To all who have helped me to date. I am wondering if I am now getting too fanciful in my efforts to trace my Great-Grandfather who I know as Tom ( Thomas ) Harris. I can only trace him back to the 1891 census in Manchester where the entry reads as James Harris. He gives his name as Thomas on subsequent 1901 and 1911 census documents always place of Birth is given as Honiton around 1864.
My Great Grandmother was Emily Stoneham from Shirenewton in Monmouthshire. Thanks to the help of Rootschat members I have now established that prior to 1891 she had a relationship with Samuel F Waite and that her first 4 children bear the name of Waite. On the 1891 census she is in Stretford Manchester and with James Harris who is shown as a Hatter. Prior to this she has remained in Monmouthshire. However, the 'James' and the 'Hatter' related to my Great-grandfather may have been errors made when the enumerator transcribed his notes. This could explain there being an anomaly of name and also the unusual occupation, given that always subsequently in returns my Great-grandfather's occupations are more manual in nature.
In following up leads (so excellently provided) I tried to establish the whereabouts of Samuel F Waite in 1891. I was trying to work out if Emily left him and travelled to Manchester and quickly met Thomas (James) Harris or if she has travelled with Samuel Waite. I think she was pregnant at the time as the final' child recorded as 'Waite' is born in Manchester. If I could establish whether my Great-grandfather was at any point resident in Monmouthshire this may give me a pointer but as yet I cannot trace him prior to 1891. However, in my various searches I have come across a criminal record for 1891 for a James Harris (also known as Samuel White who is convicted to 4 months in Glamorgan. Incidentally, Samuel Waite shows his origins as Glamorgan. On the record of the day In June 1891 when he is convicted there is also a fellow prisoner named as a Thomas Harris who is acquitted.
I can't put all this together in my head but feel there are a lot of coincidences floating around here! Hence, my saying am I being too fanciful?
