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Bayliss

  • Thread starter Thread starter george
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george

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I am hoping someone can help me here. I have a Thomas Bayliss, born 1828 or thereabouts, married Ann Littley 25 Dec 1855. He was a brass founder according to the census returns except 1861 where I can't find him, Ann or their son George.
According to all the census returns I have, he was born in Birmingham except for 1891 when it says born in Worcester, Staffs. His father was George, (a gas fitter?) from the marriage certificate. I can't find any evidence of Thomas prior to his marriage. Does anyone recognise him or have any suggestions on where I go from here? I can't find his baptism records anywhere either despite a whole afternoon in Birmingham library. I am stumped!
 
hi there is a census entry that may be yours in 1861 as follows

george baylis 32 brass cock founder born wolverhampton staffs
ann 23 born bham
george 4 b bham
james 2 b bham
marian 1 b bham

chris

sorry just realised your person was thomas not george.
 
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You know, that could be them. If Thomas' name was incorrectly put as George everything else fits. I'm going to chase up James and Marion as they don't appear on any further census returns but there is a gap between George's birth in 1857 and the next child in 1862. Maybe James and Marion filled this gap but died? You are wonderful! This at least gives me something to look at, I never thought of wrong christian name....thank you very much!
 
Thomas Baylis (one S)
born 11th July 1828
baptised 4th august 1828 St. Phillips,Birmingham
parents George and Elizabeth

this record is extracted on to IGI from actual documents.
 
glad i made a happy mistake! i did think everything else fitted so well. even his occupation is spot on.
all the best chris
 
I am interested in your Bayliss, as I have reached a dead end. My Thomas Bayliss was born in 1828 (ish) in Birmingham or Wolverhampton dependingon the census year. He is stated as being married to Anne (but I have no former surname for her).

I have 7 recorded children (and birth dates) George (1857/1858), Thomas (1861/1862), Arthur (1868/1869), Albert (1871), Ann (1873), Elizabeth (13 or 30 January 1877, and my great grandmother) and Alfred (1880/1881). Apart from Elizabeth, the dates could be a year earlier due to basis of calculation.

I have census information for 1871 to 1891, but not 1861 when they would have been together due to George's date of birth.

I believe Thomas (the elder) died between 22 May 1899 (date of Elizabeth's marraiage) and 31 March 1901.
 
"I am interested in your Bayliss, as I have reached a dead end. My Thomas Bayliss was born in 1828 (ish) in Birmingham or Wolverhampton depending on the census year. He is stated as being married to Anne (but I have no former surname for her)."

Hi Martyn, I have realised that this is not my family after all but I still have bits of info on them. I need to look at my files, hopefully over the weekend. Ann's maiden name was Littley, her parents died in Birmingham workhouse. I'm not related to them as far as I can see but spent quite a lot of time on them before realising! I have various certificates which might be of use too. Will get back to you ASAP.
 
Thank you George, that would be useful. Ann Littley looks to be the right name based on the maiden surname given on the birth certificate of Elizabeth Bayliss. The censuses for 1871, 1881 and 1891 and at the date of Elizabeth's birth give his occupation variously as brass dresser, and brass founder. However, I am still intrigued to know where he was at the time of the census in 1861(by which time he had a least one, if not two, sons) and also 1851 and 1841. I also note tnhat the 1871 spelt his name as Bailis!
 
Hi Martyn,
Here is what I have on that family from certificates:
I don't have Thomas' birth certificate
Thomas Bayliss married Ann Littley Dec 26 1853 at St Peter and St Paul Church, Aston. His father was named George Bayliss, Gas fitter and hers was John Littley, Sawyer. Witnesses were John Pugh and Eliza Bayliss. Thomas' profession was brass founder.
I also have a birth certificate for their son, Alfred, Born 17 April, 1880, 12 Manchester Street, St George, Birmingham. Thomas' profession: brass tap dresser. There were other children, you probably already have them from the census returns.
Thomas died 22 February 1899, 4 Court, Upper Thomas Street, Aston Manor, Birmingham. Profession: Brass dresser journeyman. Cause of death: Senile decay, bronchitis. Informant was Ann, wife.
Anne Littley was born 5 March 1838 at Smith street, Knights Court, St George, Birmingham. Father: John Littley, Mother Eliza Littley, formerly Ballance. Father's profession: sawyer.
John and Eliza also had 2 other daughters called Eliza (born 1834) and Mary (born 1844). Mary went on to marry Thomas Bedford (1868) and had 3 daughters: Elizabeth (1869), Sarah Ann (1872) and Eliza (1874).
John Littley was born in 1807 in Derbyshire. Eliza Ballance in 1807 in Rugeley, Staffordshire. They both died in the Workhouse in Western Rod, Birmingham. Eliza died on 12 April, 1883 of chronic bronchitis and exhaustion, age 76. John died 27 April, 15 days later, of senile gangrene. His profession was labourer, age 76. I thought this was really upsetting, how they died so near together yet presumably separated. They were living at New John Street in 1881 with Mary, their daughter. In 1891 she was still living there so I guess they went into the workhouse hospital because they were ill, not because they were homeless, still very sad though.
Because this wasn't my family I deleted a lot of the research from my computer so need to find paper copies of everything. If you think this is the correct family I'll see what else I have. I seem to remember that the surname was spelt strangely for other census returns (Bellis might be one version) and I did manage to track him down eventually. If this is your family you are very welcome to have the relevant certificates, it would be good to find this family's 'real' owners' because I felt I got to know them and was quite sad they weren't mine after all.
My family is proving to be just as elusive and, it turns out, weren't really even Bayliss, that was an adopted name from a step father.
Well, hope this helps, will look out paperwork next week when we've broken up from school and I have time to think! Take care, George
 
Many thanks for that information - far more detailed than I had got to. It is sad that Thomas died in February 1899, as his daughter married my great grandfather in May 1899. The Bellis name may be a useful source. I have spent a lt of time thinking how Bayliss would sound when spoken with a Birmingham dialect by people who could not read or write, and would not know how their details had been recorded.
 
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