Great, great, great grandfather, Joseph Burton is the earliest Burton I have so far been able to identify as a direct descendent. Joseph Burton and wife, Ann, are living in the Civil Parish of East Tisbury, Dunworth Hundred, County of Wiltshire, in southwestern England in 1841. Joseph's birth year is recorded as about 1801. However, I think it's more likely that he was born about 1797 as is recorded ten years later in the 1851 census. That would make him about 44 years old in 1841. Ann Burton, maiden name unknown, gives her age in 1841 as 47, which means she was three years older than Joseph and was born about 1794. Joseph lists his occupation in 1841 simply as, "farmer."

Joseph and Ann have five children living at home in 1841:

John aged 23, born about 1818
James aged 20, born about 1821
Henry aged 19, born about 1822
William aged 14, born about 1827
Thomas, aged 12, born about 1829.

Missing from the household at census time is Mary A. Burton who was born about 1826. Mary was working in the Helm/King household in the nearby village of Chilmark and records her age as fifteen at the time.

By the time of the 1851 census, all the Burton sons have left home and daughter, Mary A. Burton, has returned to live with her parents and says that she's "employed at home." Joseph declares that he is farming 28 acres, and Ann says she's a "farmer's wife."

It's interesting to note that Joseph's son, William appears on the same census page for 1851 (see below) living in the Mary Fayle household with son James Fayle. I believe that Mary is a possible sister to Joseph Burton. Joseph's and Mary's birthdates are only four years apart and they appear to be living right next door to each other. Mary lists her occupation as "groccer and iron monger," which is interesting. William lists his relation to the household as "nephew" (which means, I suppose, that Mary could be his mother's sister as well as his father's sister in law). William lists his occupation as "farm laborer."

In the 1861 census, Mary Fayle's last name is recorded as "Foyle." I know it's the same person since her job is still listed as "iron monger." I looked for her son's name in the birth records and found "James Frederick Foyle," born in 1842 in Tisbury, Wiltshire. He's the only one with any spelling of that name born in Tisbury on or near that date, so the family's last name is probably "Foyle" and not "Fayle."

Of further interest on the 1851 census is a "Deborah Burton, born in 1778, and living on the same Hindon Lane adjacent to the other Burtons. That would make her old enough to be Joseph's mother. However, I don't believe she is. I believe that Deborah could be, for instance, the wife of an uncle of Joseph's since the name Deborah does not show up in the Joseph Burton family in any of his children or grandchildren. Had Deborah been "grandma Deborah," someone would have named a child after her. I suspect that she's probably an aunt.

One more interesting item on the 1851 census is the notation that a family of stone masons lived at #5 Hindon Lane (the Burtons live at #4). That's interesting because Joseph's son, John lists his occupation as stone mason in 1851. I'd say the Tilt family had some influence on young John.

I believe that Joseph Burton, farmer of 28 acres in the village of Tisbury, Wiltshire, died before the 1861 census. Checking the death records, I found that a Joseph Burton died in the fall of 1859 in Tisbury, the only one of the proper age to do so between 1851 and 1861. His wife, Ann appears in the 1861 census living with son William and daughter, Mary A. Burton. It seems obvious that Joseph passed away and William came to live with his sister and mother and took over farming the 28 acres. It may also be that in the spring of 1864 Ann died, as I found a corresponding death notice in that time period for Tisbury. She would have been about 71 years old. She does not show up in the 1871 census anywhere that I have been able to find.

The next task I set for myself was to figure out what my great great great grandmother, Ann Burton's maiden name was. Sometimes you find that maternal relatives come to stay with the wife's new household, which makes it easy to figure out. Unfortunately, the census in 1841 and 1851 records no such visitors in the Joseph and Ann Burton household. I looked for Christenings for someone named "Ann" in the 1794 timeframe, but nine girls show up in that 1794, 1795, 1796 period. If I look at just 1794, I still have four girls to contend with. If I look for marriages that took place in Tisbury in the 1816, 1817, 1818 timeframe, I found none listed for Joseph and Ann. What to do?

Next I decided to consult the naming convention list. In earlier times in the British Isles, families went by a fairly strict naming convention with their large families. Listed below is one reference I found:

The first son is named after the father's father.
The second son is named after the mother's father.
The third son is named after the father.
The fourth son is named after the fathers eldest brother.
The first daughter is named after the mother's mother.
The second daughter is named after the father's mother.
The third daughter is named after the mother.
The fourth daughter is named after the mother's eldest sister.

