There's a man called "Frans Bitchenor" on the passenger roster for the 'City of Rome' which sailed for New York May 1st, 1885, age is said to be 22 years. Frans is obviously incorrect so I've spent the last couple of days trying to narrow down who it could possibly be. There's a definite connection with Thomas Bitchenor (1855), son of Richard, and his wife Holtimira Bitchenor (1852) both born in Cranfield, who sailed in November of 1880 on the "Algeria" along with her widowed mother Susan Hailey and siblings Christopher and Winefred. She is incorrectly listed as male in the ship's records with the name Haltemar.
I'm wondering if you could search for the most likely person, John Bitchenor (Thomas' nephew) born 1864, in Cranfield Bedfordshire who lived on the same street as Haileys in the villlage. I can't find John on the census after 1871 when he was living with his widowed father Alfred and 2 sisters in Cranfield. In 1881 I found only sister Elizabeth (14) living with her grandfather, Richard. Perhaps Alfred died and John was in lodging.
I'm not finding death or marriage records for John. I'm curious where he might have been for the 1881 census 4 years before emigrating. Phonetic spelling may help because the problem with Bitchenor is that various Cranfield members of the same extended family spelt it inconsistently in the 19th Century so it might be bichener, bitchenor, bitchener or Bichner and Bitchann.
