What our ancestors were up to according to the 1901 Census…

Sunter

1901 Census which shows that Charles Sunter is aged 19, a railway Stoker, and living at 5 Victoria Street, Thornaby. 

Thornaby is in Stockport and just to the South East of Unicorn Yard and Brunswick Street.  I cannot find Victoria Street on Google Earth although there is a Victoria Road.

The household is composed of:

• Jane A Sunter, head, widow, 57, Leadgale
• William Sunter, stepson, single, 29, Labourer Iron Works, Yorkshire Heights Swaledale
• Charles Sunter, son, single, 19, Railway Engin (sic) Stoker, Howden Le Wear
• Dorothy Sunter, daughter, 13, Yorkshire Redcar
• Gertrude Sunter, daughter, 11, Yorkshire Redcar
• Olive J Sunter, daughter, 10, Stockton
• Joseph Sunter, son, 6, Thornaby
• Edward Sunter, son, 3, Thornaby

Rick McGarry points out that Jane had a further son, James, in 1901. This implies that she must have been pregnant at the time of the census. Presumably William and Charles are a source of income for the family.

 Marsh family

John William Marsh (33), Jane Marsh (34) and Emma Marsh (7) are living in Leeds, Yorkshire. John is listed as being born in Leeds and is a Pit Sinker; Jane was born in Liverpool; and Emma is listed as being born in Rotherham, Yorkshire.

Emma’s sister, Amy (15), is living at 76 Kieghley Road, Halifax. She is a servant in the Driver household. James driver, the head of the househod is a 28 year old Gas Engineer’s Cashier. His brother in law, Thomas Ask is a solicitor’s clerk.

Merediths

Edward Meredith (24) is living in lodging at 25 Norton Road Stourbridge. He is boarding with Walter and Caroline Knowles. Edward is a carter for a wine merchant (the career his is to follow for the rest of his life). Walter is a carter for a corn dealer. There are several other carters and a glass blower living in nearby houses.

Edward’s parents, Joseph and Ann, and his brother – also Joseph – are living in Kingsford Lane, Kinver. Joseph snr is an ‘ordinary agricultural labourer’. Joseph jnr is a ‘Groom domestic’.

Hills

The Hill family (12 of them) are Farm bailiffs at Castle Hill Farm, Wolverley. Alfred Hill is a Farm Bailiff and has responsibility for running the farm. Alfred, 19, and Fred, 15 are farm labourers. Frances May – “Auntie May” is an 8 month old baby.
 
 

Edward (34), Ada (34), Gertrude (1) and Edward Meredith (4) living at 3 Bath Cottages, Cecil Street Stourbridge. They have three singers lodging with them. 
Joseph and Ann Meredith are living alone at Bird’s Barn, Kingsley, Wolverley.

Hill

Alfred (61), Alice (56), Edward (21), Sidney Walter (16), Amy Maud (14), James Earnest (12) and Frances May (10) are living at Beehive Farm, Golden Cross Lane, Catshill near Bromsgrove. Alfred , Sidney Walter and Edward are listed as farm workers and then more specifically as ‘haulers’ working on their own account.

Sunter (and Marsh)

Charles Sunter (29) is living with his soon to be wife, Emma Marsh (17). She is pregnant. They are boarding with Emma’s parents John William Marsh (45) and a Lodging House Keeper, his wife Jane (46) and their other daughter Amy Dawson who is registered on the census as married, although her husband is not with her on this night. Charles is an unemployed ‘fireman, locomotive’.

Of Charles’s family Jane Ann Sunter, his mother is in the Middlesbrough Workhouse. She is 46, a widow and working as ‘relife (sic) foster mother’ helping to look after 12 boys aged from 5 to 15. Ironically she is not looking after her own children:

Joe Sunter (16) and Edward (13) are living at the Edgworth National Children’s home near Bolton. Joe is listed as an office boy – it is believed he went on to be editor of the Colne Times. Edward became a Congregationalist minister and died in 1964 near Halifax.

A third son, James (9) is living at Long Melford in Suffolk with watch maker Robert Henry Miles (55) and his wife of two years Unity (57). Robert’s son, Reginald Victor Miles (15), a post office messenger is also living with them, along with another boarder Albert Blake, also aged 9.  

Grace Elizabeth (26) married Alexander Crombie (45) in 1908. They are living with their one year old daughter Annie Rebecca at ‘Cottage rear f 89 High Street, Esplanade, Recar, Yorkshire’.

Of Dorothy (23), Gertrude (21) and Olive (20) there is no trace in the 1911 Census. There are possible records of a marriage of a Dorothy H Sunter in 1926 and Gertrude Sunter to John McKinnel in Stockton in 1923.

Jane Ann Sunter also had two step children from Joseph’s first marriage to Isabella.

William Sunter (38) is now living at Redcar at 3 North Terrace Coatham. He is a Labourer cycle manufacturer. He is boarding with 55 years old widow Margaret Graham and her son ‘Jn’ who is 25 and whose occupation is described as ‘slater house’ – possibly slaughter house?

A record of Hannah Sunter cannot be found on the 1911 census.

Which leaves further research questions: 

• Where were Fred’s uncle and aunt’s Meredith?
• Who is missing and where were they?

Now I’ve returned to the 1881 census.  As noted previously Joseph doesn’t seem to appear on this census.  But a search for his wife Isabella reveals that she has moved to West Derby, Lancashire and is living at 106 Edge Lane.