Since Joseph and Ann named their second-born son James, maybe we can assume that Ann's father's name was James. Searching the record for "James," born between 1764 and 1774 (the age I consider most likely for Ann's father to have been when she was born in 1794) I find only two men: James Bevis, born 1769; and James Martin, born 1764. If I widen the search years to include the period 1756-1776, I only get one more guy: James Andrews, born 1756. So, based on my search criteria, it would seem that my choice for a great great great great grandfather are fairly slim.

Next I compared the last name of the three Jameses to my list of Christenings for East Tisbury around 1794, when Ann was born. The only one that comes close is Ann Martin, christened 12 November, 1797. For Ann Martin to be my ancestor, she would have to have been off by three years on her birthdate as she reported it on the census form in 1841 and two years off for 1851 (see below).

My research on John Burton's children showed that christenings took place, most often, within one to several months after birth, so Ann Martin is probably not my ancestor. Probably great great great grandmother, Ann wasn't christened at all.

1841 CENSUS FOR EAST TISBURY, WILTSHIRE, ENGLAND
Joseph Burton Family

1851 CENSUS FOR EAST TISBURY, WILTSHIRE, ENGLAND
Joseph Burton Family

John Burton is the eldest son of Joseph Burton. He makes his living as a stone mason. He married Tabitha Mabbott around 1843. We know about when John and Tabitha got married because by the time of the 1851 census, the couple has an eight-year-old daughter, Emily. Tabitha's maiden name was probably "Mabbott" since a Tabitha Mabbott was married in Tisbury in the Jan-Feb-Mar time frame of 1843. However, I've found no other coraborating census records on Tabitha Mabbott. Except for her death record in 1858, she doesn't show up in the record, not even in the 1841 census.

At the time of the 1851 census, the John Burton family was living at #7 Hindon Lane, just a few doors down from his mom and dad at #4

By the time of the 1861 census (see below), John is living alone with his daughter, Emily. Death records indicate that Tabitha died in the fall of 1858. John's occupation is listed as "journeyman stone mason."

By the time of the 1871 census (see below), some interesting things have happened in the John Burton household. Daughter Emily has come of age, been married, produced a daughter, Tabitha, but is mysteriously still living with her widowed father.

Research shows that one John Damrel, before he was Emily Burton's husband, can be found living in the village of Poltimore, in east Devonshire County, in 1861. His address is listed simply as, "Poltimore Stables." He's working as a stable groom. After some reaserch, I decided that John was probably working at Poltimore Manor since I was unable to find any other historic reference to stables in the village. Poltimore is 122 miles southwest of where his future wife, Emily Burton was living. Seven years later, in 1868, he married Emily, but she continued to live in Tisbury, Wiltshire County, with her father. The question is, in an age when travel outside of your local village was rare, how did these two young people meet? John worked as a horse groom, Emily kept house for her father. It seems unlikely they would have ever crossed paths.

I found a description of a modern "horse groom" on the web which may be instructive. It says, "Horse Grooms work in a barn or stable and will be outdoors a good deal of the time, in hot, cold or rainy weather when necessary. Although most Horse Grooms work full time, they may not work regular hours as they travel with horses to shows and races on evenings, weekends and holidays."

So, if John Damrel's employer raced horses, just 15 miles away from Tisbury where Emily lived is the Salisbury Racecourse, one of England's oldest. Racing has taken place at the picturesque course since the 16th century and certainly must have been operating in the 19th century. Maybe Emily had just traveled from Tisbury to the nearby big city for a day of shopping and ran into the handsome groom at the local tea shop. It could happen.

Perhaps the reason John is missing from the 1871 census is because John's employer travels the race horse circuit. In 1871, the census was taken on April 2nd. If that date conincided with the opening of the racing season, or even pre-season practicing, John might be on the road, caring for horses at various racetracks, and be missed by the census takers. This would also explain why Emily was living with her father in 1871. In their three years of marriage, she and John simply had not yet established a permanent home yet.

By the time of the census of 1881 (see below), Emily is finally out of the home and John is living with a trio of boarders -- Journeyman Baker, Sidney Ford, his wife, Annie, and son Sidney Thomas Ford. By this time John is 63 years old and does not list an occupation. Possibly he has retired and earns his living renting rooms.

By the time of the 1891 census, John Burton is living by himself and has returned to listing his occupation as, "mason." Perhaps he still must do odd jobs to earn some small income to pay for his two rooms (noted on census form), probably an apartment, in Tisbury. He's still living in Hindon Lane, just as he has done all his life. I believe that John died in the fall of 1893 as I found a death record for Tisbury for that year.

