London Internship Week 4

I had a lovely past week working on a personal research project at the London Metropolitan Archives! It was good stuff! Tuesday was our two-year wedding anniversary, so we had a delicious dinner in Highbury at the Comedore, and then went on the London Eye. On Friday, Brian and I went to the National Archives and learned a little bit more about their facilities. We then went to the Kew Gardens, which we decided were the most beautiful gardens in the world. We also went to the Tate Modern, and we talked art. We also went to the Globe Theater, where we learned the history of theater in London. Then we went to the Foundling Museum, which wrapped up my week of research quite nicely!

London Internship Week 3

By my third week working at the Society of Genealogists, I felt like everything was going right for me. I knew everyone by name, I knew who I could ask for help if I had any questions, and I knew who told the best stories. My work week was quite similar to my second week: I was able to simultaneously work on two Crisp Collections, marriage licenses and apprenticeship indentures. I was a little worried that I would not finish the collections by the time I finished my internship, but I have high hopes that I will be able to at least finish the apprenticeship indentures.

            The collection of apprenticeship indentures gradually became more difficult to transcribe. First, after the first volume, the documents were ordered in alphabetical order by the name of the apprentice. This made it difficult to transcribe because each document was written at a different time; the formats were then different, and the information became more difficult to extract. I also noticed that the index had few mistakes in the extractions, which suggested to me that the index was created many years ago, because a lot of the documents are lower quality and have deteriorated over time. I would be able to make out maybe the first letter of a name, and I would have to use the index to find what I thought was the correct entry by the other information found in the document.

            Overall, I found that on an average day I was able to edit the images, create an index, and upload three volumes of apprenticeship indentures and two volumes of marriage licenses, as long as there were no issues with image quality.

            During my two days working with the resident genealogist, Else, I was able to create a few more Hints and Tips documents that will be put on the Society of Genealogists’ website when I arrive back from my week researching at the London Metropolitan Archives. First I created a tutorial on how to search FamilySearch in its new format. I created it in a way that it will not get outdated for a while, so the Society of Genealogists will be able to use it for some time. Second, I created a tutorial on how to get the best results from the IGI, which includes how to find the IGI on FamilySearch, how to use Batch Numbers, and how to find the original records. Lastly, I created a tutorial on how to download PCC Wills from the National Archives website. Else and I decided on the last two Hints and Tips that I will create: Writing a Genealogical Report, and Analyzing Your Research: The Big Picture.

            On Friday, a class group that took online classes from the Society of Genealogists came in for a graduation tour. They stopped by my station and I gave them a tour of what the volunteers do at the Society, because I was the only volunteer there that day! I showed them a digital record, my index, and how it all comes together. Tim was very impressed with the way I was able to tell the visitors all of the information.  

            Brian and I also had a great weekend. We first went to the Lion King on Friday! The next day, we went to Oxford on a bus aptly named ‘Oxford Tube.’ Oxford was a wonderful place. It felt much less modern than London, which I personally liked a lot more. We visited the Bodleian Library and went through an exhibit detailing the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. We visited a few places near Oxford University, such as Oxford Christ Church, and a few of the colleges. We were also able to take a tour in Oxford Castle, which was built around 960AD. On Sunday, we were able to go see an organ recital at Westminster Abbey. It was great that we didn’t have to pay to get in, and we were uplifted with beautiful organ music.

London Internship: Week 2

This week was productive at a price. I got a cold. I started feeling a sore throat Monday morning, but I didn’t think anything of it until that night, when it didn’t go away. By Tuesday, I was pretty miserable. I had a hard time concentrating, but apparently no one really noticed because I was still doing good work. Tim Lawrence, Head of Library Services, introduced me to a new record type held in the Crisp Collections, the apprenticeship indentures. There were sixteen volumes of apprenticeship indentures with about one-hundred images each volume that needed indexing. Tim first asked me to index from an index created in the 1930s, which was fine. It took quite a while because there was a lot of information that had to be indexed, including all names, age, place, occupation, year, volume, page number, and any extra information. By the end of the week, I had only indexed about twenty-five pages, and Tim decided that it would be better to index volume by volume from digital images of the original volumes. I happily obliged, because it gave me more paleographic practice, as the documents ranged from early 17^th century to late 19^th century, and the handwriting was different on every page.

