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Note: Although born in Cranleigh, at the time of the census in 1891 she was resident in the parish of Holy Trinity in Guildford a few miles to the north west of Cranleigh. At the time she was employed as a housemaid in a house called `Braeside` owned by a retired Army Major by the name of Caleb Collins. There were a number of servants in the household to minister to the needs of the Major, his wife Anne and their daughters. Apart from Eleanor there was an under housemaid, a domestic servant and a trainee-nurse.
In a typical household of the time, maids would wear white caps and aprons with print dresses in the mornings and black dresses in the afternoons. They slept in basement bedrooms and ate in basement kitchens. General housemaid duties included carrying food up to the dining room and sometimes up further stairs to the nursery, carrying hot water to each bedroom four times a day, carrying coals for half a dozen scuttles, lighting and making half a dozen fires, cleaning and black-leading half a dozen grates, sweeping carpets on their knees with dustpan and brushes, scrubbing floors, polishing furniture and `brasses` with polish they had to make themselves, lighting the gas in every room and passage when darkness fell besides all the business of waiting at meals and cleaning up afterwards.
In the next house listed in the census (Hille Lee) there was also a servant called Anne Pickett who was born in Hawley, Hampshire. Coincidentally, at the time of the census (5th April 1891) Eleanor was already very much involved with Daniel Pickett as their marriage was to take place just two months or so later on the 15th of June. Anne Pickett was the daughter os a Charles and Amy Pickett. There were three other Pickett families in Hawley and all may have been related, however, no connection between them and Daniel Pickett has been found.
Eleanor married Daniel in Stoke Next Parish Church at the age of 24 on the 15th of June 1991. Her father Thomas Jones was a carpenter and she had two sisters - Kate and Lucy to whom she remained close throughout her life.
Much of her lifestyle can be inferred through the account of her husband`s history as for almost the entire duration of their married life they worked side-by-side in Poor Law. Although it was Daniel that was the public face of the partnership and much feted for his work and influence within the system
Eleanor, as he was quick to acknowledge, played a major role in their joint careers.
Eleanor was 8 years younger than Daniel and survived him to live on at Loxley Road for some 14 years. Daniel did not make a will, everything being in joint ownership, but Eleanor had one drawn up on the 1st of September 1938. The will is evidence of the undoubted disappointment that she felt with regard to the break up of the marriage of her eldest son, Thomas William. She bequeathed to Lily, the wife of her youngest son, Jack, all her household furniture and articles of personal or ornamental use and to Jack (John Edward) the freehold dwelling at Loxley Road. The residue of the estate, though it is not clear what this consisted of, was divided equally between Thomas William, his estranged wife Mabel and the four children of that marriage.
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