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Greetings from Nixons across the pond!

By slnixon |

Hello to all. Appreciate Mr. Peacock directing me to this group. I've been doing my family tree on and off for quite a few years now. I wish I had become interested in it much earlier, as now that I'm in my fifties, there are very few people left in my family who can give me first-hand knowledge of past generations that they remember. 

I have pretty good knowledge of three of my four grandparents' surnames: Pitt, Ward, and Dufresne. Oddly enough, the one I know the least about is my own paternal heritage... Nixon. My grandfather did not really know his parents well and my family were for some reason reluctant to discuss that side of the family. The search for my surname has lead me to County Lancashire, and the hope that someone can possibly direct me to official documents that I could consult. I've tried the relevant census of 1891 and 1901, but have hit a roadblock as there is not much info I can reliably use. 

The key thing I am looking for is a record of my great grandfather's birth. Here's what I know:

A young woman (possibly unwed mother) named Ellen Nixon gave birth to Herbert Nixon around 1890-1891. By Spring 1893, Ellen was working as a laundry ironer and was living on Towson Street renting from a Mr and Mrs James Almond in Old Swan. She only stayed 5-6 months and then in October, she left Herbert with the Almond family to "find a situation" (which I assumed was an old way of saying she wanted to find a better job?) and only sent a little money back for Herbert's upkeep. 

Herbert attended St. Anne's (Derby Lane). Also mentions he attended Byrom Hall, which I assume is another grade school. I have paperwork from Barnardo's that tells me he was 9 years old when when he stole some money from Mrs Almond and the family decided to send Herbert off to the Liverpool Sheltering Home at the recommendation of their clergy. He entered the home on Myrtle Street but was transferred to a home in Canada by January 1900. He grew up in the Eastern Townships area (Knowlton, Brome areas) of Quebec Canada and eventually married a Miss Nora Bracey. They had three children before he headed off to war. He went missing and was presumed killed in battle at Vimy, France in 1917.

My goal is to try and find some sort of record of Herbert's birth, and also any for his mother that may help me learn more about the Nixon (or Nickson) family from that time. I appreciate any guidance the members here could offer in terms of where to look next.

One thing that someone can maybe answer for me has to do with UK records from that time. I am a member of Ancestry, and they have the UK records available. A record I found lists the birth of a Herbert Nixon from the right time period in West Derby. But it appears to be an index to another document. It says "Jul-Aug-Sep 1890" and just states "Volume 8B, Page 411". Can anyone advise what that means? Does this mean there is a government or church record somewhere that contains the original written documentation? If so, is that available online or am I making a trip to visit Liverpool in the next few years?  ;-)

 

 

I believe the above registration has the wrong page number (Ancestry) the below is the correct registration for that Volume and page. It looks like the 4 is faded and has been read as 1 from the original volume.

 

 

 

NICKSON, HERBERT    mothers maiden name... BELL  
GRO Reference: 1890  S Quarter in WEST DERBY  Volume 08B  Page 441

 

General Register Office - Online Ordering Service - What would you like to do? (gro.gov.uk)

Thanks Bertie, 

I guess it's not the right one. I was trying to look into any Ellen Nixon that had a child around 1890, but was getting nowhere. So I was trying to approach the problem from a different direction. But you've certainly helped me understand the Volume and Page info I see listed. I was not aware you can access the archives from the GRO. I was looking at those index numbers and saying o myself "What good is this if you can't find out more?". I've just registered there and will give the searches a try. 

Appreciate the guidance!

Regards,

Steve

Sorry to join the party late, blame the sunshine on holiday :)

A word of warning that I'm sure Bert has mentioned, never order certificates from Ancestry/Findmypast or any other subscription sites as their prices are over double what the GRO or the local Register Office would charge.

I was surprised not to find any entry in the Workhouse records for him, but the only Herbert I see appears to be an adult, although no age given.  Nor any for Ellen as I thought she would have gone in to give birth.