            On Wednesday and Thursday I worked with Else Churchill again. I created two paleographic exercises: the first on creating an accurate abstract and transcription of a document, and the other on reading secretary hand (Please see Appendix for a copy of these exercises). It was a very rewarding experience to use the knowledge I have learned from my classes and work at Brigham Young University to create paleographic exercises from my own experience, rather than leaning on information given to me. I used images that Else had previously received copyright for as the basis for these exercises. They will go online by the end of my internship.

            On Friday, I had the opportunity to shadow one of Else’s part-time assistants, Vanessa, as she did a hard-copy service. Vanessa would receive letters from the mail from patrons that would ask a certain collection to be searched for a name and date, and she would send back a copy of the image. The types of records we searched that day were:

Vicar General Marriage License Allegations

Faculty Office Marriage License Allegations

Trinity House Petitions

Civil Service Evidence of age (boxes in Store A)

St Andrew Holborn (Banns and License section)

I was able to look up films, find the image on their roll, and then create a hard copy image from the microfilm. I realized that getting a good-looking image was quite difficult, but doable. Vanessa told me that with my help, the hard copies took half the amount of time it normally would. We then took the printed images and put them in envelopes and sent them in the mail. This was a very useful experience because it taught me about search services and how this skill can help me as a researcher.

            That weekend Brian and I had the opportunity to go the Tower of London and learn all about the history of that place! I especially liked going into all the old churches and learning about the history of the Beefeaters.

London Internship: Week 1

Dear Readers,

Cheers from London! Here is a highlight from what we did our first week:

Brian and I arrived at Twyford House early Friday (28 June) not before getting a little lost and wet from the rain. Ian, our host, tried to meet us at Arsenal Station but we accidentally took different ways down the street and missed each other completely. We arrived to Twyford House before him, but when he got back he treated us to a traditional English breakfast. We talked about what we were doing here and about the living situation.

            We got back to our flat and I was incredibly exhausted. We traveled for twenty-four hours, who wouldn’t be? After taking a short nap Brian and I decided it would be better to try to get out of the house and experience Highbury, rather than be tired and grumpy all day. We went out and visited a few of the local churches. I have never seen such old churches before; most of them had small cemeteries within the grounds and we snapped a few pictures. There was a spirit there that I have felt when doing family history research. These people, although known in life, were almost completely lost through time and wear.

            Saturday Brian and I learned the bus route to the Society of Genealogists. It’s not too far from our flat; it only took about thirty minutes. We were too nervous to venture out any further into the city, so we walked back from the Society to our flat. The route passes through Angel, so we were able to get things we needed like phones and food.

            Later that evening I was feeling a bit more adventurous and I wanted Brian to experience some history. I took him to St Paul’s Cathedral. I’ll admit I don’t know much modern London history, but the story of St Paul’s I do know. As you probably know, St Paul’s survived the continuous bombings on London during WWII. It became a symbol of English spirit and their will to never give up. Brian and I were shocked by how this massive building didn’t get touched. There was a choir singing on the steps of the cathedral when we first arrived, and it was awe-inspiring. I stayed there and soaked up the history and the feeling of peace I had there. They rang the bells. It sounded like the cathedral was dancing.

            Sunday Brian and I went to church at the Hoe Street chapel. Everyone was very nice there. Everyone was hoping we were new in the ward so I could help everyone with their family history, but... I told them I would be back. Definitely.

