Who was Sophia Smallbone?

[Mick Loney]

My great Grandmother Hannah Smallbone, can be found in 1881 with her husband Robert Howard, her children and Sophia Smallbone, single, described as Robert's Sister in Law, aged 25, born in Ratcliff, Middlesex, (as was Hannah).

Despite my best efforts, I can see no birth or baptism for a Sophia Smallbone!
I thought it may one of Hannah's known sisters using a different christian name, but they all are accounted for in 1881.

I cannot see this Sophia mentione anywhere else.

Any clues?

[Norfolk Nan]

Hi Mick

She is a mystery, isn’t she. I had an example of ‘sister in law’ being used several times that turned out to be what we’d call a stepsister. Is this a possibility?

[Mick Loney]

I did think that she was not actually a sister of Hannah, but nevertheless, frustratingly she is not mentioned anywhere else!

I had a similar problem with Hannah's husband Robert and his siblings Olivia, Henry. and Alice.
In 1871 they are shown as children of Charles & Sarah Howard, but the children couldn't be found in 1861.

Someone on WDYTYA forum thought to search for the older three children without a surname, and spotted them in 1861 in the Banks household where the name of the lodger was Charles Howard.

It appeared that in 1861, Sarah Howard was actually a widow called Sarah Banks (aged 39) and had a lodger called Charles Howard (aged 19)!
Her husband Joseph Banks died in 1855, when she appears to have moved in with Charles.

The two youngest children, Henry and Alice were both born long after her husband died, so one assumes Charles Howard was their father, yet despite this, they were still registered as Banks. I haven't found a marriage for them, so just assume they just lived together.

It's what keeps us on our toes

[Norfolk Nan]

As you say, it's what keeps us on our toes! You really do need to think in a number of dimensions to understand how folks connect, don't you. That's such a lovely, unusual name you'd assume you'd find a Sophia Smallbone somewhere. Perhaps she was just borrowing the name and status for a while - I've had a couple of those. Good luck!

[meekhcs]

As Norfolk Nan says OR it is simply a case of the wrong info being given to the enumerator, surname, birthplace?

As a long shot there are 22 Sophia's that feature on the 1871 census in the Stepney area, perhaps one of the addresses will ring a bell?

[avaline]

It's possible that 'Sophia' may actually be Sarah Jane recorded twice - once with her parents and then again with her sister.

Both are born c1855/6, with Sarah Jane being a pipe repairer (tobacco), and 'Sophia' being a pipe moulder (tobacco). Both, as you say, born Ratcliff.

If one or other family completed the census form early (as many people do) they may have included SJ assuming she'd be there on census night, but then for whatever reason she wasn't so was included (correctly) with the other family.

[Mick Loney]

Avaline,
I tend to agree, but with the name change, I couldn’t be sure.

Only yesterday I came across what I thought was the wrong source entered for someone in 1911. I discovered that he too had been entered twice, once with his parents (who also listed some of their children who’d died), and again with his new wife!

[meekhcs]

Mick

I was so busy looking for the obtuse that I overlooked the obvious!

I have had exactly the same issue, on two separate occasions, with different people, in different census years. Each time the person was recorded in two different places in the same census. On each occasion they were both recorded with the same name and details.