Edwin WHITE, 1809-1884, England

Edwin WHITE is my son-in-law's 3rd great-grandfather, baptised March 31, 1809, at St Nicholas [Anglican] Church in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England.  I have not been able to prove this is the correct Edwin WHITE, although the birth year and birthplace are consistent with all later details. For now, this is very likely but not proven.

He was likely born a few weeks earlier, but I have yet to find parish registers online for this time period; perhaps, soon.  His parents were John WHITE and Hannah SCOTT, but I am unable to find any information on them, as they appear to have died before the Census in 1841. With such common names, it is challenging to be certain of having the correct parents. Again, these parent names are likely but not proven. My research log has a list of several items to look for, such as a will for John White which might name his son Edwin - my fingers crossed!

At some time between 1809 and 1828, the WHITE family must have moved from Nottingham to Mancetter or nearby Atherstone, Warwickshire. The 'mother church' was in Mancetter, St. Peter's Anglican Church.

On June 30th, 1828, Edwin married at aged 19, to Susannah PARSONS, aged 21, in St. Peter's Church, Mancetter Parish, Warwickshire. Susannah's parents were Richard PARSONS and Sarah CHETTEN. Susannah's Baptism confirms parentage, and I also have Richard and Sarah's marriage registration. Note on this marriage registration that Edwin signs his name, whereas Susannah puts her mark X.

We don't see anything further of Edwin and Susannah WHITE until the 1841 Census. At this time, they are living in Chapel End, Hartshill Warwickshire - this is only a few miles from Mancetter. Edwin is working as a blacksmith, whereas most other heads of households are working as "Ag Lab" [farm workers], or involved in the silk ribbon trade, winding silk or weaving into ribbons.
You can see that both Edwin and Susanna are listed as 30 years of age;  Josiah 12, Maria 10, James 8, Sarah 4.  That gap between James and Sarah likely is from a child who died before 1841. The final squiggle on the right side is answering the question as to whether each person was born in the county [Warwick]. It's messy, but there's an 'n' for no, for Edwin, and a 'y' for yes for all others.

In ten years, the 1851 Census shows the family has three more children, and their eldest daughter Maria (aged abt 20) is likely married by this time. (must do more research).  The black marks are tick marks by the enumerator, counting heads of households, males, females etc. Children listed here are Josiah, aged 22 working as a blacksmith, James 18 "do" means ditto - working as a blacksmith, Susannah 16 working as Hand Loom Weaver Ribbons, Sarah 14, "do", Hannah 9, Scholar, and Philip 4 yrs. Again there is a gap of 5 years between Hannah and Philip, likely for one or more children who did not survive. With no birth control measures, women usually had babies every 2'ish years.

In 1861, ten years on, James and Josiah have left home. Having been taught to be blacksmiths as their father, Edwin, they would be independent and likely are married by this time. Sarah WHITE married John PERRY the previous year and is out of the home. Hannah is 19 and working as a Ribbon Weaver - a major cottage industry in this region; Philip is 14, also working as a blacksmith. There is one more child born to Edwin and Susanna, Isabella, 9 years of age, a 'scholar. Finally, we see there is a Granddaughter, Alinor White, 6 years old. She must be the daughter of either Josiah or James White.  (more research still to do).

Clearly Edwin and Susannah have managed to raise 8 living children - although they likely lost several additional children. Note the gap between Philip and Isabella, likely another child lost before 1861. Edwin's occupation of Blacksmith, and teaching it to his 3 boys, likely kept the family in reasonable financial conditions, as around this time, the home-based silk ribbon trade was becoming mechanized, causing tremendous hardship in the region. It is possible that Edwin's father John WHITE was also a blacksmith, as boys often followed their father's occupation, apprenticing with them. Another clue for researching Edwin's parents/father.

Edwin's wife, Susannah, died March 1866 in Atherstone (on outskirts of Mancetter), Warwickshire, aged 58 years.  By the 1871 Census, Edwin is found living with his youngest daughter, 19 year old Isabella, all the other children having moved on.  He is aged 63, and working as a blacksmith still.  Isabella does not have anything written down as an occupation, which is unusual. One more to-do item on my research log.

I have not found Edwin WHITE in the 1881 Census, likely he was living with one of his children. I did find his Death registration for October 1884, aged 75, in Nuneaton Warwickshire. This is the same region he had been living in for past 40 years or so.

The PERRY-ATHERTON lines go through Edwin & Susannah's daughter Sarah WHITE, b. 1836, who married 15 Apr 1860 to John PERRY.

