Floating Pile

[GeorgeAC]

I have an ancestor who on the night of the 1911 census, was on a "Floating Pile" by the King Edward Bridge, over the Tyne (Newcastle upon Tyne). He is said to be working for the North Eastern Railway which built the King Edward Bridge. When I first saw this. I thought he must have been involved in the construction. But according to records, the construction was completed in 1906, 5 years earlier, He was a nightwatchman, but what was the purpose of this floating pile. The floating pile he was on was a vessel with the name "Ethel". I am just back from Newcastle and was trying to work out why and how, but I`m none the wiser.
Thanks for any help. George Carter

[Seagull]

Hello George,

I have a little practice with census returns myself so have an idea what mistakes the census takers made.

I feel sure that the census taker either meant to say floating pile driver or perhaps floating piler - or it may even have been called a floating pile in those days.

"Ethel" was probably specially constructed to do the piling work on the bridge and was then laid up with your ancestor as the nightwatchman.
I would expect it was an unpowered barge with a derrick (like a fixed crane jib), plus a steam engine and boiler to drive the piling hammer.

If it was built for the railway it may never have been registered so it could be hard to find information about in normal official documents.
Registration was only really required if you wanted to get insurance.
Some of the railway and shipping companies did not insure ships or work boats as they would bear the cost of any damages themselves.

Your best bet for further information would be the Newcastle local newspapers. In those days the local papers would have regarded the building of the bridge as a major news item and there would be many, many pages devoted to every detail, probably including about the Ethel.

Good luck with the relative hunting

Alan

[Hatfield Shed]

...I feel sure that the census taker either meant to say floating pile driver or perhaps floating piler - or it may even have been called a floating pile in those days...

Surely the census taker will have recorded the description given? And the name given by a night watchman might well significantly differ from the owner's formal description? It is fortunate that the name of the vessel was recorded, as that is likely to appear in company records if available.

[Seagull]

I have a little practice with census returns myself so have an idea what mistakes the census takers made.

Surely the census taker will have recorded the description given?

The census takers were usually people like school teachers, clerks, clergymen etc. People with a reasonable education, but who sometimes were not from the local area so could not always understand the local dialects. They recorded what they heard - or thought they heard

My mother's family were from Norfolk - often there I know it was the school teacher or clergyman that did the census.
I have had some real fun with the 'percieved' versions of names, places of birth etc. that the census takers recorded.
Luckily for me the family all came from the same cluster of villages.
Then there are the ones who ended up in London and the census taker obviously could not understand a thick Norfolk accent......

And the name given by a night watchman might well significantly differ from the owner's formal description? It is fortunate that the name of the vessel was recorded, as that is likely to appear in company records if available.

Maybe neither of them knew what it was really called - we will never know for sure. All you can ever do is make an educated guess and then find other sources to prove or disprove that guess. I have given my best guess and suggested sources.

As for it appearing in company records - from experience while railway company records are usually exceptionally well kept compared to nearly every other industry, their shipping records are often incomplete and/or missing completely.
Plus, if as I suspect that this was an unpowered barge, it maybe recorded under an obscure heading as a company asset without a name.
I would not discount it appearing but would regard it as pure luck if it does. Like I said probably the local newspapers would be a better bet.

Alan

[Hatfield Shed]

...The census takers were usually people like school teachers, clerks, clergymen etc. People with a reasonable education, but who sometimes were not from the local area so could not always understand the local dialects. They recorded what they heard - or thought they heard ...

Alan, my comment was on exactly this point. The better educated in general - and especially arts graduates - simply won't have a clue most of the time about a piece of industrial equipment, especially if they happen to be from out of area. As for the operators of said equipment, they will have a name for it, but it might not be one the knowledgeable engineer would apply. I was once introduced to a piece of equipment - actually a factory floor full of them - of a type I was unfamiliar with, which all on the floor agreed was called a 'de chrome' (sp. indeterminate). The maker's name for it was 'oblicone', and they had been installed all of eighteen months previously. Goodness knows what the situation was like a century and more earlier.