Peasants to Puddles - My Family History

Peasants to Puddles
My Family History - By Nicky Rowberry

The Whiteheads

Louisa Whitehead was one of my 3 x great grandmothers. She was born in Nottingham in 1828, the second eldest daughter of William & Mary (or Mary Ann) Whitehead. William & Mary appear to have had many children between 1828 and 1847 in Nottingham. The family seem to have moved around an awful lot, giving their address variously as Leen Side, Currant Street, Poplar Place, Pleasant Row, Narrow Marsh, Lees Yard and finally Red Lion Street.

William Whitehead's occupation seems to have been mainly that of a boatman or waterman. This at least is what he gives as his occupation at most of his children's baptisms, although for a few he is recorded just as a labourer or porter. Boatman is also how Louisa describes her father on her marriage certificate in 1849. One of the witnesses at Louisa's marriage was her sister Phoebe Whitehead.

In 1841, the family were living at Close Alley, Nottingham. William was at this point described as a labourer. His and Mary's ages are given as 35, but for the 1841 census, adult's ages were rounded to the nearest 5, so their true ages may be slightly different. The table below gives the details from the 1841 census. (HO 107/870/12 Folio 11 Page 14)

City or Borough of Nottingham
Parish or Township of St Mary (part)
Place	Names of each Person who abode therein the preceding Night	Age	Profession, Trade, Employment or of Independent Means	Where Born in Same County
Close Alley	William Whitehead	35	Labourer	Yes
	Mary Whitehead	35		Yes
	Elizabeth Whitehead	15	Silk Seamer	Yes
	Louisa Whitehead	12		Yes
	William Whitehead	10		Yes
	Phoebe Whitehead	8		Yes
	George Whitehead	5		Yes
	Mary Ann Whitehead	4		Yes

By 1851 they were living at Lees Yard. Both William and his son William were described as Boatmen. With the family was William's married daughter Phoebe Guest and her baby, although there was no sign of her husband. The table below gives the details from the 1851 census. (HO107/2133)

Parish of St Mary		Ecclesiastical District of St John		City or Borough of Nottingham		Town of Nottingham	Village of
Schedule	Name of Street, Place, or Road	Name & Surname of each Person who abode in the house, on the Night of the 30th March, 1851	Relation to Head of Family	Condition	Age	Rank, Profession, or Occupation	Where Born
49	48 Lees Yard	William Whitehead	Head	Married	47	Boatman	Nottm St Marys
		Mary Whitehead	Wife	Married	49		ditto
		William Whitehead	Son	Unmar	21	Boatman	Nottm
		George Whitehead	Son	Unmar	17	Twist Hand	Nottm
		Mary Ann Whitehead	Daur	Unmar	15	Bobbin Threader	Nottm
		Emma Whitehead	Daur		8	ditto	Nottm
		Eliza Whitehead	Daur		5	Scholar	Nottm
		Selina Whitehead	Daur		3	ditto	Nottm
		Phoebe Guest	Visitor	Married	20	Seamer	Nottm
		Mary Ann Guest	Daur		3months		Nottm

In 1861, William & Mary were living Star & Garter Yard on Red Lion Street, with four of their children and a grand-daughter Emma Guest. Emma's parents (Phoebe Whitehead & John Guest) were living at nearby Byron Yard with the rest of their children - perhaps Emma was just visiting her grandparents for a night the day of the census? William Whitehead was still described as a Boatman, aged 57 and born in Nottingham. The table below gives the details from the 1861 census.

The undermentioned Houses are situated within the Boundaries of the
Parish [or Township] of		City or Municipal Borough of	Municipal Ward of	Parliamentary Borough of	Township of	Hamlet or Tyhthing of	Ecclesiastical District of
St Marys		Nottingham	Exchange	Nottingham	Nottingham		St John
No. of Schedule	Road, Street and Name of House	Name and Surname of each person	Relation to Head of Family	Condition	Age	Rank, Profession or Occupation	Where Born
70	Star & Garter Yd.	William Whitehead	Head	Married	57	Boat Man	Nottingham
		Mary Ann Whitehead	Wife	Married	59	Lace Hand	Nottingham
		George Whitehead	Son	Married	26	Lace Maker	Nottingham
		Emma Whitehead	Dau	Married	20	Winder of Cotton	Nottingham
		Caroline Whitehead	Dau	Unmar	16	Lace Hand	Nottingham
		Eliza Whitehead	Dau	-	14	Lace Hand	Nottingham
		Emma Guest	-	-	7		Sheffield

By 1871 Mary seems to have died as William was living as a boarder in a house in Temple Place and descrived as a widower. I don't have a definite death for William, although there is a likely one in 1873, but I need to confirm that.

That is all I really know of William's origins at the moment. There are a few baptisms of William Whiteheads in Nottingham around the right time and I have yet to work out which one is him. Nor have I found a definite marriage for William & Mary, although I know from two of their children's birth certificates, that Mary's maiden name was Harrison (hence the middle names of at least 2 of her children). There are several Mary Harrisons born in Nottingham in the early 1800s, so at the moment I don't know her parents either.

The family tree below summarises what I know about the Whitehead family. It is hopefully reasonably accurate, but much of the information I have used here has been gleaned from information on the Internet and I have not had the chance to verify its accuracy. So if you do spot any errors, or any relatives, please feel free to E-mail me

Please click on one of the red links on the tree to move to a different page.

If any of the above is of further interest, please feel free to contact me at: n.rowberry@btinternet.com

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Peasants to Puddles - My Family History. By Nicky Rowberry