[Usedname]

Doing some investigation into my family tree I discovered that one of my ancestors had Goldenbridge as her address on her daughters birth cert. And two years later she married the father. So I'm wondering about what the situation was...was Goldenbridge as bad back then as it became known to be in the 20th century? Should I assume she was in the institution or just happened to have an address in that area? Given the fact that the child was born before the marriage I am assuming she was in that place and it was not a good situation. I'm talking about the 1870s.
Any one know anything about what it was like around that time?

[pinkypinky]

Goldenbridge will be the townland most likely. You could check FMP for a prison record in her name, just to be sure.

Here's some history on the industrial school.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Vin...,_Goldenbridge

[Usedname]

Originally Posted by pinkypinky

Goldenbridge will be the townland most likely. You could check FMP for a prison record in her name, just to be sure.

Here's some history on the industrial school.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Vin...,_Goldenbridge

Thanks for that pinky I will check that. It didn't occur to me about prison I thought it was a 'home'for unmarried mothers but I suppose that was a crime back then!

[pinkypinky]

Well, to be clear, I'm still suggesting she may just have lived in that area. Is there a father named on the cert?

[Usedname]

Originally Posted by pinkypinky

Well, to be clear, I'm still suggesting she may just have lived in that area. Is there a father named on the cert?

Yes and I found their marrIage cert. They married two years later and had more children....so maybe a happy ending...or not!

[pedroeibar1]

Originally Posted by Usedname

Yes and I found their marrIage cert. They married two years later and had more children....so maybe a happy ending...or not!

The fact that the father is named on the B Cert is telling.
To have children born out of wedlock was not uncommon in the 1800’s – it was far more usual than people today generally believe. Any young woman, unmarried, pregnant, and in need of a safe place in which to give birth sought a refuge. In rural areas it was often the case that a temporary admission to a workhouse was used for the confinement – a bit like going to a ‘public’ hospital, which many workhouses eventually became. I would not be surprised if you discovered that that she used Goldenbridge for that purpose.

[Earnest]

Originally Posted by pedroeibar1

The fact that the father is named on the B Cert is telling.
To have children born out of wedlock was not uncommon in the 1800’s – it was far more usual than people today generally believe. Any young woman, unmarried, pregnant, and in need of a safe place in which to give birth sought a refuge. In rural areas it was often the case that a temporary admission to a workhouse was used for the confinement – a bit like going to a ‘public’ hospital, which many workhouses eventually became. I would not be surprised if you discovered that that she used Goldenbridge for that purpose.

Not just in rural areas. I have a relative who went to North Dublin Union to give birth in 1911. (Home was off Dorset Street.)

But I don't see any evidence that Goldenbridge was used for this purpose. The babies were incarcerated in the industrial school, but did births take place there? Having unmarried mothers around the place would surely have been regarded as giving a bad example to the children in the industrial school.