Thank you very much, slowhands, for your very prompt reply. I think that your suspicion might very well prove to be correct. Assuming that it is, I note from the 1881 census that Merrick's father would be George Phelps b abt 1845, and in the household was his father John Phelps, b abt 1803. Could I prevail on your time and generosity to plumb the depths of your records and fill in the 1841 - 1871 census records of this family? And does Will(iam) and/or Ivy and/or Leonard Phelps appear in the 1891 or 1901 census?

Thanks in advance