query,re;mechanic

[jue]

hello,anyone out there with any knowledge of mechanics in the 1800's??
i have one of my great great's ,john taylor,born 1848,whose father is shown as thomas taylor,a mechanic.
on the 1881 i have found a thomas taylor age 80,mechanic( out of employment).what i would like to know is,how common was a mechanic?and what line of work would would it be?
can i claim this thomas as john father?orwould a mechanic be as common as the name taylor??any help much appreciated.julie

[casalguidi]

Hi Jue

There are some definitions on here:

http://www.gendocs.demon.co.uk/trades.html

Casalguidi

[Emsworthy]

Hi,

I'm as in the dark about this as you are, but maybe he worked on machinery in mills and early factories and such like?

Just a guess!

Regards, Emma

[gennig]

i have one of my great great's ,john taylor,born 1848,whose father is shown as thomas taylor,a mechanic.
on the 1881 i have found a thomas taylor age 80,mechanic( out of employment).
can i claim this thomas as john father?

Hi Jue

Before you can claim Thomas Taylor as a relative you need to confirm that he is in fact the Thomas you want.  Have you found John Taylor on the 1851 census? These will give you an approx birth year for Thomas, and where he was born, from there you should be able ascertain whether you have the correct Thomas.heers

Cheers

Genni

[Hackstaple]

The 1881 census has many hundreds of Thomas Taylors and dozens whose birth year could make them possibles as fathers of a child born in 1848. This would be a far-fetched conclusion to have the 80 year old as the father purely on the basis of his previous occupation.
First things first - do you actually have the birth certificate of John? That will tell his father's name, residence and occupation. Without that all else is guesswork and confusion. It will state the mother's name and that may help you go back another generation to John's parents marriage. I know of no other way of family history research.
Then again, if the birth certificate of 1848 shows an address it is possible the family lived there in 1851 also. Some member may have the facility to find the family from that address. That will give more information.

[jue]

no i cannot find john taylor or thomas taylor on any census(except john on the 1891,and 80year old thomas on the 1881.)i have john marriage cert,showing thomas as the father,and living whit lane,pendleton salford,on the 1891,he is listed as being born manchester lancs.,salford registra's have no record of a john taylor born 1848,but i cant track him down on the 1881,let alone the 1851.
he is proving to be a bit of a problem!!!! 

[Emsworthy]

Could this be Thomas in 1871?

Thomas Taylor, Head, 70, Iron Turner, Salford
Mary Ann Taylor, Wife, 70, Laundress, Worcester
William Taylor, Grandson, 19, Iron Turner, Salford

1 Pear Court, Greengate, Salford
RG10/4018 Pg 32

Regards, Emma

[Emsworthy]

1871:

John Taylor, Prisoner, 22, occ??, Salford

East Market St Prison Office, Salford Town Hall, Greengate, Salford

Possibility?!

When did John get married?

Regards, Emma

[jue]

hi emma,thanks for taking time to search,the only information i have is;
john taylor,age 25,dyer,residing at whit lane(father thomas taylor, mechanic)
married on 01/06/1873 st george church,whit lane,pendleton to;
sarah pope,age 24, also whit lane(father nathan pope,finisher) ........
john and sarah are shown on the 1891 with son thomas born 1875 and son john born 1880.but i can find no trace of them on the 1881.