Nurse Children.....

[weemo]

I have come across in 1871 Census, one of my relations being a nurse child along with two other children. I know this means they are staying with a wet nurse for feeding but they are ages 10, 9 and 6! Surely too old for breast feeding! I know there was a programme on just last week about 'older' breast feeding children, but would that have been possible back then? Any ideas anyone?

[Mez]

hmmmm weemo

found some more at http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com ... denham.htm

Louis CHAVE nurse child 9
Susan CHAVE nurse child 6
Elizabeth CHAVE nurse child 5
Emily SPREECHLY nurse child 4
Mary Jane SPREECHLY nurse child 2

I'm guessing that these may have been unwanted children, orphaned or their pauper parents were unable to adequately care for them and they were "boarded out".

I found an interesting paper "The Policy of Boarding Out Children in Scotland" by Ruth Currie and Alastair Ramage when I was searching for 'my Mary' who was left behind in Scotland when the family emigrated to Australia .

http://www.lib.gcal.ac.uk/heatherbank/p ... ingout.pdf or have a look at the 19th century poor laws.

Mez


TD

[StewL]

Hello Mez

Children who were "boarded out" were possibly in a different category to those that were "farmed out" to a wet nurse (The practice was known as "baby farming") Baby farming came into serious disrepute after a number of high profile cases were investigated due to the very high level of infant mortality in the late 1800's and early 1900's. The wet nurse was being paid to look after infants, and more than often had her own child. As she often had a number of children she was being paid for, those "farmed" children seldom received an adequate amount of milk, as she would consider her own child the priority, hence malnutrition took its toll on many of the children.

The practice of boarding out was usually part of the local kirk action on pauper children. But as the article cited states, there was often little regard for the childrens welfare, the "nurse" was more interested in the money being paid for the duty.

As a result of a number of child neglect and abuse issues, the Children's Charter was enacted in Scotland in 1889.

The Rev Benjamin Waugh set up the NSPCC Scotland in 1884.

Sorry about the ramblings

I would think your long losts were not from a wealthy family as the nurse would normally reside in the family home. I would suggest that they may have been "pauper" children "taken in" by the kirk and farmed out to one of those childrens nurses.
I realise that is is probably not much help.
It seems that whenever I see stories about, lets call it baby farming, my studies kick in, just a shame I lost all my data and research when my hard drive fried last year.
Otherwise! I may have been able to give a bit more insight into this practice in the 19thC.

[weemo]

Thanks a lot to Mez and StewL for the info on this and such a quick response too. Most lines of my family were poor (haven't unearthed that hidden connection to a royal yet!!).

[Mez]

Thanks for the info Stewie - am sorry about your hard drive too... I'm constantly overwhelmed by the generosity of members on this site - I see it post after post - the giving of time, knowledge and guidance. So much to learn... so little time...

"My Mary" (post: There's Something about Mary) is revealing the colourful threads of her life reluctantly but each day the picture becomes a little clearer. I've learned something else too... our ancestors told lots of porkies!

Cheers
Mez

[Lahb]

Nurse child can also refer to what we call foster children. Had a few in my line too - often distant family members or neighbours kids. Is a confusing term for older children though But, like mentioned - no 5 year old was going to be "wet nursed" at that time - especially, like in my case, where the foster mother was over 50!