I had been having some difficulty tracing a child and her parents. I now have found what appears to have been a chequered story of a possibly dysfunctional or, perhaps, unlucky family. Perhaps though all might have ended well.
The protagonists are:-
Mother:- Annie Adams
Father:- George Bridges
First Child:- Edward James Bridges
Second Child :- Alice Emma Bridges Adams
My target is Alice Emma and I had been searching for evidence of her birth for years. The first evidence I found was Annie & George's marriage certificate. This was as a result of the 1901 census data, the census showed they were married. As I started the search in the 1990's without the census data, when this additional census data became available it was a boon. After considerable searching and some false dawns I found what looked like the right combination in the indexes. The marriage certificate duly arrived and is entirely consistent. Marriage after Banns: Husband and wife living at separate addresses (Groom: 23 Marsden Street). Other bridegroom's family members as witnesses. Nothing odd at all.
My initial 1990’s researches I had found nothing in the 1891 census - perhaps they were in Canada and Emma was a Canadian. There is much oral family history about a Canadian connection and there is evidence in the form of shipping lists and other material relating to others in this line. I spent considerable fruitless time pursuing this possibility.
The 1901 census data coupled with the marriage certificate indicated that children were born prior to the marriage of 6 November 1888. It was relatively easy to find Edward James in the indexes and his birth certificate is unremarkable in itself. Born 23 May 1885 at 8 Marsden Terrace, in the Kentish Town sub-district. Father's details: George Bridges - Occupation Cabinet Maker (Everywhere else he is a French Polisher - a bit of a promotion perhaps). Mother: Annie Bridges formerly Adams, and birth registered by mother on 2 July 1885. But of course they weren't married at that time - as far as I know.
Having learned that the children (according to census data) were born before the marriage in 1888, and that Edward James was registered under Bridges it should have been a straight forward task to find Alice Emma - but I had been searching without success since the 1990's. However was only recently that I had established mother's maiden surname as Adams. So run a check on Alice Emma Adams. As is usual lots of Alice Emma's and nothing that looked promising. Then I noticed at the end of the list an "Alice Emma B". The other basic data (Registration District, birth year) looked promising; so order the certificate.
What a surprise! On the 16 May 1887 in the Holborn Workhouse an apparent bastard child was born to Annie Adams, living in the Holborn Workhouse, Hoxton New Town, at that time a General Servant of 3 Chichester Street, Bayswater, birth registered on 10 June 1887. The Child's first names are shown as "Alice" then "Emma" then "Bridges"! So I shouldn’t have been looking for Alice Emma Adams.
But how clever of the mother to get the father's details into the record. Or was it the Registrar being kind? What happened to the family since in 1885 when all seemed "normal", (albeit not actually married) to the second child being born in the workhouse, with mother back at work as a general servant. I have been told that during the period the furniture industry in London was in the grip of a great recession. So is it a matter of, “It’s the economy – stupid!” Was everything getting back to an even keel by the time of the church wedding in November 1888 with the apparent blessing of the father's family, if not that of the bride's family? A turbulent time for that small family.
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