Amelia Hughes, Lincolnshire

[defcrow]

I am trying to find birth/census records for Amelia Hughes, born Lincolnshire, circa 1844.
She married Major Brummitt in 1864, and can be found on all censuses from 1871, after their marriage.
On her marriage certifiacte she lists the father as Alfred Hughes, a labourer.
On the 1851 census she is in the Grantham Union Workhouse, a pauper, aged 7

Class: HO107; Piece: 2103; Folio: 248; Page: 10 (courtesy of TNA).

I cannot find her in 1861, nor can I find a birth record. The only Alfred Hughes I can find is on the 1841 census

Class: HO107; Piece 651; Book: 17; Civil Parish: St Peter At Arches; County: Lincolnshire; Enumeration District: 13; Folio: 10; Page: 14; Line: 15 (courtesy of TNA).

Thanks

[RobinC]

This could be Amelia in 1861:

A H 17 born Swaby, Lincolnshire - prisoner

Class: RG9; Piece: 2375; Folio: 22; Page: 5

census reference courtesy of TNA

Swaby isn't that near Grantham though which makes me doubt it's the right person.

[Raffaele]

Across the various census returns where does she claim she was born ?
Grantham is Lincs but very close to Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire and Rutland.

[RobinC]

Across the various census returns where does she claim she was born ?
Grantham is Lincs but very close to Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire and Rutland.

1871:
Name: Amelia Brummitt
Birth: abt 1844 - L Gonerby, Lincolnshire, England

1881:
Name: Amelia Brummitt
Birth: abt 1843 - Grantham, Lincoln, England

1891:
Name: Amelia Brummitt
Birth: abt 1842 - Grantham, Lincolnshire, England

[defcrow]

Yes,

Those census matches from 1871 are correct, on the 1851 census her place of birth is stated as not known.

James

[Raffaele]

Seems to me that she was in the Workhouse pretty young and her POB was not known. Her earliest memory was Grantham so that was what she reported.

I just tried searching for Hughes deaths in Grantham at around that time. FreeBMD is replying instantly with none but it seemed too quick and maybe they are in problems. If you could find a female death about the time it could be her mother.

It might be worth researching the workhouse to see if any records survive.

www.
workhouses.org.uk/index.html?Grantham/Grantham.shtml

Or just googling Grantham Union get a lot of choices.

[RobinC]

There aren't any births on freebmd for Amelia Hughes around 1844 in Lincolnshire and none that are near Lincolnshire either.

I also couldn't find any deaths for anyone named Hughes around that time.

[RobinC]

There's this death record which might fit but Thorne isn't that close to Grantham (roughly 60 miles away, I think):

Deaths Jun 1849
Hughes Alfred Thorne 23 520

[Raffaele]

It does rather look like Amelia, of parents and birthplace unknown, appears in the Grantham workhouse in 1851.
She does not appear to have known anything else so the trail is completely dead. The only possible avenue I can see is if there are any Workhouse records from the time that have survived. The sites I looked at suggest that they do not.

There is no way of knowing that Hughes was in fact her name which gives one last throw. What if she was illegitimate but taken care of by the father. The mother who shared a surname with Amelia dies and the father places her in the workhouse with his surname.

Amelia's born Grantham 1842 to 1846

Births Sep 1842
Marsh Amelia Grantham 14 338
Births Dec 1842
Sentance Amelia Charlotte Grantham 14 373
Births Mar 1845
SMITH Amelia Grantham 14 425
Births Jun 1845
LANE Amelia Grantham 14 394
Births Dec 1845
Blankley Amelia Ann Grantham 14 363
Births Jun 1846
SEYMOUR Amelia Elizabeth Cullerford Grantham 14 429

Grasping at straws seems more likely to achieve success.

[RobinC]

Could it be possible that Alfred Hughes "rescued" Amelia from the workhouse which is why she thought he was her father?

I can't find an Amelia Marsh or Sentance that fits with an 1842 Grantham birth in the 1851 census.

Amelia Smith is living with her parents in 1851.

I can't find an Amelia Lane that fits with an 1845 Grantham birth in the 1851 census, although there's this death which could fit:

Deaths Mar 1847
Lane Amelia Bourn 14 241

Amelia Ann Blankley is living with her parents in 1851.

I can't find an Amelia Seymour that fits with an 1846 Grantham birth in the 1851 census.

Going by this, I think Amelia Hughes could possibly have been born with the surname Marsh, Sentance or Seymour.