One of my relatives has asked me to look at the problem of Ambrose Heal, born about 1830, who was a soldier in the British Army for about 20 years.
This chap appears to have been born about 1830, although his parents didn't get around to having him baptised until Christmas Day, 1834. His parents appear to have been John Heale ( or Heal, or Hale, or Hall ), and his wife Mary, family name unknown. His parents appear to have had seven children, including a brother Henry born in 1820 [ whose baptism has been transcribed as Hall ], and a sister Martha Amelia born in 1826, who subsequently appears as Amelia. This family was from Bradford-on-Avon near Bath.
He appears as Ambrous Heal, aged 10, in the 1841 census.
He joined the Army, in Middlesex, on 14 March 1851, claiming to be born in Liverpool. He appears two weeks later at Plymouth in the census as a soldier, claiming to be born in Liverpool. In the 1861 military census he is in Malta. In the 1871 census he is at the barracks in Gillingham Kent and still claims he was born in Liverpool. In 1872 he was discharged and said he planned to reside at Monmouth.
In 1881 he is back in the hamlet of Turley near Bradford-on-Avon, aged 50, living with his brother Henry, who was a retired schoolteacher, aged 61, and his sister Amelia aged 56, and his occupation is listed as Chelsea pensioner and his birthplace listed as Turley Wiltshire. Henry appears in a couple of censuses in Worcestershire as a school teacher, and apparently returned to his home village when he retired - or inherited his father's house.
In 1891 these three are still there in Turley aged 70, 64 and 61, and his occupation is listed as retired soldier, claimed to be born in Bradford.
In 1901 only Henry and Amelia are left. Henry died in 1905, aged 85 and Amelia in 1922, aged 97.
It appears that Ambrose' death occurred in the second quarter of 1896, recorded at Bradford Wiltshire, vol 5a p 65, although in the index it says he was 56, and it would seem that he would have been 66 years old. There were only about 6 individuals in Britain with the name Ambrose Heal in the 19th century, and it doesn't appear that it could be one of the others.
So what is going on here ? Were there two Ambrose Heal's the same age in the Army ? If there really was two of them, how come they never both appear in any census ?
