“Pauper” (#5 of 52)

This post is based on Amy Johnson Crow’s “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” challenge. This week’s them is: CENSUS.

UPDATE 30 Dec 2023: I am no longer sure this is my Sally Eastwood. More work needs to be done!

I recently located my 3rd great grandmother and two of her children—including my 2nd great grandmother—on the 1851 England census. The document is difficult to read as it is faded and stained. It is also difficult to read because of the word written on the line with her: pauper.

After reading she was a pauper, I tried to imagine Sarah’s life in 1851. She was living alone with two of her children: Elam, age 9, and Sarah, age 3. Several of her young children had died, and her husband had left for America. Just a few months after this census, Sarah and her two young children left for America, leaving behind family and friends to live in an unknown world. What a difficult journey that must have been!

When accessing the 1851 census on Ancestry, you also can see a map if you click the button: “view record.” In this case, the map is of the “Lancashire Parishes: with dates of commencement of registers for parishes formed before 1832.” The Archdeaconry of Chester is outlined in red. I have included just a portion of the map.

The Eastwood family was living in Ashton-Under-Lyne (see the right side of the map). But, this map also shows other places associated with the family: Mossley, Hey, Oldham, and Prestwich. Parish maps, like those found on Ancestry.com, are wonderful tools to use while researching your English ancestors!