George THOMAS was born on the 14th April 1871, at Little Kyre, Worcestershire, the second child of at least seven born to John THOMAS and Priscilla, formerly ROBINSON.
The 1871 census was taken on the 2 April 1871 so, unfortunately, he doesn't appear in a census until he is almost 10 years old.
In the 1881 census, George is with his parents and three younger siblings in Little Kyre, Worcestershire:
[1881: Class: RG11; Piece: 2907; Folio: 20; Page: 3; ]
Bank Street
John Thomas, Head, Mar, 38,
Priscilla Thomas, Wife, Mar, 35, Wife, Worcestershire, Knightwick
George Thomas, Son, Unm, 10, Scholar, Worcestershire, Little Kyre
Matilda Thomas, Daur, Unm, 5, Scholar, Worcestershire, Little Kyre
Anne Thomas, Daur, Unm, 3, Scholar, Worcestershire, Little Kyre
Lilia Thomas, Daur, Unm, 1, Worcestershire, Little Kyre
In 1891, George is working for a DORRELL family, in Stoke Bliss, as a general farm servant. This time, his birthplace is given as Stoke Bliss, Herefordshire:
[1891: Class: RG12; Piece: 2319; Folio: 135; Page: 7]
Barrett's Bank
(DORRELL family of 3, and a Housekeeper)
George Thomas, Serv. S, 19, General Farm Servant, Herefordshire, Stoke Bliss
It's no wonder researchers become confused, when details vary like this - not just a different parish but also a different county!
"Is it the right person?" has to be a consideration and the evidence examined carefully, to try to ensure the conclusion, ie that this is him in 1891, is reliable.
In a case like this, my first act these days is usually to look up the places online, using a search engine - either for a map where I can check the distance between the locations, or for something like a topographical dictionary. Here, I soon found the British History online entry which tells me that:
KYRE, LITTLE, a hamlet, in the parish of Stokebliss, union of Tenbury, Upper division of the hundred of Doddingtree, Tenbury and W. divisions of the county of Worcester, 5 miles (S. E. by S.) from Tenbury; containing 144 inhabitants. It is surrounded on three sides by the county of Hereford, and intersected from north to south by the road from Tenbury to Bromyard......So clearly, Little Kyre, where the family lives, is actually a smaller area within the larger parish of Stoke Bliss.
But what of the different county?
Once again, British History online provides an answer:
Stoke Bliss was formerly chiefly in the Herefordshire Hundred of Broxash, the hamlet of Kyre Parva only being in Doddingtree Hundred. The whole parish was transferred to Worcestershire in 1897....So, the larger unit, Stoke Bliss, was a parish which straddled the county boundaries and was predominently classed as Herefordshire at the time of the census. So, when the parish was used for George's birthplace. the county also changed.
Another way to find out more about the relevant areas is often to look at the first page of the census enumerator's book, which, in this case has a detailed description of the "remaining part of the parish of Stoke Bliss......In Hereford", as well as a description of the properties in Little Kyre. (Unfortunately, not all enumerators completed this page in such detail.)
Having sorted out the geography, I'd still then search for other entries for the name "George THOMAS" and compare the possibilities in the census to other records - were there others born about the same time, in the same area, that might account for this census entry? Or are there other census entries that could potentially be "my" George?
Without other family members present in the census entry to help to confirm relationships, it is important to consider these sorts of questions.
As it happens, there were three born in Worcestershire in the 1870 - 1871 range, but only "mine" in the Tenbury District. Another three were born in Herefordshire (seven if I include those with a middle name). There are also some birth entries where 'George' is the middle name, rather than the first name - but potentially their middle name could become the preferred name in later years.
So clearly there are likely to be others in the census, with the same name, living within the general county area. Some of these are easily identified but some census entries couldn't be easily discounted just from the index - for example, a George Thomas, of the right age, a servant living in Eardisley, with no birthplace shown in the index.
That would have been a possible contender if it wasn't for the fact that, on checking the original sheet, it is obvious that the transcribed index has failed to include any of the birthplaces from the page and I can happily ignore this one, as he was born in Radnorshire.
So, having looked carefully at the entries, I am happy to conclude that the 1891 entry in Stoke Bliss is the correct one.
Later censuses, which I shall consider when dealing with George's own family, give his birthplace as Little Kyre, Worcestershire - I suspect the 1891 details might have been given to the enumerator by the head of the family, rather than by George, although, if asked what parish he was born in, perhaps he would have answered "Stoke Bliss" anyway.
George married Rose Hannah HAYNES on 25 December 1895 in the parish church at Bromyard and I'll write about their later lives in a separate post.
British History Online
Little Kyre: https://www.british-history.ac.uk/topographical-dict/england/pp711-713
Stoke Bliss: https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/worcs/vol4/pp349-354
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