1848
Born
1848 at Littleport
1848, Littleport, Cambridgeshire— From Janet Brock’s research
Mum’s record Evidence
From Janet Brock’s research notebook.
Rachel Barber
1848 – 1937
✓ Validated against records · 2026-07-07
Rachel Barber was born in 1848 at Littleport, on the black-soil fen north of Ely, and baptised that April into the Wesleyan Methodist congregation her family had kept to since her grandfather's day. She was one of Jacob and Hannah Barber's ten children — a daughter of the fen, her father a farmer's bailiff at Whelp Moor while she was small, though by her girlhood the work had thinned to labouring.
In 1869, at Ely, she married Isaac Crabb, a widower and a Littleport man like herself — the registers have her “Rachael”, as the chapel had — and at twenty-one she took on his young family. The 1871 census finds them all in a cottage on Burntfen Bank, out on the far fen of Littleport parish; within a few years they left the fen for Hull.
The family's first Hull years were in the brickfields. In 1881, at a terrace off Inglemire Lane in Newland, Isaac laboured in the brickyards, Rachel was set down as a brickyard labourer's wife, and her stepson Jonas worked the yards beside his father. By 1891 they were seven in four rooms on a Newington terrace, among the railwaymen and fishermen off Hessle Road, and there Rachel took up work of her own: her granddaughters remembered her as a midwife, working locally — a handywoman of the old unregulated kind, for no census ever set the work against her name, and when the state's Roll of midwives opened in 1905, she being then fifty-seven, her name was never entered in it. By 1901, at Wassand Street, Isaac was ending his working life as a railway yard sweeper.
Widowed in 1910, she went back to Littleport and made a second marriage the family never quite forgave — to Abraham Padget, a kinsman thirteen years her senior, of whom they said she had married “for his money.” The couple came back to Hull together, to her son Alfred's household; Abraham died at the end of 1925, and Alfred kept her — buying her a small house of her own and a woman to live in and care for her, where she remained until her death in 1937, in her ninetieth year. Her death, like her second marriage, was set down in the Padget name — and the parish registers that carry her family for three centuries never once hold her: baptised at the chapel, twice married outside the church, she comes down to us through the state's indexes and her granddaughters' memory.
Composed from validated records · 2026-07-07
- Birth
- 1848, Littleport, Cambridgeshire
- Baptism
- April 9th, 1848, Wesleyan Methodist, Ely, Cambridgeshire
- Marriages
- 1. March 1st 1869, Ely, Cambridgeshire to Isaac Crabb 2. March q. 1922, Ely, Cambridgeshire to Abraham Padget (BMD)
- Death
- September q. 1937, Hull aged 89 years.(BMD)
- Parents
- Jacob Barber born Littleport Hannah Padget born Littleport
- Siblings
- John Barber baptised December 25th 1842 Littleport Mary Barber baptised August 31st1845 Littleport Rachael Barber baptised April 9th 1848, Wesleyan Methodist, Ely Susan Barber baptised September 23rd 1849, Wesleyan Methodist, Ely Mahala Barber baptised April 17th 1852 Littleport, burial April 21st 1852 Jabez Barber born 1853, Littleport Elizabeth Barber baptised November 24th 1857, Wesleyan Methodist, Ely Alfred Barber baptised April 3rd 1860, Haddenham Hannah Kesiah Barber baptised November 30th1863, Haddenham Eliza A Barber born 1866 Littleport
- Children
- Melinda Crabb baptised January 25th 1870, Ely Matilda Crabb baptised January 26th 1872, Littleport, died 1876, Hull Joseph Crabb born 1875, Hull Elizabeth Crabb born 1878, Hull Herbert Crabb born 1880, Hull Alfred Crabb born March 31st 1883, Hull Matilda Crabb born 1885, Hull ( YBMD))
- 1851c
- Living in Littleport with parents Jacob Barber, 1820, Head, born Littleport Hannah Barber, 1823, Wife, born Littleport Mary Barber, 1846, Daughter, born Littleport Rachel Barber 1848, Daughter, born Littleport Susan Barber, 1850, Daughter, born Littleport Frederick Page, 1823, Lodger (Walsam, Suffolk), Farm Labourer Address: Whelpmore Occupation of Jacob Barber: Farmer, Bailiff
- 1861c
- Living in Littleport with parents Jacob Barber, 1820, Head, born Littleport Hannah Barber, 1823, Wife, born Littleport Rachel Barber , 1848, Daughter, born Littleport Susan Barber, 1849, Daughter, born Littleport Jabez Barber, 1854, Son, born Littleport Elizabeth Barber, 1858, Daughter, born Littleport Alfred Barber, 1860, Son, born Littleport Address: Croft Hills Occupation of Jacob Barber: Agricultural Labourer
- 1869
- March 1st marries Isaac Crabb . widower, in Ely. Together they have seven children, Matilda, Melinda, Joseph, Elizabeth, Herbert, Alfred and Matilda.
