Hi Mike, Thank you so much for an extremely informative and detailed response to my request. Your suggestion of looking at the trade directories was excellent - I had forgotten about them. Unfortunately I cannot send off for a death record as the name is too common. I will let you know if I make any progress. If I can be of any help to you in Los Angeles please let me know. Kind regards, Judy ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mike Joseph" <member@emmpeejay.freeserve.co.uk> To: <british-jewry@rootsweb.com> Sent: Friday, February 15, 2008 3:53 PM Subject: Re: [BRITISH-JEWRY] [BRITISH JEWRY] Placename on 1851 census > Hello, Judy > Margaret's suggestion of Hethersett, Norfolk, (which, incidentally, > reached my Inbox about 36 hours before your original enquiry!!) does > appear quite likely to be your answer, although proving it could be > difficult! You've obviously discovered that your Thomas FORSTER died > before the 1861 census was taken, so there's no help there. And you've > probably also viewed the 1841 census, which records exactly the same > family members as the 1851, 10 years younger but without their > birthplaces! > A possible clue comes from the 1801 - yes, 1801! - census for Hethersett > "... one of the few places in the county (Norfolk) for which a census > before 1841 containing names survives": see > http://www.origins.org.uk/genuki/NFK/places/h/hethersett/census1801.shtml > . This records a household headed by a Thos. FORSTER, comprising 2 males > and one female; details were a little thin on the ground in those very > early censuses! Were these, possibly, father and infant son, both named > Thomas, and, of course, their wife/mother? This could be checked by > reference to the Parish Registers, but could you accept that as conclusive > proof that the Hethersett Thomas junior, and your Thomas, are one and the > same? > Have you considered that, given Thomas's rather unusual occupation, any > surviving trade directories for the 1820s/30s might help to establish at > least a pre-St. Pancras residential link with the general area in Norfolk? > Mike Joseph (in bright and sunny - well, it was during the daytime! - but > very cold, Ashford, Middlesex, UK > Our website is at > www.british-jewry.org.uk > We update regularly. Let us know if you have ideas to offer. > > British-Jewry-admin@rootsweb.com is the address to use for help. > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > BRITISH-JEWRY-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message