Still looking. 

Thanks Mary,

Yes, I've hit quite a roadblock with regards to Ellen and Herbert. I don't know if it's possible that she had the baby somewhere other than Walton Workhouse and just claimed to have it there. or someone assumed she had it there when documenting the child? I've been trying to expand my search to be more broad, but it's hard to try and tie any names found to my family tree with so little to go on. If only to be H.G.Wells time traveller and go back to get a first hand account!  ;-)

I would mention that I am actually a member of Ancestry, and so have full access to the North American and many of the UK records. Unfortunately, it looks like the UK Workhouse records are not included in that membership. And as you pointed out, FindMyPast is a pretty expensive option that I could not justify for the little info I seem to have available. I will be looking at the GRO has to offer and see if it gets me any further. 

Very few records survive for Walton workhouse.

However if he had been born in the workhouse the birth would certainly have been registered. But it doesn't seem to have been. 

And if he was aged 9 in July 1899 and/or January 1900 then he should appear in the 1891 census.  But he doesn't. 

My guess is that the name is wrong, perhaps invented by "Ellen" or by the Almonds.   

 

I took Bertie's advice and went ahead to contact the GRO for records related to my ancestors. I already was able to find the birth records for two of my great grandparents, Walter Pitt and Florence Heys.

With regards to the roadblock that I hit for my Nixon relatives, I did try to track down a bit further and only found one likely candidate so far. The notes I had said that Herbert had been born in the Walton Workhouse. I checked further and found a Herbert Nickson who was born to Ellen in West Derby, so I went ahead and ordered that on PDF from the GRO. 

The When and Where Born (Col 1) is indicated as 13th of July 1890. The location appears to say "Workhouse Walton". But I was unsure what the initials mean below that. Also, I was curious to know what the Profession of Father (Col 6) was, as I cannot make out the cursive writing. Maybe someone else accustomed to seeing these records  can help me decipher that? (My first guess was Flower Sampler of Easton!)

But this record does at least look promising. It matches up to the age I was expecting, the mother's name, and the place of birth. Now I just need to get some corroboration from other documents, such as seeing if Robert and Ellen Nickson had any children that are documented in census or other records. 

USD,

"Urban sanitary districts were formed in any municipal borough governed under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835, in any improvement commissioners district formed by private act of parliament, and in any local government district formed under the Public Health Act 1848 or Local Government Act 1858".

Worth looking at,

Robert James Nixon, bn 1860, 1881 census he's a Sampleman, 1901 census, Flour Porter.

Name: Robert James Nixon/Catherine Ellen Bell
Gender: Male
Marriage Age: Full Age
Event Type: Marriage
Marriage Date: 25 Dec 1882
Marriage Place: Toxteth Park, St Andrew, Lancashire, England

I will send you an email, you must already have an account with the GRO, just fill in the survey completing the Consent with the email you have used to register with.  It will give you some benefits, depending on the dates of certificates you are ordering.

I know it's supposition but I'm beginning to wonder if Robert James knew anything about Herbert and therefore was Herbert his son.

We have 3 census', 1891, 1901, 1911, all 3 Robert declares himself married and yet with no sign of Ellen or Herbert. I wonder why Herbert wasn't left with Robert or why Mr Almond wasn't aware of him when Ellen disappeared. It seems to me if Ellen wanted out she would have left Herbert with Robert and his brother William J if in fact Robert was the father. However we must follow the paper trail.

I also found it very odd. My imagination was telling me that maybe Robert and Ellen were not actually married or that Herbert was a child of infidelity. It explained to me why mother Ellen might have been sent away, had the child in the workhouse, and then abandoned him as soon as she got the chance. And the Almond family may not have known her true history, as it looked like she just came to rent one of their homes. The Almonds may have only repeated to the Liverpool Sheltering Home what info Ellen had given them in her 5-6 months of living there. But again, it's all supposition.

I will research some more of the links you provided. Appreciate the extra effort you made for that.