Searching for 19th C London Floud family

[EileenRobinson]

Hello. At the moment, I’m researching the cluster of surnames Floud/Smith/Baddam, living in London in the 1850s – 70s, as a way of trying to uncover the mystery of my great-grandmother, Ellen Floud/McDonough. I have searched the censuses, and all the online sites like Ancestry extensively, and while I have uncovered all the possible online documentation, she remains very elusive.
I’ve found a tenuous link with a branch of the Floud/Smith/Baddam family from the 1850s through to the 1870s. Some of the Smith and Floud women were bookfolders/sewers, and some of the men were printers or binders, and my g-grandmother is also named as a bookfolder in a couple of records.
I’m wondering if my g-grandmother might be Sarah Floud, born in 1869. Sarah disappears after the mid-1870s, and Ellen appears as my g-grandmother in 1890. Maybe she changed her name to Ellen. I have no proof and would love to find some.
What I would like to find on this forum are others with knowledge of this family to throw some light on the origins of my g-grandmother.

[almach]

Hello Eileen and welcome to British - Genealogy Forums.

I'm hoping you can answer a few questions which may help us to help you.

I think you are saying your g.grandmother could be Sarah Floud born circa 1869, who later used the name Ellen. You too mention she was also Mcdonough, is Mcdonough her married name?

Please, can you say how you got back to her, i.e. your grandparent's name and approx birth date/place of birth, who would be her son or daughter?

Reference to some records you are certain of would also be helpful. Have you found her on any census? Do you have a birth certificate for your grandparent? A marriage certificate for Sarah/Ellen?

I imagine FLOUD is sometimes mistranscribed and could be recorded as FLOOD or FLOYD.

my g-grandmother is also named as a book folder in a couple of records.

Do you have references for these records?

[christanel]

Welcome to the British-Genealogy forums
You are saying your ggrandmother Ellen Floud married a McDonough? When? Do you have the marriage cert? if so can you give us the details? Father's names and occupations, witnesses, addresses etc.
Just a couple of details which may help others wanting to help you.
On the GRO index the birth registration for Sarah Floud born 1869
Sarah Floud mother's maiden name Baddam Dec 1/4 1869 registration district Holborn vol 1b page 602
Marriage
On same page FreeBMD William Henry Floud and Elizabeth Martha Baddam June 1/4 1864 reg dist E London vol 1c page 6.
ancestry has 6 workhouse admissions for a Sarah Floud born 1869 between 1876, 1901 and 1906. So the marriage of Ellen could eliminate her being the Sarah born 1869 especially as I can't see a marriage for a Sarah Floud anytime, anywhere on FreeBMD. Mind you it is a surname prone to misspellings
Christina

Beat me to it Alma

[almach]

Beat me to it Alma

Great minds, Christina

Eileen after a little sniffing about I have found who I presume are your ancestors, and these records will be useful to anyone wishing to help your search.

MCDONOUGH, DANIEL ALOYSIUS, MMN FLOUD
GRO Reference: 1890 S Quarter in HOLBORN Volume 01B Page 782

1891,42 Great Saffron Hill, Holborn, RG12; Piece: 221; Folio: 49; Page: 35
Daniel O Dorrough [sic] 25, salesman, London City
Ellen Dorrough 19, book folder, London
Darrel Dorrough 9/12, St Lukes London

[almach]

MCDONOUGH, ELLEN FLOAD
GRO Reference: 1892 D Quarter in LONDON CITY Volume 01C Page 13

MCDONOUGH, WILLIAM HENRY FLOUD
GRO Reference: 1898 D Quarter in HOLBORN Volume 01B Page 757

[almach]

There's Army records for Daniel Aloysius Mcdonough where it's suggested the name is an alias for Daniel Flaird??? (perhaps Flaird is a corruption for FLOUD) He enlisted at Taunton 1906, born St Luke, London

It is your chap as his father is Daniel and he has a brother William. The record is on both Ancestry and FMP

There's also records for a Daniel Flaird in Ancestry's "London, England, Workhouse Admission and Discharge Records, 1764-1930" Born 1890/1

[almach]

I've just had a look through Daniel's Army Papers. He had been a pupil at Cannington Industrial School.
https://www.missing-ancestors.com/can...al-school.html

His father, Daniel, has two addresses recorded: 94, Mayfield ? (can't be sure if it's Ave) W. Ealing, and 67 or 69 Commercial Road, Lambeth.