            After an eventful first weekend, it was finally time to officially start my internship. I arrived way too early (which will end up being the norm from here on out). I was let in and I met Tim Lawrence, the head of library services. He was really excited to have me on board at the Society. He took me on a tour of the entire library, as well as teaching me their reference system and online catalog, which was interesting. There were so many books! There was a floor of indexes and copies of original documents for each county, a floor for county histories and textbooks, and a floor holding all of their original images and archival materials that could not be bound or needed extra care. Tim and I enjoyed talking about British history and he basically quizzed me on my genealogical knowledge, which I aced with flying colors. My favorite part of the tour of the library was when we went to the Lower Library which held the archived original images. Tim pulled out a book about three feet long, two feet wide, and six inches deep. It was the biggest book I had ever seen! He opened it up and I said “oh those are land indentures!” He seemed surprised I knew about that record type; he didn’t know I worked with them extensively for over a year.

            I was able to meet many of the volunteers and paid staff that day as well. Everyone there is really nice and wants to be there. We push each other to do our best work, and we all have a passion for genealogy. It is a great work environment and I am very proud to be one of them.

            After the tour I went straight to business. I was introduced to my work station in the Lower Library, where I would do my scanning, editing, indexing, and uploading. I was taught how to edit the images and create new indexes, and I started my first volume of Crisp Marriage Licenses that day. I’m an art minor, so editing the images was easy for me. Creating the index didn’t give me too much trouble; the handwriting was straight forward. I didn’t get to uploading the image that day.

            First thing Tuesday Tim taught me how to upload the index and images. It took a while for it to work the first time, but I made myself a tutorial that I go through to make sure I don’t miss any steps. The whole process of enhancing the images, creating an accurate index, and then uploading both to the Society of Genealogist’s members page took a little getting used to, but when it was all said and done I have been able to go through the steps quickly. By Friday, I was able to upload three volumes, which each contain about one-hundred documents.          My first week, I was able to upload five volumes of Crisp Marriage Licenses.

            On Wednesday I went up to the Upper Library to work with Else Churchill, the genealogist of Society of Genealogists. We decided that doing research wasn’t the best choice for me, because she actually didn’t do a lot of research on the job; she usually writes and gives lectures, grades papers, and deals with correspondence. I was able to write comments for two blogs; the first dealt with black sheep in our family history, the second dealt with the importance of Societies. After that, I read through some legislation that has much genealogical significance these days. A new act is proposed, which would make the personal information found in genealogical records be somewhat harder to get to, including civil registration documents in the UK. I was able to read and decipher the legal language and create a proposal that Else will use in a community forum to hopefully add an exception for genealogy when it comes to personal information.

            Overall, I had a very hectic, stressful, exciting, and overall great first week. On the weekend, Brian and I went to the British Museum and saw all the amazing antiquities there. We also went to the National Portrait Gallery and I taught Brian all about the history of Britain’s kings and queens. I love that history is all around me, and I can be Brian’s personal tour guide (he admits I give better tours than the professionals). 

London Bound.

Dear readers,

Well here we go. My husband and I are finally on our way to London! I will be doing an internship at the Society of Genealogists in London from July 1 to August 7. I will be digitizing, transcribing, and uploading documents for the SoG, as well as working with patrons once a week to help hone my skills as a research assistant. I will also be working on personal research for a week at the London Metropolitan Archives. There will be lots of adventures to come, and I can’t wait to share it with you all! 

Busy Reflection

Dear Readers,

This past week I have been preparing a research report and compiled lineage to be submitted to ICAPGen to start the process of becoming a professional genealogist. I noticed that I have been getting a little depressed lately; I believed it was because of my workload, but after a few moments of reflection, it is a little more complicated than that. The research project I have been working on revolves around the life of Emma (Rock) Condick, a woman who practiced wet-nursing in Victorian England. Her life before and after nursing was very different than our way of life. She was born into a poor family. Her father worked hard for everything they had, and her mother died when she was very young. Emma left her household by 1851 to work in London, to help her household thrive. She married in 1852 to a poor man, John Joseph Condick, who never made enough money to keep his family out of extreme poverty. The first child they had was born and died in a workhouse, as well as a few other children. They only had one child survive infancy, who continued to be poor the rest of his life as well. Emma lived her life alone after her husband died, and moved from place to place trying to find work and stay out of the workhouse. By the end of her life, Emma struggled to keep going and eventually died in the Newington workhouse in 1892. This story is quite depressing, at least I think. It is hard to believe that one woman had to go through all this, but each of us have trials. Each of us go through something that makes us stronger. I believe that although Emma went through these hardships, she was able to find peace and happiness sometimes.

