THE DEAF-AND-DUMB in the 19Th CENTURY
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THE DEAF-AND-DUMB IN THE 19th CENTURY An East Yorkshire study of children born deaf between 1840 and 1850. Postgraduate Diploma in Genealogical, Palaeographic and Heraldic Studies University of Strathclyde Anne Sherman 2014-2015 SHERMAN.Anne_DissFD_final.docx Page 1 06/07/2015 THE DEAF-AND-DUMB IN THE 19th CENTURY: An East Yorkshire study of children born deaf between 1840 and 1850 (inclusive). ABSTRACT This study aimed to examine the lives of children in Hull and East Yorkshire, who were born deaf, or became deaf during infancy, between 1840 and 1850, looking specifically for any family history of deafness (relating to their parents, siblings and their own offspring), and if their education affected their choice of occupations and how those occupations compared to those of their parents and hearing siblings. The study used a range of sources to identify relevant children, including the 1851 and 1861 Census returns, a list of students at the Yorkshire institute for the deaf and dumb, people identified from any of the literature, and newspaper reports to assist in obtaining details of the lives of deaf-and-dumb people in general at that time. Contemporary reports suggested that most deaf children were born to deaf parents, however this report demonstrates that this was not true, and agrees with the statistics from 30 Victorian deaf educational establishments in the UK, which found that less than 2% of children had two congenitally deaf parents. Some contemporary literature also suggests the uneducated deaf would be unable to work, and therefore would spend their lives in the workhouse, however this report will argue that in most cases the occupations reflected those of their parents and/or hearing siblings, regardless of their education. SHERMAN.Anne_DissFD_final.docx Page 2 06/07/2015 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My thanks go to: John Hay, Chair of The British Deaf History Society, Warrington, for his advice and assistance. Tony Boyce, archivist of the Deaf Trust, Doncaster, for his advice and assistance Mary Hayes, from the Hull Deaf Centre. Paul Leaver, Hull History Centre and author of From High Street to High School, for sharing his research and answering my questions. Jennifer Esmail, author of Reading Victorian Deafness, for her advice regarding occupations of the deaf. Alasdair MacDonald, my tutor, for his advice and support in writing this project. My loving and supportive husband, Stuart, without whom I could never have completed this, and my parents for helping to proof-read it. SHERMAN.Anne_DissFD_final.docx Page 3 06/07/2015 CONTENTS ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................................................2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................................3 TABLE OF FIGURES: ..............................................................................................................................5 NOMENCLATURE ...................................................................................................................................6 INTRODUCTION .....................................................................................................................................7 REVIEW ..................................................................................................................................................8 Marriage, Children and the Causes of Deafness: .................................................................................8 Education: ...........................................................................................................................................9 Occupations: ..................................................................................................................................... 10 Discussion of the Literature: ............................................................................................................... 10 Education:....................................................................................................................................... 10 Occupations: ................................................................................................................................... 12 METHODOLOGY .................................................................................................................................. 13 Sources: ............................................................................................................................................ 14 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ............................................................................................................... 17 Causes of Deafness: hereditary or illness? ........................................................................................ 17 Were any of the parents or siblings deaf-and-dumb? ....................................................................... 17 Did the subjects have a deaf-and-dumb spouse and children? ........................................................ 18 Education: ......................................................................................................................................... 20 Were the subjects educated? .......................................................................................................... 20 Did education influence the lives of the subjects in the cohort? ........................................................ 21 Occupations: ..................................................................................................................................... 22 Did subjects only have occupations that were deemed by their contemporaries as being suitable for the deaf and dumb? ........................................................................................................................ 22 Male Occupations: .......................................................................................................................... 22 Female Occupations: ...................................................................................................................... 23 Overall Occupational Findings: ........................................................................................................ 24 CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................................................... 24 BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................................................................................................... 27 Primary Sources: ............................................................................................................................... 27 Secondary Sources: .......................................................................................................................... 29 APPENDICES ....................................................................................................................................... 32 Appendix 1: 1861 List of occupations for Deaf-and-Dumb Males ........................................................ 33 Appendix 2: 1861 List of occupations for Deaf-and-Dumb Females .................................................... 35 Appendix 3: 1861 Classes of occupations for Deaf-and-Dumb ........................................................... 35 Appendix 4: Table identifying the deaf family members in this study. .................................................. 36 Appendix 5: Spreadsheet containing the information on the cohort. ................................................... 38 Appendix 6: Table identifying the main occupations of the families. .................................................... 39 SHERMAN.Anne_DissFD_final.docx Page 4 06/07/2015 TABLE OF FIGURES: Figure 1: The nine schools for the deaf-and-dumb open in England and Wales in 1851. 8 Figure 2: Transcription of the 1856 Beverley Guardian newspaper report. 11 Figure 3: The 1861 most common occupations of the deaf-and-dumb, under 20 years, in England. 13 Figure 4: Breakdown of candidates found for research sample. 16 Figure 5: Table showing the total number of deaf-and-dumb children involved in this study. (Extracted from Appendix 5) 18 Figure 6: Table showing the marriages from the study and if the spouse or children were deaf-and-dumb. 19 Figure 7: Table showing the breakdown of deaf males who shared the same occupation as their fathers and/or brothers. (Extracted from Appendix 5) 23 SHERMAN.Anne_DissFD_final.docx Page 5 06/07/2015 NOMENCLATURE BDHS: The British Deaf History Society, based in Warrington, Cheshire, was established in 1993 to promote and advance the interest in the discovery, research, conservation and preservation of the histories of Deaf people, their communities, culture and language. BMD: Births, Marriages and Deaths. Board of Guardians: Members of the community elected by the ratepayers of the parish or Union, who were responsible for the running of Poor Law Unions that had been established in England and Wales since 1834. Their primary roles included: supervising the workhouse, collecting the Poor Rate taxes from parishioners, distributing/arranging poor relief for those in need, and to send reports to the Central Poor Law Commission. Congenital: Being born with the condition/disability. Deaf-and-dumb: Those who are born deaf or became deaf in infancy before they learnt to speak. The term deaf-and-dumb was later changed to