Birth Record
Robert Heaps, my GG Grandfather,was born in Preston on the 12th August 1852. His birth was registered by his mother, Mary Heaps formerly Long, on the 13th September 1852. On his birth certificate, his father's occupation is listed as a Porter.
According to Census records, he was the third child of five to be born to Robert & Mary Heaps. At the time of his birth, the family were living at 8 Mason Street, Preston.
1861 Census
The next I know of him is provided by the 1861 Census. This was taken on the night of 7 April 1861. The following information was requested:
Name of road, street, etc
House number or name
Whether or not the house was inhabited
Name of each person that had spent the night in that household
Relationship of person enumerated to the head of the family
Person's marital status
Age at last birthday (sex is indicated by which column the age is recorded in)
Person's occupation
Person's place of birth
Whether blind, deaf, or idiot.
Enumeration forms were distributed to all households a couple of days before census night and the complete forms were collected the next day. All responses were to reflect the individual's status as of 7 April 1861 for all individuals who had spent the night in the house. People who were traveling or living abroad were enumerated at the location where they spent the night on census night. All of the details from the individual forms were later sorted and copied into enumerators' books, which are the records we can view images of today. The original householders schedules from 1841 to 1901 were destroyed.
Our Robert was 8 years old at the time of the Census. He is listed as living with his parents and siblings at 39 Green Street, Preston. The family at this time were
Robert, Head, aged 43, Labourer
Mary, Wife, aged 42, Housekeeper
Jane, daughter, aged 17, Cotton Weaver
Arthur Edwin, son, aged 11, Scholar
Robert, son, aged 8, Scholar
Lucy Ann, daughter, aged 4, Scholar and
Eliza, daughter, aged 3 months.
Marriage Details
On the 17th July 1870, Robert married Alice Grime in the Parish Church, Preston. At the time he was living in Ashmore Street. He was 19 years of age, and according to the Marriage certificate, his occupation was a Stripper. I presume this had something to do with Cotton Weaving, and am researching this occupation to find out more about it. His father Robert, my GGG Grandfather, is reported to be deceased at the time (according to the certificate), and was listed as a Bookkeeper. Did Robert Jnr. make this profession up, or had Robert Snr. gone up in the world ? I don't know. In the 1861 Census, Robert Snr. is listed as a Labourer. From Labourer to Bookkeeper in 9 short years ? I suppose I'll never know !
Alice Grime was living at Corry/Carry ??? Street at the time of the marriage. She, too, reported her father, John Grime, deceased, and listed his occupation as a Weaver.
Witnesses to the marriage were William Melling and Betsey Turner.
1871 Census
The 1871 census for England was taken on the night of 2 April 1871.
By the time of the 1871 Census, Robert, Alice and family were living at 34c North Street, Preston. 34c - it makes me wonder if this was a flat, or rooms ?? It is these small details that makes the family history interesting - and of course, to make it complete, these details need to be researched and discovered.
I believe his mother, Mary Heaps (nee Long) was dead by this time, as I can find no trace of her in the Census. Robert and Alice had a baby girl, Mary, listed a 1 year old. This would have made Alice pregnant at the time of the marriage (not uncommon - even in those days !) We find Robert's brother and sisters were in Robert's house the night of the Census. Were they living with him, or just visiting ? One of the sisters, Jane, had obviously married as she is listed on the Census as Jane Walsh, and her two children are living with the family as well. The other sister, Eliza, was a mere child of 10, but was working in the Cotton Mills as a Tenter ! And where is Lucy Ann, another sister listed on the Census ten years before ? She would have been 14 at the time of this Census. Was she dead, or working away somewhere ? I have yet to search for this information.
UPDATE - I just found Lucy Ann !!!! She wasn't dead - she is listed a living as a Boarder in the home of William and Eleanor Pendlebury - a brother and sister, at 37 Aquaduct Street - a Provision shop. William Pendlebury is a Provision Dealer - so it must have been his shop. This is exciting stuff as I should be able to find a record of the shop and add more details to the family history !!!!
The Census details are as follows (all of them listed as born in Preston)
Robert Heaps, Head, aged 18, Cotton Grinder
Alice Heaps, Wife, aged 19, Frame Tenter
Mary Heaps, daughter, aged 1
Arthur Heaps, brother, aged 21
Jane Walsh, sister, aged 27, Cotton Weaver
Eliza Heaps, sister, aged 10, Tenter
John Walsh, nephew, aged 7, Scholar
Mary Walsh, neice, aged 1
The next time we meet the family is the night of the
1881 Census
The 1881 British Isles Census was taken on the night of the 3rd April 1881.
At this time, my GG Grandfather, Robert Heaps, was 29 years old. The family had moved to 52 Allan St Nth, and my G Grandfather, John, had made his appearance. In the 1871 Census, Robert and Alice only had 1 child, Mary. By the time of the 1881 Census, 10 years later, Mary is no longer listed. I am assuming she died sometime between the two censuses. I am trying to confirm this with a death certificate. Also in the 1871 Census, other family members were living at Robert's home, and they too have gone. I'll track them down yet !!
Listed on the 1881 Census we have
Robert Heaps, Head, aged 29, Grinder
Alice Heaps, Wife, aged 29, no profession listed
John Heaps, son, aged 9, Scholar (my G Grandfather)
Mary Heaps, daughter, aged 2, Scholar
Alice Heaps, daughter, aged 1 week.
Recent Comments