52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks #19 James Iles

This is my nineteenth posting for the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge.
Last week, I highlighted his wife, Louisa.

When I  research my ancestors, I hope that there will be some identifying feature about them that will help me to distinguish between two or more individuals of the same name. If a record includes an occupation of labourer or agricultural labourer, I am disappointed. Why not some more specific information? With my great-great grandfather James Iles, I am happy when records list his occupation as a shepherd.

First, two things led me to finding out about James Iles, who his parents were and where he lived. It certainly wasn't the death registration for his son, George. Their names were in an email received just before Christmas 2000 and the information from the registration from the second marriage of George Iles.

1.  I subscribe to the Rootsweb web mailing list for Gloucestershire, England. From time to time, I have responded to queries mainly focusing on methodology. In 2000, one of the reader's saw my name and sent me an e-mail wondering if we had any family connections. John listed his direct line. I couldn't see a connection, so I wrote him back (off-list) with mine.

On December 20, 2000, John wrote back.

Thank you for your Email. Do you believe in Father Christmas? Well you should, for your GGGF James was the brother of my GGGF Edwin.
They were the sons of Richard Iles and Patience nee Blandford and were baptised at Elkstone in the parish of Brimpsfield as EYLES. James was baptised 4.9.1823 and Edwin 25.12.1825 - with Isaac in between on 12.12.1824!
So far I have traced no less than 16 children of the marriage - poor Patience, she was certainly well named!

2. When George Iles married for the second time, he gave his parents as James Iles and Louisa Belcher.

James Iles
James Iles [Eyles] was the son of Richard Iles and Patience Blandford. His parents took him to the Brimpsfield Parish Church to be baptized 14 September 1823. He was the eldest child of fourteen known children of the couple. His mother had three other children before her marriage to Richard. 

In the 1841 census he was not with the family. There is a James Iles in Birdlip (part of Brimpsfield parish) listed in the household of William Newman. In 1851, although married 10 July 1845 to Louisa Belcher, he is not enumerated with her and the children. On the night before census taking, James was  in the household of John Lees, working as an agricultural labourer. John Lees must have been a more prominent farmer in Sevenhampton as it mentions that the farm was 560 Acres and he employed 10 labourers. The enumerator for this area seemed to give more details about a person's employment than is usually found in census records. 

In 1861, James and Louisa and eight children were living in Condicote. James was working as a shepherd. In 1871, James and Louisa lived in Guiting Power with four of their children.  James was employed as a shepherd. Ten years later, James and Louisa have two children  and one grandchild at home on the night before the census. Now James was listed as an agricultural labourer. In 1891, James and Louisa were living alone. His occupation was shepherd. By 1900, James had retired and he and Louisa were receiving poor relief but his former occupation of shepherd was acknowledged. They were living on a farm in Cutsdean, Worcestershire.  "Cutsdean is a small village in the Cotswolds, located close to the Gloucestershire town of Cheltenham.."

James died  19 June 1907. Louisa had predeceased him. On James' death registration, it shows that he died at the Union Workhouse in Cheltenham. His address was indicated as "of 6 Pittville Terrace". It gives his occupation as shepherd. 

Updated 18 July 2018.
© 2014 Janet Iles