Hello,
Through Harriet Hayward, I have come to Thomas MOORE, they married and had 10 children - the first 7 being Girls. In the 1881 Census they are living in a dwelling decribed as: Town Well Drayton In Hales, Shropshire. It must have been a large house - with 12 people living in it. Thomas and his first 5 girls are all - Grocer & Provision Dealer. Would I be right to think this means a Grocery shop? Thomas is aged 55 years old and Harriet 48 years old, the children range from 21 to 4 years old. Would anyone be able to say yes they owned a Grocery shop or suggest something else, I have no idea where or what happened to the family after the 1881 Census, so any information would be very useful, thank you in anticpation.
Dave Gosling
Hello Dave
I had a look through some Trade Directories in Shropshire Archives today but I could not see any trace of your Thomas MOORE but there was a William MOORE (Successor to the late Hy. WRIGHT) in Shropshire Street in 1879, 1885 and 1891 if you think there might be any connection.
I have also looked at the indexed Directories on Ancestry but again there is no trace of your Thomas MOORE.
Mike
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Hello Dave
I presume from the contents of your message that you haven't found this family in the census prior to 1881.
In 1861 they were living at Broughton, Lancashire (RG 9; Piece: 2909; Folio: 19; Page: 6)
In the 1871 census they were living in the Town Walls area of Shrewsbury (St Chad's parish) (RG10; Piece: 2776; Folio: 15; Page: 22)
You will find more children in the above two censuses.
I would have thought there was a good chance that a grocer would live above the shop but some of the better off ones could well have had a separate house. Don't think of house size in relation to the number of children as we might today. For a start older children, may be as young as 14-15, may have left home to work somewhere else leaving room for new arrivals. They also made much better use of bed spaces in those days by sleeping 'top to toe' with perhaps two with their heads at one end of the bed and another two with their heads at the other end of the bed, so that accommodates four in one bed. Cosy?
Whilst I can't immediately see the family in the 1891, 1901 or 1911 census you have to consider the possibility that one or both of them had died after the 1881 census so you need to try to find their deaths.
You need to try to consult some Trade Directories for Market Drayton for 1880 onwards to see if the business was in the name of Thomas MOORE. By the way, the location of the family in the 1881 census is on the south or south west side of Market Drayton.
Mike