1851 CENSUS FOR EAST TISBURY, WILTSHIRE, ENGLAND
John Burton Family

1861 CENSUS FOR EAST TISBURY, WILTSHIRE, ENGLAND
John Burton Family

1871 CENSUS FOR EAST TISBURY, WILTSHIRE, ENGLAND
John Burton Family

1881 CENSUS FOR EAST TISBURY, WILTSHIRE, ENGLAND
John Burton Family

1891 CENSUS FOR EAST TISBURY, WILTSHIRE, ENGLAND
John Burton Family

The next oldest Burton brother is James. James is living with his parents in 1841, but by 1845 or 1846 he has established a household of his own. He has a wife, Jane, and a son, Frederick. I missed them for awhile because they are listed in the census record with the spelling, "Barton." The family has established residence in West Tisbury and James is working as a "Sawyer." Of interest is the other member of the family, William Alford, identified as "Brother-in-law. That means, I suppose, that James' wife, Jane, is an Alford. In fact, I found Jane Alford, along with her brother, William, and the rest of the Alford family in West Tisbury in 1841. Her father's name was James. Her mother's name was Elizabeth. Like the Burton family, the Alfords were making their living as farmers.

Also of interest on the West Tisbury census document is a family identified as John and Mary Ann "Benton." Close examination of the document convinces me that the name should really be, "Burton," not Benton. John Burton lists his occupation as, "Journeyman Blacksmith." So, who are these Burtons in West Tisbury? Could they be cousins?

By the time of the 1871 census (see below), the James Burton family has moved to the village of Andover, in the the county of Hampshire, almost 40 miles to the northeast. The census document shows that both James Burton and his son, Frederick are working as carpenters. Interestingly, a Maryann Burton, age 44, is living with the James Burton family. She's marked as a "Visitor" (though the census says, "Assistant"). This is the identical age that James' sister, Mary Ann would be at this time.

I could not find a census document for James and Jane Burton for 1881, which started me looking for a reason. I found that a James Burton, living in Andover, Hampshire, died in the July-August-September time frame of 1877. He was only 58 years old. This James Burton's birthdate was listed as 1819, which is probably the right guy.

So, for the 1881 census, I found Jane Burton living with two of her children, Thomas and Henry, in Andover, Hampshire and working as a dressmaker. The older son, Thomas, is a "blacksmith." And the younger son, Henry, is a "groom."

In 1891, Jane Burton is now a "retired dressmaker" living with her youngest son, Henry, still in Andover, Hampshire. Henry lists his profession as "...domestic servant" Jane dies in the Oct-Nov-Dec time frame of 1900 in Andover, Hampshire. The death notice lists her birth year as 1827.

1851 CENSUS FOR EAST TISBURY, WILTSHIRE, ENGLAND
James Burton Family

1861 CENSUS FOR EAST TISBURY, WILTSHIRE, ENGLAND
James Burton Family

1871 CENSUS FOR ANDOVER, HAMPSHIRE, ENGLAND
James Burton Family

1881 CENSUS FOR ANDOVER, HAMPSHIRE, ENGLAND
James Burton (deceased) Family

1891 CENSUS FOR ANDOVER, HAMPSHIRE, ENGLAND
James Burton (deceased) Family

Henry Burton married Ann in the spring of 1850. Henry was born in 1821 in the Village of East Tisbury and Ann was born in the nearby village of Chilmark in 1824. For the 1851 Census Henry is working, of all things, as an "Inn Keeper." That's sort of startling considering his father and brothers all had a trade. I consider it significant that Henry had moved away from the family center in Tisbury to find employment.

By the time of the 1861 Census, we find Henry listing his employment as "Laborer."

In 1871, Henry has begun to drift back toward the traditional family business, that of farming. He declares his job as, "Master Gardener."

I believe that Henry's wife, Ann dies in 1876 and I don't think Henry is able to recover from the shock. He does not remarry and does not seek to raise his standing in the community.

For the 1881 census Henry is back to listing his profession as "General Laborer." He's a lodger in someone else's household.

For the 1891 census Henry's back to being a "gardener."

And for the 1901 census, Henry has been declared a "pauper," is living in a facility for poor people, and declares his profession as "ordinary agricultural laborer."

