« on: Saturday 30 September 17 11:47 BST (UK) »
I've just received the 1853 death cert for a child who I was pretty sure was going to turn out to be "mine" but I should have known better. So now I think I need to look at other records as if he didn't die in childhood there must be some other reason he's never been enumerated with the rest of the family in any censuses.
His father was a butcher when he married in 1834 and in 1841 but by the 1861 census (can't find the family in 1851) he'd got religion and described himself as missionary "at home amongst the cabmen". Later references suggest he was Baptist. Although there were plenty of children I don't have birth certs for most of them so don't know when his transformation took place. The only bap I've found is for his first-born (1835). The children were born all over England.
It's possible the boy was apprenticed but the 1850s don't seem to be covered all that well online for apprenticeship records and there are rather too many record offices to visit in person just on the off-chance.
I intend to revisit all my census records for everyone with the right name and YoB plus/minus about 5 years and work back their trees to see if anyone seems to be lacking parents, and where possible follow any possible candidates through to death in case they left a Will naming family members.
I'll also look at military records, although I'm having trouble reconciling the father's religion with a son having a military career. Has anyone else any examples of this sort of thing, and even better, accounts of how it affected the family? Might it have caused a rift? Or was it OK for the son of a man with strong Baptist beliefs to presumably go off to war? I know in well-to-do families it was almost expected for one of each of the sons to join the clergy, practice law, enter politics and get an army commission ("forward he cried from the rear and the front rank died"), but I don't think my lot moved in those circles and young James would more likely have been cannon-fodder.
And suggestions please - anywhere else I might have missed?
Jane :-)
ALLEN
BARR, BARRATT, BERRY, BRADLEY,BRAMLEY,BRISTOW,BROWN,BUGBIRD,BUTLER
CAIN,CARR,CHAPMAN,CHARLES,CH*LTON,CHESTER,COCKETT
COLLASON,COLLYER,CORKERY
DARLING, DENYER,DICKERSON,DOLLING,DURBAN
FARMER,FURNELL
GIBSON,GILES,GROOMBRIDGE
HALL,HAMBIDGE,HARMES,HART,HICKS,HILL,HOLLOWAY
JACKSON
K*AT*S
LANCASTER,LINTON
MCDONALD,MCFADEN,MEARS,MILLARD
NICOLAS,NOAK,NORTH
PARFIT,PORTER
RIPPINGALE,ROBINS
SEARLE,SPENCER,STEDHAM
TYLER,TILLY,TUCKWELL
WADE,WAGER,WALKER,WATSON,WEBB,WITHRINGTON,WOOD