Peasants to Puddles
My Family History - By Nicky Rowberry

The Shepherds

Page 1

Ada Louisa Shepherd

Ada Louisa Shepherd 1877-1963

Ada Louisa Shepherd was one of my great grandmothers. She was born in 1877 in Nottingham, the sixth child of John Shepherd and Eliza Brooksbank. I have found her so far in the 1881, 1891 and 1901 censuses, details of which are given below. She worked as a Tailoress, which may explain the immaculate nature of her dress in the picture above. Ada married Frederick James in 1900 with one of her brothers (Ernest) and one of his sisters (Mabel) as witnesses. Ada lived to a ripe old age and my mother has many fond memories of her (many of them concerned with her cooking skills!) For more information on Ada and her children, please click on the following link:

Ada's father John Shepherd was born in 1847 at Clifton, Nottinghamshire, the son of George Shepherd & Fanny Wright. I haven't found him yet in the 1851 census, but by 1861 the family can be found at 6 Scotland Yard, Nottingham. John was then employed, aged 13, as a Paste Board Maker, so he obviously began his career in the paper box industry at a young age !

John married Eliza Brooksbank in 1866 at St Mark's church, the ceremony being witnessed by his older brother William & his wife Maria. For more information on the Brooksbanks, please click on the following link:

I have yet to find him in the 1871 census, but in 1881 the family were living at 67 Edwin Street, Nottingham. John Shepherd was shown as a Paper Box Cutter. The family were still at No. 67 in 1891 and John had progressed to become a Manager at the Paper Box Factory. The table below gives the details from the 1891 census.(RG12/2694 Folio 26)

The undermentioned Houses are situated within the Boundaries of the
Civil Parish Municipal Borough Municipal Ward Urban Sanitary DistrictTown or Village or HamletRural Sanitary District Parliamentary Borough or DivisionEcclesiastical Parish or District
St Mary Nottingham Mapperley Nottingham  Nottm EasternSt Ann's
No. of Schedule Road, Street and Name of HouseName and Surname of each personRelation to Head of FamilyCondition AgeProfession or OccupationWhere Born
25 67 Edwin StreetJohn ShepherdHeadMarried 43Manager (Box Maker)Notts, Clifton
   Eliza ShepherdWifeMarried 42 Nottingham
   William ShepherdSonSingle21Lace ThreaderNotts, Lenton
   Arthur ShepherdSonSingle17Porter (Lace Warehouse)Notts, Lenton
   John ShepherdSon 15Printers AssistantNottingham
   Ada L ShepherdDau  13Paper FolderNottingham
   Ernest ShepherdSon  11scholarNottingham
   Edwin ShepherdSon  8dittoNottingham
   Albert ShepherdSon  6dittoNottingham
   Edith ShepherdDau  2 Nottingham

By 1901 the family had moved along Edwin Street to No. 52. John was no longer described as a Manager and I don't know whether No.52 was a step up or a step down from No. 67 ! The table below gives the details from the 1901 census. (RG13/3175 Page 42)

The undermentioned Houses are situated within the Boundaries of the
Civil Parish Ecclesiastical Parish County Borough etc. Ward of Municipal BoroughRural District Parliamentary Borough or DivisionTown or Village or Hamlet
Nottm part of St Ann Nottm Mapperly-East Nottm-
No. of Schedule Road, Street and Name of HouseName and Surname of each personRelation to Head of FamilyCondition AgeProfession or OccupationWhere Born
247 52 Edwin StreetJohn ShepherdHeadMarried 54Paper Box CutterClifton cum Clopton
   Eliza ShepherdWifeMarried 51 Nottingham
   Ernest ShepherdSonSingle20Twine FinisherNottingham
   Edwin ShepherdSonSingle19Paper RulerNottingham
   Albert ShepherdSonSingle16Jacquard Card MakerNottingham
   Edith ShepherdDau  13Tailor FinisherNottingham
   Lilly ShepherdDau  4 Nottingham
   George William ShepherdSonMarried 31Lace MakerNottingham
   Annie ShepherdGDaur  6 Nottingham
   John ShepherdGson  5 Nottingham

I don't know yet when John & Eliza died, but Eliza seems to have sent Ada a postcard in 1915, thanking her for the cake she sent them both. For details of the earlier generations of the Shepherd family, please click on the following link:

The family tree below summarises what I know about John Shepherd's family. It is hopefully reasonably accurate, but if you spot any errors, or any relatives, please feel free to E-mail me

Please click on one of the red links on the tree to move to a different page.

Shepherd Family Tree Part 1 James Brooksbank Shepherd Page 2


If any of the above is of further interest, please feel free to contact me at: n.rowberry@btinternet.com

Peasants to Puddles - My Family History. By Nicky Rowberry