Jane White Booth ~ Died in a Union Workhouse

I enjoy GeneaBloggers and it's daily prompts which give me a nudge of ideas to keep me engaged in writing about my ancestors.  Each day we get encouraging topics to get our minds thinking of what has transpired in the past.   Today's daily I'm choosing is "Wishful Wednesday".  You'll understand why when you finish reading this post.

Jane White Booth was my 5th Great Grandmother who lived her life in Gloucestershire, a county in South West England. It includes the cities of  Gloucester, Cirencester, Stroud and Tewkesbury.

Jane was born about the year 1778 in Gloucestershire, England and died December 24, 1853 (Christmas Eve) in a Union Workhouse in Tewkesbury, England.  She was 75 years old.

Death Cert: Died at "Union Workhouse Tewkesbury" of "Natural Decay"

I have no photos of my 5th great grandmother Jane, just some records and an online photo of where she was living when she died.   As I was reviewing her records I noticed her place of her death.  It had passed by my eyes before.  She died  at a "Union Workhouse" and I didn't know what that was. So I began my research.

Wikipedia states, "In England and Wales a workhouse, colloquially known as a spike, was a place where those unable to support themselves were offered accommodation and employment".  

I felt bad that she had to die in a workhouse.  She had a husband, George Boothe, my 5th great grandfather, but I have no record when he died.  I know he was born about 1782 and only can determine his death was before hers (1853) as her death certificate states she was a widow.   I also know she had at least one son, John Booth. John, my 4th great grandfather, was born in 1804 and his date of death is unknown.  I know John began serving in the Royal Marines at the age of 16,  married  Mary Hardy, and  had four children that I'm aware of.  My records indicate that her son John, and his family, lived in Wellington, England keeping John about 100 miles from his mother.

Tewkesbury UK Workhouse where Jane Booth died in 1853

I have to wonder why a son, and his family would have his mother live in a workhouse, when he is relatively close to her - 100 miles. Well, close in today's standards.  But in 1853 a 100 miles is quit a distance on a horse and buggy.

So, what was Jane Booth's life like in the final days of her life? At www.workhouses.org.uk workhouses in the mid-1800's are described as.. "To stay in one, you have to work to help pay your way. Jobs are menial and repetitive and some are simply punishments, such as oakum picking (separating strands of old rope). Until the 1840s, 'disorderly and profligate women' – a category that includes impoverished single mothers – are forced to wear distinctive yellow clothes, which leads to them being bullied. In the 1860s and 1870s, conditions in the special wards for the insane or for those with venereal (sexually transmitted) disease are especially grim."

So to my 5th Great Grandmother, on this Wishful Wednesday,  I wish your final days could have been spent with family.  I wish your final days were of happy memories of you and your departed husband George and your handsome son John.  My final wish is that I wish I could have met you.


Warm regards, 

   

Maren Rasmussen & Soren Poulsen ~ Aarhus, Denmark

For most of my genealogical searching years (over 30 yrs) I didn't have any information on my great grandfather's (Andreas Rasmussen) siblings. When my grandfather (Robert Rasmussen) was alive, for some reason, I didn't think to ask about them.  That was odd for me because I was always asking about family that had passed.

So now fast forward many years.  I found a wonderful photo of my great grandfather's sister and her family who lived in Denmark.  I was lucky to find this photo via another distant family member who has a family tree on ancestry.com.   That photo gave me the opportunity to get to know my Great Grand Aunt, Maren Rasmussen, and her family.  Through this photo,  and further research, this is what I learned.

est. 1915

The woman at the bottom left is my Grand Aunt Maren Rasmussen. To her right would be my Grand Uncle Soren Poulsen.  Behind are five of their children. L to R, Anders Johan Poulsen (b.1888), Johanne Poulsen (b.1893), Rasmus Poulsen (b.1898), Margarethe Poulsen (b.1895) and Christian Poulsen (b.1887).  I'm estimating this photo to have been taken around 1915.  That is based on their birth dates and the ages they seem to appear.

Maren Rasmussen (May 2, 1856 - June 2, 1941) married Soren Poulsen (June 19, 1859 - May 5, 1938) on July 29, 1882.  The census records indicate the family lived in Aarhus, Denmark. 

The Poulsens, had already experienced some of their children's passings. At the estimated time of this photo,  they had a son, Rasmus Poulsen (Sept 26, 1884 - Nov 29, 1888) who had died at the age of 4. Then they had another son, again named Rasmus Poulsen who only lived a few weeks (Apr 1, 1889 - Apr 14, 1889). Then in 1902, their child Paul Cort Poulsen (Aug 24, 1882 - Aug 25, 1902)  died, at the age of 20.

Here is the 1901 Denmark Census that shows the family.  Father, Soren Poulsen, is working as a "thatcher".  Mother, Maren, stayed in the home.  This census shows where each of them were born.

I wonder what that gathering was for, in the photo above.  They seem to be dressed in black.  Well, mother is dressed in black. It's actually hard to tell the colors they are wearing with the black and white film.

So on this Father's Day, I'm happy to be sharing a photo of a father and his children.  A father that worked as a Thatcher, had eight children, lost at least three before him, and lived his life in Aarhus, Denmark.

Happy Father's Day,  Soren Poulsen

Warm regards,