Cheers,
Abbie

Wet-Nurses and Industrial Schools

Dear Readers,

Today I will be discussing the life of Emma Rock and her son, John Joseph Rock. Emma Rock was a wet-nurse who lived in London while trying to provide for her family after the death of her husband in 1872. John Joseph Condick, her last son, was sent to a Industrial School in Liverpool to help the child learn a prosperous trade, instead of living a poor life in London. This industrial school, commonly called a “ragged school,” was started in England for poor children who could not go to school every day due to the high cost.^[1] These schools were started for these poor children to learn a skilled trade in the hopes of moving up from the lower classes. The Holy Trinity Industrial School, more commonly named Grafton Street Industrial School for Boys, was first created 3 October 1870 as a school for both boys and girls to learn skilled industrial trades. By 1877, the school was exclusively for young boys and the girls were removed to Everton Terrace. The school was based in four different buildings near each other on Grafton Street, near the dock area in Liverpool. ^[2] The trades that were taught at the school were printing, tailoring, and shoemaking. In a report of a Industrial School Inspector, he states that “there is room for improvement in the theoretical instruction, especially in the shoemaking department.” ^[3]

In 1857 the Industrial School’s Act was instated in England, which was enacted to prevent juvenile delinquency: this act forced homeless children to enter into the school system between ages seven and fourteen to learn a trade.^[4]  By 1861, another act was passed, which supplied assistance to more categories of children, such as beggars, delinquents, or out of parental control. ^[5] John was twelve years old when he appeared in the industrial school, which suggests he either came to the school by act of his mother or was taken there because of their poor living situation in Liverpool. John’s mother, Emma, most likely placed John at this school to keep him out of the workhouses and give him a better future. While Emma most likely paid the fee for John to be in school, most children who were collected were homeless and had to be funded by the government. ^[6]

Industrial schools similar to the Grafton Street Industrial School for Boys were operated very systematically to keep the boys in a schedule. The school gave basic scholarly lessons, food, and shelter. The children had to follow a strict timetable; they woke up at 6:00 AM and went to bed at 7:00 PM. Depending on the school, times for schooling, practicing their trade, chores, religious service, meal time, and play time were regimented in a rigid, strict schedule. In The Times newspaper, they state “that in the case of boys, some provision should be made for punishment with the birch as well as with the cane.”^[7]

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[1].             The Children Society, Ragged Schools, Industrial Schools, and Reformatories. http://www.hiddenlives.org.uk/articles/raggedschool.html, accessed 8 November 2012.

[2].             Holy Trinity Industrial School, 77 Grafton Street, Toxteth Park, Liverpool, Lancashire, aka Grafton Street Industrial School. http://www.missing-ancestors.com/holy_trinity_industrial_school%20Toxteth%20park%20info.htm, accessed 8 November 2012.

[3].             Great Britain, Report of the Inspector, Volume 46, Reformatory and Industrial School Department, 1903, P. 174-175. Available from Google Books https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=XIHKAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&output=reader&authuser=0&hl=en&pg=GBS.PP1, accessed 8 November 2012.

[4].             The Children Society, Ragged Schools, Industrial Schools, and Reformatories. http://www.hiddenlives.org.uk/articles/raggedschool.html, accessed 8 November 2012.

[5].             Jeannie Duckworth, Fagin's Children, London: Contiuum International Publishing, 2003: 219. Available online at www.books.google.com, accessed 9 November 2012.

