Hi rob g
Thank you for your reply.
I think I agree with you, that George wasn't a true gypsy. I have used the words of the investigating officer when I say George was "said to travel with the gypsy fairs", whether this is true I am not certain. I would love to find out more about him and was hoping that information about fairs in these locations might be a way of doing that. I want to go to Lancaster & Kendal to see if I can find anything out but at the moment I'm not sure what to look for! I thought maybe newspapers, electoral rolls?
I have come across true Davies & Cunningham Gypsies during my research, but haven't been able to connect my George or Emily to them (yet?), although the Davies's are more in the Shropshire areas and the Cunningham's in Lancaster/Blackpool. George did cohabit with Clara Lock, a Hawker, in 8 White Lion Yard, Kendal, and they had twin girls, Lena & Rhoda born 1938, they have also disappeared without trace although the papers suggest they "may have returned to Ireland" (the words of the investigator).
Re his occupations, I only have a few details. George stated he is a General Hawker on my Dads birth certificate, on the baptism it says he is a general labourer, and on my Dads papers the investigator reports that George "makes his living drain cleaning and begging".
I am currently investigating every George Alfred Davies on the 1901/1911 census to try and pin him down, I know some people are happy to accept information on Ancestry as their own heritage without confirming whether it is correct, but I have real need to find out the truth for my father, who grew up with no family (he has passed now). Another reason I think George probably wasn't true Gypsy was because I don't believe his gypsy family would have allowed my Dad to be deserted, even if his father had gone off, his gypsy family would have looked after him, wouldn't they? George was probably just a poor man, who did what he could to survive.
I am also considering doing the DNA testing to see whether I can connect in that way but I'm not sure how accurate this is.
Again thank you for your reply Rob.
Sandra