Mary Ann Parker, my great grandmother, single, pauper, born about 1868 in Sheffield, gave birth while in the workhouse to Eliza in 1886, William Henry in 1890, and Harry in 1895. No father listed on birth register for any. That alone is a brick wall in my family tree!! But I was hoping to find a death or even a marriage or other possible children of Mary Ann. There was a mention in the children's admittance and discharge books for the children's homes in 1901 listed as; mother, address as ANK (address not known?), "Bramhall, Mary Ann - late Parker" .. assuming this means she was now Mary Ann Bramhall instead of all other instances of her being recorded as Mary Ann Parker. Find no Bramhall-Parker marriage that fits. Believe she ran off in hopes of a marriage with a Joseph Bramhall of the workhouse but that is another possible circle I could chase for eternity!!. The last mention found (in the Minute Books) of a Mary Ann Parker as an inmate of the workhouse being placed in Lodge Moor Hospital, age 37, isolation block 8, possible source of infection states 'not small-pox'... and that is the last of anything I find on her. Did she marry a Bramhall around 1901 - I doubt it, as I am pretty sure there would be a close enough matching record, and secondly, I am pretty sure that is her in 1903 in the hospital as a Parker still.

Are there any records for this hospital for 1903?? If she died while an inmate of the workhouse, why can I find no record of her death or burial? Any fresh eyes on this is welcome as it has been a long 8 year search!

Thank you!

P.S.

The 3 children of hers:
-Eliza was sent to train with the Girls Friendly Society and her last known whereabouts was the 1911 census as a servant at the Kexby House in Gainsborough (unknown what became of her as well)
-William Henry (my grandpa) was sent to the training ship named Southampton in 1903 and went on to enlist, marry and came to Canada in 1920 to join his brother...
-Harry, who was shipped to Canada by Dr Barnardo's homes in 1910, went on to enlist in WWI and WWII, never married or had any known children

That is my elusive female Parkers - Mary Ann and daughter, Eliza :confused:

Dawn, for Eliza there is a very possible marriage in 1923 in Gainsborough to Harry Finningly. They had 2 children and Harry died in 1936 age 53 in Lincoln, implying he was 40 when he married . Your Eliza would have been 37 in 1923 so looks like a good possibility. Eliza Finningly remarried in 1938 to Baker.
I do not know if either of those marriages shows up on Ancestry or FMP. If not, suggest the marriage certs may be worth buying.
Dave

Hi Dawn

I believe my grandfather was sent to the training ship Southampton in Hull around the same time. I have a postcard of it and could send you a copy if you want one. I went to Hull archives to see if they had a log book of children who had been on the ship but records such as those had been destroyed. I did find reference to a few boys from Sheffield but unfortunately your grandfather wasn't one of those.

Jenny

Thank you. I shall re-look that possibility for Eliza. Not sure why it was discounted before, so I best go over that lead again.

Jenny, that would be interesting if they were on the ship at the same time. I'd love a copy of the ship if you please :slightly_smiling_face:

Hi Dawn

picture sent.
Jenny

Dawn, for Mary Ann there is a marriage of Mary A Parker in 1907 to a Harry Harrison in Ecclesall Bierlow. There are no children showing on GRO and a Mary Ann Harrison dies age 54 in 1908 Ecclesall Bierlow. A possibility?. Also a Harry Harrison dies 1910 age 42 in Ecclesall Bierlow.

Dave

Hi
The 1907 marriage that Dave mentioned took place at St Thomas, Crookes
The Mary Ann Parker involved was 21 years of age so born in 1886.
Harry Harrison was 26 years old.
Probably not your Mary Ann.

Sue

Sue, my thanks. Not probably, definitely. She has to be somewhere.
Dave

Thank you all for having a look. Yes, that Harrison marriage doesn't fit Mary Ann's age, as she was born about 1868.

Assuming she died in her hospital stay (1903) or shortly after, are some death records or burial records just not available for those of the Workhouse??

