What happened to Eliza?

[BlueSavannah]

Hi,

I've been trying to 'kill off' Eliza Thompson in my tree for a couple of days and I am drawing a blank. Hoping someone can help.

I have her born in Treeton, South Yorkshire in 1855. She was baptised at St Helen, Treeton on the 25th November 1855; the daughter of Henry & Ann Thompson.

I have her on the 61 census with her parents in Sheffield.
I have not found her on the 71 census at all.
I have her again on the 81 census, again with her parents and listed as Thompson, but she is married. Husband not present, he is living elsewhere. She had an illegitimate daughter, Martha Ann Thompson, born in 1875. She is also present.

Eliza married Elisha Sproson on the 29th January 1877 at Sheffield Cathedral (from a newspaper marriage notice). He was born in 1828 so considerably older than her. He died in Sheffield in 1888 and I have found Eliza on the 91 census (as Eliza Sprawson) as a house servant in Sheffield.

After the 91 census, I cannot locate her, either on any census, or any death.

Hoping someone might be find her

[kiterunner]

Can I just ask how you know that Martha Ann was illegitimate, please, Claire?

[BlueSavannah]

I have her baptism at St Bartholomew, Carbrook, Sheffield. It stated she was the illegitimate daughter of Eliza of Carbrook

Martha is another one that I haven't been able to trace. Found nothing of her after the 81 census.

[kiterunner]

Does it state Eliza's marital status on Martha's baptism, Claire? I'm just wondering if she married a Thompson before marrying Elisha Sproson?

For some reason ancestry's new search wouldn't come up with the 1891 census entry you found so, just so we have it to hand:
1891 census
Eliza is housekeeper to a Joseph Cowlishaw, widower age 61, wire drawer born Yorkshire Ringinglow(?). I'll just check for Joseph Cowlishaw in 1901...
edit: found a possible for Joseph in 1901 but if it is him, no Eliza with him.

[Shona]

There is a death of a Betsy Sprawson in Eccleshall Bierlow in 1921, but the age is given as 79.

[BlueSavannah]

Sadly it doesn't Kite, just says Martha Ann, the illegitimate daughter of Eliza Thompson of Carbrook.

I am struggling with Ancestry's new search with everything now so I am having to use FMP to do most of mine. Its there I found the 1891 for her. Ringinglow is correct, there is an area of Sheffield called that.

Elisha's occupation was a wire drawer so I wonder if she knew Joseph Cowlishaw through him?

I've just discovered that Eliza's younger sister Ellen married a Thomas Sproson in 1875, 2 years before Eliza married Elisha. I am very confident that Thomas is Elisha's son.

[BlueSavannah]

I think Betsy Sproson who died in 1921 is the Betty Sproson who is buried at the General Cemetery, Sheffield on the 20th December 1921. Her age is also 79. She is listed as a widow.

[kiterunner]

I haven't found anything, sorry.

[BlueSavannah]

Many thanks for looking Kite. I wonder where she crept off to after the 91 census

[HughW]

I believe the entry in the GRO birth index for Martha Ann is this one:

GRO Births MAR Qtr 1875
Thompson Martha Ann A
Sheffield 9c 563

The Sheffield FHS has been re-indexing the locally held birth registers and the results can be searched at http://libplugins.sheffield.gov.uk/bmd/home.aspx

This shows that the extra 'A' in Martha Ann's name is for 'Allwood'.

Now, I have come to this from a different direction. A query on the Sheffield Indexers message board asked for help in discovering the parentage of Martha Ann ALLWOOD 1875-1919. Martha Ann ALLWOOD was a 16 year-old servant at the Carbrook Hall Hotel in 1891. In 1895 she married Charles DAYKIN. She and her husband are buried in Tinsley Park cemetery.

There is no birth entry for a Martha Ann ALLWOOD in the relevant period. I think she is the same person as Martha Ann Allwood THOMPSON.

I don't know (yet) if the original poster on the Indexers site has the marriage certificate for Martha Ann and Charles which would be of interest. I too have failed to find any trace of Eliza after 1891.

Hugh