- 1871-1881
- Isaac and Rachel and Rachel's parents move to Hull After their move to Hull, Rachel acted as a midwife locally
- 1910
- Death of Isaac Crabb aged 89 years 'Following the death of Isaac in 1910, Rachel returned to Littleport and subsequently remarried. The marriage was to a relative, Abraham Padget, and was not approved of by the rest of the family in Littleport, who thought she had married "for his money". The couple returned to Hull to live with Alfred and Jane Crabb and their growing family. After her husband's death Alfred bought Rachel a small house to live in, accompanied by a live-in carer. She remained there until her death.' Hilda Crabb, Granddaughter
- 1911c
- Living with son Alfred in Massey Street, St. Georges Road
- 1922
- Marries Abraham Padget in Littleport and returns to Hull
- 1925
- Electoral registers show Rachel and Abraham to be living with Rachel's son, Alfred at 57, Edinburgh Street
- 1925
- Death of Abraham in Hull on the 20th November 'Death at Hull of Mr. Abraham Padget of Victoria Street, aged 89. Mr. Padget was a native of Littleport, and had only very recently taken up his abode at Hull Childrens Social at St. Matthews' Barber's Almanack 1926, Littleport
- 1926-28
- Rachel Padgett still living with Alfred and Jane
- 1928 - 1931
- Alfred buys Rachel a house of her own. The Electoral registers shows her living at 7 Ena's Crescent, off Ena Street and then at 7, Herbert Avenue off Massey Street
- 1937
- September q. Hull, Rachael dies aged 89 years
In your grandmother’s words · from her notebook
Family
Parents
The children of Jacob & Hannah
· · · Rachel Barber b. 1848this page · · · · · ·
Marriages
Children
Photographs
1 photograph is with the family — family sign-in
Life
Confirmed — anchored to a recordEstimated — inferred
1848
Baptised Wesleyan — St Mary's, Ely
9 April 1848 at Wesleyan Methodist
April 9th, 1848, Wesleyan Methodist, Ely, Cambridgeshire— From Janet Brock’s research
Mum’s record Evidence
From Janet Brock’s research notebook.
1851
Census · 1851
1851
Rachell Barber — daughter — aged 3 — born Littleport, Cambridgeshire. (In the household of Jacob Barber, farmer bailiff, Whelp Moor.)— 1851 census — Whelp Moor, Littleport
Read at the image record Evidence
Confirmed against the original record, read at the image:
- 1851 census — Whelp Moor, Littleport — 1851 Census of England, Wales & Scotland — The National Archives HO 107/1764, folio 741; registration district Ely, sub-district Littleport, enumeration district 2D; Whelp Moor, Littleport, Cambridgeshire. Read from the original enumeration page (findmypast image), 6 July 2026. Rachel is the three-year-old daughter in her father Jacob's household. read at the image
1861
Census · 1861
1861
Rachel Barber — daughter — aged 13 — born Littleport, Cambridgeshire. (In the household of Jacob Barber, agricultural labourer, Croft Hills — with Hannah, Susan, Jabez, Elizabeth and Alfred.)— 1861 census — Croft Hills, Littleport
Read at the image record Evidence
Confirmed against the original record, read at the image:
- 1861 census — Croft Hills, Littleport — 1861 Census — The National Archives RG 9/1040; parish Littleport, Ely district; schedule 25, Croft Hills. Read from the original enumeration page (findmypast image), 7 July 2026. The index mangles this family — 'Barbar' at 'Croft Mills' — after the enumerator struck a false start in the address column; the leaf reads Barber, Croft Hills. read at the image
1869
In 1869
1869
March 1st marries Isaac Crabb . widower, in Ely. Together they have seven children, Matilda, Melinda, Joseph, Elizabeth, Herbert, Alfred and Matilda.— From Janet Brock’s research
Mum’s record Evidence
From Janet Brock’s research notebook.
