Mystery Essex town (Packing) on census - probably an error!

[Kate-Birchtree]

Hi all

I have an 1851 census record for an ancestor (Samuel Smith) whose place of birth was recorded as Essex Packing:

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:SGVC-V1N

Viewing the original image, I really don't feel the word really can be mistaken for anything else - the handwriting does not look ambiguous (unlike many other records!)

From what I'm gradually learning/already know about Essex (as a non-UK researcher), there aren't any towns called Packing. The "closest" names I'm aware of are Bocking and Barking.

Searches online haven't turned up anything remotely related to a place called Packing (except for modern packaging supply stores in Essex )

The person in question was married in Springfield and lived in Ingatestone/Moulsham (Chelmsford area). I haven't any evidence (yet) of him having lived outside of Chelmsford, though it's possible he lived with his adult children in or closer to Leytonstone/West Ham sometime in the 1850s.

I suspect "Packing" is a misrecording of the town, but I can't rule out that there's a more granular place in Essex that's not typically captured in the records.

Does anybody know what this town could be (assuming anything called "Packing" exists!) or what location it could have been misrecorded in lieu of?

Thanks for your help!

[amondg]

They were in the work house. 1851

Bocking, the top loop not written clearly

The next person is a James Cass - there is a Sarah Cass who marries a Samuel Smith 15 June 1822 in Chelmsford.
Maybe a coincidence.
---------------------------
The Samuel Smith with wife Sarah 1841 - her maiden name Bedell re: GRO registration of son William 11 months.

[Kate-Birchtree]

Thanks so much for clearing that up. I'm glad I finally reached out for other opinions - it's a relief to know that it references a real town and not something I can't trace 😂

The two different Sarah/Samuel couples (Bedell vs Cass) was  confusing at first, but luckily their records/children are distinct enough to tease apart in the end. I did wonder the exact same thing about the James Cass/Samuel Smith coincidence...