My reason for asking is to ascertain if he had an occupation that could necessitate him travelling around, or perhaps a seaman who was lost at sea. I doubt very much that he still had the occupation he had as a 14year old.
Last night spent quite some time researching his family.
Thomas Croft and Mary Jordan seem to have had the following children:
Joseph bp.24/8/1828, bur.18/9/1828 St. Botolphs, Lincoln
Elizabeth bp.2/8/1829 St. Peter at Gowts, Lincoln
Mary bp.18/12/1831 St. Botolphs, Lincoln - bur.30/5/1847 St. Swithins, Lincoln aged 16.
William bp.20/3/1834 St. Botolphs - bur.30/3/1834 St. Botolphs
William Jardine (?) bp.5/4/1835 St. Botolphs, Lincoln
John Jordan born 11/8, bp.8/9/1839 St. Swithins, Lincoln
Martha bp.18/1/1842 St. Marks, Lincoln - bur.22/2/1852 St. Swithin, Lincoln aged 10
Susan/Susanna - birth June qtr.1844 Lincoln
Albert - birth Dec.qtr.1846 Lincoln
Ann - born circa 1850 Lincoln
Sometime 1852 and 1861 family moved to Lowestoft:
Elizabeth Croft married Thomas Bhamforther (?? as transcribed GRO index) 1856 Mutford Reg.District (district for Lowestoft) - on 1861 Census Thomas and Elizabeth Barnfather are living in St. Mary Redcliffe, Bristol - this could be how Albert ended up there too.
John Jordan Croft married Kezia Eves Ellis 1860 Mutford and seemed to remain in the Lowestoft area.
Would seem the remaining family then moved to Lambeth, Surrey (London) in the early 1860's.
William Jordan Croft (transcribed on Ancestry as Croff) married Ann Miles 19/11/1865 St. John the Evangelist, Lambeth - then no further trace of them. Could they have emigrated?
Ann Croft married Zachariah Cant 29/4/1867 St. Andrew, Lambeth (sister Susan a witness)
Susan Jordan Croft and an Edward Brown had banns read in 1868 Lambeth but doesn't look like the marriage actually took place! Still single, Susan is with her widowed mother in Lambeth 1871 (although for some reason birthplaces for both are shown as Lambeth??) - both are now Nurses.
Thomas Croft bc.1808 died Sept.qtr.1869 Lambeth
In 1881 Mary Croft still a nurse in Lambeth and living with her is grandson Thomas Cant (son of dau. Ann).
So, Albert appears to have moved to Bristol (where his married sister Elizabeth lived) around the time the family moved to Lambeth as he married Jane Parker there in 1866 - he dies sometime between 1876 and 1881 (when Jane shown a widow) but no death entry in UK.
Hope this clarifies the situation somewhat.
Annette