Dawn I have sent you a PM.
Found this that may help -
http://www.calmview.eu/SheffieldArchives/CalmView/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog&id=NHS9%2f2%2f1&pos=2

Ref no: NHS9/2/1 Lodge moor
Title Admission registers
Description Registers give name, age and address of patient, disease (predominantly scarlet fever), day of disease when admitted and duration upon discharge, remarks or complications; from 1926 also telephone number (if any) and religion.

At front of first six volumes: monthly totals, from Jan 1898 to Dec 1918, of diseases (scarlet fever, diphtheria, smallpox, measles and other diseases) numbers admitted, discharged, died and remaining in hospital, average daily number of patients variously at Lodge Moor, Crimicar Lane, Winter Street and Moor End sanatorium; and occcasionally numbers transferred elsewhere: to Withernsea, Peppard Common, Daneswood; including military cases at Winter Street Hospital from 1915

Cases at first were mainly scarlet fever; later they include polio, tonsilitis, bronchitis, etc; and from 1970s more spinal and general surgery cases
Key - Sc or Sct: scarlet fever; Delta (Greek D): diphtheria; Omicron (Greek O): smallpox
Lyn

Hi Dawn et al,

There is a Mary Ann Parker aged 34,(c.1867) pauper, with no trade listed on SI website, a resident at Fir Vale Workhouse, in 1901, also listed are Wm. Henry age 11(c.1890) and Henry age 5 (c.1896).(Henry's would often be called Harry) both listed as Foster children/inmates at The Beeches on Barnsley Rd, this was a home for the children situated in the grounds of Fir Vale Workhouse. Photos/history of this workhouse and many others, can be found on www.workhouses.org.uk/Sheffield/

On the 1871 census, there is a possible match with a Sarah Ann Parker age 24 (C.1847, a pauper/ unmarried with children: Ann age 7 (c:1864) Mary age 2 (c.1869) and Sarah age 0 (c.1870/71). The mother, Sarah Ann was listed as a spoon buffer. This family are all listed as residing at 'The Edge' Ecclesall Bierlow. Maybe one of the SI sleuths can throw some light on 'The Edge' was this Nether Edge Workhouse?

There is a death for a Sarah Parker who died at UNION, buried May 31/1881 at the St.Vincent section of St.Michael's RC Cemetery at Rivelin. (SI website). This is a good fit for Sarah Ann born 1847.

On the 1881 census, there is a Mary Ann Parker, inmate and scholar at 'The Edge' age 13 (c.1868). In 1891 there is a Mary Ann Parker age 22, listed as a sick patient in Pitsmoor, Brightside.
There is a possible listing for Mary Ann's sister, Ann, in 1881. Registered as Annie Parker, pauper with no occupation, age 19 (c.1862)? residing at Kelham Street, a possible workhouse location.
On the 1891 census there is an Ann Parker, age 27(c;1864) who is single, a pauper with an occupation of Card Room Hand and living at St.Paul's, Todmorden.

I have not discovered anything on Mary Ann's youngest possible sister, Sarah born 1870/71.

HAPPY HUNTING

Dawn
Moira and I have been looking at your brick wall on the parents of Mary Ann Parker. You have a positive sighting of your Mary Ann in 1903 Sheffield at age 27. This gives a birth year of about 1866, and there is a birth in Sheffield of a Mary Ann Parker in Q4 1866. According to GRO index her MMN was CURLEY, and the same source gives a birth of John William Parker MMN CURLEY in Q1 1869. John William died in Q4 1871 in Sheffield (GRO).
Moira has informed me that there is a transcription of a baptism for Mary Ann Parker at St Marie’s (RC) in February 1867. The same source gives her birth as November 1867, clearly there is an error so presumably 1866. Her parents were Guel Parker and Sarah COLEY. Guel will be the Latin for William.
We have been unable to find a Parker-Curley marriage. However in Q1 1866, Sheffield there is a marriage of William Parker to a Sarah COWLEY and Moira has found the parish record.
Parish Church 19th March 1866.
William Parker, 26, Bat, Labourer of Scotland St, Father John Parker, Labourer
Sarah Cowley, 18, spin of Scotland St, Father Michael Cowley, labourer
Witnesses J Chatterton and Catherine Knowles

