Hi I am fairly new to this, and to the board, but was hoping someone could help.
I'm revisiting and adding to research my mother started many years ago on her family, and have found a lot of evidence pointing to one branch of the family at least being Irish and by the 19th century in the East End of London, and possibly travellers.
The surnames involved are Abbott, Head, Toole (various spellings), with associated names O'Brian, Connolly (again, varied spellings) and possibly Land (variant?)
Some Abbott relatives, including as late as 1911 census, are described as "travellers" (both men and women)
There's lots of disappearing from the census record, then reappearing. Most are described as "general labourers" or boat-related workers.
In the family oral history there is a vague suggestion of traveller blood, and unfortunately some snobbery and looking down on the Abbotts in particular. I can't get a clear line of descent on them - all the online trees I've looked at contradict each other. There's also missing birth and marriage certificates, at least missing in England, and several early census descriptions of "Irish, Scottish or foreign parts".
My mother's DNA has been tested and is approaching 1/3 Irish celtic with no known recent Irish (or other celtic) ancestors.
Does anyone know anything about the names above? There's contradicting information online about traveller names, but Abbott does seem to come up. I've also seen Head described as an Irish name which surprised me, but that is one branch that does say non English in the census.
The other names sound obviously Irish, but is there a genuine distinction between traveller and general names? Anyone researched an Irish traveller families called Abbott or Head in particular, with East End connections in the 19th century?
Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated