What do you mean by "his burial"? Parish burial records from 1812 onwards were in pre-printed books with the headings "Name", "Abode", "When buried", "Age", "By whom the Ceremony was performed". There was no column to enter occupation. I am looking at an image of the parish burial record now and Edward's entry has just this basic information, the vicar who performed it (Robert M Miller) has not entered any additional information, he has stuck to exactly what was required to be recorded. So "the burial" does not state he was a publican.
The only references to him being anything but a toll-gate keeper were on records made some years after his death - victualler on some marriage records, publican on Emma's.
All records made in his life time (children's baptisms) say he was a tollgate keeper.
he wrote his will on 11th May, a few days before his death - or rather dictated it because the handwriting is the same as the signature of Henry Spurling (attorney) and probable relative by marriage. In that he is only described as "Toll Keeper" and as I said earlier there is nothing in the household effects described in the will which would indicate he was a publican.
Edward's children would all have been quite young when he died, the youngest would hardly remember him at all, so they would go by what their mother told them. In 1841 Ann is a grocer, close to a victualler, maybe that is where that occupation came from. Edward is clearly not Emma's father, maybe her real father - name unknown - was a publican.
In my tree I have an illegitimate relative who on his marriage record invented a father with the forename and occupation of his stepfather and his own (and mother's) surname.
The stepfather could not have been his biological father as he was in the army serving overseas at time of conception.
I have also found in my tree several instances where a father has been "bigged up" on a marriage record. Particularly if they were deceased or lived a long way from where the marriage took place - who's going to argue even if they were able to read.
My 2 x great grandfather became a butler, adopted his mother's maiden surname as his middle name (although baptised plain William), added the same middle name to his father's name, who became a farmer instead of an Ag Lab.
Census records and baptism records for his children tell a different story!
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Topic: Dedham Baptism record of Emma GINN (Read 1638 times)