1869
Married Isaac Crabb
1 March 1869
Rachael Barber — marriage registered January–March quarter 1869, Ely district, Cambridgeshire.— Marriage, 1869 — the GRO index, as “Rachael”
Confirmed in index record Evidence
Found in an index or transcript — the original page not yet read:
- Marriage, 1869 — the GRO index, as “Rachael” — England & Wales civil marriage index, January–March quarter 1869, Ely district — indexed under 'Rachael Barber', the spelling of her Wesleyan baptism (a plain 'Rachel' search misses it). Confirmed 7 July 2026; Mum's date, 1 March 1869, to the quarter. The Ely register itself is at Cambridgeshire Archives — a round-three read. index entry — original not yet seen
1871
In 1871
1871
Isaac and Rachel and Rachel's parents move to Hull After their move to Hull, Rachel acted as a midwife locally— From Janet Brock’s research
Mum’s record Evidence
From Janet Brock’s research notebook.
1871
Census — Burntfen Bank Cottage, the far fen
1871 at Littleport
Isaac Crabb — head — married — 34 — agricultural labourer; Rachel Crabb — wife — married — 23; Sarah Ann — 14; Charles — 12; Isaac — 6 — scholar — born London; Melinda — 1. Burntfen Bank Cottage, Littleport.— 1871 census — Burntfen Bank Cottage, Littleport
Read at the image record Evidence
Confirmed against the original record, read at the image:
- 1871 census — Burntfen Bank Cottage, Littleport — 1871 Census — The National Archives RG 10/1606, page 21; civil parish Littleport, Ely district; schedule 8, Burntfen Bank Cottage. Read from the original enumeration page (findmypast image), 7 July 2026. A record no one had: census night 1871 the newly married couple were still on Burnt Fen, with Isaac's children by his first marriage and baby Melinda. read at the image
1881
Census — the brickfields, Inglemire Lane
1881 at Newland, Hull
Isaac Crabb — head — married — 43 — brickyard labourer; Rachel — wife — 33 — [brickyard labourer's] wife; Jonas — son — 16 — [brickyard] lab — born London; Malinda — 12 — scholar; Joseph — 5 — born Kingston on Hull; Elizabeth — 2; Herbert — 11 months. No 9 Terrace, Inglemire Lane.— 1881 census — the brickfields, Inglemire Lane, Newland
Read at the image record Evidence
Confirmed against the original record, read at the image:
- 1881 census — the brickfields, Inglemire Lane, Newland — 1881 Census — The National Archives RG 11/4748; civil parish Cottingham, Sculcoates district, hamlet Newland; schedule 13, No 9 Terrace, Inglemire Lane. Read from the original enumeration page (findmypast image), 7 July 2026. The family's first Hull record — a terrace of brickyard households serving the Newland brickfields. read at the image
1881
The brickfields of Newland
When the Crabbs came off the fen in the 1870s, Hull was a town building itself outward at speed — streets of terraced houses running north over the fields, and the bricks for them dug and fired at the town's own edge. Along Inglemire Lane, at Newland, lay brickfields: clay pits, drying grounds and kilns, worked by labouring families housed in terraces beside the yards.
Brickyard work was rough, seasonal and unsheltered — clay dug and weathered through the winter, moulding and firing through the warm months — and it drew exactly the people the countryside was letting go: farm labourers priced off the land, fen families with strong backs and no city trade. The 1881 census leaf that finds Isaac and Rachel's family at No 9 Terrace shows another brickyard household next door.
