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  1. #1
    Mary Anne
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    Default Not an acronym...

    but an unfamiliar term - does anyone know what is a "merdlin child"? Can't remeber where I saw it but I think it was a transcription, so it could be almost any other word you'd care to name!

  2. #2
    Knowledgeable and helpful keith9351's Avatar
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    Have seen "merlin child" its to do with King Arthur.
    Keith

  3. #3
    MarkJ
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    Maudlin? Overly tearful and sentimental. I have seen that sort of thing on old headstones describing the children left behind by the death of a mother.

    Mark

  4. #4
    Peter_uk_can
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    I had an Aunt who would use the term "maudlin kids !" to describe those who were crying, whining or similar.

    She would say things like " I can't stand maudlin kids !" or "those kids are always maudlin over nothing !"

  5. #5
    MarkJ
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    We were simply told to shut up or we would get something to cry about!

    Mark

  6. #6
    Jan1954
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    Quote Originally Posted by MarkJ View Post
    Maudlin? Overly tearful and sentimental. I have seen that sort of thing on old headstones describing the children left behind by the death of a mother.

    Mark
    Maudlin sounds good to me too - either that or a version of mardy, meaning awkward; un-co-operative; bad tempered; whiney; aloof; stroppy, sulking like a small child.

  7. #7
    Mary Anne
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    thanks, everyone. "Maudlin" was a word that did come to mind, but I think I saw this on a census, so it seemed odd. If I could remeber exactly where I saw it, I suppose the context might be helpful, but alas the grey cells are not working today

  8. #8
    MarkJ
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    Ah - on a census, maudlin is less likely.
    If you can locate where it was Mary Anne, the context may make it easier to work out the word. It could be a disability or some sort of employment perhaps?

    Mark

  9. #9
    Very quick off the mark.
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    There's also the word 'mardy'

    for more info see

    https://tinyurl.com/5ax797

    though why it would be on a census I have no idea.

    maggie

  10. #10
    Mary Anne
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    OK, the grey cells are starting to recharge just a bit

    I searched the UK Census for the term, and it came up in the 1861...if you just put in "Merdlin Child" as a keyword on the advanced search at Ancestry.co.uk, the first one to come up is a William. It appears that both William, aged 6 mos and Charles Page, aged 3, just above William, are both one of these (whatever it is!).

    In the handwriting is looks more to me like "Merslang" or "Merdlang" and the "child" is written above it. The rest in the household are unmarried or widowed and 2 are male lodgers. And none of the names are the same as the children.

    I thought it might have referred to children taken in to be breast-fed by a new mother (as often happened if their own mother had died or couldn't feed them), but the makeup of the household suggests this isn't the case.

    Foundlings, perhaps?

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