He says he has a younger brother, William, address unknown.

[EileenRobinson]

Hello Alma, thank you for your reply. Sorry this is long, but I want to save others a lot of searching through material that I have already found. Fresh eyes and thoughts would be very helpful, and maybe someone could recognise this family from their own research.
I have researched this area of the family extensively online, searched sites such as Ancestry FMP, looked in detail at all the censuses, and found a lot of workhouse records. I feel as if I’ve found everything I can on that route, though there may be some things I have not yet come across.
My g-grandmother Ellen Floud/McDonough doesn’t appear on any censuses – the only documentation I have for her is the birth certificates of her children, the 1893 Catholic Census, and various workhouse admissions and discharges. No record of her birth or death. I can’t find a record of her civil marriage to my great-grandfather, Daniel Aloysius McDonough, and on one birth record from the Strand Union, the child is recorded as illegitimate and her surname as Floud. However, the child is named as Catherine McDonough, so the father is my great-grandfather. On all the other birth certificates, born at home, she is recorded as Ellen McDonough, formerly Floud. They may have had a Catholic marriage ceremony, and I’m looking into this offline via the Westminster Diocese Archive.
Ellen and Daniel had 6 children: 2 died as babies (James David, born and died 1897, and Mary born 1902, died 1903, no birth registration – I found her through a workhouse record of 1903, and a death registration, July 1903); Daniel Aloysius, b. 1890; Ellen, b. 1892 (my grandmother), Catherine, b. 1895, William Henry, b. 1898. I have all the birth certificates except for Mary. The remaining children all ended up in care after 1900, and I have documentation for this, plus Daniel Aloysius’ army record, emigration to Canada, and death cert in Canada 1930, and William’s care record from the Catholic Children’s Society and his emigration to Canada as a BHC.
The first record I have of my g-grandmother as Ellen McDonough, formerly Floud, is the birth certificate of my eldest great-uncle, also Daniel Aloysius McDonough (1890, September, Holborn, Vol 01B, page 782). In all Ellen’s workhouse entries, she is recorded as Floud or Fload.
My theory that Ellen may be Sarah Floud is based on circumstantial evidence, and I am keeping an open mind, aware that I may be going down a blind alley. I have been unable to find any birth for an Ellen Floud anywhere in the UK around the right dates, whereas Sarah Floud was born in London in 1869. Sarah is a bookfolder, as is Ellen (Proof: birth certificate of Catherine: mother: Ellen Floud, a bookfolder, 1895, January, Strand, Vol 1B, page 673. Sarah: workhouse admission, 1906, July 6, Fulham Road, line 6, bookfolder). Sarah lives reasonably close to the area where Ellen subsequently lives with Daniel and family. Sarah disappears from the records after the mid-1870s when she is in the workhouse with her family, and the only other mention I can find for her is the workhouse record in 1906, a period when I have no trace of Ellen.
I have thought about the possibility of Flood/Floyd, but at the moment I am pursuing the Floud route, due to the coincidence of the bookfolder trail, and also as I have never seen my g-grandmother’s name recorded with these spellings, though I have also seen Flout, Fload, Flodd and Flaird!
It’s tricky as the Floud/Smith/Baddam family also seem quite elusive - there are a lot of William Henry’s, one of whom is living with grandmother in 1881, there is a change of name from Elizabeth to Martha (Smith) between the 1851 and 1861 censuses, plus there seems to have been an odd surname change from Smith to Baddam when Elizabeth Martha married William Henry Floud in 1864. And, apart from death records for Floud children Emma and Anne, and mother Elizabeth Martha in 1882, after the 1871 census the family seem to disappear, except for the father, William Henry, born 1844, who spent a lot of time in the workhouse between 1906 and 1910, before dying in 1911.

[EileenRobinson]

Thanks everyone for your input. Sorry I was a bit late in getting back to Alma's reply to me. My long reply to her will show you that I have a lot of info on the family, and am really hoping that by some miracle, someone might know something more about this family.

[EileenRobinson]

The Dorroughs look interesting - I have missed them before! Thanks!