Where was my great grandfather in 1891?
QMy great grandfather James Thomas Seago was born in Rochford, Essex, in 1860. I’ve found him in all of the censuses except for 1891. He married Ann Catherine Lucas in 1887, and their children – all born around the Camberwell area – were Ada Annie (born 1887), Eleanor Maud (born 1889), Florence (born 1891), Lilian (born 1893), Constance Gladys (born 1895) and Alfred James (born 1903).
However, I can’t find any of the family in 1891, nor birth records for Florence (born in Kennington) or Constance (Brixton).
Ian Coleman
AAccording to Findmypast’s site at findmypast.co.uk/ articles/census-for-englandwales-and-scotland-missingpieces, the only known missing pieces of the 1891 census are five pages covering Great White Lion Street in the Seven Dials area of London. It is unlikely, but the Seagos may have lived there.
If you don’t already have them, order the birth certificates of Eleanor Maud (born 1889) and Lilian May (born 1893) via https://www.gro.gov.uk to find the addresses for the Seago family in those years close to 1891. Then try searching the 1891 census for those addresses using Findmypast’s census address search tool. I have tried this using the family’s address in 1901, but to no avail.
All births were required to be registered by the parents from 1875 onwards, rather than it being the responsibility of the registrar, as had been the case from 1 July 1837. For the births of Florence and Constance, you could try the local register office.
Maps at familysearch.org/mapp show parish and registration district (RD) boundaries.
Camberwell RD is now part of the London Borough of Southwark, whose register office should be able to provide you with a local birth certificate if Florence or Constance were born there. The date of birth for
Florence, according to the 1939 Register, is 29 January 1891.
Kennington and Brixton were in Lambeth RD, which is now in the London Borough of Lambeth. However, Lambeth Register Office only allows you to buy local certificates for births occurring from 1995 onwards. Alan Stewart