Platts in the 1871 Census (Part II: John & Sarah)

.John and Sarah's family is the third family listed on this census. My best transcription:

Civil Parish of Ashover, Village of Holloway
Family number: 8
Where lived: Gregory Tunnel

Name/Relationship/Condition/Age and Sex/Occupation/Place of Birth

= John Platts, Head of Household, Married, 32 male, Hosiery Power Frame Fitter, Derbyshire Holloway
= Sarah Platts, Wife, Married, 23 female, occupation lined through, Derbyshire Matlock Riber

= Samuel Platts, Son, Unmarried, 3 male, Scholar, Derbyshire Ashover Holloway
= Anne E. Platts, Daughter, Unmarried, 2 female, Scholar, Derbyshire Ashover Holloway
= William H. Platts, Son, Unmarried, 10mo. male, Scholar, Derbyshire Ashover Holloway

Notes:
(1) The ages of John and Sarah match the ones on their marriage certificate. In addition, I now have the birthplace of Sarah so I can hopefully find out more about her and her family.
(2) Note that in roughly 3-1/2 years that Sarah has had three children, all close to one year apart.
(3) In the manufacture of hosiery, a power frame was basically the machine that made the fabric or hosiery. Often there would be more than 100 of these machines running at one time, tended by someone in charge of 6 to 24 of them. In Lowell, MA there is a textile mill/factory as part of the National Park. They have a floor of these machines to give you a feel for what it was like. Even though there are about 100 on the floor, only a third of them are working at any time (in the exhibit, in real life there was little down time for any machine and all of them would have been running). Even so, with only a third of the machines, the noise was horrendous. Many factory workers had their hearing damaged at young ages from working in the factories.
     Also, the vibration from these machines shuttling back and forth was terrific. In Lowell, the factory actually moved the machines from the third floor to the first less than a year after opening. Having the machines on the third floor was actually shaking their new brick building apart!
     If John also repaired the machinery, he had a dangerous, complicated dance to perform. First, unless the machine had actually died, he had to coordinate with the foreman and person in charge of the loom when to take down the machine for repairs. This was to maximize the efficiency and production of the machine. Second, repairs were often made while the machine was running, which is obviously dangerous. Again, this was for maximum production. Lastly, the machines themselves were dangerous and the mill floor was not a safe place. Spindles or other bits of machinery would break and go flying off (remember, they were run 24/7), often into a person or into another machine which would then send its own shrapnel flying. Pulley and belts were not enclosed and one could easily catch hair or a piece of clothing in them -- losing a limb or even your life.

Platts in the 1871 English Census (Part I: Martha)

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With their marriage in 1867, John and Sarah Platts had established their own household separate from Martha Platts. I will be looking at both their households in the 1871 census in this blog and the one following.

     Martha Platts' family is the third from the top. Here is the my best transcription of their information:

Family #94

Where Lived: Lea

Name/Relationship/Condition/Age & Sex/Occupation/Where Born

= Martha Platts, Head of Household, Widowed, 69 Female, Hosiery Trimmer, Derbyshire Ashover
= Anne Platts, Daughter, Unmarried, 43, Hosiery Trimmer, Derbyshire Ashover
= Samuel Platts, Son, Unmarried, 37, Wool Sorter, Derbyshire Ashover

Notes:
(1) Martha has returned to work, indicating that the loss of John's income has tightened their purse strings. At 69 in 1871, this could not have been easy. When Germany set the first retirement age (65!) for their pension system in the late 1800s, they chose an age where most people would be too feeble and near certain death to work or earn any monies, thus requiring the aid of the state. Given a life of hard and constant labor, where everything had to be hand-done, and poor medical practices, a person's body had taken quite a pounding by this time. To still be working, and at such close work as sewing (hosiery trimming was a specialized form of sewing) would be quite difficult. Martha probably had arthritis (many women developed this early, like in their 30s, due to the lye in the soap they were constantly having their hands in when cleaning or washing), and her eyesight must have been strained doing such fine work (11 stitches to the inch was considered an acceptable stitch size). Much of this, if not all, was done by lamplight as she probably didn't have electrical light in her lifetime. Most of the cottages at that time had small windows and thick walls and roof (to keep in heat). Even during the day they could be dimly lit, so candles would have been used unless it was nice enough to sit outside.

(2) Her place of birth has changed from Crich (listed 1841) to Ashover, although both are in Derbyshire. This probably indicates that she wasn't the one who gave the census taker their information, but one of her children. Since all of them were born in Ashover, they either assumed she was too or didn't know and gave the census taker the quick answer.

(3) The occupations on this page tend to reflect less of an industrial city. Besides the Platts' occupations, the occupations are: Tailor, Dressmaker, miller/farmer, butcher/farmer, and scholars (both boys and girls noted in this manner). Either the neighborhood changed to a more suburban outskirts of town or the Platts have relocated. It is hard to tell which one as their address or street has not be listed on any census.

