Hi all,
Digging into my 2x great grandfather's ancestry, he worked on fairgrounds as a roustabout and it seems his ancestors may be of some traveller background. I'm interested especially in the surnames Cooper (Warrington/Salford), Walker (Salford) Williamson (Warrington) and Roberts (North Wales).
Does anyone know of any Romany gypsy families living in Salford/Manchester/Warrington etc in the 19th-20th century with these names? I know they're quite common in both Romany and non Romany communities. I'd love to know any general info about any gypsy families in the area by those names.
For more context I'm researching the children of James Cooper (wire worker from Wilderspool Warrington b.1822) and Sarah/Jane Williamson (b.1821 Warrington) - the family is made up of wire workers/wire weavers, flower-makers and general labourers - which are apparently all common gypsy/traveller occupations (especially flower making). Their descendants also tend to marry or lodge with other possible Romany people (Smith, Moore etc)
No marriage has been found for James and Sarah yet.
They/their descendants move addresses between most censuses but not excessively, moving streets but remaining in similar areas of Salford. I have travellers in other branches of my family so am familiar with them covering large amounts of ground, but i'm still unsure about this branch. No references to them as gipsies, tinkers, travellers passing through etc which is why i'm not sure. Any info about if Romany communities by these names were known in the area would be great help.
Thanks all x
