Genealogy Chat

I have a thread running on here,but instead of adding to that,it is easier to ask my question seperately.

Does anyone know if its at all possible to find a list of people living in Wigan Workhouse,which was on Frog Lane.,Wigan?

I have found someone who may be a relative,who had twins there in 1888.

I am presuming it was Wigan Workhouse,because the children were baptised All Saints.,Wigan.

Thankyou

http://www.workhouses.org.uk/Wigan/
[the houses at top right of 1907 inset map are on Gidlow Lane]

Records
Wigan Archive Service, Town Hall, Leigh WN7 2DY. Holdings include: Guardians' minutes (1837-1930); Register of inmates (1906-49); etc.
Lancashire Record Office, Bow Lane, Preston, Lancashire, PR1 2RE. Holdings include: Guardians' minutes (1837-1930); Ledgers (1836-61);
from https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Wigan_Poor_Law_Union

You can find it at http://www.old-maps.co.uk/index.html
Enter the OS coordinates 357400,406000 and select a large scale (1:2500 or better) map at right.

Workhouses were also used as hospitals............

You would probably have to visit Lancs Record office in Preston to get the details you want

Or, you could try contacting them to see whether they carry out searches

Mo Chara.

Do you have a name..?

It's Mary Ann Kelly....she had twins Samuel and Thomas who were born and bapt.on the same day..Sep 2nd 1888. Am hoping she might be the same Mary Ann Kelly,who gave birth to my grandma in 1893/4.
Cos then I could look for her in 1891 census,as all 3children,the twins,and my grandma,Jane Ellen(or maybe Ellen Jane)were all bapt Wigan.
The other thread had got long and knotted,with lots of seemingly wrong facts I'd been given by family,that proved not quite right!

Just an afterthought...why would the twins have been born and bapt on same day? They weren't bapt in workhouse,they bapt at All Saints Church.

Thankyou ,mgnv and Reggie,am going to follow them links now.
Also thnx to my Irish friend EgB!

Being twins, they were probably baptised quickly in case they didn't survive.

Do you have a copy of the baptism entry from All Saint's Church books? It might have a notation in the margin of BP = Baptised Privately. That would imply that a clergyman was sent for as soon as they were born and probably baptised them at the bedside.

Anyone can baptise a child especially if they were very ill and/or not expected to survive - there is one entry I've seen (in the 20th C) where the Celebrant was named as the Matron of a privately run Mother and Baby home.

Followed the links....Reggie,it must have been just a workhouse when twins born...wasn't used as a poor hospital till 1906.

Re records.....Lancs Record Office holds records from1836-61...the births were 1888.

D.,have just double checked....I got the births/bapt off Lancs OPC....it does say All Saints,which I presumed was the Church.
Says the two bapt(one Samuel,one Thomas)are bracketed together in records.
Below that(which I hadn't noted)was.....
"bapt by A.C Brown for E.F Forrest(Chaplain to the Workhouse)"

Looking at other bapt for 1888 at All Saints,I noticed E.F Forrest was V(vicar?)of Pemberton.
Most 1888 bapt were done by EHA Brodhurst or HF Lloyd.

So,it's as you said,they must have been bapt at the bedside....poor little things.x

Will now look for any burials round that time.

Mo Chara....

The wee ones both died ...Reg Wigan Sept Quarter 1888.

aw..may they Rest in Peace.x

Lancashire Birth indexes for the years: 1888
Surname Forename(s) Sub-District Registers At Mother's Maiden Name Reference
KELLY Thomas Wigan Wigan & Leigh KELLY WIG/168/171
KELLY Samuel Wigan Wigan & Leigh KELLY WIG/168/172

Lancashire Death indexes for the years: 1888
Surname Forename(s) Age Sub-District Registers At Reference
KELLY Samuel 0 Wigan Wigan & Leigh WIG/118/332
KELLY Thomas 0 Wigan Wigan & Leigh WIG/118/333

All Saints is the parish church of Wigan and the Rev. Brodhurst, Lloyd and Brown were curates attached to that parish around that time.


The Hall, which is where the Rector and curates lived, is actually on Frog Lane so quite handy for the Workhouse. It looks as though whichever curate was available was sent for in haste and the baptisms later recorded in the church records.

thankyou all...its very sad tho...poor wee things. I have literally sat and cried whilst looking for past relatives.....the amount of tiny babies,infants and young children,whose lives finished before they had even begun. You would need a swinging brick for a heart,not to be moved.

And a lot of the deaths were from measles...very relevant today.

That is sad. There were so many illnesses from which young children died which can be cured today. My hubby's great-uncle and his wife had twelve children, ten of whom died in infancy, one died in childbirth and one emigrated to Australia and they never saw her again, although I've since discovered she lived to a ripe old age. There are eight in one grave in the cemetery. I'm tempted to get the death certs just to see what killed the poor little mite

My God,that is awful,and being your husbands' gt uncle,we're not talking centuries ago.

Am closing this thread,as I have traced Mary Ann after the Workhouse,so will continue on that thread.
Thankyou everyone for all your help.
Elaine

I googled Wigan Workouse and looking down through the links found the 1881 census list of inmates, including my gt gt gt granddad.

Kathleen - you might also checkout:
http://www.wiganworld.co.uk/stuff/cemetery.php?opt=cemetery
Also note the left margin has other cemetery indexes - in particular Ince cemetery is literally just across the road from Wigan cemetery.