Genealogy Chat

Need some assistance regarding an historical place name. I know from the 1871 census that my great grandfather listed his birthplace as Strand Gloucester in 1837. When I search the 1841 and 1851 census, I can find a few people with the same name as his in Gloucestershire but nothing with the “Strand” reference. Was there a part of Gloucester with a different official name also known as Strand? I didn't search the 1861 census because he was a soldier stationed in Ireland at that time.

His name was Edward John Bennett (or John Edward), father was James. He died sometime in the 1870's.

Could it be Stroud ?
What do other census record as birthplace ?

Gwyn

Looking at some other examples on the census, I think its a mistranscribe of Stroud.

There are over 300 entries in 1871 alone that say Strand.


Andy

I agree. If you look at the actual census image for Edward in 1871, the letters that have been transcribed 'an' could just as easily be 'ou'.

Thanks - I'll try Stroud. I am just about at a dead end on this one.

I would have thought that "Stroud, Gloucestershire" was meant by the enumerator/individual. Usually in these old censuses, the county town is put down where it means the actual county.

Saying that I once had a Stroud Water on a census - and never did get a definitive answer for where that particular location used to be. Theory was the individual concerned was born on the canal or the river at Stroud.

JohnS

I disagree with John. My experience is that a single reference to, say, Durham, Banff or Aberdeen usually means the county town. It can help to see the image and see how the enumerator has aligned the single word - i.e., is it aligned with the counties or the towns within that penultimate column.

John, according to my 1864 gazetteer, Stroudwater was an alternative name for Stroud.

There is nowhere, in the whole country, called Strand, so I agree that it is probably a transcription error.

In fact, there are multiple nowheres in the whole country called Strand. The nowhere in the whole country of interest here is the hamlet 1km S of Westbury on Severn:
http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1397572

Sorry. Perhaps I should have said that there is nowhere large enough to merit its own entry in the gazetteer. I imagine the above hamlet is included under Westbury, if it's mentioned at all.

I am sure this will be Stroud

mgnv Garden cliff I believe is at Newnham on Severn. Perhaps the path was known locally as The strand. But I have never heard it in connection with the area.

Stroud is Gloucestershire but the small towns around Gloucester often get the county town tagged onto the address instead of the county name.

Ann - check the inset map on the URL I posted.

Message for Andysmum ~ just seen your message about Stroudwater being Stroud. I didn't know that. Thank you very much for that information!

Apologies mgnv Just also checked the OS map, I had never heard Strand mentioned or seen any reference to it all the time I have lived here or when we lived in Lydney 1973-81 and often drove the A48, visited various places en route. I was wrong about Garden cliff too it is at Westbury, thought it was nearer to Newnham, although I have really only photographed it from the other side of the river. Anyway, so Strand does exist in Gloucestershire.

Looking closely at Strand I wonder if the actual birth was registered as Westbury on Severn it is extremely close to westbury and is probably just a hamlet.

Ann - looking at http://maps.familysearch.org/ it's clear that Strand would be in Westbury on Severn parish, so that is where I'ld look for a baptism.

1851 England Census
about John Bennett Name: John Bennett
Age: 13
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1838
Relation: Son
Father's Name: James Bennett
Mother's name: Mary Bennett
Gender: M (Male)
Where born: Stewdmbe, Gloucestershire, England

Civil parish: Clifton
Town: Clifton
County/Island: Gloucestershire
Country: England

Street Address:

Occupation:

Condition as to marriage:

Disability: View image

Registration district: Clifton
Sub-registration district: Clifton
ED, institution, or vessel: 1d
Neighbors: View others on page
Household schedule number: 89
Piece: 1952
Folio: 122
Page Number: 21
Household Members: Name Age
James Bennett 41
Mary Bennett 42
Charles Bennett 20
Thomas Bennett 16
John Bennett 13

Delighted to have finally found his army file - quality is poor. Here is the summary from Ancestry:

Name: John Bennett
Age at enlistment: 18
Birth Parish: Stroud??
Birth County: Gloucester??

The number assigned to him is 3828 and he enlisted Nov. 7, 1855. Don't know how I missed this file - I've been searching for the past 6 months.