A Sobering Discovery: Parker Siblings in the Union Workhouse

Pictured above is the cover of a book from the Internet Archive entitled An Account of Several Work-Houses For Employing and Maintaining the Poor. In the 1700s and 1800s, many of England's poor were sent to workhouses, where the residents worked in exchange for room and board. My ancestor Joshua Parker (the elder) was listed as age 40 in the Census for Donington, Lincolnshire, England in 1841. Joshua and his wife Hannah had seven children at that time, ranging in age from one up to a son in his teens. It appears that Hannah Parker died sometime between 1841 and 1851, as several of the children of Joshua and Hannah Parker show up in the 1851 Census as paupers residing in the Union Workhouse in Spalding, Lincolnshire, England. Reuben, age 14 (spelled incorrectly as Rueben); James, age 11; Jesse, age 6; and Mary, age 9, are are in the Union Workhouse. By this time, the oldest Parker child, Joshua (born about 1822) was soon to be on his way to America, where he settled in Monroeville, Huron County, Ohio. Eventually, Reuben, James, Jesse and Mary would also make their way to the United States. James Parker moved in Indiana. Reuben Parker and another son John Parker became prosperous farmers in Huron County, Ohio. Jesse Parker served in the Civil War, and he and his wife moved to Lenawee County, Michigan. Mary Ann Parker married Josiah Holden, and they resided in Wakeman, Ohio. While we do not know the outcome of all the children of the elder Joshua Parker and his wife Hannah, we know that many settled in the MidWest, and had happy families and productive lives. Below is a picture from a Parker Reunion held in the 1920s.

Recently I was able to connect with some distant cousins on the Parker line, through 23andme. I am so glad that those Parker youngsters were able to move out of the workhouse in Lincolnshire!