I was looking at the 1881 (?) census for a locally important man who was possibly a distant relative. I knew his official history but nothing about his family life. The transcription showed him as a farmer with about a dozen unmarried adult children, all of whom were described as "mother" lol. Further investigation showed that "mother" was in fact "other". The farmer concerned was the local JP and poor law officer. The adults appear to have been picked from the workhouse to live and work on his farm by virtue of their surname being Holden, the same as his!
OC
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