Dear Leonie, When you look at the original image (RG11/2558, ED 13, Folio 51, page 12), Edmund (aged 56) has occupation of "Fa La" only and the son Thomas (aged 31) has the occupation of "Fa La & Private in the North Glos Militia". As such, I disagree that it is a military term. My educated guess having looked at the original census image is Farm Labourer as the meaning of Fa La along the lines of Ag Lab. Warmest regards, Terry Waters-Marsh FreeCEN Country Coordinator for ENGLAND FreeCEN County Coordinator for SOMERSET (1891), WILTSHIRE, BEDFORDSHIRE, BERKSHIRE, BUCKINGHAMSHIRE, CHESHIRE, DORSET, GLOUCESTERSHIRE, HERTFORDSHIRE, HUNTINGDONSHIRE, OXFORDSHIRE, WARWICKSHIRE, WORCESTERSHIRE. Visit the FreeCEN web site at http://www.freecen.org.uk Somerset web page http://freepages.genealogy.rootswseb.com/~somtcen Wiltshire web page http://www.pope-genealogy.me.uk/nwop.htm Warwickshire web page http://www.hunimex.com/warwick/freecens/1861/index_1861.html Worcestershire web page http://www.hunimex.com/warwick/wo-a-p.html OPC for Avebury, Wiltshire General census information http://www.british-genealogy.com/resources/census/index.htm "To forget one's ancestors is to be a brook without a source, a tree without a root." (Chinese Proverb) -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Leonie Fretwell Sent: Saturday, 3 January 2009 1:11 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [ENG-WILTSHIRE] Query on Militia Thanks for your response. However the abbreviations are shown for both the father and the son, so I think it is a military term. Leonie Fretwell [email protected] Burra, South Australia -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Terry Waters-Marsh Sent: Saturday, 3 January 2009 1:26 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [ENG-WILTSHIRE] Query on Militia Abbreviation for Father-in-law. Common in census. Warmest regards, Terry Waters-Marsh FreeCEN Country Coordinator for ENGLAND FreeCEN County Coordinator for SOMERSET (1891), WILTSHIRE, BEDFORDSHIRE, BERKSHIRE, BUCKINGHAMSHIRE, CHESHIRE, DORSET, GLOUCESTERSHIRE, HERTFORDSHIRE, HUNTINGDONSHIRE, OXFORDSHIRE, WARWICKSHIRE, WORCESTERSHIRE. Visit the FreeCEN web site at http://www.freecen.org.uk Somerset web page http://freepages.genealogy.rootswseb.com/~somtcen Wiltshire web page http://www.pope-genealogy.me.uk/nwop.htm Warwickshire web page http://www.hunimex.com/warwick/freecens/1861/index_1861.html Worcestershire web page http://www.hunimex.com/warwick/wo-a-p.html OPC for Avebury, Wiltshire General census information http://www.british-genealogy.com/resources/census/index.htm "To forget one's ancestors is to be a brook without a source, a tree without a root." (Chinese Proverb) -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Leonie Fretwell Sent: Saturday, 3 January 2009 12:51 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [ENG-WILTSHIRE] Query on Militia As part of my research on Wiltshire Osmans I came across a reference in the 1881 census for the Lafford family of Maisey Hampton (not Wiltshire I know!) in which the father and older son were described as Fa La & Private In The North Glost Militia I have checked google but could find no clue as to what Fa La meant. Can anyone throw any light on these abbreviations? Leonie Fretwell [email protected] Burra, South Australia ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message