, 46, carter of all work, b. > Yorkshire, Wansey (sic) Dale; >Grace BELL, wife, mar, 42, Scotland; > Jane BELL, daur, 10, b. Yorkshire, Bradford; >Lazarus BELL, son, 6, school, b. Yorkshire, Bradford; >Charles BELL, son, 3, b. Yorkshire, Bradford.> Do forgive me but I don't see any great mystery here - merely a story that is repeated a thousand times over in family history, especially in the 19th century. Scottish girl goes to Bradford, no doubt to find work as a weaver and hoping to better herself (or possibly her parents moved there and took her and they either died or she went off on her own), meets a man, has a child out of wedlock, can't keep herself and the child and ends up in the workhouse for a bit. She may have "floated" in and out of the workhouse with the child, according to whether she was in work or not - a very common pattern. Then she meets a man who offers her either marriage or a living-with relationship and has two more children by him. Even if you haven't found a marriage, there's no reason why she wouldn't have taken his name, or at least told the enumerator she was his wife. It happened all the time! How did they meet - who knows? Perhaps they met in the street, perhaps Ralph made deliveries to the workhouse, perhaps they met in a pub when Grace had a bit of money, perhaps they were introduced by a mutual friend, perhaps they were neighbours at some stage. I've often wondered a million times how my ancestors met but since we rarely have any way of proving it I never let it bother me too much. One can but speculate. -- Roy Stockdill Guild of One-Name Studies: www.one-name.org Newbies' Guide to Genealogy & Family History: www.genuki.org.uk/gs/Newbie.html "There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about." OSCAR WILDE