Ida Maud GIFFORD (b. 1876 Yorkley) (General)

by jerigby , Wednesday, November 25, 2009, 21:39 (5486 days ago) @ hert0036

Hello Kirsty

Only just seen this message. Ida Maud Gifford was my grandmother's sister. My grandmother was Damaris Gifford and Ida and Damaris were two of the three children born to Mark Gifford and Phoebe Morse. You have probably seen their photos on this site. Mark was previously married to a Harriet Jones 1842-1874 and they had three children. I have been in touch with Ida's granddaughter and she says that Ida was fostered by an 'aunt who had no children' because their mother (Phoebe) couldn't cope and the foster father was governor of Liverpool Jail. I have only found this out in the last week or two. I couldn't understand why Ida didn't appear in the 1881 and 1891 censuses but I found her in 1901 in service at Liverpool at the home of her uncle William who was by now a widower.

I have also been trying to find the family connection, at first I thought William was a relation of Ida's fathers first wife Harriet Jones until I saw he was born in Ireland and Harriet was from Oldland in the Forest of Dean.

It seems very strange that Ida was given up at such an early age whereas the other children all stayed in the Forest of Dean. My grandmother also came up north to Lancashire.

Janet