[6].             The Children Society, Ragged Schools, Industrial Schools, and Reformatories. http://www.hiddenlives.org.uk/articles/raggedschool.html, accessed 8 November 2012.

[7].             The Times, “Punishment of Industrial School Children,” Page 10, Column C, 25 October 1895, http://www.bl.uk/learning/histcitizen/21cc/crime/youth1/punishment1/industrial1/industrial.html, accessed 8 November 2012. 

Hedgehogs

Dear Readers,

Lately I have been putting together research from Dorset's Poor Law records. On Ancestry, a collection of Poor Law Records from Dorset are available from 1511-1997 for many parishes. I currently am searching Hazelbury Bryan's Churchwarden's Accounts to learn more about individuals within the parish. Betty Smart, the grandmother of Marina Smart, a wet-nurse, lived in Hazelbury Bryan after her husband, John, died. Betty served her parish by taking part in killing hedgehogs and jays in the area. Hedgehogs were a common sight in Dorset during this time, and the sport of hunting them was referenced in the churchwarden's accounts for at least a hundred years.

Hedgehog

Themes of Wet Nursing Scholarship, A Second Look

Dear Readers,

Lately I have been trying to organize my thoughts about the wet-nurses I have been studying. What were their common life experiences? What have people said previously about the practice that I have been able to correct? There have been many common misconceptions about wet-nurses and their charges, which I have concisely stated here:

Wet-nurses were not fallen women. While some of the women in this study had illegitimate children, that was not always the case. Women like Emma Rock were married and had their own families when they were employed as wet-nurses.

Wet-nurses were young women with family living near them to take care of their children. Through this study, it was seen that women with illegitimate children had their families take care of their children while they went out to nurse. Nurses stayed close to their parents or siblings, so they wouldn't have to send their children out to nurse.

The wet-nurse did not pass on undesirable characteristics through their milk to the children they nursed. While this emotional argument feels tertiary to us today, it was a common argument used in medical journals to discourage women from hiring nurses. Through this study, children nursed by wet-nurses were followed to the ends of their lives, and they all prospered according to their social standing.

Wet-nurses were neutral influences within the home. Most studies argue that wet-nurses treated their charges poorly and did not take their jobs seriously. In this study, none of the children that the wet-nurses were nursing died while in their care, which suggests that the mortality rates of wet-nurses’ charges is somewhat flawed. 

Friday Morning Storm

Dear Readers,

As I mentioned previously, I was supposed to go to the Utah Conference for Undergraduate Research this Friday, February 22, 2013. That morning my husband and I woke up at 4:50 A.M., rubbed our eyes and jumped in the car to drive up to Logan. I remember mentioning to him that it had started snowing, but the weather report told us that it would be clear on the highway, so we took no notice of it. We drove all the way out to Salt Lake City when the storm hit. We were shocked; we left early for Logan, and we had no idea that it was supposed to storm that morning. Within five minutes, I-15 stopped and everyone was slipping around with low traction at those slow speeds. My husband and I panicked and got of the freeway and stopped at a McDonald's to change our game plan. After praying and talking, we decided that our lives were worth more than an opportunity to present research.

Luckily, we had family living close by where we stopped, and we were able to ride out the storm while watching movies with my sister-in-law, who is almost about to have a baby. I was disappointed and a little embarrassed that I couldn't present my research, but I know it was the right decision.

If you want to see what the roads were like, please check out this blog post from KUTV:
White Knuckle Morning Commute | KUTV.com

Happy to be Alive,
Abbie Black

Podcasts and Conferences

            This week I had the opportunity to do a quick podcast about a wet nurse from Dorset named Marina Smart. If you want to know more about her, check the Podcast in the sidebar!

            This week I have been preparing to present a project I completed about wet-nursing at the Utah Conference of Undergraduate Research. The conference is next week; if anyone is in Logan, come and see me!

           

            Here is a sneak peek at my presentation:

This map was created courtesy of Maps.familysearch.org. Can you guess what this map is for? 

