Comments

Thank you for your reply. A very interesting discovery, thank you for your research. The Lincolnshire connection is there with Emma DOWNES, although I don't know of a Maud.

My mother Freda was taken in by a family in the name of TURNER in the Shelfield area of Walsall (smallholders). She left their home when she was 16 yrs old c1932 and apparently went into service. perhaps this was with the ECCLESHALL family in Wolverhampton. My mother married my father Arthur William John Parsons on October 10th 1939 at St Margarets Church, Great Barr, Birmingham.

I will check the records at the Somerset Heritage Centre in Taunton which is only 15 miles from me. I moved to Devon 33 yrs ago.

My 3 x great grandparents lived in Cop Lippett, Cheddar and that is the address for 1841, 1851, 1861. 1871, 1891 but 1881 it was 6 The Lippetts, 1901 it was Lippiatt and 1911 it was The Lippett.  No mention of Top Lippiatt for my family's address.  It may have changed as indicated by the later census returns.  I wonder why street names are changed.  I rather like the charm of Cop Lippett as there must have been a reason why it was called that in the first place.

Looking again at your query - at the moment I don't know of an Albert Terrace in Axbridge itself - is that the whole address given on the birth certificate?  Was the informant, presumably her mother, living at the same address?

There are 4 death records consistent with a 1876 birth for Harry Schofield.  One that might fit with children going into care is in 1915: Harry Schofield, age 39, d 1915 Worcester (Q2 1915 Worcester 6c 140).

This would mean that Freda Louise was conceived after Harry had died.  This might account for Emma moving away from the Midlands to Axbridge for the birth.

It looks as if Freda Louise SCHOFIELD was the only child of that family to be born in Axbridge - was she the youngest child? 

You may already have this - but as there is a marriage between a Harry SCHOFIELD and an Emma DOWNES registered in the Walsall District in 1902 and the 1911 census shows 5 children - there are further births of a Robert Victor SCHOFIELD in 1912 and a Kathleen SCHOFIELD in 1915 registered in the Walsall district - both with mother's maiden name of DOWNES and of course Freda in 1916. Making a possible 8 children in all.

On the 1939 Register I can see that Emma SCHOFIELD, described as a widow was living in Gedney, Holbeach, Lincolnshire - she was a Cafe Proprietress and had her eldest daughter, Maud, living with her.

In 1939 Freda is living in Wolverhampton with a family called ECCLESHALL - was that the family who took her in?  You may be able to find others of the SCHOFIELD family on the 1939 Register - available on Findmypast - their relations may know what happened to Harry and whether they went into a home or Workhouse. 

If you think they went into a home while they were in Somerset - the Records for Axbridge Workhouse for the 20th century are in the Somerset Heritage Centre at Taunton and are complete for that period.