Page 304 - Just another English family (Sep 2019)

tracking females through from one census to the next is more complex owing to possible name changes – that is, becoming a Soothill on marriage or, on the other hand, losing the name of Soothill on marriage. Those female Soothills in the 1851 Census who had married with children being born before 1841 seemed to be the best candidates for inclusion in the 1841 Census. Of these – Ann (c.1789), Hannah (c.1806), Margaret (c. 1804), Eliza (c.1817), and Hannah (c.1781) – there was no evidence of any in the 1841 Census. The other possibility came from those females born a Soothill but who had not married – not yet, at least. Caroline (c.1837), Elizabeth (c.1839), Marsey (c.1829), Sarah (c.1839), Martha (c.1833) were certainly possibilities but they are all missing from the 1841 Census. Of the older Women – Elizabeth (c.1758), Mary (c.1786), Elizabeth (c.1782) – who could be widows or spinsters – there was also no trace in the1841 Census.
Curiously, therefore, there were only William (c.1827) and David (c.1833) who unequivocally turned up in both censuses although, as I have mentioned, the relationship of David (c.1833) to other Soothills, is a bit of a mystery. So, instead of the two censuses producing the expected continuities of lines of Soothills, the exercise of trying to link the two produced many more questions than answers. The search for Soothills was becoming fragmented. Hence, it seemed that the best start for a more definitive picture of Soothills emerged from the 1861 Census which has been discussed in the earlier chapter.
1861 Census
There were fewer Soothills listed in the 1861 Census – 35 compared to 40 in the 1851 Census – but the links between the censuses were becoming much clearer. Of the eight males who appear in the 1861 Census and whom one might have expected to have appeared also in the 1851 Census, five (James (c.1819); James (c.1789): James (c.1846); John (c.1805/06); Samuel (c.1833/4) did so; in addition, Edward (c.1810) – expected to be in the 1851 Census – had appeared in the 1841 Census. Only John (c.1823) and Thomas (c.1850) were totally missing from previous censuses. Thus, starting with the 1861 Census, the picture, at least for males, is becoming clearer.
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