John Oliver - Apprentice ShoeMaker

[christay]

John Oliver was born around 1795 not sure where as 1841 census he is a shoemaker in Crayford, Kent, however not of this parish.  He died in 1847 in Crayford, Kent.  Wondering if there are any records of apprentice shoemakers that may help me locate him prior to 1830.  He married Sarah Hill in 1830 in Crayford.  I have previously posted in the Kent Forum, however thought maybe the London apprenticeship records might give me something new.

Any guidance much appreciated.

Christie

[horse000]

Hi

Apologies if you already have the FreeReg record.. If not, there are 2 witnesses that may or may not be useful.

https://www.freereg.org.uk/search_records/5817e938e93790eb7fcb6fc4?search_id=5bb057f3f493fd72687cbf2c&ucf=false

Geoff

[amondg]

Have you tried the Kent Records Office?
Both children Matthew and Sarah would have under age 21 when their father died, did relatives take them in?
Was the local poor law involved ? Were they placed into service in Sarah's case or apprenticed in Matthew's he would have been 13/14 years old.

historyandlibrarycentre@Kent.gov.uk

[christay]

Thank you both for your reply.
I have the free reg info and have the children on later census data. I was trying to go further back in John Oliver's life - hence searching for apprenticeship records.

Appreciate you both taking the time to post.

 

[amondg]

I understand that however the poor law union made extensive records of a person, are they chargeable to the village/town how they obtained that right, if records exist they could tell you when John Oliver came to the town, because you didn't get the right to stay based on marrying a local girl.

[christay]

Aha, ok.  Thank you amondg .  I will search and see how I go.  I live in Australia therefore trying to get me head around "the way things were" and trying to make sure I follow the correct line/people.  See how I go.

[Maiden Stone]

Some apprenticeship records survive from the time when he was an apprentice. They were only for those who were apprenticed to an unrelated master. Many boys learned from their fathers so there were no records.
He might be in a local trade directory if he had his own business.
Was his approximate birth year 1795 taken from age on 1841 census?
Shoemaking experienced a slump around the time he would have finished his apprenticeship, coinciding with the end of the Napoleonic War.
He might have been old enough to serve in the war. Army, navy or the local militia. Men were conscripted if there weren't enough volunteers.

[christay]

Thank you Maiden Stone.

Another avenue to search.  And yes, dob taken from 1841 census.  I couldn't find him in Pigot's Directory Kent 1840.

[Maiden Stone]

yes, dob taken from 1841 census. 

So it might have been a few years earlier as ages of adults on 1841 census were supposed to have been rounded down to a multiple of 5. However I assume he put his age as 46 on 1841 census and that's what the census enumerator wrote in his book. A shoemaker with ambition to become a master needed to be literate and numerate. It's possible that he knew his age.