I had wondered myself about schooling in England. My Thomas Willmore, b. abt 1809 in Buckingham, evidently knew how to write at least his name. Considering his father died when he was 7 -- "Thomas commenced daily labor at the age of seven. He worked for William Britain for four cents per day and boarded himself. He resided with his mother until his sixteenth year". His mother was a lacemaker. When and where would he have gained any learning? Thomas married an Irish girl in America. I have a copy of the birth page of the family bible. Not sure which of them filled it out, but the writing looks like schoolchild caligraphy to me -- block letters in what we today would call old English font, with the letters?quite large for the page. Also, I would love to find out who William Brittain was. Would have been in either Buckingham or Akeley, probably. Ann Marr