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.