Henry dies in 1904. Oddly enough, though Henry never rose above a common laborer, he may still have managed to outlive nearly all his brothers. Maybe it was the lack of stress.

1851 CENSUS FOR FONTHILL, BISHOP, HAMPSHIRE, ENGLAND
Henry Burton Family

1861 CENSUS FOR ROMSEY, EXTRA, HAMPSHIRE, ENGLAND
Henry Burton Family

1871 CENSUS FOR BURSLEDON, HAMPSHIRE, ENGLAND
Henry Burton Family

1881 CENSUS FOR NEWPORT, HAMPSHIRE, ENGLAND
Henry Burton, a widower

1891 CENSUS FOR ARRETON, ROOKLEY, HAMPSHIRE, ENGLAND
Henry Burton, a widower

1901 CENSUS FOR CARISBROOKE, HAMPSHIRE, ENGLAND
Henry Burton, a widower

Mary Ann Burton spends most of her life living with family members, although for the 1841 census she's working in the nearby village of Chilmark as a domestic. For the next three decades, Mary Ann Burton lives with family. She's living with her parents at the time of the 1851 census. She's living with her widowed mother and younger brother for the 1861 census. And she's living with her brother James and his wife Jane for the 1871 census.

By the time the 1881 census rolls around, Mary Ann has evidently been married, as I do not find her in the record under the name Burton. Four women with the name Mary Ann Burton were married in the Tisbury area of Wiltshire County in the time period between 1871 and 1881. I think we can assume that our Mary Ann Burton was probably among them. Unfortunately, the spouses' names were not recorded on any of the four.

The four names were Alford, Matthews, Pain, and Penny. I ruled out Penny as John Penny was married to his Mary Ann before 1871. In 1871 Mary Ann Burton was living with her brother, James, and was not married. Mary Alford was the wife of William Alford as far back as 1851, so she's not our Mary. And Henry and Mary A. Pain have a fourteen-year-old son, so that Mary can't be right, either.

But when we come to David Matthews we have better luck. David was single in 1871 and married to "Mary Ann" in 1775. By 1881 David is living with his wife in Collingbourne Kingston, his home town. He could easily be our guy. Collingbourne Kingston is slightly over a dozen miles away from Mary's residence in Andover, which means he's close enough to run into her at social functions.

Research shows that in 1875, one Mary Ann Burton was married in the Pewsey district (of which Collingbourne Kingston is a part), in the county of Wiltshire. I suspect that it's a good chance we have narrowed down our choices to the correct Mary Ann Burton.

At this point I encountered a problem. By the time of the 1891 census, David and Mary Ann Matthews completely disappear from the census record in England. I searched to see if they immigrated, but found no evidence of them in America. Then I looked at death notices. Incredibly, a David and Mary Ann Matthews both died in the Pewsey district of Wiltshire County in the same Apr-May-Jun time frame of 1886. Birthdates of the deceased appear to be within a year of the right dates for David and Mary Ann. And, most intersting, their deaths are noted on pages 93 (Mary Ann) and 97 (David) in the death record (see below), which leads me to believe they died within days of each other. So, what do you suppose happened to them?

1881 CENSUS FOR COLLINGBOURNE KINGSTON, WILTSHIRE, ENGLAND
Mary Ann (Burton) Matthews family

Deaths recorded for David and Mary Ann (Burton) Matthews

William Burton was born in Tisbury, Wiltshire, the fourth son of Joseph and Ann Burton of Tisbury, Wiltshire. His future wife, Sarah Ann (Stingemore) Burton was born in Melbury Abbas, North Dorset. The two villages are only 9.9 miles apart.

William and Sarah Ann were married in the Oct-Nov-Dec time period of 1870 in Tisbury, as I found a record for that date.

On the 1871 census the couple declares William's age as "44" and Sarah's age as "26." He was 18 some odd years older than her. I figured out what Sarah's last name was because she has her brother, Frank Stingemore, living with her and William at that time. Tracing back to the 1861 census in Welbury Abbas, Dorset, I found the Stingemores with both Sarah Ann and Frank present.

For the 1881 census, Sarah Ann appears to be living in Addington, Surrey and working as a cook and domestic. She lists herself as, "widower," which means that William was deceased. Trouble is, I can't find any record of William having died. And, it's hard to imagine how Sarah came to be well over 100 miles away from Tisbury in the county of Surrey by 1881. Unfortunately, she's the only Sarah A. Burton from Melbury, Dorset, who shows up on the census for that year so I assume it must be she.

