Genealogy Chat

WHATS HER FIRST NAME
WEST DRAYTON WOULD BE MIDDLESEX
THIS IS SAMPLE.
1851 England Census
about Ann Richard
Name: Ann Richard
Age: 20
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1831
Gender: Female
Where born: Middlesex, England

Civil Parish: Islington
Ecclesiastical parish: St Mary
County/Island: Middlesex
Country: England

WEST DRAYTON
TRY STANWELL,,STAINES,,ASHFORD
OR SLOUGH

Hi
If you look at the census info on this link you might get lucky. It lists travellers and showmen from various parts of the country.
http://users.nwon.com/pauline/

Don't know if it will be any help but worth a look.

Val

Hi
What names are you referring to?
I have some census saved for Epsom Downs, and Mitcham common.
If you are able to trawl the areas on the census for different districts you may find either, Workhouse, Infirmary, Hospitals , instititutions and travellors or gypsies on campsites on the common areas.
Sometimes an institition may just put initials for confidentiality.
Certain times of the year travellors and gypsies would be following the fairs.
Try www.romanygenes.webeden.co.uk,
passingthrough.wetpaint.com
Put some names on here and I will see if I can help you out.

Carol

My lot were Romany Gypsies, my Nan was the last of my line to be born in a caravan. I have managed to trace my line (Lee family from East London & Kent) back to the late 1700's.

This is what I have learned over the past 7 years -

Mine changed their names from Lee to Smith at will
They changed their forenames too, almost every one of mine at some stage called themselves Mary Ann or James
They did have very unusual forenames which were usually carried down the generations
Mine were in every census apart from the 1841.
Mine tended to 'jump the broomstick' when marrying
They vary rarely recorded births
They occasionally recorded deaths
But they ALWAYS baptised their children

By baptising their children, they could always get parish relief. As they baptised their children, usually in bulk, they always had the same place of birth, and roughly the same age.

eg. my 3xg-granddad Methuselah Lee was bap in Frein Barnet in 1819. In various census's he is James Lee, James Smith, John Smith, John Lee etc, but he always gives the same place and date of birth so I know that it's him.

Mine also followed the same route when travelling, usually where the work was. In the winter they camped in West Ham and were dock labourer's, during the spring, summer & autumn they travelled down through Kent for the fruit and hop picking.

I know this by following the bmd's. So I got the parish records out of the towns they stopped in, that way I found a lot of the baptism records.

Another thing I found is my lot always married either their cousins, be it 1st, 2nd etc, or married into another gypsy family usually the ones they travelled with. So when I saw two familiar surnames marrying, I knew these would probably be mine.

Kushti Bok

Sandra

A couple of thoughts that you may have already discounted....

Does her place of birth come from census records? If so maybe this is where she was brought up but not actually born.

I have in my line a child who was 'adopted' before the age of one who was born in Surrey but was brought up by a family in Essex. She gave her birthplace as the Essex village in later censuses probably because that is where she believed she was born.

Is her father's name from a marriage certificate? Maybe he was 'invented' to cover up illegitimacy.

Chris

The 1841 did not require certain groups of people to be recorded and included in the list were itinerants and travellers.

But as is always the way.....Some that were not required to be included were!

Chris

True Gypsies had their own way of marrying,,&,.baptisms, as often they were not of English origins,the only thing they conformed to was burials,

Do you have any reason to think she was a gypsy apart from the fact that you can't find her on the census?

That alone doesn't mean anything. She's more likely to be mistranscribed, or to have remarried, or something.

Hi Jane,

I did some research for a friend a while back on her husbands' gypsy ancestors. There was one census that they disappeared altogether, but they were generally included. Beware of spelling errors, keep an open mind, and you should be ok.

Good luck!

H

They should be on the census somewhere, I've seen details for people living at the side of the road & sleeping in fields but..........................did they give their correct names to the enumerator?

Does anyone know anything about gypsies in the 1800's? I suspect my GGGrandmother came from gypsy stock. She claims she was born in West Drayton in 1831 but I can't find her in any of the baptism records of the area, nor can I find her family on any Census return. (Her father was Richard). I have been searching for them for almost 15 years now, which leads me to think they didn't stay in one place too long. Were gypsy's included on the Census? Were they children christened in Chuches? Were they christened at all?
Any one know, or know where I can get more information?