As I was surfing through a number of old newspapers looking for something quite different, I happened to stumble across this heartbreaking article in 1899 involving 'Shocking Child Neglect' and 'the Oliver family'.
Naturally, 'Oh my word, how awful', 'who's this', 'where do they fit in' etc etc all spring to mind, so, I did a little digging.
Here's the article in full:
Well, it transpires that this Stephen Oliver is not one of our Olivers, the 1851 census captures him as a young boy in the civil parish Finchley having been born in Whetstone, Middlesex to a Schoolmaster and Schoolmistress.
Here are some details of him living in Chipping Norton in 1891, having lived there from atleast 1875 after marrying a local girl, Eliza West.
1891 Census records - Chipping Norton District
1846 Stephen Oliver, b. Whetstone, Middlesex
Wife 1850 Eliza Oliver, b. Chipping Norton, maiden name West
Children 1875 Oswald N Oliver, b. chipping Norton 1877 Maria A Oliver, b. chipping Norton 1879 Stephen P Oliver, b. chipping Norton 1882 Nellie Oliver, b. chipping Norton 1884 May Oliver, b. chipping Norton 1886 Frank J Oliver, b. chipping Norton 1889 Lillian Oliver , b. chipping Norton *may be more between Lillian and Edwin* 1896 Edwin Oliver, b. chipping Norton
Moving on in 1901, after the above story, the family is much wider spread:
1901 Census records
Stephen, Eliza and their son Frank are found living in Moreton in the Marsh Oswald is working as a Domestic Servant at the Swan Hotel in Moreton in the Marsh Maria has married and is now a 'Scarrott' though is visiting her parants at the time of the 1901 census Young Stephen P Oliver is boarding in Nuneaton, Warwickshire and working as a Coal Miner Nellie Oliver os working as a domestic servant Pershore, Worcestershire
And what of little Lillian ....
Well, Lillian and her younger brother Edwin, aged just 5, sadly can be found in the Chipping Norton Union workhouse - I do hope their lives picked up, that they married and had happier families of their own.
In a previous post about Silver Band Members in Chipping Norton I had located a Micheal Oliver, perhaps he is a decendant of this family rather than our own?
Eitherway, just though I'd post this for info - not all Oxfordshire 'Oliver' roads lead back to our roots hey!