The Death of Maria Bunting Platts

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Above is the Death Certificate for Maria Bunting Platts. My best transcription, with the handwritten items in italic and typed ones in bold:

Certified Copy of an Entry of Death

Given at the General Registry Office

Application No. COL199776

Registration District: Bakewell in the County of Derby

1865 Death in the Sub-District of Matlock

No. 344

When and Where Died: Fifth June 1865, Upperwood, Matlock Bath

Name and Surname: Maria Platts

Sex: Female

Age: 25 years

Occupation: Wife of John Platts, a Framesmith Journeyman

Cause of Death: Tubercular Peritonitis Certified

Signature, description and residence of informant: John Platts, Present at the Death, Upperwood, Matlock Bath

When Registered: Sixth June 1865

Signature of Registrar: Joseph Hallows, Registrar

(remainder of writing pertains to modern day assurances of authenticity)

Notes:

(1) With their wedding date of 16 July 1864 and a death date of 5 June 1865, John and Maria were married less than a year. In addition, John married Sarah Redfern on 12 June 1867, just about two years after Maria's death. If this seems fast, it was quite common in those days, with many people dying young. Often a widower with small children would remarry within six months of the death of his wife. This was for the practical reason of who would take care of the kids and manage the house (no small task itself).

(2) It is interesting to note that she was 21 on her wedding certificate, but in one year, she aged to 25 on her death certificate.

(3) Tubercular Peritonitis is defined (in 1907 medical terms) as Chronic inflammation of the peritoneum, with thickening and degeneration of this layer. (The peritoneum is the membrane that forms the lining of the abdominal cavity, and covers most of the intra-abdominal organs.) According to the 1907 document I read, this disease "develops insidiously, the symptoms in the earlier stages being more or less obscure, and of little clinical significance. Disorders of digestion are always present to some extent". The disease then progressed undetected until it was very painful and the outlook was not favorable. If one did not catch it in the early stages (when it was easy to pass off as indigestion or gas), then it was usually fatal. A change of diet and climate were often prescribed.

(4) Matlock Bath is best known as a fashionable retreat for the wealthy and a setting for many Jane Austin novels. However, it was also home to many sanitoriums for health where the sick would go for a change in climate as well as care. It may be this reason that John and Maria were there at the time of her death, and not in Lea/Holloway.

The First Marriage of John Platts

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Back when I looked at the marriage of John Platts and Sarah Redfern in 1867 (see previous post of 3/14/07), I remarked on his Widower status, given that in 1861 he was unmarried. Further research has turned up his short, first marriage.

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Here below is my best transcription of his first marriage license, with handwritten items in italic:

.

Certified Copy of an Entry of Marriage

Given at the General Registry Office

Application Number: COL126267

.

1864. Marriage Solemnized in Birchwood Chapel, Alfreton in the District of Belper in the County of Derby.

No. 65
When Married: Sixteenth July 1864
.
Groom's Information:
Name: John Platts
Age: 25 years
Condition: Bachelor
Occupation: Machine Man
Father's Name and Surname: Josiah Platts, deceased
Profession of Father: Bookkeeper
.
Bride's Information:
Name: Maria Bunting
Age: 21 yearsCondition: SpinsterOccupation: [none given; lined through]
Father's Name and Surname: William Bunting, deceasedProfession of Father: Lead Miner
.
Married in the Birchwood Chapel according to the rites and ceremonies of the Wesleyan Reformers, by me
Edwin Crane, Minister
Francis Mather, Registrar
.
This Marriage was solemnized between us
John Platts
Maria Bunting
.
In the presence of us
Samuel Platts
Anne Burnett
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Note: While it appears that there should be signatures for the last three sets of names, the handwriting looks like it was all done by the same person, possibly the registrar copying the actual wedding certificate, with original signatures (or X's), into the Registry.

Platts in the 1861 English Census

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By 1861, we find Martha Platts heading a much smaller household. It is assumed that most of the children have married or moved out on their own. Still living in Lea (its unclear if its the same house) are:
.
Name/Relation/Condition/Age & Sex/Occupation/Where Born
.
Martha Platts, Head of Household, widowed, 58 female, Housekeeper, Derbyshire Criche
.
Anne Platts, Daughter, Unmarried, 33 female, Hosiery Trimmer, Derbyshire Ashover
.
Samuel Platts, Son, Unmarried, 27 male, Wool Sorter, Derbyshire Ashover
.
John Platts, Son, Unmarried, 22 male, Apprentice to Fitter & Machinist, Derbyshire Ashover
.
Some Notes:
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(1) Things have either improved for Martha if Housekeeper means she is staying home. With all her children working, money probably wasn't as tight and she may have been able to retire. However, she may also be working as a housekeeper as another wife on the page just has a blank as to occupation.
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(2) Samuel's occupation is listed as a Wool Sorter, a position which he appears to have held all his life. Wool came into factories with the uncleaned fleeces packaged into huge bundles. A Wool Sorter would rip open the bundles, divide and grade the wool before sending it to the next department to be cleaned and processed into fabric, thread or yarn. Different sheep produce different types of wool, and sometimes one animal can produce many differnt types also. Coarser wool makes a rougher fabric and is ideally used in outer garments. Finer wool, either produced by the sheep as a whole or just its undercoat, would be used in garments worn closer to the skin. If you've ever been in contact with an old wool blanket, you've felt how scratchy and itchy it is. That's because it was made from coarser wool. Also, some sheep are cleaner (or kept cleaner by the farmer) than others. Many will stain their coats, and this stained wool would be graded lower than a similar type that was unstained. Given that the Wool Sorter had to open many bundles and quickly sort & grade the fleeces, this was a specialized job with much training.
.
(3) Other occupations on this page include: Joiner Builder (& Farmer), Servant, Joiners Apprentice, Scholars and School Girl, Lead Smelter, Chapel Cleaner, Stone Mason, Industrial Mistress, Infants Mistress, Industrial Assistant, Industrial pupil. The last four are the most interesting. First, to keep factories up-to-date and expanding, you need to have lots of workers and those workers need to be educated. The Infants Mistress would be the 1861 equivalent of a Day Care Worker, and indicates that there may have been enough of a concentration of female workers inside a factory (not at home) to need a Day Care. In addition the Industrial Mistress, Assistant and Pupil indicate an Industrial School was established nearby. About this time, American Textile Mills were also establishing schools to train their workers to do more detailed work as the industry had progressed beyond simple chores.

