Solved – the whereabouts of Charles Sunter in 1891
The mystery of where Charles Sunter was in 1891 has been solved.
An earlier posting on the blog this week showed Charles Sunter, 19, was living in Thornaby with his widowed mom Jane in 1901. And 10 years earlier Jane and her husband Joseph were living in Grove Street, Stockton on Tees. Where was the 9 year old Charles?
A few days later came the revelation that Joseph Sunter was not Charles’ dad after all. Charles had been born illegitimately to his mother(Jane Snowball) in 1882. Rick McGarry commented in his revelation:
“Jane married Joseph SUNTER in the third quarter of 1883, when your Charles would have been little more than one year old. So I would guess, he grew up thinking that Joseph SUNTER was his true father, and thinking that his own surname was SUNTER. I doubt if Charles learnt any of this from seeing his birth certificate — there was almost no reason to have one in those days, before National Insurance and Passports made them essential. Of course, his parents may have told him the truth, and if so, he appears to have decided to adhere to the SUNTER name.”
A review of the 1891 census clears this point up and solves the mystery of the missing Charles.
In 1891 Charles Snowball, 9 was living with his grandparents Thomas and Isabella Snowball in Victoria Terrace Witton Le Wear Bishop Auckland.
But one mystery solved throws up more questions:
- This is five and a half years after Jane and Joseph Sunter had married. Why wasn’t Charles living with them?
- Although there can be no certainty this suggests that Charles was aware of the Snowball connection? Surely he must have been asked about his background?
- When did Charles move to be with the Sunters?
- When did Charles adopt the Sunter name…and why?
- How did the family deal with this tangled web of emotion.
Some of these questions can’t be solved. The family appears to be relying on son Thomas for their income at this time. Thomas Snowball snr died soon after this census was taken. Was that the time Charles went to live with his mother and was Joseph forced to take him in?
Census return
Victoria Terrace, Witton Le Wear
- Thomas Snowball, Head, M, 66, Northumberland, Headly Grange
- Isabella Snowball, Wife M, 57, Scottish
- Thomas Snowball, Son, S, 35, Coal Miner, In Work, Durham, Whickam
- Ellen Snowball, Daugher, 14, Howden Le Wear
- Charles Snowball, Grandson, 9, Scholar, Howden Le Wear
‹ Massive Shock re Sunters Whodunnit? Who made Jane pregnant? 1881 ›