SMALLWOOD FAMILY HISTORY

SUMMARY OF OCCURRENCES OF THE SMALLWOOD NAME IN THE UK

This summary is based largely on the research of David Smallwood.

GRO Indices

The following table summarises the occurrences of the Smallwood name in the various civil registration indices for England & Wales, 1837-2005.

David Smallwood has constructed a summary of all these entries, including some of the related subsidiary information. The mother's maiden name is included for about 65% of all births, the spouse's surname for 86% of marriages (and the spouse's first name for 87%), and the age at death for 90% of deaths. In addition, David has incorporated a significant proportion of the entries into his series of Smallwood trees, which cover around 43% of births, 41% of marriages and 44% of deaths. The average age at death shows a pattern which principally reflects a strong fall in childhood mortality, rising from just over 30 in the 19th century to 76 in the period after 1981, and there were 10 Smallwoods who made it to 100.

An analysis of these figures, combined with the evidence of total Smallwood numbers from the digitised 1881 census and recent electoral lists, suggests that there were perhaps only around two to three hundred Smallwood families flourishing in England and Wales in the first half of the 19th century.

1881 Census

All of the 2767 unique Smallwoods reflected in the 1881 census for England and Wales are now included in David's series of trees.