Platts in the 1851 English Census

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The above is the 1851 English Census showing the Platts Family the year after Josiah's death. Either the family has moved or the names of their districts have been changed, it is hard to tell. They are now in Dethwick Lea & Holloway (civil parish), Ripley (sub-registration district), Belper (registration district), Derbyshire (county). The family is the first family listed on this page, with Martha being in the top slot. The transcription:
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No. of Householder's Schedule: 69
.
Name of Street: Lea Bridges
.
Name/Relation/Condition (marital status)/Age & sex/Occupation/Where Born
.
Martha Platts, head, Widowed, 48F, Trimmer of Hosiery Goods, Derbyshire Crich
.
Ann Platts, daughter, unmarried, 23F, Trimmer of Hosiery Goods, Derbyshire Ashover
.
Joseph Platts, son, unmarried, 22M, Stone Mason, Derbyshire Ashover
.
James Platts, son, unmarried, 20M, Hosiery Warehouseman, Derbyshire Ashover
.
Samuel Platts, son, (not noted), 17M, Wool Sorter, Derbyshire Ashover
.
John Platts, son, (not noted), 12M, Scholar, Derbyshire Ashover
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Some notes on this census:
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1) The death of the head of household typically hit pretty hard at this time. Note Martha and the children are all working where in 1841 Josiah was the only one.
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2) A new son appears, Joseph, age 22. Because of his age and technical (at the time) job as a Stone Mason, I am assuming that he was apprenticed at the time of the 1841 Census. Indeed, there are several Joseph Platts the right age who are not living with family when I look back at the previous census. His appearance in the house could be for several reasons. First, men usually lived with female relatives to take care of their house, clothes and cook their food before they were married. And Second, he has moved in with his mother to help her financially after the death of the main breadwinner in the household. It is probably a bit of each.
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3) Son Henry, who would now be 16, has disappeared. While many children did die young at this time, we should not assign this fate to Henry so soon. It could also be that he is apprenticed elsewhere, just like his brother Joseph above was. This would have helped the household because there was one less mouth to feed, as well as having the part of his wages that would have been paid to his Mother to help her. I will look into this further if I can.
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4) The census and family jobs reflect the Industrial Revolution that was re-shaping Derbyshire at the time. Derbyshire moved from small farms and business, into a Wool and Woolen goods manufacturing center. There were also many quarries in the area, which were improved upon and grew into a major industry. The various occupations listed on this page are: Hosiery Trimmer, Stone Mason, Hosiery Warehouseman, Scholar (student), Lead Smelter, Domestic Duties (housewife), Leadworks Laborer, Woolcarder, Manager for Hosiery maker and Servant.
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5) Hosiery at this time were long, knitted socks. Nylons as we know them now, did not exist. Many of the woman in the outlying towns and villages would knit the socks (a good knitter could do two socks a day in addition to all her household duties!), and they would be collected and brought to town for decorating and finishing (trimming). For both Martha and Ann, this trimming was done at home, in addition to the running of the household. If they were lucky, the hose would be dropped off or picked up; otherwise they would walk into town to get new hose to trim while dropping off the finished ones. Often they had a quota they had to meet in order to remain employed, and they were paid by the piece (probably not very much). Considering that this probably required long hours, was done by candle-light at night, and that all clothes at the time had to be hand-sewn, you have a pretty hard job.

Enlarging Pictures on the Blog

Ok, time out from genealogy for a little housekeeping. I've stated before that I have been working on getting the pictures on the blog to show up bigger and easier to read. Unfortunately, nothing I've tried has worked, so this has been really frustrating for me.

Imagine my surprise when my hubby was reading my latest post and had a HUGE image of the census on his screen! When I asked how he got that, he looked mildly confused and said "I just clicked on the image." D'oh! Ok, I hadn't tried that.

So for all those of you (if any) who, like me, hadn't figured this out: Click on the image to get a larger view of it. It makes things like the census much easier to read. To get back to the blog, just hit your browsers "Back" button.

And thank you to my hubby for the tip (and not pointing out that I was being a ditz).