Dear Kerry,
Thank you so much for your brilliant help!
This is a real step forward!
I was sure his mother's name must be Ann as he names his second daughter Ann, and that is often how it is done.
So this is almost certainly his parent's m record.
John himself m. Henrietta at St Paul's C of E Deptford, Kent in August 1834.
On the 1841 Census there is a James Oliver aged 15 living with John and Henrietta and their 3 children in Bromley Kent.
I have often thought that if I could find this James' birth record it might lead to John's, as they are probably brothers, but James is a good few years younger than John.
My grandfather told me that our Oliver family was from the Scilly Isles where they had the dubious history, along with other, of luring ships on to the rocks by giving them false lighting signals, so they could collect the stuff from the wrecks!
My grandfather was very upset by this information as a child and told my mother about it.
But I do not know in which generation they left Scilly.
I have not been able to identify them there, although there are Olivers on the Islands, and they do use the name John.
I have only checked out births in the 1809 time span, but 'my' John Oliver seems to have had a father called John also if I can make this assumption, so I could check out that generation also.
Thank you again for your time.
Best wishes,
Annette
