Adoption in 1880s

I

Irene

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My husbands grandfather Harold Leonard Ralph, first appeared as Harold L Dunn on the 1891 census as the adopted son of Elijah and Eliza Ralph. He was born in Portokewet, Wales c1885. In the 1901 census he was known as Harold Ralph. I have no idea who his parents were. I have looked at some records from Portokewet, but no luck.
 
The census ref for 1891 RG12/2015/143/5 - South Hamlet Gloucester
Elijah Ralph b1841 Gloucester
Eliza wife b1851 Gloucester
Annie Causon b1870 Gloucester
Florence Ralph b1876 Gloucester
Ellen Ralph b1879 Gloucester
Ada Ralph b1881 Gloucester
Amelia Alice b1883 Gloucester
Harold L Dunn b1885 Portokewet Monmouthshire

There is something strange about this family. I cannot find any of them on the previous census. I cannot find any sight of Elija Ralph nor a birth.
Annie Causon is a daughter (I suspect a mis-spelling of the surname) again I cannot see a birth ref.
Florence, Ellen, Ada, and Amelia's births are all reg. as Ralph.
I cannot find a marriage for Elijah to Eliza

By 1901 Eliza is a widow RG12/2426/14/19 -Gloucester

Eliza b1849
Ada b1880
Harold b1885
William G b1893
All have Gloucester as their pob.

There is a death of Elijah Ralph in 1896

I am no closer to finding Harold L Dunn, I was hoping to find a Dunn line in Eliza's family, but I cannot find out where any of these Ralphs were prior to the 1891 census and who's daughter is Annie Causon?
 
Irene said:
My husbands grandfather Harold Leonard Ralph, first appeared as Harold L Dunn on the 1891 census as the adopted son of Elijah and Eliza Ralph.
Click to expand...
Just as a point of interest, who does Harold name as his father on his marriage certificate?
 
This family has been driving me mad.
Family Search has the bap of Ellen Ralph 15/9/1878 at St Mary-de-Lodes Gloucester.
Father Elijah Guild Ralph mother Eliza.

Ada was bap. at the same church 6/10/1880 and another daughter Beatrice 8/3/1885 - this time no mention of the name Guild.
 
Some clues can be found on the Gloucestershire BMDs website

http://ww3.gloucestershire.gov.uk/bmd/MainMenu.aspx

which gives more info than FreeBMD. I can see some of the RALPH children in the index of birth registrations. The entry for Florence Ralph (1875) gives her mother's maiden name as CORNETT, while those for Ellen Ralph (1878) and Alice Amelia Ralph (1882) give mother's maiden name CORLETT. There are later entries for Beatrice Ralph (1884) and William Gilbert Ralph (1892) also giving mother's maiden name Corlett

I can't immediately see an Annie Causon but there is a Rosina Causon (birth registered 1873) with mother's maiden name CORLETT. Could she be a sister?

The same site has a marriage of a Francis CAUSTON and Eliza CORLETT at Gloucester St Mark in 1868, so perhaps Eliza was married to Francis before she married Elijah (if they did marry!).

Also NB there is what looks like an earlier marriage for Elijah as Elijah Gould Ralph, to Rachel Hayes at Gloucester St Mark in 1862.
 
There is a marriage in 1862 Gloucester 6a 425 Sept. qtr

Elijah Gould Ralph to Rose Ann Barnard or Rachel Hayes.

I do not see a death of Rose or Rachel in Gloucestershire 1862 -1878 (when Ellen is bap), so is Annie Eliza's daughter and she did not marry Elijah?
 
Thank You Huncamunca - I can see Eliza Causon with husband Frank and Daughter Ann - 7 Clarence Town, Hempstead Gloucestershire on the 1871 census
RG10/2618/34/37

No sign of Elijah and his wife!
 
There is a death of Francis Causon Dec qtr 1873 Gloucester 6a 201 age 40 which fits with Eliza's husband, so she would have been a widow when she got with Elijah.
No sign of the 'Dunn' name so far though.
 
Ooh . . . FamilySearch has a baptism on 8 March 1885 at Gloucester St Mary de Lode of a Harold Leonard Dunn, son of Emma Dunn.
 
