John,
British Origins is a subscription service, like
Ancestry.com - but I
think their indexing is more accurate. So far, they have parts of the
1841 & 1871 censuses online, plus various indices.
http://www.originsnetwork.com/
About the Jewish ancestry bit: my grandfather used to say that his
father was of gypsy origin. It explained how he had a surname the chief
origin of which was at the other end of the country (gypsies picked up
surnames as they roamed), as well as an unusually dark complexion, black
hair & black eyes (not inherited by me - his wife was a blue-eyed
blonde, like his mother, & my mother was their blue-eyed blonde
daughter, not one of the 3 black-eyed black-haired ones). However, when
I began tracing my ancestry, I found that if he did have gypsy ancestry
in the male line, it was in the 17th century or earlier, since there's
certainly none since 1698, & the available evidence suggests the name is
a case of a name of different origin being twisted by priests &
registrars to fit what was familiar to them. A myth. Maybe invented
whole, maybe a distorted recollection of a cattle and horse-trading
(i.e. a gypsy trade) ancestor of significance (he left several hundred
pounds in money, plus other assets, in 1738 - but his grandchildren were
labourers). Who knows? But it ain't true, & the records show it isn't.
I recently had an argument with a man who was a Hollywood scriptwriter
in the 1940s & 1950s. He confidently asserted that John Wayne was
universally known to be Jewish, & changed his name from Morrison (he
did) to conceal the fact. He'd worked with Wayne. Didn't mean he was
right. Wayne/Morrisons ancestors were Scots - and it's very well
documented. The ex-Hollywood man was, along with his entire milieu,
misled by the fact that Morrison was one of the surnames into which many
East European Jews anglicised their names when they became American.
Unfortunately, life is full of myths. The Rootsweb weekly journal
regularly carries reports from people who've found that a devoutly
believed family story has turned out to be impossible. Sometimes,
there's an obvious - but false - origin for the myth. Sometimes, it's
mysterious. Of course, sometimes these family stories are true, or
contain a significant kernel of truth. But sadly, by no means always.
BTW, a dark complexion could come from many sources. Consider Pushkin,
whose grandfather was African. In Britain, we can consider -
African & Indian seamen have been frequenting British ports since the
17th century, & Arabs before that.
The slaves freed in Britain in the late 18th century were mostly male, &
so their descendants were mostly mixed, & mixed further.
I'm sure a little study would show other possibilities.
Paul
John Hopkins wrote:
Thank you to both Julie Preston and Paul Irving for your replies.
I was not aware that the 1841 Gloucestershire census was available on line,
so thank you Paul - there are some Hopkins, Powell, Cullis, and Joseph
searches I can continue there. And I think the clear description of Thomas
Joseph as being an accountant does solve that possible confusion.
Secondly, Julie, I was aware that there were a number of Llanfihangels in
Radnorshire. I think my reason for picking on Ll. Nant Melan was the result
of a confusion in my mind when someone on another list referred to Radnor
(rather than Radnorshire), and I assumed the Llanfihangel closest to New and
Old Radnor was likely to be the one! Difficult to sort this out half a world
away...
Thirdly, whilst you may be correct about the Joseph name Julie, the family
have always been quite particular about the "fact" that my great grandmother
was Jewish. Perhaps it is a myth, founded in a stereotyping of the name, and
reinforced by her Semitic appearance. The Semitic appearance descends
through the family, to the extent that my nickname at work (behind my back I
may add) was The Rabbi (...this from people who knew nothing of my family
history, be it true or false). Of course the older generations who knew her
have all gone now, but my father, uncles and aunts, and all their cousins
were certain she was Jewish. Who knows now? Your caution is quite fair.
Thank you both.
John
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