Hi Judy Thank you for your help.  Yes, it is surprising to us today that our ancestors may not have known where they were born and I know that some have only known the year and month of their birth.  Writing and spelling were not high on the list of their priorities.  They didn't need it in the course of their "daily grind" which was usually manual work of some sort and with the changes in boundaries and names of locations it makes it more difficult for us to trace them. Thank you for your help.  I shall carry on. Regards & best wishes Denise Hobbs (member 5973) gossage@one-name.org ----- Original Message ----- > From: "JJupar@aol.com" <JJupar@aol.com> > To: goons@rootsweb.com; gossagegossage@yahoo.co.uk > Cc: > Sent: Tuesday, 14 August 2012, 10:48 > Subject: Re: [G] 1911 Census Lancashire - birthplace ????stock, Shropshire > > In a message dated 14/08/2012 06:18:24 GMT  Daylight Time, > nick@harvardarms.org.uk writes: > Denise > > Looking at the  various census entries for Thomas GOSSAGE, it seems he > was remarkably vague  as to his birthplace. His entry in 1861 (indexed > under GOSTAGE) shows him as  1 month old both living and born in Hanmer > FLN. His birth was registered in  Q1 of that year (as Thomas Daniel > Kempster GOSTAGE) in Ellesmere District  which included various parishes > in Wales such as Hanmer. > > In 1871,  when he was still at home, his mother said he had been born in > Wrexham. I  can't immediately find him in 1881, and in 1891 the whole of > his family were  said to have been born in Liverpool. In 1901 he offered > Flintshire without  any township. > > I can't help feeling that birthplace of Hanmer FLN as given  in the 1861 > census is most likely to be correct as he was only 1 month old  and > living there with his family. By the time we reach 1911 he is 50 and  > even though we can see the actual return he filled in I think his memory  > may be faulty - for instance he says he has been married for 27 years,  > although as his (second) marriage took place in Q4 of 1889, he had in  > fact been married for only 21 years. > > Having said that I think the  suggestion that his 1911 entry was meant to > read Tilstock is probably  correct. Tilstock is in fact only about 5 > miles from Hanmer as the crow  flies. But I still don't think he was born > there. > > Nicholas  Spence > CHESSON 4108 > > > On 12/08/2012 17:52, Denise Gossage  wrote: >> I wonder if someone could help me please.  I am trying to  decipher the > birthplace of >>   >> Thomas Gossage, age 50,  Head, Married, 27 years, Dock Labourer, born > ??????ck,  Shropshire >>   >> The reference is: RG14 - PN22506 RD455  SD7 ED23 SN150.  Address: 119 > Towson St, Liverpool. >>     >> It is written in red ink and the enumerator has written the code > "270"  > over it which is Shropshire - which is already there, but I cannot read the  > village/parish.  The transcription shows it to be "Salostock" but it > looks  > as though it begins with a "T" to me.  Genuki shows a > "Tilstock" which  > seems too short. >>   >> I should be most grateful for a  fresh pair of eyes, please. >>   >> Denise Hobbs (member  5973) >> gossage@one-name.org > > > Hi, > > I think there are two  possibilities here.    The first one is that > possibly the place  he was born in  became pary of a larger area and thus > changed > its name  accordingly.  Flint was probably used because they couldn't  > understand the changing names of his birthplace. > > Secondly, perhaps he  wasn't very good at writing and this caused some > confusion in his place of  birth. > > There were still a large number of people who had little or no  knowledge > of reading or writing at the end of the 19th  century.    The only way to > find out is to send for his birth  certificate and also to look at old maps of > the area, to see how the name  possibly changed over the years. > > > > > > JUDY ELKINGTON > [North  Derbyshire] > > > GOONS  4052 > www.elkingtonfamily.com > Elkington@rootsweb.com > www.one-name.org/profiles/elkington.html  >