CATHERINE AARON-DENTIST 1851

[SRFENN]

Samuel being the son of Catherine Aaron (Crawcour) just doesn't fit the facts. There is no reason why Hannah Levy or, indeed, Aaron Aarons could not have had a Samuel in the family after whom Samuel Aron was named. Aaron Aarons must have married Catherine Crawcour (if he actually did) between late 1819 & early1824 & it is difficult to see how Catherine Crawcour could have been Samuel Aron's mother in 1818.

I have hust received Aaron Aarons death certificate which reads as follows;-

Reg. Dist. Spitalfield, Co. of Middlesex registered 13th March 1838

Aaron Aarons died 11th March at 45, Red Lion Street, Christ Church, 49 years of age dealer in rags, of typhoid fever. Informant was B. Polak of 2, King's Head Court, Sandy's Row, Christ Church.

So a rag dealer born C. 1789; doesn't seem too helpful! Where do we go from here?

Steve

[SRFENN]

Sorry, that should have been typhus, not typhoid, fever. Doesn't make any difference to his identity though!

Steve

[phillip]

Steve
I stll think that Samuel is the son of Catherine and Aaron and do not take his dob to be accurate until we can trace him further. Now for another piece of new information to consider- I have been looking through the hundreds of documents I hold on the Crawcour lines and discovered a 3 page list of Crawcour ( source unknown) which has Catherine known as Kitty married to Aarons 1806 circa and her dob circa 1786.

Have we got the right Aaron from the start and is the data on Cemetery Scribes linking Catherine to Aaron Aarons married twice the right Aaron? If Catherine married in 1806 why did she not have any children early?

Did the Aaron married to Catherine die pre 1837 which is why there is no GRO record.

I take the term rag dealer and master tailor advisely- all depends on who is the informant
I think we need fresh data- visit to SOG might help providing of course there is info on the family.
Phillip

[SRFENN]

I appreciate that census dates might not be entirely accurate but, if 1841 dates were rounded up by 5 years, and only for children under 15, as you say, then that would make Samuel's birth even earlier instead of later as we would like it to be if we want it after 1819. Also, presumably. people over 15 were not rounded up so Catherine's birth date in the 1841 census should still be around 1791 and it is hard to reconcile that to 1785/6. So, as you say, have we got the right Aarons or, indeed, the right Catherine. I am sure the 1851 Catherine is Catherine Crawcour but is she the same as the 1841 Catherine??? If they are two different Catherine's then, possibly, the 1841 Catherine did not marry Aaron Aarons but someone else, possibly the Samuel ARON I already found who died in Christ Church workhouse in 1841. This could be an alternative explanation for the name of Catherine's eldest son.

The Aaron married to Catherine Crawcour certainly died before the 1851 census and, if the 1851 & 1841 Catherines are the same person, then her before the 1841 census also. It is certainly possible that Aaron Aarons died before 1837 of course which would make things even more difficult for us.

So what have we got to suggest that the two Catherine's might be the same person?

1) They both have a son called Moses who was born in 1829

2) There are no other Catherines or Moses in either 1841 or 1851 censuses.

Against them being the same person:

1) different birth dates

2) different spelling of surname

3) different places of birth

4) different occupations

5) none of 1841 Catherine's children with her in 1851 except Moses. Her two daughters were younger than Moses; the youngest 18 in 1851.

What have we got to suggest that either, or both, Catherines is Catherine Crawcour:

1) The surname Aron/Aaron (but not Aarons)

2) the 1851 Catherine was a dentist

3) the 1851 Catherine was born C. 1786

So it is almost certain that the 1851 Catherine is Catherine Crawcour but, if she is not the same as the 1841 Catherine, where was Catherine Crawcour in 1841 and where was Catherine ARON in 1851???

Additionally, in favour of the 1841 Catherine being Catherine Crawcour we have the following:

1) She married Aaron Aarons and Moses Aaron's son was called Aaron Lewis Aaron

2) Moses and Aaron Lewis Aaron later changed their surname to Aarons with an "S".

3) Moses' place of birth is given on one census as "strand" which could tie up with a Crawcour residence and is not too far from Drury lane and would have come under Strand Reg, District from 1837 although this did not exist in 1829.

