Personal Histories III

Enchanting Histories

Tracing personal histories is certainly addictive. When you know someone has worked in the same place, sat at the same table, worn away the same steps, and made friendships in the same place as you, learning about these people of the past becomes enchanting.
Today's personal histories blog is about Minnie Cassandra Lovegrove.

Lovegrove Family Tree

Minnie was born in January 1894 to William Roland Lovegrove (b. 1865, Chaddesden, Derby - d. 1903), and Martha Emma Lovegrove, née Wibberly (b. 1871, d. April 1894).
Minnie lost her mother at only 4 months old, and was brought up by her grandparents, William and Emma Lovegrove, and her father William Roland Lovegrove.
William Lovegrove was a Railway Engine Driver in 1881, and his son William R. was a machine apprentice. They lived on Bloomfield Street (off London Road) in Derby. By 1891 William R. is listed as a soldier in the Royal Marine Light Infantry: Chatham Division (enlistment date 11 July 1882). He must have left in late 1891 or early 1892, as he joins the Midland Railway in Derby in May 1892 as a 'Caller-up'. We're not sure what this occupation is - there is some thought that it is another term for 'knocker-up', or perhaps a 'Caller-off/caller-out who "Loads and unloads trucks in a goods  depot; calls out particulars of incoming and outgoing consignments, from  labels on goods, to goods checkers in preparation for their removal  from platform or wagon by goods porters."

Shortly thereafter, in 1893, William R. marries Martha Wibberly, and Minnie is born the following year. Martha dies the same year and Minnie next shows up in the 1901 census.

Borough Isolation Hospital Derby

In the 1901 census, Minnie is listed (age 7) as a patient at the Borough Isolation Hospital. The address of the hospital is Mansfield Road, Derby. It was also known as Derby Borough Infectious Hospital, and the Derwent Hospital. The hospital no longer exists but was in the area now known as Hampshire Road. It was opened as an isolation Hospital in 1883, and closed in 1985-6, when housing was built n the land.

You can see photos of the hospital on Flickr and Picture the Past.

In the 1911 census Minnie and her grandmother are living as lodgers at 39 Grange Street Derby. By this time Minnie has lost her mother, father, and grandfather (who both died in 1903*). Later that year, aged 17, Minnie starts work at W. W. Winter Photographers.

We can see from the wages ledger that she takes over from Nellie Manning:

She clearly has bouts of poor health though as illness is listed under her wages on several occasions.

She eventually leaves in February 1914, although she must spend some time in a sanatorium in 1913 as she is referred to in some of the letters (as Cassie) that Bernard Sheppard wrote to William Henry King.
In a letter dated September 15 1913, Sheppard writes, "Miss Lovegrove is out of the sanatorium again. She came in on Friday evening. She looks a big rosy faced country lass compared with what she was before, and has gained about a stone in weight. Can't say when she will return here yet - got to see the medical advisers first."
Just three days later Sheppard writes in another letter to King, "Cassie had left the premises only half an hour before he came in. She had had a bad coughing bout the night before, and seemed a bit low spirited in consequence. Am afraid that poor kid 'aint going to be patched up to mean anything after all."
Sadly Minnie dies in 1914 aged just 20.

While Minnie doesn't have any offspring she does have a number of relatives via various aunts and uncles, and we are hoping to find a possible living relative through these.
Names we are looking for include: George E. Lovegrove; Harry R. Lovegrove; Velsha M. Lovegrove; Florence, Margaret and Jean Sands; and Doris M. Weston, who would all have been cousins of Minnie. Get in touch if you think you might be related!
Email: office@wwwinter.co.uk
Facebook: @WWWinterLtd


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*The Midland Railway ledgers show William R. has several periods of illness from January to May 1897, November 1902 to March 1903, and finally leaving in August 1903.

Personal Histories

Ancestry searches!

We are slowly working our way through an old ledger that lists Winter's staff names, wages, and addresses, from November 1889 to May 1902.
Many of the entries are quite vague - no first name or initials, no job titles. But, there are contact addresses which do seem to get updated yearly.
It is sometimes tricky to read the handwriting but once you get your eye in it is possible to match up local street names.

The entries are divided in to male employees and female employees, listed mostly from highest to lowest paid. Cross referencing the names, dates, and addresses with the census in 1881, 1891, and 1901 we are able to pinpoint some of the staff.

Miss Tomkinson

One of the entries that piqued our interest was for Tomkinson. Miss Tomkinson is listed in the ledger from the beginning (Nov 1889), and so may have been working at Winters before this date.
According to the ledger, Miss Tomkinson's address is listed as 52 Dashwood Street, Normanton Road, Derby. If we look at the census for 1891, however, whilst we find a Tomkinson family at his address, no one is listed in any occupation that would suggest working at Winters.

We do know that the census takes place in April and coincidentally Tomkinson is absent in the wages ledger at this point.

From 10th January to 2nd May Tomkinson is listed as ill, and then as away with typhoid fever! How can we find out which Tomkinson this is? Is there someone missing in the 1891 census? We can trace the family back to the 1881 census and therein we find, at the age of 8 years, Julia Tomkinson. Was Julia still alive in 1891? Now armed with a firstname and year if birth based on her age we can search again for Julia in 1891 - and here she is:

Julia Tomkinson is resident in the Lime Tree Lane Convalescent Home in Matlock. She is listed as a 'photographic assistant', born in Derby.

So what becomes of Julia? She returns to work in May 1891 and continues to be employed at W. W. Winter until the end of November 1896.

We thought, perhaps she had left to be married but out of curiosity we checked the marriage records and the 1901 census. It appears she remained single and dedicated the rest of her working life to nursing. In 1901 she is working  at Rainhill Asylum in Lancashire, and by 1911 she is Head Nurse at Boreatton Park in Shropshire.
Our access to the census ends here but death records show Julia lives to a good age of 78. We can only speculate but perhaps Julia's experience in the convalescent home inspired her future move to nursing!

Relations?

We are always looking for people who may be related to the Winter's extended family. Julia did not go on to have children but perhaps you are descended from one of her siblings (Laura, Albert, Bertha, Arthur)? Let us know!