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Hello, I wonder if anyone can help me trace George Bennett. I have a marriage cert for his son John Bennett of Plymouth who married a Florence Luscombe in 1912 Devonport. John was born about 1887 according to this. His occupation is given as general dealer ...as was his father George. Can anyone give me any leads?

Have you checked any census for them

Oh, I'm a sucker for Devon ...


The only John-George pair in 1891 are:

Name: John Bennett
Age: 4
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1887
Relation: Son
Father's Name: George
Mother's Name: Mary
Gender: Male
Where born: Chudleigh; Knighton, Devon, England

Civil parish: Hennock

George Bennett 41 - brickyard labourer, born: Tenbury, Westmorland
Mary Bennett 39 - born Chudleigh
James Bennett 12
William H Bennett 9
Mary Bennett 7
Thomas Bennett 6
John Bennett 4
Charles Bennett 3
Eliza Jane Bennett 1


1901:

Mary Bennett 49
James Bennett 22
William Bennett 19
Thomas Bennett 16
John Bennett 14
Charles Bennett 13
Eliza J Bennett 11

Five sons are labourers, brickworks, so it seems unlikely this is him.

Unless John did what one of my gr-gfathers did: just give his father the same occupation as himself when he married, it having been so long since his father had been dead, for one thing.

Thanks for looking...glad I found a sucker for Devon...I might come back to you for more...so far out of my 150+ family tree all but about 10 seem to be from Devon or Cornwall! I'm beginning to feel like a deserter myself...as I moved out when I was 18 months old (so not my fault!!) and now live far away in Hertfordshire!!

Anyway...perhaps you are right about John making up his father's occupation...though the marriage cert doesn't suggest that hsi father was dead at the time. Who knows?
Thanks for looking anyway..it is much appreciated!
Judith

I've only got one bit from Devon, but they're definitely the fun bit!

Marriage certificates don't always state deceased for dead dads. That one of mine (born Cornwall, reared Devon, lived London, Berkshire, India, Cheshire, Australia, London ... finally Canada ... that I know of ...) said his father was a cook, when he was a mining agent who'd been dead 10 years. ;)

Mind you, he also used a fake surname, which he also gave his father.

"General dealer" is approx equivalent to "hawker", and can indicate a travelling person.

I had no luck for him in the 1911 really:

http://www.1911census.co.uk/search/tnaform.aspx

or even for Florence, definitely. Do you know where she was in 1911 and with whom she was living? John might be in the vicinity.

Well I know a fair bit about Florence. she was born Truro in 1892. Her father was Moses W Luscombe of Plymouth and her mother Mary H Bennett of Truro. She had an older brother John 1890 and a younger Wilfred 1897.
They were living i Sydney str Plymouth in 1901 and she was in Raleigh St Plymouth in 1912.

Ah - I wonder whether this might be John in 1911?

MILITARY BENNETT JOHN 1887 24 Devonport Devonshire

aha -- that one answers to "born in Hennock", which is where the John with father George was living in 1891 and 1901.

well thanks Janey...that's great...something for me to look into for sure.
But I daren't start now...gone midnight and I'll never get to work tomorrow if I get sucked up into this one.
Thanks again
Judith