==========//==========

If you have more information on Edwin WHITE who married Susannah PARSONS, I would love to share details, and learn more.  And if there are errors you notice, please do let me know. Contact me at my address at the bottom of the page calewis at telus dot net or, in the Comments section.

My Blogger account seems not to allow me to "reply" to your comments. Do know that I value your comments immensely. You make my day! Thanks for stopping by to read my genealogy posts.

52 ANCESTORS, 52 THEMES, No. 19, There's A Way: Susanna PARSONS 1807-1866

This year's challenge by Amy Crow is another weekly blog, but based on Themes. Last week, it was Where There's A Will.  This week, the theme is There's a Way.

I chose to write about Susanna PARSONS, my son-in-law's 3rd great-grandmother and her family. Susanna was the third child (of 11 children) of parents, Richard PARSONS and Sarah CHETTEN [surname not proven as yet]. Richard is listed on the 1841 Census living in Snow Hill in the hamlet of Hartshill, Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England.  His occupation is listed as Ag Lab - agricultural labourer - as are his older sons.  

Susannah was baptised 7 Sep 1807 in St. Peter's church in the Parish of Mancetter, Warwick.  Susannah married Edwin WHITE in the on June 30th, 1828, also in the Parish 'mother' church, St. Peter's, built in the 13th Century. Edwin signed his name, while Susanna made her mark.  The Witnesses were Wm Henry Wright and Anne Ch....[difficult to read], who are not known to be relatives.

They settled nearby, in Chapel End in the hamlet of Hartshill, and can be found in the 1841 Census, with their first four children.  Edwin was working as a blacksmith, and the census shows he was not born in the county of Warwick [he was born in Nottingham].  

Susanna and Edwin had the following children, born in Hartshill:
  1.  Josiah, b. 1829
  2.  James, b. 1833
  3.  Susanna, b. 1835
  4.  Sarah [direct ancestor], b. 25 Sep 1836, d. 23 Oct 1908; m. to John PERRY 15 Apr 1860, 9 children
  5.  Hannah, b. 1842
  6.  Philip, b. 1847
  7.  Isabella, b. 1852

Note that I have not completed research to find spouses/families of their 7 children, other than for the direct ancestor, Sarah; plus I need to search for death records, and any other records which might be found on this WHITE family. 

In the 1851 Census, the family were again found living in Snow Hill, two homes away from Susanna's brother Richard and his family.  Edwin's occupation is listed as Blacksmith, as are his eldest sons, Josiah and James. However, Susanna is listed as a Hand Loom Weaver Ribbons, as are her two older daughters, Susannah and Sarah.  Her younger brother and his wife are also Ribbon Weavers, as is a neighbour.  Another neighbour woman is listed as having the occupation of Silk Winder.  

Ribbons.  Woven on a handloom, in whatever light could be found through a window, or with a small light.  You cannot read a Regency romance novel without reading about women buying ribbons to decorate their hats, their hair, their dresses. The northern area in Warwick produced ribbons for the fashion trade, originally for the wealthy, but now produced in large enough amounts to be within the price range of most women.  Over 30,000 hand looms were known to be working in the region, doing piecework at home. 

As you can see from the photo, the loom is placed right up against the window for maximum light. To earn money, one would need to be weaving the patterns for as long as possible while the light held.  And the windows were not like today's double-glazed ones, with well-insulated walls.  

Unfortunately, by the late 1860s the advent of steam-powered looms collapsed the home-based hand loom ribbon businesses, causing great hardship, as well as poverty.  

The 1861 Census shows Edwin still working as a Blacksmith, and their daughter Hannah as a Ribbon Weaver, but there are fewer in the neighbourhood.  Susanna, his wife, does not show an occupation on this Census.  

The 1871 Census shows Edwin, widowed, Blacksmith, living only with his youngest child, Isabella, aged 19, no occupation.  They were living in Snow Hill as before.  

Susanna is shown as having died in the first quarter of 1866 (Jan-March), and the death was registered in Parish Mancetter, in Atherstone which is about 2.5 miles from Hartshill. 

I have a list of questions still about Susanna.  Clearly everyone pulled their weight in the family, and while raising seven living children, she also wove silk ribbons to add to the family income.  I wonder if a neighbour showed her how to do this work, and I wonder how much money they might have earned with each 'piece' (yards?)

A challenging life, a challenging time, as the Industrial Revolution hit the poor very hard. This family found a way, and Susanna certainly did her part.

If any of these people are your ancestors as well, please contact me via calewis at telus dot net, or in the Comments below.  I would love to learn more about my Perry grandchildren's ancestors. 

Blogger is still not letting me "reply" to your comments, for some unknown reason. If I don't reply to your Comment, please know that I'm totally thrilled you came to read my post and commented! You make my day.