4) Several of the names of Catherine's sons are the same as Catherine Crawcour's father and brothers.

The 1806 marriage information is interesting and supports the fact that Catherine Crawcour married Aaron Aarons but doesn't help much at this stage. Good point about the long delay in having any children, unless all the earlier ones died. The 1806 date would mean, of course, that the Aaron Aarons in the Cemetery Scribes site is not the right Aaron Aarons.

So, as I said before, where do we go from here?

Let me know if you have any further thoughts on the subject.

Best regards,
Steve

[MarkJ]

I appreciate that census dates might not be entirely accurate but, if 1841 dates were rounded up by 5 years, and only for children under 15, as you say, then that would make Samuel's birth even earlier instead of later as we would like it to be if we want it after 1819. Also, presumably. people over 15 were not rounded up so Catherine's birth date in the 1841 census should still be around 1791 and it is hard to reconcile that to 1785/6. So, as you say, have we got the right Aarons or, indeed, the right Catherine.

Ages were rounded down for young people to the nearest 5 years, rather than up - which might be of use.

Mark

[phillip]

Steve
I am going to visit SOG to see if there is an Aaron/Aarons/Aron family tree plus see if there is a PCC will for Aaron Aarons. Have also asked Pat if there is any more data in the Moses Crawcour will regarding his nephews/nieces.
Not much point in pursuing this topic until we get more info.
I looked on the Historical Directories online site which has 1808 and 1841 London Trade Directories- could only locate
1808 S Aaron Merchant 7 Fenchurch
Isaac Aaron and Son opticians Dukes Place
1841
Aaron and Alexander tobacconists 5 Russell Court

That's my lot for now and am taking a holiday
Phillip

[SRFENN]

Don't blame you, have a nice time. Did you see Mark's reply about ages, thanks Mark. If that's right Samuel could have been born as late as 1823 which would certainly be after the death of Hannah Levy. Doesn't explain Catherine Crawcour's 1806 marriage though and the even longer delay in having children.

I can tell you for certain that Moses Aaron died in 4th quarter 1923 aged 93 so that puts his birth date at C.1830 or 1829. So. although he was about 12 in 1841, he was not rounded up or down.

Right, I'll let you have a well earned break and hope to hear from you when you have anything new.

Best regards,
Steve

[JAP1]

Hi Steve,

On GENUKI at:
http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/Census.html
you will find a link to the official instructions to enumerators in the various censuses (this summary has been kindly compiled by Guy Etchells; the site states that the material is available for non-commercial use).

The 1841 Instructions include:
Write the age of every person under 15 years of age as it is stated to you. For persons aged 15 years and upwards, write the lowest of the term of 5 years within which the age is.

Thus-for Persons aged
15 years and under 20 write 15
20 years and under 25 write 20
25 years and under 30 write 25
30 years and under 35 write 30

35 years and under 40 write 35
40 years and under 45 write 40
45 years and under 50 write 45
50 years and under 55 write 50

55 years and under 60 write 55
60 years and under 65 write 60
65 years and under 70 write 65
70 years and under 75 write 70

And so on up to the greatest ages.

Fortunately for us many enumerators ignored their instructions and entered the actual age of persons over 15!

JAP

[SRFENN]

Well thank you very much Jap, that makes it all much clearer. So it's people OVER 15 that were rounded DOWN and not people UNDER 15 rounded UP. So ages of 15, 20, 25 etc. are suspect, though not necessarilly wrong and exact ages not in multples of five are likely to be correct is that right? So Samuel Aaron aged 23 in the 1841 census must have definitely been born in 1818 give or take a year either side?

What a stupid idea though wasn't it? Also, It would have ben fortunate if all census enumerators had ignored it but, obiously not all did and, so, we can never be sure which ones are rounded down and which ones are not.

Thanks for your help.

Steve

[MarkJ]

As you say Steve, not all the enumerators understood/listened to the advice - and thus we find all sorts of variations in the 1841 census. You see exact ages, also those where the enumerators rounded down and even those where they rounded up on odd occasions...

This is why - when possible - most people look at the 1851 or later for a more realisitc age.

Mark