Genealogy Chat

Please could someone who has Find my Past, look up Walter Thomas on 1861 census born 1849 in Norwich, Norfolk. I am on Ancestry and it is not on there. Family Search says he is on Find my Past site on 1861 census. Can't understand why he is not on Ancestry.
Thank you

THOMAS, Samuel Head Married M 45 1816 Shoe Maker
...
Norfolk VIEW
THOMAS, Maria Wife Married F 44 1817
Norwich
Norfolk VIEW
THOMAS, Maria Daughter Unmarried F 15 1846
Norwich
Norfolk VIEW
THOMAS, Walter Son Unmarried M 13 1848 Shoe Maker
Norwich
Norfolk

Hope this is the info you want. As to not being on Ancestry, all sites have their errors and omissions - transcribers aere only human!

THOMAS, Samuel Head Married M 45 1816 Shoe Maker Norfolk
THOMAS, Maria Wife Married F 44 1817
Norwich Norfolk
THOMAS, Maria Daughter Unmarried F 15 1846
Norwich Norfolk
THOMAS, Walter Son Unmarried M 13 1848 Shoe Maker
Norwich Norfolk

RG number: RG09
Piece: 1211
Folio: 56
Page: 28

Registration District: Norwich
Sub District: 1 Coslany
Enumeration District: 12
Ecclesiastical Parish:
Civil Parish: St Augustine
Municipal Borough: Norwich
Address: Magpie Road, St Augustine, Norwich
County: Norfolk

Hi Allan. Thanks for looking. This Walter Thomas is not the right one. He is my grandad and says he was born about 1853. On his marriage he says his father is a builder. There is another one born 1859 in the same place maybe you could check that one out.
Thank you

Hi Marlene

Don't think it can be this one either if father was a builder

THOMAS, William Head M 50 1811 Greengrocer
...
Lincolnshire VIEW
THOMAS, Mary Wife Married F 43 1818 Greengrocers Wife
Norwich
Norfolk VIEW
THOMAS, William Son M 9 1852 Scholar
Norwich
Norfolk VIEW
THOMAS, George Son M 7 1854 Scholar
Norwich
Norfolk VIEW
THOMAS, Sarah A Daughter Unmarried F 4 1857 Scholar
Norwich
Norfolk VIEW
THOMAS, Walter Son Unmarried M 2 1859 Scholar
Norwich
Norfolk VIEW

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

RG number:
RG09 Piece:
1213 Folio:
57 Page:
27

Registration District:
Norwich Sub District:
2 East Wymer EnumerationDistrict:
13 E Ecclesiastical Parish:


Civil Parish:
St James Municipal Borough:
Norwich Address:
Cowgate Street, St James, Norwich County:
Norfolk

What is the name of the father from the marriage cert?

Hi again

Just run a search for Walter Thomas, birthplace Norwich, born 1853 +/- 10 years resident in any county (in case they'd moved to, say, Suffolk) but it's only come up with the two we have already.

... and neither of them appear on GR - but perhaps you've already found that out.

Thanks everyone for helping. His name on marriage cert in 1906, is Walter Thomas age 52, Accountant Clerk, Widower. On the 1911 census he is Walter Thomas age 57, Law writer, [my mum said he was a legal clerk] born Norwich, Norfolk. I cannot find him in any of the census on Ancestry. I don't know where to look. I have put him in bmd and nothing comes up.
Grateful for any help at all.
Marlene

Hi again.
On his marriage cert Walter's father looks like Jonas, deceased.
The writing is hard to read so I suppose it could be John.

Have you tried tracing his first marriage?

Hi Allan. Not tried for his first marriage yet as I have no idea when that would have been.

Where did the 1906 marriage take place? Not in Norfolk?

Did it give an occupation for father even though it stated deceased

Sorry just noticed that the occupation is builder

Just had a thought. Could the enumerator have misheard the surname as Thomson/Thompson - or the transcriber made a similar mistake?

Could this be the family?

THOMPSON, James Head Married M 41 1820 Broker
Norwich
Norfolk VIEW
THOMPSON, Caroline Wife Married F 40 1821 Brokers Wife
Norwich
Norfolk VIEW
THOMPSON, Walter Son Unmarried M 11 1850 ... Maker
Norwich
Norfolk VIEW
THOMPSON, Emma Daughter Unmarried F 15 1846 Milliner
Norwich
Norfolk VIEW
THOMPSON, Eliza Daughter Unmarried F 13 1848 Scholar
Norwich
Norfolk VIEW
THOMPSON, Agnes Daughter Unmarried F 10 1851 Scholar
Norwich
Norfolk VIEW

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

RG number:
RG09 Piece:
1217 Folio:
127 Page:
11

Registration District:
Norwich Sub District:
4 Mancroft EnumerationDistrict:
14 Ecclesiastical Parish:
St Stephens

Civil Parish:
St Stephen Municipal Borough:
Norwich Address:
Oxford Hill, St Stephen, Norwich County:
Norfolk

"Broker" might have been mis-transcribed as "builder" (I haven't looked at the original).

Best match I can find is in Scotland

1891 Walter Thomas 1847, Ayrshire - Solicitor
1901 Walter Thomas - lawyer - but a patient

Hi. The name is definately Thomas. His marriage to my grandma in 1906 was in Manchester. On the cert he is 52, widowed, a stationers Clerk, and his father looks like Jonas or John, a Builder. It is only when I saw the 1911 census that I found out he was from Norwich in Norfolk. Up until then I didn't know where he was from, I have never found him on any census on Ancestry, so had nothing to go on. Maybe he is on the 1901 census on Find my Past. He might have moved to Manchester by then.
Marlene

Perhaps I didn't make clear that the family could appear in the census with the wrong surname. Details were taken down by enumerators who only wrote down what they heard - or thought they heard. Householders didn't fill in their own census forms until the 1911 census. So Thomas could quite easily be recorded as Thompson.
Or, less likely, it could be a transcription error by findmypast, as I haven't looked at the original image.

Curiouser and curioser. It occurred to me to wonder if, being in Manchester in 1906 his birthplace was Northwich (Cheshire) rather than Norwich. But no Walter Thomas b Northwich 1853 +/- 5 anywhere on 1861 census.
Reverting to Norwich as birthplace I've now searched 1871, 81, 91 and 1901 censuses on fmp for Walter Thomas b Norwich 1853 +/- 5. On 1881 census there is a Walter Thomas, age 30, Blacksmith(!) in London. None at all on the other censuses.
People can disappear from one census but turn up on the next for simple reasons like mis-spelt names, but to disappear completely is puzzling to say the least. Perhaps Glitterbaby is on the right track about Scotland.