Tracing George Bird, gun maker of St George in the East or thereabouts

[TuiBird]

Hi, I'm trying to trace the origins of George Bird who lived in or around St George in the East and Shoreditch with a birth year of about 1793 or 1796 (depending on census review). 

There are some very significant inconsistencies between the two relevant census returns (1851 - Elizabeth Street, St George in the East - and 1841 - Smith's Arms Place, St George in the East) for what must surely be the same family.  In both returns George is noted as a gun maker (the transcription is mi-interpreted from a very faded image in 1841) and most of the children match (the ones that overlap) including their employment as either gun makers, cigar makers or umbrella makers, but there are significant inconsistencies in birth years. 

One of George's sons was Thomas Bird (umbrella maker) who was father to Edward Bird (boiler makers labourer) who was father to John Albert Bird "Bert" (policeman) who was my grandfather.

It looks to me as though George may have remarried resulting in a blended family with a lot of adult children noted in the 1851 census (most of the son's being married but with no spouse in the household). 

There are a few options I've found that could be George Bird and one side line that takes note of a census comment in 1851 that his wife Mary is from Birmingham.  I'm speculating that George might have been apprentice in the Gun Quarter in Birmingham at the time but this is just guess work.  There is a marriage record for a George and Mary in Birmingham close to the gun quarter from about the right time.

Any pointers would be most welcome.  I live in NZ so cannot just nip down to records offices and cemeteries.

Thanks

[iluleah]

The ages on the 1841 census is estimated up/down to the closest 5, so someone who was 16 might be 15yrs old or 20 yrs old depending on the enumerator, so take no notice of ages on 1841.

Apart from the fact that as people didn't celebrate their birthday and often with many children even their parents estimates the year they were born or made a 'best guess' 

[TuiBird]

Thanks for that. Your comment helps with the other side of my family where I have drawn a blank trying to get back passed three inconsistent census returns for the Concannon family in Bilston.  Two of the returns show round numbers ten years apart and a third is mid decade.  It is however in contrast to the precise quotation of ages for spouse and all the children on the same census returns.

In the case of George Bird we have following conundrum:


Census                                          1851       1841
George - Gun Maker                          58         45
Mary - spouse                                   59         45
Edward - Gun maker (unmarried)       19         8
James - Cigar maker (unmarried)       24         N/A
Eliza -                                              N/A        25
John -    Gun maker (married)           30          25
David-    Cigar maker                        25          15(Glove maker)
Matilda - Umbrella maker                   22         10 (umbrella maker)
Richard - Cigar maker                        21         15 (Cigar maker)
George - Gun maker                          34         N/A
Thomas - Umbrella maker                  36          20 (umbrella maker)
Mary                                                 N/A        4


I had originally dismissed the idea that it was the same family because I could not get my head around the differences.  But the largely coherent data on employment and lack of other alternative census returns has brought me back to there possibly having been a remarriage.  The ages in the 41 census all look pat and simple now as rounded to the nearest 5 with the exception of the two children below ten.