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Union Work House. Newton Abbot.

Posted by Fred Gilpin on 19/7/2018, 1:14 pm

A couple of questions if anyone can help please.
1.If a person is in the Workhouse would they show on the Electoral register or does that stop them.
2. If a person dies in the workhouse and then according to the Parish Burials is down as a Bishopsteignton Burial, would they definitely be buried there. My case is an Elizabeth Gilpin born 1852--died in W/House 12/04/1886--buried 17/04/1886. BUT not showing on St Johns Church Grave Map. Any help on both topics much appreciated.
Best Wishes
Fred Gilpin

Re: Union Work House. Newton Abbot.

Posted by judith on 20/7/2018, 2:05 pm, in reply to "Union Work House. Newton Abbot."

Do we know if Elizabeth was married? or single, as there are some to choose from on 1881 census in the area. Death cert would state if she was wife of someone.

Re: Union Work House. Newton Abbot.

Posted by Fred Gilpin on 20/7/2018, 4:26 pm, in reply to "Re: Union Work House. Newton Abbot."

THANK YOU all for your replies. Elizabeth was not married and on her death Certificate it states she died in the Workhouse with the profession of Domestic Servant of Bishopsteignton, hence I guess why she was buried there. She died of Apoplexy with the informant being the Workhouse Master, a Robert H Cawse.The 1881 Census shows her as a Servant at Piermont Lodging House Dept. Osborne House DAWLISH.
The reason for asking about the Electoral Register was to see when she entered the workhouse
So any further thoughts greatly appreciated.

Re: Union Work House. Newton Abbot.

Posted by Ann on 21/7/2018, 8:33 am, in reply to "Re: Union Work House. Newton Abbot."

Apoplexy was used to describe a stroke. Although not impossible, she'd be very young at 34 for a stroke.

Re: Union Work House. Newton Abbot.

Posted by Chris on 20/7/2018, 5:30 pm, in reply to "Re: Union Work House. Newton Abbot."

Where was your Elizabeth Gilpin born. There is an Elizabeth Gilpin born in Dawlish c1854 alive and kicking on the 1891 census, working as a servant in Dawlish.

There is another Elizabeth Gilpin living in Bishopsteignton on 1861 & 1871 census born c1856 Ashcombe. Is it possible that this is the Elizabeth Gilpin buried at Bishopsteignton as that is where her family are residing.

I can't see someone born and working in Dawlish who was admitted to the Workhouse being buried at Bishopsteignton, she was not previously residing here and it was not her home parish.

Unless Elizabeth's family claimed her body for burial she would be buried in which ever graveyard Newton Abbot Workhouse used in 1886. But as the Elizabeth who died in 1886 might be the one from Bishopsteignton then it would make sense for her family to have her buried in that Parish.

Re: Union Work House. Newton Abbot.

Posted by Sue on 20/7/2018, 9:00 am, in reply to "Union Work House. Newton Abbot."

The union workhouse in N Abbott was at the bottom of an incredibly steep piece of land which also used to be the site of N Abbot hospital. I doubt anybody was buried there and can recall no mention in the recent site redevelopment. The workhouse building is now a Sainsbury express store. The nearest public cemetery in N Abbott is on the Totnes/Coach Road near the parish church at Wolborough which also has its own churchyard.

Re: Union Work House. Newton Abbot.

Posted by Ann on 20/7/2018, 6:15 am, in reply to "Union Work House. Newton Abbot."

Do you have a copy of Elizabeth Gilpin's death certificate? What was the cause of death? I see she was aged 34 at her death so she was less likely to be a pauper inmate, but may have been admitted to the workhouse hospital rather than being a pauper inmate of the workhouse itself. Often workhouse hospitals were the only medical care available to those who, whilst not destitute, were too poor to afford to pay for medical care. That may explain why she was subsequently buried in her 'home' parish,
Peter Higginbotham's Workhouses website may be of interest particularly this page on medical care.
http://www.workhouses.org.uk/life/medical.shtml

Re: Union Work House. Newton Abbot.

Posted by Ann on 20/7/2018, 7:03 am, in reply to "Re: Union Work House. Newton Abbot."

Oh, and to expand on John's point about being on an electoral role, women over 30 who also met a property qualification gained the right to vote in parliamentary elections in 1918, but a few women had the right to vote in municipal elections prior to that. That is why you start to see a few women as poor law guardians from the 1880s and later as members of school boards. Under the Municipal Franchise Act of 1869, single women ratepayers could vote in municipal elections and this was extended to married women in 1894. Of course most women were not ratepayers in their own right (their husbands/fathers etc. were classed as the ratepayers) but you will still see some women on electoral registers prior to 1918.
But your relative is extremely unlikely to have qualified.

Re: Union Work House. Newton Abbot.

Posted by judith on 20/7/2018, 1:51 pm, in reply to "Re: Union Work House. Newton Abbot."

Death certificate would be useful, it should show address of informant and cause of death. If she was young could have been tb. or post pregnancy infection, childbirth etc.

Re: Union Work House. Newton Abbot.

Posted by John Avery on 19/7/2018, 7:05 pm, in reply to "Union Work House. Newton Abbot."

I forgot to add the Reform Act of 1884 enfranchised all male house owners in urban and rural areas which added 6 million names to the voting register. It therefore seems most unlikely that a person owning a house would be a resident in a workhouse. Women over the age of 30 years were not entitled to vote until 1918. Your relative would certainly not be on a voting register.

Re: Union Work House. Newton Abbot.

Posted by Fred Gilpin on 19/7/2018, 7:51 pm, in reply to "Re: Union Work House. Newton Abbot."

To John and Judith,
Many thanks for that, I will check with the Church Warden if there is any Communal grave.Does anyone know if records were kept year on year of inmates in the Workhouse and if so where can I view these.
Many Thanks
Fred

Re: Union Work House. Newton Abbot.

Posted by judith on 20/7/2018, 1:52 pm, in reply to "Re: Union Work House. Newton Abbot."

Not sure what there is at the Heritage centre in Exeter, re workhouses, as so many records destroyed in war.

Re: Union Work House. Newton Abbot.

Posted by Judith on 19/7/2018, 1:50 pm, in reply to "Union Work House. Newton Abbot."

sometimes people were buried in their own parish. I have one person where this happened. She may have been ill or frail and that could be the reason she was in there, but was buried with her husband in their parish.
If your person is listed in the parish register of burials then that is where she should be. Not sure whether maps of the graveyard will be accurate, as graves often re-used. There could have been a poor area, which might not be marked as such. Doubt if there would have been a stone.

Re: Union Work House. Newton Abbot.

Posted by John Avery on 19/7/2018, 6:08 pm, in reply to "Re: Union Work House. Newton Abbot."

The burial would have been in a community grave often referred to as "pauper grave" if the burial was funded by the workhouse. There was no kerb or headstone but possibly a temporary wooden cross. By law parishes were not allowed to show any identifying name. The parish if it regularly sought a burial plot for paupers would re-open graves so that there were usually several bodies within a grave some buried a few years after the original burial. If the workhouse accounts still survive you would probably find an entry paying a sum of money on or about the date of death recorded with possibly the initials of the deceased.

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