Week 32 (Aug. 6-12): Neighbors and Community - #52Ancestors

Wherever they lived, our ancestors were a part of their local community, although finding records of how they interacted with their neighbours can be sparse.  Census records are one resource for finding out about our ancestors' neighbours.

For example, below is the 1851 census for Isaac Green.

Isaac Green is a farmer, age 58, living in Fordham, Essex.  This census record tells me that his household consistes of his wife Betsy 57, son William 17, and servants Maryann Blakeley 45, Harriet Clark 30 and Betsy Woodward 17. 

If you look at the household directly beneath Isaac's in the census, you find Edmund Woodward 59, wife Rebecca Woodward 55 and mother (actually mother-in-law) Rebecca Fairclough 77.  Edmund is a labourer - and yes, he works for Isaac Green.  Isaac's servant Betsy Woodward is Edmund's eldest daughter - shown in the 1841 census - who has gone into service up in the big house.  Following through the census, Betsy Woodward stays on working for Isaac Green for decades, through the 1861, 1871 and 1881 censuses until Isaac's death in 1882.

It would be all too easy to overlook this information and simply concentrate on the main family, noting family members and occupations and overlooking all that lovely extra information about Isaac's ties to his neighborhood.