My maternal Great-Great-Great-Grandmother Jane Hussey lived a long life in the East End of London and was happily married for 69 years.
However, it has always frustrated me that she was not in the 1901 England census with her family (seen below) and I knew she wasn’t dead, as she died in 1937.
The 1901 England census was taken on the night of 31 March/1 April. As shown below, it turns out the reason my 3x great grandmother was not at home that night, was because she was actually locked up in prison!
Although many of the Prison records for Wormwood Scrubs prison no longer exist, some still remain. Jane was sentenced to 6 months imprisonment at Wormwood beginning on 15 Jan 1901. She was found guilty of:
“Stealing a gold watch, the property of the London and North Western Railway Company. Receiving the same well knowing it to have been stolen”.
Wormwood Scrubs Prison still stands to this day and is in use. By all accounts, it was not a pleasant place to live out a custodial sentence.