The LDS 1881 census transcript has what looks like Elijah and family with surname GOULD, at Vinegar Yard, 5 Clare Street, Gloucester St Mary de Lode (RG 11/2531, f.82, p.30):

Elijah Gould, head, married, 48, dock labourer
Eliza Gould, wife, married, 31
Annie Lawsen* Gould, dau, 11, scholar
Florence Gould, dau, 5, scholar
Ellen Gould, dau, 2, scholar
Ada Gould, dau [transcript has her age as '0']
all shown as born in Gloucester

*is this a garbled version of Causon?
 
In 1881 the family are in Vinegar Yard, Clare Street.

Elijah Gould / 48 / Dock Labourer
Eliza Gould / 31
Annie Lawsen Gould / 11 / Daughter
Florence Gould / 5
Ellen Gould / 2
Ada Gould / 8 months
All born Gloucester
RG11/2531/82/30
 
Snap Huncamunca! ;)
I've looked at the original and the writing is very clear as being Lawsen but it would have been what was 'heard'.
 
See what happens when I go and put the dinner in the oven, you find the family in 1881 - I see Elijah is older than he claims in 1891, no wonder I could not find a birth reg for him!

Looking at the 1891 census again the pob could well be Portskewet (just the one t).
 
Portskewet is what is given by family search. They only have births 1725-1875 in batch number C085711 (as far as I could see) but no records were returned for Dunn.
 
I can't see full details, but from FamilySearch it looks like there's an Elijah Gould in Gloucester in 1871 with wife Rachel and a niece Annie Ward (7). This Elijah is 45 though, so if he's the right chap he cleverly only aged 3 years between 1871 and 1881.
 
Huncamunca said:
Ooh . . . FamilySearch has a baptism on 8 March 1885 at Gloucester St Mary de Lode of a Harold Leonard Dunn, son of Emma Dunn.
Click to expand...

So perhaps the child was born in Monmouthshire (the mother may have been in service there) but then baptised in Gloucester.

Irene, I would recommend that you get hold of a copy of the actual entry from the baptism register. There should be more information, such as an address for Emma, and (if you're lucky) a birthdate for Harold.
 
Huncamunca said:
I can't see full details, but from FamilySearch it looks like there's an Elijah Gould in Gloucester in 1871 with wife Rachel and a niece Annie Ward (7). This Elijah is 45 though, so if he's the right chap he cleverly only aged 3 years between 1871 and 1881.
Click to expand...

RG10/2619/49/33 - Elming Row, St Lukes.
Elijah gives his pob as Cheltenham
So he married Rachel Hayes in 1862 her pob Cirencester

No wonder I had trouble with him yob = 1826 in 1871 and 1841 by 1891
 
Thank you MollyMay for checking the 1871 census. Elijah doesn't seem at all sure about where or when he was born, does he? What with him sometimes being a Gould and sometimes a Ralph it just adds to the general confusion.

Mutters said:
In 1881 the family are in Vinegar Yard, Clare Street . . .
Ada Gould / 8 months
Click to expand...

Rather belatedly have found the birth registration for Ada in the Gloucestershire BMDs index (Gloucester St Nicholas, 1880). The reason I missed her is that her surname isn't down as GOULD or RALPH but as GOULDRALPH ! But mother's maiden name of CORLETT confirms she's the right one.

FreeBMD also has her surname as GOULDRALPH, so that must have been the info that was passed on from the local registrar in Gloucester to the General Register Office.
 
Have no idea if this is connected or just coincidental, but there is a family of Dunns in 'Portscuett aka Portskewett' in 1881 (LDS transcript, RG 11/5217, f.8, p.9). The head of the household, William Dunn, a general labourer, was 61 and born in Wales, and his wife Ann born in Peterborough. With them was a granddaughter Florence E. Dunn, aged 7, and born in Gloucester.

With the Gloucester connection it seems quite plausible that they were related to the Emma Dunn who had a son Harold Leonard in 1885.

At the moment I can't see a matching birth registration for Florence in FreeBMD or Gloucestershire BMDs.
 
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