31 - The Smith Family (Joseph and Mary)

Having a surname of Smith with very common first names made this family very difficult to research but I managed to find out a little about them.

Head of the household was 24 year old Joseph who was born in Glossop, Derbyshire. He was married to Mary who came from Hayfield and they both worked at the Oakwood Cotton Mill, Joseph as a Cotton Carder and Mary as a Winder.

Also living with them was Joseph's 56 year old widowed mother Jane, and Joseph and Mary's children; 3 year old Samuel and 1 year old Jane Elizabeth. The census describes Samuel as an "imbecile", which we can assume meant that he had a learning disability. Sadly I was not able to track Samuel's whereabouts after this, but there are no deaths recorded for a Samuel Smith in Cheshire between 1871 and 1881 so it is possible that he was put into an institution.

In 1877, aged just 31, Joseph Smith died. The family stayed in Romiley, moving to Oakwood Villa where Jane Elizabeth, aged 11, worked as a cotton winder.