My 2x great-grandmother's life has been quite a mystery.
Ann Norah O'Brien
Birth ABT 1860 • England
Death 16 JAN 1923 • Exeter, Devonshire, England, United Kingdom
She went by the name Norah O'Brien.
1901 census
1911 census
She had 5 illegitimate children including my great-grandmother.
Francis Harold O'Brien
Birth 21 MAR 1894 • Barton Regis, Gloucestershire, England
Death Unknown
Winifred Lydia O'Brien
Birth 30 OCT 1896 • Stroud, Gloucestershire, England
Death 28 NOV 1979 • New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada
great-grandmother
Dorothy Doris O'Brien
Birth JANUARY 1898 • Stroud, Gloucestershire, England
Death 19 APRIL 1986 • North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
John Edward Goode O'Brien
Birth 19 JAN 1900 • Stroud, Gloucestershire, England
Death 6 JUL 1965 • Gloucestershire, Gloucester, England
George Albert O'Brien
Birth 8 JUL 1901 • Stroud, Gloucestershire, England
Death 10 NOV 1946 • Gloucestershire, Gloucester, England
Marriage
28 Dec 1901 The register office, Stroud, Gloucestershire, England
George Edward Goode
I ordered all of her children's birth certificates as well as her marriage certificate.
Her oldest son was born in the Bristol City workhouse. Does that mean he was born while she was working?
What can you tell me about these workhouses and how can I find records? What types of people worked in the workhouses and what were they for?
Also, Norah's birth date is a mystery. The only record I found in the GRO Index for that date range was for St Pancras, Middlesex. The father's name on the certificate is different from the name on her marriage certificate.