News and Nonconformity

            Hey my genealogists and historians, I have good news! I recently was awarded an ORCA Grant from Brigham Young University, which will allow me to continue my research on these women.

            In other news, I had a research breakthrough this week concerning Ann Griffiths. Previously, I had found a woman named ‘Anne Griffith’ on the 1851 census, living with the Herrmann family in Liverpool.[1] Anne Griffith was listed born in Oswestry, Shropshire, which is a parish right on the border between England and Wales.

            After searching FamilySearch, a nonconformist record for an ‘Ann Griffiths’ was seen born in Oswestry, Shropshire, and was baptized at the Old Bell Chapel, Independent, with the same birth information seen on the 1851 census.[2] I have transcribed the information found on the nonconformist record:

Ann Griffiths

Date of Baptism: 30 Aug 1827

Birthplace: Oswestry, Shropshire

Father: John Griffiths, Game Keeper

Mother: Elizabeth Parry

            With this information, I will be able to confirm Ann’s parents on the 1841 census, as well as the marriage of the parents.

Happy Researching!

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[1] James Zengheer Herrmann Household, Mount Pleasant, Liverpool, Lancashire, 1851 England Census, 36 Bedford Street South, Class HO107, Piece 2183, Folio 546, ED 1hh, Page 33, Household 109, www.ancestry.co.uk, accessed 8 Feb 2013.

[2] Ann Griffiths Baptism (30 Aug 1827), Arthur Street Old Chapel, Independent, Oswestry, Shropshire, digital images, original from RG4_2870, Folio 7, BMDRegisters.co.uk, accessed 7 Feb 2013.

Want to Know More?

Dear Readers,

If any of you are interested in looking into wet-nursing past what I talk about on this blog, here are a few sources that you can pick up:

Beeton, Isabella, The Book of Household Management, London: Ward, Lock, Bosden & Co, 1961.

Campbell, Linda, “Wet Nurses in Early Modern England: Some Evidence From the Townshend Archive.” Medical History 33 (1989): 360-370.

Fildes, Valerie. Breasts, Bottles, and Babies: A History of Infant Feeding. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1986.

___. “Breast Feeding Practices During Industrialisation 1800-1919.” In Infant and Child Nutrition Worldwide: Issues and Perspectives, edited by Frank Falkner, 1-20. Florida: CRC Press, 1991.

___. “The English Wet Nurse and Her Role In Infant Care 1538-1800.” In Medical History 32 (1988): 142-173.

___. Wet Nursing: A History from Antiquity to the Present. Oxford: Basil Blackwell Inc, 1988.

Gathorne-Hardy, Jonathan, The Rise and Fall of the British Nanny, London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1972.

Valerie Fildes is a prolific writer on the history of wet-nursing in England. She has written many books and articles, all of which I find very interesting! 

A Brief Look into the Life of Emma Rock, Wet Nurse

Emma ROCK was born about 1831 in Birmingham, Warwickshire.^[1] Emma was the second of ten children born to her parents Joseph Rock and Martha Elizabeth (Cave) Rock. By 1851, Emma had left home and moved closer to London looking for work.[2] A year later, Emma met John Joseph Condick and married him at Laleham, Middlesex, which was about fifteen miles away from Rectory. ^[3] John Joseph CONDICK, son of Benjamin CONDICK and Francis Ann CLAY, was born about 1829 in Ashburton, Devonshire.^[4]

                        By 1861, the couple had fallen on hard economic times trying to support their newest child, William. Emma took up wet nursing in Greenwich, Kent, which was about seven miles from her previous residence in Lambeth. ^[5] Most authors look at the extremes of the practice as a whole rather than looking at the individual nurse and her conduct within the home of her employer. C.H.F. Routh summarized the medical opinion of nursing in the mid-nineteenth century by saying: It is usual in our profession to recommend as a nurse an unmarried woman who has fallen; and the reason assigned is, that her milk is less likely to suffer, because she has no husband or children to fret after; or, if she has fallen more than once, she is less likely to fret after a child left behind, her habits having inured her to this separation.” ^[6] This attitude is reflected in most recent scholarship, but is not true in the case of Emma: she was married, had recently had a child who would not die for another three years, and was in every case not “fallen.”

