judy olsen wrote: > No, there is no number and no indication that John Pye was an > employer, although the evidence from other sources might suggest > that. All it says on the form is: > > Blacksmith. Labourer. I meant that the "1" had been omitted in error. > > > One of his sons is Blacksmith Labourer without the point or full stop > and another is Whitesmith Labourer. > > On the page before there is a "Mason - Labourer". A couple of pages > back there are three "Labourer Railwayman" and a "Labourer Farm > Servant". The three railway labourers were in the same household as a > 'railway servant' - which I take to mean a clerk. > > The column is headed "Rank, Profession, or OCCUPATION". My reading of > all this is that the enumerator was just being a little officious in > his form filling - his aim was to make it clear that the men were > doing manual work. In some cases there is a dash between the word > labourer and the other part of the occupation, in others there is > nothing and in this one case there is a full stop. Just a quirk of > notation. > > Hmm. I have now scrolled through quite a few pages and found a few > 'blacksmith"s with no qualifier and journeyman of various trades > including one blacksmith. So I am coming back to the view that John > Pye at this point was an employee rather than an employer. Am I right > in thinking he was away from his home turf? That might be an > explanation of sorts. It's possible the enumerator started off transcribing the forms one way before deciding to indicate manual workers. Could have been two different enumerators who collected and checked the forms but only one, or a different one, writing them up into the books. I think it's going to be one of those questions that isn't going to get an definitive answer without some additional information. Yes, he was away from where he says he was born and where he lived for a long time. He might have had to give up the smithy in Shawbury for some reason which forced a move first to Higher Ercall, then to Shrewsbury. The John PYE I found on the IGI was baptised 1 Feb 1829 at Stanton upon Hine Heath, only about a mile north of Shawbury. It's possible the family moved shortly after 1831 to Shawbury so he believed that's where he was born. If that's the right John PYE, then his parents were Thomas and Mary (nee EVANS) and they were married in Hodnet in 1825. That's only a few miles north east of Stanton upon Hine Heath. John's older brother, William was born in 1826 but not baptised until 1828. I'll see if I can find William and the youngest of the three brothers, Thomas (bapt 1831), in any of the censuses, and also the parents, to see where they said they were born. Also what the occupations were. Thanks for your help, tis much appreciated :))