I was unable to find Sarah Ann Burton in the census for 1891, nor was I able to find a death notice for her. I did find a record for the marriage of Sarah Ann Burton in the Lambeth District of Greater London and Surrey for 1888, which could very well be her if she remarried.

1851 CENSUS FOR EAST TISBURY, WILTSHIRE, ENGLAND
William Burton, a single man

1861 CENSUS FOR EAST TISBURY, WILTSHIRE, ENGLAND
William Burton Family

1871 CENSUS FOR EAST TISBURY, WILTSHIRE, ENGLAND
William Burton Family

1881 CENSUS FOR WARDOUR, WILTSHIRE, ENGLAND
Sarah A. Burton, wife of William Burton

Thomas and Martha Burton are my great, great, grandparents. Thomas was born in the village of Tisbury, just west of Salisbury, in the county of Wiltshire, England.

There's an interesting inconsistency on the 1901 census for the Burton family (see below). Thomas Burton claims to have been born in Chippenham, which is a huge mistake for someone who's been claiming Tisbury, Wiltshire, for the previous fifty years. Also, Thomas' wife Martha, claims the name of "Mary" while their houseguest is named "Martha." Maybe the census worker just mixed up the two women. There's no way to tell at present.

Since I've been studying genealogy, I've become acutely aware of how tenuous a thing it is for a family name to survive from generation to generation. In earlier times everyone had large families, what with child mortality from sanitary conditions and epidemics being so high. Lots of kids helped insure that at least one boy would survive in each generation to carry on the family name.

My great great great grandfather, Joseph Burton, had five sons: John, James, Henry, William, and Thomas. Of these five, Henry and William had no children, and John had only a single girl child. Only James and the youngest son, Thomas, my great great grandfather, had boys.

James had three sons: Frederick in 1851, Thomas in 1858, and Henry in 1862. Thomas had two sons: Joseph in 1850 and Albin in 1868.

I looked up James' son Thomas and found that he was still living in Wiltshire in 1901, as was his brother, Henry. Frederick had moved to Andover, Hampshire, but was also still in England by the time of the 1901 census. I suspect none of these brothers immigrated to America.

Turning to Thomas, my great, great grandfather's sons, Joseph and Albin, we find that Albin, the younger son, was still living in England in 1901. Older brother, Joseph was the only Burton boy to immigrate to America, which he did in late 1879 or early 1880 after having a son, Thomas, in 1879.

It was in America, in the state of Pennsylvania, that my Grandmother, Gwendolain Burton, was born around 1887. While not important for survival of the Burton name, it sure was an important event for me.

It will be interesting to research further to find out if Joseph's son, Thomas (or a later son, Alexander) produced sons to carry on the Burton name in America. In England, the descendants of James' sons, Thomas and Frederick (son Henry evidently had no children), whose names were Ashton, Edwin, Frederick, Henry, and Arthur, almost certainly produced a son between the five of them, and Thomas' son, Albin had two boys, Reginald and George, who could have produced a boy or two between them. If so, my Burton ancestors in Wiltshire and Hampshire probably number in the dozens, if not hundreds.

1851 CENSUS FOR MONKTON FARLEIGH, WILTSHIRE, ENGLAND
Thomas Burton Family

1861 CENSUS FOR MONKTON FARLEIGH, WILTSHIRE, ENGLAND
Thomas Burton Family

1871 CENSUS FOR MONKTON FARLEIGH, WILTSHIRE, ENGLAND
Thomas Burton Family

1881 CENSUS FOR MONKTON FARLEIGH, WILTSHIRE, ENGLAND
Thomas Burton Family

1891 CENSUS FOR SANDY LANE, CALNE, WILTSHIRE, ENGLAND
Thomas Burton Family

1901 CENSUS FOR ROWDE, WILTSHIRE, ENGLAND
Thomas Burton Family

Joseph was born, according to the census, in Apr-May-Jun of 1850, which jives with the April 20, 1850, date that Mom had recorded in her research.

Here's something interesting: my great grandfather, Joseph Williams Burton, was living in Monkton Farleigh, Somerset, with his parents, Thomas and Martha Burton, for the census in 1861 and 1871. In 1874, he married Eliza Jane Jefferies (adopted name, Peacock) in Newport, across the River Severn in Wales, some 45 miles away. That strikes me as odd. Why not get married in the area where they were living and where all their relatives were living?

