Page 297 - Just another English family (Sep 2019)

John is shown in the 1861 census as having married Nancy and the couple are aged 42 and 47 respectively living at 2 Daisy Hill Lane, Manningham, Bradford with their three children – Alfred aged 20, Ezra aged 17 and Mary A. aged 7. As well as currently living in Manningham, all were born in Manningham. Their dates of birth can be calculated as roughly 1818 for John, 1813 for Nancy, 1840 for Alfred, 1843 for Ezra and 1853 for Mary A. The three males all have an occupation listed – John is shown as an agricultural labourer, Alfred as a factory worker and Ezra as an apprentice to a cord wainer. Apart from Alfred being mentioned in the 1851 census, I have no further information on any of this family either prior to or subsequent to the 1861 census. What happened to them all?
A search of the birthplace archive for others born in Manningham around this time reveals another family that has neither a past nor a future in terms of other information. Henry is listed as the head of a household living at Moor Side, Shipley, Bradford in the 1861 census. Henry, aged 42, is shown as a labourer married to Hannah, aged 49. Like John, Henry is married to an older woman but then one suspects that Hannah has been married before to someone named Roper. Hannah was born in Heaton as are the three children, named Gilbert Roper, aged 21 and shown as a quarry man, 17-year-old Elizabeth Roper, shown as a silk spinner at a factory, while 16-year-old Ann [sic] Roper is also shown as a quarry man. At this moment no more is known about this family, but Henry - also born around 1818 – seems quite likely to be the brother of John, perhaps a twin brother, but there is no direct evidence to confirm this.
1841 Census
If I had started my search of Soothills using the 1841 Census when it had just been computerised, I would first have thought that my overall task would be easy. Indeed, as this was apparently the first Census with names listed, it would have been an obvious starting-point. After all, there were just 26 names – 18 males and 8 females – who also fitted rather neatly into four households. By order of the seniority of the head of household and his wife, they were David (b. abt.1775) and
293