Priscilla RUTH born Southrop East Glos, & Local Gipsy Links (General)

by Jefff , West London, Middlesex, Thursday, May 23, 2013, 13:50 (4197 days ago) @ Jefff

Cheers Regis, yes I do like a challenge, much more fun than the household chores !. Please note I've added to the above post since you first saw it.

After much searching of LDS for a Priscilla Roof under many spelling variations, this is the best I can come up with, possibly worth further searching via Ancestry etc to more fully study the Census' (I can't) if only to then perhaps discard ?

"England and Wales Census, 1861"
Name: Priscilla Ruth
Event Type: Census
Event Date: 1861
Gender: Female
Age: 19
Relationship to Head of Household: Servant
Birthplace: Southrope, Gloucestershire
Schedule Type: Household
Registration District: Cirencester
Sub-District: 3 Fairford
Ecclesiastical Parish:
Parish: Fairford
Residence County: Gloucestershire

???

http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/GLS/Southrop/Gaz1868.html

So, Southrop's not "too" far away from the Forest and is on the old trading routes towards Oxford & London, so perhaps also on the travelling routes of John Smith ?

I know even in very recent years traveller's encampments with traditional horsedrawn vans can be seen in this area selling superb wood carvings on the A40. Plus of course the famous biannual Horse Fair at Stow on the Wold a few miles north.
http://www.cotswolds.info/blogs/gypsy-horse-fair.shtml

General searching of tinternet gives this perhaps relevant and at least very interesting website, detailing the 18th & 19th Century travels of a Smith gipsy family throughout East Glos/Oxfds/Wilts, and mentions a Baptism at Southrop in 1817....
http://www.gypsygenealogy.com/showarticle.php?article_id=11

Further searching found this 2009 Glostershire Schools publication "NATIONAL STRATEGY GYPSY ROMA TRAVELLER PROGRAMME". This admirable booklet is clearly aimed at helping promote good schooling for the various travellers' children and also good relations between their families and the local communities. Among other things it includes
"An email received from Headteacher at Southrop School:-
"We frequently see groups of Travellers camped on the roadside near Southrop,......."
http://www.irespect.net/news/documents/NEWSLETTER8small2.pdf

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Hope this helps, J