Hi
Re the surnames, its taken me ten years of researching, but now I'm never surprised just how many people, or family groups, who have similar names that I might have thought were unusual/rare, and then turn out to be not particularly linked to the people I knew or were researching, all just coincidence. Some names are naturally "rare" in one area, yet very common in another. But that said, yes very often if you go back far enough, you can find that these people who may never have any dealings with, or even knowledge of someone nowadays, do actually share common ancestry 3 or 4 generations back.

Re your last point, in theory this website/forum is not just confined to Gloucestershire, as per your comment, but is really confined to just the Forest of Dean part of it. When I first joined the forum 10 years ago that rule was quite strictly enforced by admin, but less so these days. Ideally of course, the post should have links to the Forest, at least to start with, as we know that Foresters have often moved around the county, country and even world for work in the past.

atb Jeff

Well done Sylvia, I recall I did see something come up when I was trawling the FamilySearch site "hits", but don't think that one was Harry. Trouble is it's easy to mentally think such and such a name must be the people I'm looking for, but in actual fact its another case of a name or name combination being far less rare than I'd assumed.

What source website etc are you using to search him, some are better than others for different parts of the world. Of course he may not have formally married at all, but just claimed he was.

Can't help but feel if he was the elusive child, and his parents (or were they bith his real parents ??) knew this when they filled-out the 1911 census. And then he ends up in Oz. Was he the black sheep, and why ?. MAybe a juvenile delinquent ?. Wonder if the old newspapers can help you find out more ?. Also still a bit worried that Harry was maybe officially christened Henry, often nicknames were used in Census returns, so may need to search that name as well ?

Derrr - only just twigged his father was Henry, so it's entirely possible if not rather likely he was christened Henry, and then known as Harry in the family - I've seen some very odd examples of how people can use and be known by completely irrelevant and incorrect names all their lives, even by their wives and families, and I'm thinking of modern times not just ye olde days !

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Have you tried tracing the family in their later years, 1939 Register etc. Asking again as, like I said before, I searched them all in their later lives using FreeBMD etc and with no real luck. I wasn't sure if this just showed them to be naturally secretive, much as one gets with traveller communities such as canal or river folk (re Henry's moving about the country, often it seems near the Severn etc ?). Or maybe they all emigrated and joined Harry ?. You needn't post your findings/knowledge here, as it's all getting rather "recent", but it would help me if you do know any more abt the rest of them, so I can stop looking too. I guess you have some idea, maybe they're your own family ?

(By the way, these folk are not related to me in any way, I'm just an innocent bystander trying to help a fellow member of the forum.)

Looking again at Henry & Jessie, with a view to finding then post 1911 (unless you already have them ?). Using the 1911 census etc, can find (also on Familysearch etc);

1901 Upper Welland, Malvern Wells, Worcestershire, England
Household Role Sex Age Birthplace
Henry Harris Head M 32 GROOM DOMESTIC. Gt Kyre, Worcestershire
Jessie Harris Wife F 26 Honiton, Devonshire
Ernest Harris Son M 1 Malvern Wells, Worcestershire

Surname First name(s) District Vol Page
Marriages Sep 1898 (>99%)
Hall Jessie Emma Tenbury 6c 373
Harris Henry Richard Tenbury 6c 373

1891 Helena Street, Smethwick, Worcestershire
Household Role Sex Age Birthplace
Caroline Owen Head F 58 Widow. Staffordshire, England
Lily Owen Daughter F 18 Staffordshire, England
Alfred Hill Boarder M 19 Fitter. Hanley, Staffordshire, England
William Harris Boarder M 24 Gardener. Worcestershire, England
Henry Harris Boarder M 22 Groom. Worcestershire, England

(THINK this maybe our Henry ?)

1881 Mile End Place, Tenbury, Worcestershire, England
Household Role Sex Age Birthplace
Maria Harris Head F 38 Widow. Charwomen, Tedstone, Herefordshire, England
Henery Harris Son M 12 Kyre, Worcestershire, England

1871 Sutton, Tenbury, Worcestershire, England
Household Role Sex Age Birthplace
William Harris Head M 30
Maria Harris Wife F 27 Agricultural Labourer. Clifton On Teme, Worcestershire
Arthur G Harris Son M 10 Clifton On Teme, Worcestershire
John Harris Son M 7 Great Kyre, Worcestershire
Fanny M Harris Daughter F 5 Great Kyre, Worcestershire
Henry R Harris Son M 2 Great Kyre, Worcestershire
Marion E Harris Daughter F 1 Great Kyre, Worcestershire

Name Henry Richard Harris
Gender Male
Christening Date 03 May 1868
Christening Date (Original) 03 MAY 1868
Christening Place GREAT KYRE,WORCESTER,ENGLAND
Father's Name William Harris
Mother's Name Maria

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Yet still cannot find them for sure in later life with the resources I have, sorry.