William Henry Batson who eventually lived in Croydon

[Ranolki]

I am looking for a little more info on this particular ancestor.

He was born in 1865 in Redditch, Worcs and seems to have lived with his grandmother Maria Duggins (per census forms) until 1881.  He next appears on the !891 census in Croydon and is described as a Drapers Assistant.  He then seems to go missing for 1901 and 1911.  I can't actually see the full census entry on FindmyPast but in 1921 he was still in Croydon and by 1939 he was living in almshouses in Croydon, and then died in 1941.

He never married and my cousin's father told her that he remembered him as a dabbler in antique buying and selling.  Our great grandmother (he was her much older brother) said he was a clever boy and had travelled to the Far East as some sort of translator/companion.  I'm not sure if this was a one off but he DID bring back some beautiful porcelain and other artefacts.  I can't find any sign of him travelling anywhere by steamship and can only imagine he left from a port in another country or went part way by train (although it seems there were parts of China where rail travel was not practical until the 1930s).

I have searched as far as I am able and wonder (as I know there are people who seem to turn up things I totally missed) if anyone can see him in 1901 and 1911.  Of course he may have been off on his travels at that point!  Also are there any other travel records other than the usual steamship ones we can access via Ancestry?

[CaroleW]

and seems to have lived with his grandmother Maria Duggins (per census forms) until 1881.

In 1871 he is shown as a boarder with Benjamin Duggins (70) and his wife Maria (43)

Marriages Dec 1868   
DUGGINS    Benjamin    Birmingham    6d   89    
Field    Maria         Birmingham    6d   89

Births Jun 1865 
BATSON    William Henry    Bromsgrove    6c   422

GRO online shows his mothers maiden name was Field

The 1868 marriage cert is online and Maria Field was a spinster

A tree on Ancestry shows his parents as Charles Batson (1842-1909)  & Caroline Field (1845-1916) who married 1864.  Presume Caroline was Maria's illegitimate daughter

The 1891 entry for Surrey gives his birthyear as 1869

[CaroleW]

Try this 1901 entry indexed on Ancestry as William Babson b 1871 Redditch

Piece  640  Folio 19  Page 30

[Ranolki]

Thanks for the info.  Yes that tree is accurate. Maria Field (then Duggins) was the mother of Caroline Field (then Batson), who in turn was the mother of William Henry Batson.

And that 1901 entry is almost certainly him.  Thank you! I tried various combinations but apparently not Babson.  They seem very hit and miss with the dob too don't they...  I can't see what it says for his profession.  Can you see what it might say?

[CaroleW]

The enumerator should have been sent on a handwriting course - could be something like Shop E D

[Mabel Bagshawe]

A tree on Ancestry shows his parents as Charles Batson (1842-1909)  & Caroline Field (1845-1916) who married 1864.  Presume Caroline was Maria's illegitimate daughter

On her marriage Caroline givers her father as Henry, but looking at 1861 she's with Mariah Field, unmarried. In 1851 she's granddaughter to Henry and Catherine Mountford. Maria is elsewhere, with another daughter Elizabeth.

Henry married Catherine Field (spinster) in 1833, after Maria's birth

[Ranolki]

I suspect Caroline made up the name of her father to appear "respectable" when she married!  Via DNA, we discovered something very strange.  Maria Field was in fact the daughter of Henry Mountford.  It appears Catherine and Henry were together throughout, but if you look at his age when Maria was born, he was only 13 at that time.  They married when he was 18.

[Bookbox]

I can't see what it says for his profession.

I think it reads Stoker, and E D has then been added later by the census clerk who categorised the occupations. E D is normally Engine Driver, but it could be any sort of engine that needed stoking, not necessarily railway.

[Ranolki]

Yes, I think that might be right.  He is described as a visitor and the head of household seems to be a ticket collector with the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway so it would fit quite well.  Thanks for that!