Having exhaustively searched GRO and Free BMD for alternative spellings of CURLEY, COWLEY, COLEY etc it is clear that this Mary Ann Parker had only one sibling, and John William, her brother, died after the census in 1871 and is buried at St Philip Shalesmoor in a non catholic grave (see burials on this site). He was son of William and exactly the right age so there is no doubt about that.
Moira has exhaustively searched the 1871 and subsequent censuses and there is no other sign of this family.
Of course they may have emigrated, but we know they must have been there in the 1871 census, and we do not find them there.
In Q4 1869 there is a death in Sheffield of a William Parker age 32. That is only a couple of years out, and death ages are notoriously inaccurate (alternatively did he lie about his age at the marriage?). We have been unable to find a burial corresponding to this.
If this scenario is correct it may explain why there were no further children, and presumably Sarah and her daughter Mary Ann (and son John William) may well have become destitute at the end of 1869.
The Workhouse death of Sarah Parker in 1881 (burials on this site, Roman Catholic) found by Wendy could be this Sarah (nee Cowley/Curley/Coley etc).
We put this forward as a possible parentage for your Mary Ann.
To prove (or disprove) this possibility we can suggest only that you purchase two death certs (£6 each in PDF format from GRO).
They are:
The death cert for Willian Parker in Q4 1869 in the hope it confirms he was Sarah’s husband and/or gives an occupation for him which matches what he said on his marriage (labourer).
The death cert for John William Parker (Q4 1871) to see who registered the death and where he died. Clearly if father William registered the death then it would be back to square one.
Hope that is not too confusing
Dave

Dave T and Moira

I can not believe I have not seen your post regarding all the digging you have done on my behalf for Mary Ann Parker and who her parents could possibly be until now. Thank you so so much!! I truly appreciate it. I shall see about ordering these death certificates in hopes it helps learn of where she came from. IF indeed she is full Scottish, I am surprised I do not show more Scottish in my DNA (28%) while the rest is 72% England/Wales.
It has just been so hard not knowing much of anything about her and her son (my grandfather) to work from, so I went ahead this year and did the Ancestry DNA. I highly recommend the test to confirm lineage at the very least. I do have some DNA matches to work from with some great clues from their family trees to hopefully learn who my grandfather's father was. Many of those illegitimate births can be solved with DNA tests. Now to see if a man by the last name of Evans was near the Sheffield Workhouse and Mary Ann Parker in 1899 when he would have been conceived. Is there a directory or something to look through to see who was in the Workhouse in 1899??

~ Dawn :bird:

Dawn, welcome back. Please note that you seem to have misunderstood. The reference was to address Scotland STREET, not Scotland the country.
Dave

Dave T that is too funny :sweat_smile: Thanks for noting that!!

Dawn I have sent you an email re Eliza in 1914
Bev

According to Crookesmoor school admission records Eliza DOB was 4th July 1888 and Williams 3 April 1890 they were living at 4 Oxford St The Home
Bev

Thank you kindly Bev for the news clipping on Eliza Parker in 1914. This at least shows she is still in the Gainsborough area where she was sent to some 10 years earlier. Much appreciated!

Mary Ann Parker's children birth records from GRO
Eliza Parker born Nov 26 1886
William Henry Parker born Feb 10 1890
Harry Parker born Nov 24 1895

They are also starting to show up on here in the wonderful transcribing work being done of the children's admittance and discharge books for the children's home at Fir Vale.

Dawn,
In Burials on this site there is a burial at City Road for Mary Ann Bramhall age 56 in 1923, a widow. Seems a good bet for your Mary Ann Parker., particularly because you have an official record indicating she used that name.I wonder If she shows up on the 1911 census?
Dave

Thanks Dave for that lead on a possible death for her. I have not found her as Parker in the 1911 census. And I think the one you found the death for was previously married to a Webster (I think lol). Thanks for sticking with me!