This is in response to the query below, from Declan Carville ……….

My great grandfather was a driver on the railways at the turn of the century and according to his marriage certificate he lived at 16 Needham Street. His son, my grandfather, also lived in Needham Street before moving to Glasgow. He was born in 1904.

I can’t seem to find him in the 1901 census. His name was Willy John McCann. His father George McCann. Is Needham Street now Patrick Street? Any help would be appreciated.

Declan: do not be surprised by the alteration in address: either might be accurate or not!   From the same period, I found my grandmother’s address – just 500m away – altered between two similar periods, although she never moved house in her adult life!

Try the 1901 Census again but this time check all addresses in Needham Street … indeed, in other Streets too!

If the above is accurate, it seems probable that the move to Glasgow occurred about 1908.

Personally I find the number of different residents above – and indeed, the alteration in house numbers – to be quite remarkable.

These studies are really quite intriguing.  We will continue to supply list of residents from the past.