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I had no idea about that structure/system with the GRO records. Really helpful to know!

Hi all

I have an 1851 census record for an ancestor (Samuel Smith) whose place of birth was recorded as Essex Packing:

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:SGVC-V1N

Viewing the original image, I really don't feel the word really can be mistaken for anything else - the handwriting does not look ambiguous (unlike many other records!)

From what I'm gradually learning/already know about Essex (as a non-UK researcher), there aren't any towns called Packing. The "closest" names I'm aware of are Bocking and Barking.

Searches online haven't turned up anything remotely related to a place called Packing (except for modern packaging supply stores in Essex )

The person in question was married in Springfield and lived in Ingatestone/Moulsham (Chelmsford area). I haven't any evidence (yet) of him having lived outside of Chelmsford, though it's possible he lived with his adult children in or closer to Leytonstone/West Ham sometime in the 1850s.

I suspect "Packing" is a misrecording of the town, but I can't rule out that there's a more granular place in Essex that's not typically captured in the records.

Does anybody know what this town could be (assuming anything called "Packing" exists!) or what location it could have been misrecorded in lieu of?

Thanks for your help!

You could look for a baptism record and hope the birth date was recorded.

Or look for a Robert Smith/Taylor marriage pre 1853.

There are William Smith father Robert baptisms in Kent/London c1853/4. 

Have you tried getting any birth certificates?  Appreciate it's the worst name to pick from.

You're right, it's probably the worst possible name to research (well, him and the other annoying Smiths in my tree!) 

These are great ideas but unfortunately I've already tried the Taylor/Smith marriage search (with nothing compelling to show for it!) Baptisms so far have led to brick walls or Williams who married and died in England. I've also tried searching for illegitimate Williams with mother's surname Taylor or Smith.

I've done some elimination work on William Smith civil birth registration records across both Kent and Newcastle, and purchased a few records, but none of those have been the right person (after tracing those people back through the BDM records). There are of course so many William Smith birth records on GRO that it's cost prohibitive to go for the needle-in-a-haystack approach 

Hi all

I've hit an incredibly frustrating stumbling block, and I'm hoping somebody out there might already have a missing piece of the puzzle (or have an idea about how to find it!)

My great-great grandfather, William Taylor Smith, was (according to Australian records) born in Kent on 6 Feb 1854.

It's uncertain if his name was William with surname Taylor-Smith, or William with middle name Taylor and surname Smith, though the latter seems to be the most likely. (His wife, children and grandchildren had the surname Smith, though one changed it by deed poll to Taylor-Smith as an adult). I do wonder if he might have been born William Smith but added middle name Taylor retrospectively (e.g. late mother's surname).

His father's name was Robert Smith (mother unknown).

His death certificate shows he was born in Kent (which could also encompass somewhere now considered to be greater London?)

An Australian newspaper article from later in his life mentions that he was "late of Newcastle upon Tyne", suggesting that he likely moved there sometime between 1854 and 1863.

He almost certainly emigrated to South Australia (aboard the Orient) in 1863, as a 9-year-old. The original passenger lists for that ship no longer exist, so his arrival is only known from newspaper lists and anecdotal sources when he was alive. There is no clear indication that he emigrated with a parent, and it's possible (though unconfirmed) that he was accompanied by a Mrs Percy/Perry. His future parents-in-law were also on the same ship (Stephen Stickels/Stickells/Stickles and Sarah Noble Maple). They were from Ruckinge.

I've turned my brain inside out searching every obscure variant of names and data combinations across Ancestry, FindMyPast, FreeReg and GRO. I've chased many family leads that have proven to be dead ends.

If I could find a way to search for Williams by specific date of birth (assuming the source of this info is accurate!) then that would help narrow things down somewhat (e.g. on GRO).

Does anybody happen to have this person in their tree, or can anybody help with some advice to untangle this mystery? Thanks in advance!