Thanks so much for your response, and sorry mine has been so late - I was overseas and not able to look into at all!
I had come across the marriage of a Thomas ROBERTS to Ann RUMMELL and wondered if it was "our" one, but couldn't find anything to confirm it, and there seemed to be a few questionable conflicts that perhaps suggested it wasn't "our" Thomas ROBERTS.
My Thomas was born about 1750 (aged 90 at his death in 1839) and seemed to live his whole life in the parish of St George Southwark whereas the Thomas ROBERTS on the marriage record was of Christ Church (although I don't know enough about the different areas to know how close or distant the two were). The notes I have from a family member who did some research in London in the 1920s suggests he worked in customs too - although how much truth to that, I don't know. I do know that he was literate though, so that was the last part that seemed inconsistent, that the Thomas on the marriage to Ann RUMMELL signed his mark. But that all said, the date fits in extremely well with the people I am looking at so I will try and relook at it this week to see if I can fit it in or more conclusively rule it out! These people see to make it very difficult to track them!!!