Here's one possible explanation: keeping in mind that Eliza was probably still working as a domestic when she met young Joseph, what if Thomas and Martha Burton didn't approve of their future daughter-in-law? The Burtons had long been tradesmen. Maybe they refused to give Joseph their consent to marry a girl from a lower rung on the economic ladder. Perhaps Joseph and Eliza had to elope and get married where no one knew them. Some place like Wales.

This scenario is believable, since soon after their wedding, Joseph and Eliza packed up and moved 270+ miles away to the east coast of England where, in the second quarter of 1877, they had a baby girl, Beatrice, in the village of West Riding, Yorkshire. Beatrice is a name not found in the Burton family tree to that point.

Keep in mind, Joseph was a mason, a bricklayer. He certainly didn't need to move to Yorkshire to find construction work. There must have been plenty of masonry work closer to his home at that point in the industrial revolution.

Maybe Joseph and Eliza thought that things had cooled off, for they soon moved back to western England. We know because in 1879 they had had son named Thomas in the town of Bristol, very near their one-time homes.

But perhaps things still weren't okay, for shortly thereafter they show up in the census records for Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania where history records one more puzzling fact: Joseph and Eliza told the census worker in 1880 that their names were -- "William" and "Jane," which were actually their middle names. Now that is pretty darn intriguing. Wouldn't it be fun to know just what really went on with Joseph and Eliza in that brief period from the early 1870s to 1880?

Unfortunalely, Joseph doesn't last long in his adopted country. By the spring of 1890 Joseph dies. He's only 40 years old. His wife, Eliza Jane also dies young, passing away in the spring of 1898. She's just 51 years old. What do you suppose happened in America that would cut their lives so tragically short?

The census records for 1890 have been lost, but when we look at the records for 1900 (below) we see that the Burton children are continuing to live together as a family unit. Beatrice is the oldest at 23 and proclaims herself as the head of household. Thomas is 21, followed by Harry at 17, Alexander at 15, and Gwendolain, my grandmother, at 13.

By the time the 1910 census rolls around, my grandmother, Gwendolain Williams Burton, is living with her mother's adopted uncle Joseph and aunt Mary Peacock. Eliza's adopted parents, John and Hannah Peacock have long since passed away in England. Gwendolain is still five years away from marrying my Grandfather, Thomas Davis. Interestingly, Thomas joins the Navy in 1910 and serves until 1914 aboard the Battleship Nebraska.

Joseph and Eliza's son, Thomas Mathias Burton, applied for his citizenship on July 1st of 1921 and I found his paperwork. What a find! The form (see below) provided a world of information, including his parent's immigration dates, his employment type, and personal information on him and his wife and family.

Joseph's wife, Eliza Jane Jeffries (or Jefferis) was adopted in England by the Peacock family. She was only a Jeffries, at most, for the first few years of her life. The 1851 census finds Eliza living with John and Hannah Peacock in Kelston, Somerset, England.

Unfortunately, what I don't know is just what family little Eliza Jane came from. Oddly enough, on the 1841 census the Peacocks were living right next door to the "Jeffry" family, Joseph and Ann, who had a little daughter named "Mary." Did the Jeffry family have another daughter in 1847 (Eliza's birthdate) and then all but Eliza die in some terrible tragedy before 1851? I know the family doesn't show up in the 1851 census. Did the neighboring Peacock family feel sorry for the lone newborn survivor and adopt her?

Or is there another explanation? For instance, my research has turned up a family of "Jefferies" living in the workhouse in Siston in the county of Somerset, only 6 miles from the Peacocks home in Kelston in 1851. Even more interesting, John Peacock claims to have been born in Siston. Could the family in the workhouse have been acquainted with the Peacocks? Might they even have been one-time neighbors? Perhaps the Peacocks offered to help the family out by adopting the new baby whom the Jefferies could ill afford to maintain in the workhouse. Only three adult women, one a grandmother, and six other children are listed in the workhouse. No adult male shows up. Intriguing!

Incredibly enough, when you check the births for the Gloucestershire, Somerset District for the 1846, 1847, 1848 window, you find three Eliza "Jefferis" girls born in Keynsham, one in each year. I suppose Eliza Jane has to be one of them, however which one?

1880 CENSUS FOR PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, U.S.A
Joseph and Eliza Burton Family

1900 CENSUS FOR PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, U.S.A
Joseph and Eliza Burton Family

1910 CENSUS FOR PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, U.S.A
Joseph and Eliza Burton Family

1921 NATURALIZATION PETITION FOR THOMAS MATHIAS BURTON II