I am trying to find out as much as I can about my great great grandmother. Her name was Dinah MASSEY and she was born in the Wellington area in 1854/7. I have found out quite a bit about her early life through the national censuses. Her early life is quite sad , she is recorded at 4 y.o. at the Workhouse at Rowton, Ercall Magna in the 1861 census, then at the age of 18 as an inmate as a lunacy patient in Salop ( I asume this must have been Shelton in Shrewsbury but I am not sure) She was discharged "cured" in 1874. The next record I have found is in the 1881 census when she lived in Jarretts Lane Wellington (Now Glebe Street) with one William and Ellen WHITTLE. William WHITTLE was a labourer who seem to have served three jail terms in the 1880's for petty crime. After this date I have found no record of her, apart from the birth of my grandfather, John MASSEY on the 7th Oct 1883, at the then newish workhouse on Hollyhead road. No father is shown on the birth certificate which I have a copy of. Any help in finding out more about Dinah MASSEY would be most appreciated. Thank You.
Many thanks Phil. You have the right person as Dinah was born in the workhouse in Wellington . I believe it was the old workhouse on Walkers Street. Her mother was Hannah MASSEY, I have lost the trail after Hannah. Unfortunately, my father, John Thomas, died suddenly and it was only after his death that I found the copy of his father's (John MASSEY) birth certificate showing Dinah as his mother but no father. If I had known I would have asked him about Dinah. Your comments regarding the WHITTLE connection is very interesting. I had trouble understanding the relationships in the 1881 Census. From what you say Dinah was taken In by the WHITTLEs after the birth of my grandfather, John, it looks as if she had other illegitimate children, Ellen & William James. I suppose this was not uncommon among the working classes in those times. The only other possible link to Dinah is in the 1891 Census which shows a Dinah MASSEY as a servant in the household of Thomas KENDAL a silk merchant of Cheadle Cheshire. The dates fit but MASSEY is a very common Cheshire name and it is probably not my great grand mother. I can find no record of death anywhere. Is this common? I believe a lot of records are missing. Many thanks for your help. Regards Alan.
Hi Alan,
It looks as though you have a real tough problem on this. I found the 1891 Census record in Cheshire, which could be your Dinah based on her age and place of birth, but where were her children? However, given her history then it is also a possible another 1891 Census record fits - this being for 39 year-old Dinah MASSEY, an in-patent at Leavesden Asylum, Hertfordshire, although this Dinah's birthplace is unknown.
Looking back at the 1861 Census I see that on the same page as Dinah there is a 3-year old Mary MASSEY, also recorded as having been born in Wellington. I couldn't find a birth nor baptism record for Mary, so difficult to say if she was Dinah's sister.
Like you I could find no further records for Dinah. If she was resident in an Asylum then perhaps later Census records and or death record were recorded under her initials, rather than full name.
The other difficulty is that I have been unable to trace records for the 3 children she appears to have had (i.e. John, William James and Ellen Elizabeth). Do you have any later Census records for any of them? This may help track down where Dinah went. If you don't have them, then it could be that the children were "adopted" and took the name of their "new parents" - I have a few examples in my own tree where childrren were "adopted" in the 19th Century and took on a different surname.
Hope this helps
Phil
Thanks again Phil. It looks as if I have a tough job on my hands. I will speak to a couple of family members & see if they can add anything.
Best wishes
Alan
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Alan,
Do you have any details of her birth? There is a baptism record for Dinah Massey on the Findmypast website for March 23rd 1854 at Wellingon All Saints. Her mother was Hannah Massey, no father's name recorded, and her address was recorded as "Poor House". The GRO reference for her birth is: Qtr. Apr-Jun 1854 District Wellington Vol. 6a Page 736, although I'm not sure what extra information tthe birth certificate will give you.
The 1881 Census is interesting as although it is difficult to read I think it states that Dinah was unmarried and stepdaughter of William Whittall. Given that William's wife's name was Ellen (not Hannah) it is hard to work out the connection. Also I think that the two children under Dinah's name record them as "son of ?" and "daughter of ?". Given that the two children have the same forenames as William and Ellen Whittall could mean that they were named after them. I couldn't find a baptism record for William c.1876, and based on birth record I assume that Willam's full name was William James Massey. There is a baptism for Ellen Elizabeth Whittall on August 4th 1880 at Wellington All Saints that states her mother was Dinah Massey, no father's name recorded, address Jarret's Lane.
Regards
Phil