The census entry reads:

• Isabella Sunter, head, 31, Milk Dealer

• William Sunter, son, 9, scholar, Gunnerside

• Hannah Sunter, daughter, 3, Durham Bishop Auckland

• Mary E Guy,  Sister, 12, Scholar, Yorkshire Geensykes

• Matty Sunter,Sister,22, Housekeeper, Gunnerside

• Richard T Pritchard, 16, abt 1865, Dairy Servant

I guess we’ll never know where Joseph was on this night.  We do know that by 1891 William is listed as Jane A Sunter’s stepson (see earlier entry).

Sadly Isabella died during the first quarter of 1883 and teh death ws registered in the district of Auckland, Durham (vol 10a p 128).

This link is strong enough to now identify Hannah and William as Joseph’s parents – my great, great grand parents.

This is the earliest Census data availalbe.  It is 1841 and again the Sunter family is strong in Lodge Green.

• Thomas Sunter, 60, Lead miner

• Mary Sunter, 60

• Thomas Sunter, 30, Lead miner

• Christopher Sunter,25 Lead miner

• William Sunter,  15, Lead miner

• Ruth Peacock 15

There has to be a question mark over this William Sunter.  If the 1841 Census is correct then William should have been about 17 in 1841.  But have a look at the ages of all the residents.  They are all given to the nearest 5 years.  If this is the case then it is a strong possibility that this William is ours.  And if that is the case what is the betting that Thomas and Mary are my great, great, great grandparents?

Forgive me whilst I jump around a bit here.  Stick with me and it will make sense.

First of all in 1861 in the Hamlet of Lodge Green, Gunnerside, Melbecks (and each of these names are used to fill in census forms between 1841 and 1901) we have the following data:

• William Sunter, 37, head, Gunnerside, , 1824, Grocer and Draper

• Hannah Sunter, 36, wife, Blades Yorkshire, abt 1825, Grocer’s wife

• Thomas Sunter, 16, son, Gunnerside, abt 1845, Lead miner

• James Sunter, 14, son, Gunnershide, abt 1847, Lead miner

• Joseph Sunter, 12, son, Gunnerside, abt 1849 lead miner

• William Sunter, 9, son, Gunnerside, abt 1852, scholar

• George Sunter, 7, son, Gunnerside, abt 1854, scholar

• Mally Sunter 2, daughter, Gunnerside, abt 1859, scholar

• Ann Sunter 2months, daugher, Gunnerside

This is important.  Look at the whole family and then look at the next posting…Census 1871

 Rather horrifically it also appears that at 12 years old Joseph was a lead miner!

I remember from my year working in the archives that the reading of names can be very difficult.  Here is a good example.  The transpcription of the 1901 census showed Jane A Sunter as coming from Leadgale.  The 1891 Census transcription has it that she is from Seadgate.  In fact I believe the answer is a mix of the two.  There is a Leadgate in Consett, not far from Stockton on Tees and relatively near to Charles Sunter’s birthplace at Howden Le Wear.

Interestingly, Charles is missing from the household in the 1891 Census, even though he must have been 9 at the time.  The reason for this may well be that the Census is based on who is staying at the house on Census night.  It is quite possible that Charles is simply not present on that night.  A search through the Ancestry.co.uk website doesn’t throw up any further suggestions of where he might be.

New now in the family tree search is my great grandfather, Joseph Sunter.    The listing on the census is:

• Joseph Sunter, 42, Furniture Salesman, Yorkshire, Gunnerside

• Jane A Sunter, 28, Durham Seadgate

• William Sunter, 19, Catcher on Shipyard, Yorkshire Gunnerside

• Grace E Sunter, 6, Scholar, Yorkshire Redcar

• Dorothy H Sunter, 3, Yorkshire Redcar

• Gertrude Sunter, 1, Yorkshire Redcar

• Cleva I Sunter, 1/12, Durham Stockton

• Elizabeth Snowball, Sister-in-Law, 27, Dressmaker, Durham Seadgate

The family is living at 21 Grove Street, Stockton on Tees.

1901 Census which shows that Charles Sunter is aged 19, a railway Stoker, and living at 5 Victoria Street, Thornaby. 

Thornaby is in Stockport and just to the South East of Unicorn Yard and Brunswick Street.  I cannot find Victoria Street on Google Earth although there is a Victoria Road.

The household is composed of:

• Jane A Sunter, head, widow, 57, Leadgale
• William Sunter, stepson, single, 29, Labourer Iron Works, Yorkshire Heights Swaledale
• Charles Sunter, son, single, 19, Railway Engin (sic) Stoker, Howden Le Wear
• Dorothy Sunter, daughter, 13, Yorkshire Redcar
• Gertrude Sunter, daughter, 11, Yorkshire Redcar
• Olive J Sunter, daughter, 10, Stockton
• Joseph Sunter, son, 6, Thornaby
• Edward Sunter, son, 3, Thornaby

So it seems that:

Jane A Sunter is my great grandmother. 

Her husband had been in a relationship before and had a son William c1871. 

Her husband had died within the last 4 years (Edward is 3). 

The family had been living in Howden Le Wear 19 years ago, Redcar 10-13 years ago, Stockton 9-10 years ago and then Thornaby for the last 6-7 years.