The brickfields themselves were passing things. As the streets they built reached them, the pits were worked out, filled and built over in their turn — leaving little mark on the map, but a decade's living for families like this one.
Historical context Evidence
Background composed for this site from published history. It frames the family’s world; it is not one of Mum’s records.
1891
Census — seven in four rooms, Sandersons Terrace
1891 at Newington, Hull
Isaac Crabb — head — 54 — labourer; Rachel — wife — 43; Joseph — 16 — labourer; Elizabeth — 13, Herbert — 12, Alfred — 8, Matilda — 6 — scholars, all Hull-born. 7 Sandersons Terrace — four rooms.— 1891 census — 7 Sandersons Terrace, Newington
Read at the image record Evidence
Confirmed against the original record, read at the image:
- 1891 census — 7 Sandersons Terrace, Newington — 1891 Census — The National Archives RG 12/3917; Newington, Hull; schedule 84, 7 Sandersons Terrace — one house, four rooms. Read from the original enumeration page (findmypast image), 7 July 2026. read at the image
1901
Census — 84 Wassand Street
1901 at Hull
Isaac Crabb — head — 66 — yard sweeper [railway]; Rachel — wife — 52; Herbert — 20 — railway rullyman; Alfred — 18 — ship chandler; Matilda — 15. 84 Wassand Street.— 1901 census — 84 Wassand Street
Read at the image record Evidence
Confirmed against the original record, read at the image:
- 1901 census — 84 Wassand Street — 1901 Census — The National Archives RG 13/4506; Holy Trinity and St Mary, Hull; schedule 153, 84 Wassand Street. Read from the original enumeration page (findmypast image), 7 July 2026. read at the image
1910
In 1910
1910
Death of Isaac Crabb aged 89 years 'Following the death of Isaac in 1910, Rachel returned to Littleport and subsequently remarried. The marriage was to a relative, Abraham Padget, and was not approved of by the rest of the family in Littleport, who thought she had married "for his money". The couple returned to Hull to live with Alfred and Jane Crabb and their growing family. After her husband's death Alfred bought Rachel a small house to live in, accompanied by a live-in carer. She remained there until her death.' Hilda Crabb, Granddaughter
— From Janet Brock’s research
Mum’s record Evidence
From Janet Brock’s research notebook.
1911
Census · 1911
1911
Rachel Crabb — mother — 62 — widow. (In Alfred Crabb's household of five, five rooms, 43 Massey Street — the schedule signed by Alfred.)— 1911 census — 43 Massey Street, with Alfred
Read at the image record Evidence
Confirmed against the original record, read at the image:
- 1911 census — 43 Massey Street, with Alfred — 1911 Census — The National Archives RG 14/28633, household schedule 105, signed by her son Alfred Crabb; 43 Massey Street, St George's Road, Hull. Read at full resolution from the schedule image filed in this archive (first read for Alfred's page, 3 July 2026; her row read 7 July 2026). read at the image
1922
Married Abraham Padget
March 1922
Rachel Crabb — marriage registered January–March quarter 1922, Ely district — spouse surname Padget.— Second marriage, 1922 — the GRO index
Confirmed in index record Evidence
Found in an index or transcript — the original page not yet read:
- Second marriage, 1922 — the GRO index — England & Wales civil marriage index, January–March quarter 1922, Ely district — Rachel Crabb cross-referenced to Padget. Confirmed 7 July 2026; Mum's 'March q. 1922, Ely' to the quarter. index entry — original not yet seen
1925
In 1925
1925
Electoral registers show Rachel and Abraham to be living with Rachel's son, Alfred at 57, Edinburgh Street— From Janet Brock’s research
Mum’s record Evidence
From Janet Brock’s research notebook.