In the home of her employer, Emma most likely had a higher standard of living then she was previously used to: wet nurses working in the home received high pay similar to a domestic servant, clean food and water, and comfortable living quarters to help the baby receive the highest care. Emma most likely worked as a nurse from 9-12 months for the Harris family, and then continued on to another profession.^[7] Although Emma had a child of her own to nurse, the child’s last place of residence was seven miles away, and most likely was sent out to nurse.

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[1]. Joseph Rock Household, St Martin Birmingham, Warwickshire, 1841 England Census, Class HO107, Piece 1142, Book 2, ED 5, Folio 50, Page 20, Line 1, www.ancestry.co.uk, accessed 29 August 2012.  

[2] Emma Rock Household,  Rectory, Saint Marylebone, Middlesex 1851 England Census, Class HO107,  Piece 1488, Folio 551, Page 1, http://www.ancestry.co.uk, accessed 29 August 2012.

[3]. Emma Rock and John Condick Marriage 25 December 1852, All Saints Register of Marriages, P85/ALL2, Item 003, Page 29 of 32, accessed online at “London, England, Marriages and Banns, 1754-1921,” http://www.ancestry.co.uk/, accessed 29 August 2012, and  Emma Rock and John Condick Marriage 1852, "England Civil Registration Index," Lambeth, Volume 1d, P. 401, www.freebmd.org.uk, accessed 31 October 2012.

[4]. John Condick Death Mar 1872, "England Civil Registration Index," St Saviour, London, Vo. 1d, P. 118, www.freebmd.org.uk, accessed 6 October 2012.

[5]. Thomas Willis Household, Greenwich, Kent, England 1861 England Census, Class RG 9, Piece 399, Folio 55, Page 15, www.ancestry.co.uk, accessed 29 August 2012.

[6]. Routh, C. H. F., “On the Mortality of Infants in Foundling Institutions, and Genereally, As Influenced By the Absence of Breast-Milk.” The British Medical Journal 1 (February 6, 1858): 103-105.

[7]. Valerie Files, West Nursing: A History from Antiquity to the Present: 196.

The Wet Nurse

Emma Condick sat quietly in the nursery, silently watching onwards as a child suckled hungrily from her breast. The child seemed content, while oblivious to the fact that this woman was not his mother. Emma thought of her own children at home and her husband John. Her husband had many jobs during his lifetime to support their ever-growing family, but his endeavors were never enough to make ends meet. By 1861, Emma employed herself as a wet-nurse to the Harris family, taking care of the youngest child, William.[1] Like many women in the mid-nineteenth century, Emma supported herself and her family by nursing another woman’s child for wages, but her personal story has been lost to history.

I began to be interested in wet-nursing after one of my professors noted a woman being listed as a wet nurse in an English census record. I was curious as to why a woman willingly nursed another woman’s child for money, while her own child was nursed by another, creating a economic milk dependency. I have done extensive research on multiple women and their families to see if trends can be seen in their lives which would help expand our knowledge of the life experiences of women who worked in a trade so foreign to us today.

The purpose of this blog is study and analyze the experiences of women who were employed as wet-nurses between 1851 and 1861 in England. A study like this is only possible because of advances in genealogical studies and the digitization of original English records, which were consulted for this study. By studying wet-nurses and their employers from mid-nineteenth century England, individual experiences, as well as common trends in households, this blog will contribute to the gap in wet-nursing scholarship concerning real women. By analyzing the lives of who these women worked for and the women themselves, the real experiences and trends in the occupation come to life.

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[1] Thomas Willis Household, Greenwich West, Kent, 1861 England Census, Class RG 9, Piece 399, Folio 55, Page 15, GSU Roll 542630, Page 16 of 49. http://www.ancestry.co.uk, accessed 29 August 2012.