www.old-maps.co.uk
co ords 366500 229500

I am delighted to find from the web there is a pub in Upton Bishop called 'The Moody Cow', and I hope it may be possible to stay there on a visit I am determined to make.

This all started out with looking up the Medal Index Cards of my uncles who had served in the First World War, and look where it has lead !!

Fantastic.

Regards,
John

Surname GURNEY
Forename(s) John
Place of Residence Near the Fishpools in parish of Kempley
Age at death 59
Officiating Minister W.W. Gretton Vicar of Whittington
Event Burial
Cause of death
Memoranda
Notes
Register Reference AD99/8
Page No 14
Parish/Chapel Upton Bishop

Surname GURNEY
Forename(s) John
Place of Residence Kempley
Age at death 62
Officiating Minister T.B. Power
Event Burial
Cause of death
Memoranda
Notes
Register Reference AD99/8
Page No 70
Parish/Chapel Upton Bishop

Best wishes,

John Gurney

"dates" will vary ! esp. the 1841 which instructed enumerators to "round" adult ages to nearest 5 - however not all enumerators did this - hence a 1781 date.....( when you might expect 1779)

The 1841 did not record place of birth , other than "in County" and that can be hit and miss too !

Neither did the 1841 record relationships between household members. Thankfully over the years more and more was gathered , which is a great help to us now. However, I'm sure one or two individuals also gave an answer to the enumerator which was strictly "false" ---- Orwell had yet to write 1984, but even then the notion of privacy was developing :-)

Its hard to be 100% in this game, the best we can do is gather evidence and see the weight / trends develop.

this may be his death after the 1851 census

Name: John Gurney
Year of Registration: 1860
Quarter of Registration: Jan-Feb-Mar
District: Newent
County: Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire
Volume: 6a
Page: 155

Name: John Gurney
Year of Registration: 1860
Quarter of Registration: Apr-May-Jun
District: Newent
County: Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire
Volume: 6a
Page: 139

there are also a couple in Middlesex to consider - just in case he travelled with the "children" to London, but I think this is his widow Mary

1861 Fishpool Kempley
Mary Gurney abt 1800 Dymock, Gloucestershire, England Head Kempley Gloucestershire
Benjamin Perry abt 1845 Linton, Herefordshire, England Lodger Kempley Gloucestershire

Fishpool is a hamlet just to the west of Kempley

Thanks for reposting that information, which I have combed through again, but still come to a dead end.

I am very new to this business of tracing ancestors and perhaps I am missing vital points during my search, e.g. should I just assume a person 'fits' even if the date is not quite right, which brings me back to my question regarding the reliability of dates on the census forms.

I find I am still stumped at John Gurney of 1797, or perhaps 1799. Oh well, it was nice to have got back that far and into the fresh air of the Forest of Dean, away from Shoreditch, St. Pancras, and similar areas of London to which the family gravitated from about 1850.

Many thanks for your help, which has been much appreciated.

Regards,

John Gurney

I cannot get back further than John Gurney, who from the 1851 census records was born Upton Bishop 1797.

In 1824 at Much Marcle he married Mary Hooper of Dymock.

On the basis of perhaps the 1851 census not giving the correct age, I believe this may be the same John Gurney as buried at Hampton Bishop in 1876, with his year of birth given as 1799. (Burial ref: HBP/174). I come to this conclusion after an exhaustive search of burial records for, and each side of 1797.

Sadly, I can find no evidence of a Baptism record which would give me the names of his parents.

The John Gurney mentioned above is my great great grandfather, and that is where my search comes to a full stop.

Please advise: Am I right in thinking the census records can be a bit of a hit and miss affair, with ages guessed at, and even place of birth guessed at sometimes.

Any suggestions please as to how I can progress from here: I have spent hours searching the information on this web site, Ancestry, Genesreunited, and a website I found for Herefordshire families.

Many thanks,

John Gurney (Current version)