My brickwall - Philip/Phillip Hopkins/Hopkin (General)

by jhopkins , Tuesday, June 11, 2013, 23:37 (4185 days ago) @ jhopkins

Hi folks

Several descendants have been trying to get a birth record for my great great great grandfather Philip/Phillip Hopkins/Hopkin.

I have his death notice, where he is recorded as dying at St Briavels in May 1820 aged 74 years. A search of the Parish Records on this site shows him as being buried at Hewelsfield 8 May 1820. His marriage record is also on this site - 2 Dec 1793, groom's residence being given as "Parish of Woolaston in the County of Gloucester".

So far so good. Thus far, those of us who have been searching have found only one possible candidate, baptised Phillip Hopkin, Llandogo Monmouthshire, 25 Oct 1772. That person fits in a number of ways, but other researchers I have been in touch with have a convincing line of descent from him that suggests he cannot be "my" Philip/Phillip (unless he maintained two households...).

This feels like my last throw of the dice on this one before giving up... Are there any other ways of finding out when and where my ancestor was born? For example, are there any records at this early date other than Parish Records? Was there a census during his lifetime in England or Wales that would record whether he was born in county, or elsewhere? Even the latter may help.

I know I have asked about him before on this site, but this is the last time. Promise!

Thanks for any assistance.
John