John Ford Smith born Scotland 1781.

[stevej60]

Hi folk's a very long shot indeed.he was my GTx3 Grandfather,in the 1840/50's he was a Bailif/steward to the the infamous Dashwood family in Buckinghamshire,I know nothing of his Scottish roots and it is the entry in the 1851 census that has me guessing his birth date but both the 41 and 51 entries confirm he was Scottish,I wondered where to begin to search for him only his middle name which was carried through the generations might make him stand out from no doubt the many John Smiths in Scotland at the time,any help would be much appreciated.
Regards Steve Smith.

[Forfarian]

www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk is the place to go for original Scottish records.

However there's no listing of a John Ford Smith.

There are 542 surviving records of baptisms of John Sm*th between 1776 and 1786. There are no baptisms of any Smiths with mother's maiden surname Ford at all, and the earliest recorded Sm*th-Ford marriage was in 1813.

Was he married? If so, what was his wife's name? Was he married before he turns up in England? Did he have any children and if so what were their names (in order of birth)?

[mckha489]

Can you please give a reference for the censuses?

The only one I can see in 1851 is  in Wendover and he is a pauper labourer with other families named.
(Indexed on ancestry as John Fred Smith)

Apparently the nephew of the head of house William Croxford.
Have you sorted all them out

[stevej60]

Hello forfarian,many thanks for the reply he Married Sarah Ford in West Wycombe in 1822 maybe the Ford in his middle name was mistakenly given to the enumerator in 1851 he was by then 70 and a pauper,as his sons and grandsons married throughout the years they always gave the first born son the mothers maiden name as a middle name his son was John Ford Smith b1824 (my Gtx2 Grandfather ) we've had Robertson and frazier as middle names in a similar manner in the family,I think it may be a lost cause looking for a John Smith but as a Geordie with strong Scottish and Irish
ancestry I'm a happy man!
Regards Steve.

[stevej60]

Hi M,thank you yes that's him,as you can see from my reply to forfarian I think the Ford as his middle name is a red Herring,this thread may explain a few things.
https://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=789090.0

[mckha489]

Have you looked at the Estate papers?
Presumably they would/should have a record of his employment.

https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/c/F23637

[Forfarian]

Oh, dear, yes, it looks like a needle-in-haystack case.

If any of his children had unusual names it might help to pinpoint him but a plain John Smith will be almost impossible to nail without some more information.