1925
In 1925
1925
Death of Abraham in Hull on the 20th November 'Death at Hull of Mr. Abraham Padget of Victoria Street, aged 89. Mr. Padget was a native of Littleport, and had only very recently taken up his abode at Hull Childrens Social at St. Matthews' Barber's Almanack 1926, Littleport— From Janet Brock’s research
Mum’s record Evidence
From Janet Brock’s research notebook.
1925
Widowed a second time
1925 at Hull
Abraham Padget — death registered October–December quarter 1925, Sculcoates district, Yorkshire — born 1835.— Abraham Padget's death, 1925 — the GRO index
Confirmed in index record Evidence
Found in an index or transcript — the original page not yet read:
- Abraham Padget's death, 1925 — the GRO index — England & Wales civil death index, October–December quarter 1925, Sculcoates district (Hull) — Abraham Padget, born 1835; the only entry in a twenty-year window. Confirmed 7 July 2026. It dates the widowhood the family account left undated: Abraham died in Hull, months after the 1925 electoral register set the couple down at Alfred's. index entry — original not yet seen
1926
In 1926
1926
Rachel Padgett still living with Alfred and Jane— From Janet Brock’s research
Mum’s record Evidence
From Janet Brock’s research notebook.
1928
In 1928
1928
Alfred buys Rachel a house of her own. The Electoral registers shows her living at 7 Ena's Crescent, off Ena Street and then at 7, Herbert Avenue off Massey Street— From Janet Brock’s research
Mum’s record Evidence
From Janet Brock’s research notebook.
1937
In 1937
1937
September q. Hull, Rachael dies aged 89 years— From Janet Brock’s research
Mum’s record Evidence
From Janet Brock’s research notebook.
1937
Died at Hull, aged 89
September 1937
Rachel Padget — death registered July–September quarter 1937, Hull district — born 1848.— Her death, 1937 — the GRO index, in the Padget name
“During her lifetime Rachel had worked as a midwife.” — Ida Crabb. And of her second marriage, to Abraham Padget: “not approved of by the rest of the family in Littleport, who thought she had married for his money … After her husband's death Alfred bought Rachel a small house to live in, accompanied by a live-in carer.” — Hilda Crabb.
— Remembered as a midwife
Confirmed in index record Evidence
Found in an index or transcript — the original page not yet read:
- Her death, 1937 — the GRO index, in the Padget name — England & Wales civil death index, July–September quarter 1937, Hull district — Rachel Padget, born 1848. Confirmed 7 July 2026; Mum's 'September q. 1937, Hull, aged 89' to the quarter. She is indexed under Padget — a 'Rachel Crabb' search finds nothing. index entry — original not yet seen
- Remembered as a midwife — Family testimony recorded among Janet Brock's papers, from two of Rachel's granddaughters — Hilda Crabb and Ida Crabb. family testimony
Records & papers
1 record image is with the family — family sign-in
Our research
Rachel across the records
Research · Littleport & Hull
Every census of her life is read at the image — 1851 and 1861 with her parents at Whelp Moor and Croft Hills, 1871 newly married on Burntfen Bank, 1881 at the Newland brickfields, 1891 and 1901 off Hessle Road, 1911 widowed in Alfred's household — and both marriages, her death, and Abraham Padget's death (October–December 1925) are confirmed in the civil indexes. The deeper sweeps are now done (July 2026), and what they establish are absences that are themselves the picture: she is not on the Midwives Roll, 1905–1959 — checked under Crabb and under Padget, and against every Hull Rachel on it; neither she nor Abraham left an estate that went to probate; the digitised Hull papers never mention her; and neither the 1869 nor the 1922 marriage stands in any parish register of Cambridgeshire — both were chapel or register-office weddings, so the certificates in the registrar's books are the only road to the venues, fathers and witnesses. Abraham himself was a Littleport man, first married there in 1860 (Mary Dent, at the parish church). Still to find: the GRO certificates of both her marriages (Q1 1869, Ely; Q1 1922, Ely) — the only road to the venues, fathers and witnesses, and a purchase; her 1848 Wesleyan baptism in the Ely circuit register (Cambridgeshire Archives, not digitised); and the September 1937 Hull Daily Mail issues for a death notice, if one was placed — the searchable index has none.