When Alfred Bligh, the former Grocer, died in Kent in March 1873, it had a profound effect on all his loved ones. His second marriage in 1872 to Emmeline Sarah Daines should have secured the future of his expanded family, which included five infants. But the marriage to his sister in law was revealed to be then illegal. Instead, his father James Bligh, now 76 (living with daughter Emma Cogger) assumed Guardianship of Alfred’s four young children, ranging between 7 and 2 years. Their aunt and stepmother Emmeline Sarah and her son Charles (aged 2) kept the Bligh surname.

A FAMILY DIVIDED: Then in 1875 grandfather Bligh also died – which heralded further upheaval and by 1881 census it is clear that the whole family had scattered. Emmeline Sarah Bligh needed to support herself (let alone the children). So, probably in desperation, she took live-in employmentas a Nurse at Stepney Workhouse, London. Her brother Thomas Daines was workhouse Porter in nearby West Ham Workhouse but was able to give a home to her own son, Charles Bligh. *Nurses in the workhouse were expected to have no “incumberences” ie dependents. Workhouse occupations details explained in

http://www.workhouses.org.uk/admin/index.shtml#parish

Fortunately Alfred’s youngest, Arthur Bligh, by then 10 years old, remained with his grandmother Daines in Gillingham and Kate Bligh (age 14) is found living with her 57 year old Aunt Emma Cogger (nee Bligh) in Canterbury, with another Aunt Frances Alger and cousin Bertha Alger (11) visiting.

LIFE IN AN ORPHANAGE: However by then, two girls, Edith 13 and Mary 12 had ended up in separate orphanages miles from each other, or their families. These particular Orphanages, at Watford and Waltham catered for thousands of needy London children. Dickens wrote in Bleak House that it was “easier to dispose of an ownerless dog than an orphaned child”. But these had magnificent edifices, were both considered well run establishments and were oversubscribed. They were founded by Victorian philanthropists, set in healthy semi-rural locations and were supported by royalty and society sponsors, including the London worshipful Company of Grocers. Application was ‘by subscription‘, but often accepting the offspring of tradesmen. Here, in spite of the regimented conditions, there were at least opportunities for both sexes to acquire skills that would enable them to support themselves when they left age 14.

(Below: Edith at The London Orphan Asylum, Watford Mary at The Infant Asylum, Waltham)

ANOTHER WEDDING AND FUNERAL: But what of their Aunt/stepmother Emmeline Sarah Bligh? In 1884 we find that Emmeline Sarah, now aged 43) marries Edward Davis in Bethnal Green, using her Maiden Name (Daines) once more. Perhaps this meant she was able to support at least her own son. But once again, I suspect the new husband needed Emmeline’s skills as a nurse because 2 years later he died. Certainly, by 1891 she is once again widowed.

THE FAMILY FINALLY UNITED : At last, in the 1891 census we can see that her efforts and persistence to keep in touch with all her “strays” pays off. Against the odds, the whole BLIGH family have weathered the storm, reuniting in adulthood to live together as a family, supporting each other. A heartwarming tale of triumph over adversity.

The Bligh offspring have 4 wage earners and Emmeline Sarah (reverting once again to the BLIGH surname) has reunited the family in Walthamstow, Essex, even welcoming other young relatives into their home.

Postscript: By 1901 Emmeline Sarah and daughter Kate Bligh had moved in with her sister’s brood (Filley//Peacock families) in West Mall, Notting Hill Gate. Emmeline Sarah died in Kensington in 1910. Her life showed how precarious life could be for women and children, losing a male wage earner.

Thanks to her commitment to her nieces and nephews and own son, she ensured that they kept their identity as part of a family in spite of their separation in childhood years.