Page 19 - Just another English family (Sep 2019)

household with no known descendants who appear in the putative 2011 census.3 In fact, Elizabeth, together with her children, William H. and Alise, have currently no known past history or any future story that can be told.
These two households headed by a female are in stark contrast to five of the households headed by a male Soothill who have a direct descendant in 2011. These five households, which still have strong contemporary interest, will be a major priority. However, there are two other households headed by a relative (not named ‘Soothill’ and, thus, not in the 21 Soothill households identified earlier) which contain someone named Soothill who has a direct descendant around in 2011. The first of these other households is headed by a 51-year-old carpet weaver, James Tetlow and his 53-year-old wife, Hannah. They have two grandchildren, 5-year-old Alfred Soothill and 3-year-old Joe Soothill, living in their household; it is not clear what has happened to Alfred and Joe’s parents, Joe and Elizabeth (née Tetlow), but one suspects that the mother may have died in childbirth as a likely outcome. The other such household is that of 67-year-old William Riley, a retired wool buyer, and his wife, Hannah, who have 6-year-old Harriot [sic in the 1861 census] Soothill living with them. Again, there is no immediate clarity as to what has happened to young Harriot’s parents. The Riley household also contains an 18-year-old general servant which suggests a higher income enjoyed by this household – certainly none of the families with a Soothill as head of household has the benefit of a servant in their households according to the 1861 census.
Finally, there is one household not headed by a Soothill or a relative which contains someone who has a direct descendant in 2011. This is the household headed by the 51-year-old widow, Mary Horsfall, who lives with her son, John, whose occupation is interestingly described as a crabber. Mary Horsfall has five lodgers of whom three are named Soothill – Joseph (a 39-year-old stuff presser), William Arthur
3. The ‘putative 2011 census’ refers to the census constructed by the author on existing information (see Chapter 4). Its accuracy will presumably be determined in 2111! A similar ‘putative 1961’ has also been constructed by the author (see Chapter 3).
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