Travellers in the parish registers

[Wilkes_ml]

A surprisingly, rather informative entry at St. Mary, Tetbury, Gloucestershire:

Josiah son of Samuel and Sarah LEE, a Gypsy-Boy who was shot was buried 5th October 1811

[Wilkes_ml]

Another travelling entry I have come across which I have listed as a stray here but cross referenced it in this thread.

[Lesley Robertson]

Jane Mullin was born "in a tent between the farms of Laws and Ladykirk" BEW. Giving birth to her first child in a tent in December in the Scottish Borders must have been an experience.... Dad (John Mullin) started as a hawker, became an itinerant rat catcher and ended with his own business as a general horse dealer, but their first 7 (of 10) children were born as the family roamed NE Scotland. It must have been a major relief (to Mum (Agnes Gilbraith) at least) when they finally settled in Aberdeen before the arrival of her last 3 kids!

[Wilkes_ml]

Jane Mullin was born "in a tent between the farms of Laws and Ladykirk" BEW. Giving birth to her first child in a tent in December in the Scottish Borders must have been an experience.... Dad (John Mullin) started as a hawker, became an itinerant rat catcher and ended with his own business as a general horse dealer, but their first 7 (of 10) children were born as the family roamed NE Scotland. It must have been a major relief (to Mum (Agnes Gilbraith) at least) when they finally settled in Aberdeen before the arrival of her last 3 kids!

Do you have the date Jane was born? Or years of birth of her children? it sounds like an adventure travelling around, but I bet it was more hard work and drudgery trying to support the children whilst on the move.

Of course many of these children would have been born before the implementation of basic schooling, so it's not like they were missing out on an "education".

[Lesley Robertson]

Jane was born in 1860. Her last sibling was born in 1879.
Scotland (thanks to the Kirk) had obligatory primary education for children. Parish schoolmasters can be traced from the 17th century onwards, starting with the Privy Council Act of 1616. There were various law changes through the 1600s, but by the end of the century, the Parish Councils were responsible for employing a Schoolmaster of appropriate education and at a legally specified salary, and seeing to it that the children attended. The Minutes of their meetings are full of people looking for permission to pull their kids out. Boys and girls were all expected to be able to read their Bibles for themselves.

With the regular (often annual) moves of the ag labs, the schools much have been used to kids arriving and leaving, so it would have depended on how long the family stayed in one place.

[Wilkes_ml]

Another one to add:

Buried at St. James, Staple in Kent 27th December 1696 Thomas WAKEFIELD the son of a wayfairing woman.

[Wilkes_ml]

At a baptism at St. James, Staple, Kent

18th April 1802 Samuel Sampson SMALL son of a travelling woman baptised

[Wilkes_ml]

This time at St. Michael and All Angels, High Ercall ( or Ercall Magna), Shropshire Baptised 11th May 1715

Martha daughter of Mary SHIBBS a wandering woman & relict of Thomas SHIBBS

[Wilkes_ml]

Possibly from Cheshire, as a Thomas son of Thomas & Mary SHIBBS was baptised at Congleton, Cheshire in 1719 ( from Family Search)

[Wilkes_ml]

Also at St. Michael and All Angels, High Ercall ( or Ercall Magna), Shropshire Baptised 20th February 1714/5

James son of Thomas CLARKE a poor wandering man and Mary his wife