What was my ancestor doing for 41 years?

QMy great grandfather, James Bailey, was born on 21 February 1819 in Hinderclay, Suffolk, to Richard Bailey and Diana Doe. The next record of him is when he marries Elizabeth Smith in Earls Colne, Essex, on 25 July 1860.

James appears in the 1861 and following censuses as a coachman to the vicar of Earls Colne, leaving a gap of 41 years during which he is totally invisible.

The only thing that occurs to me is that he may have gained his skill with horses through Army service. However, without any details as to his regiment, I have hit a brick wall. David Bailey A We know that James was in Earls Colne by 1860, because he marries Elizabeth Ann Smith there during the summer. But what he did before he arrived in the village remains a mystery and, unfortunately, may remain so. His occupation might be a clue, but many countrymen of the time would have been able to handle horses. The chances are that he had a variety of careers during his life.

Such long absences from the records may indicate that individuals and families emigrated to America, Canada or Australia, and then returned for one reason or another. Many immigration records are now online, but they are unlikely to give any more information than the country that the immigrant came from.

However, there are other explanations, and – as you say – James could have enlisted. There are 15 James Baileys in the British Army in 1851, but none obviously our man, since no service records survive. There is a soldier in the 1st Regiment of Dragoons, who might be worth following up in the regimental musters. The first muster in which he appears may give his home parish and approximate age. The British Newspaper Archive (available at britishnewspaper

archive.co.uk and via findmypast.co.uk), however, provides a tantalising clue. In September 1860, during a dispute about who was eligible to vote, the Brighton newspapers report that James Bailey of Earls Colne claimed the franchise in respect of two plots of freehold land on the Round Hill estate in the town.

The land had been purchased by the Conservative Land Society in 1853 and rented out to market gardeners, so perhaps James was then a market gardener. Unfortunately, he doesn’t appear in the 1851 census for Sussex.

Incidentally, the Essex Standard for 21 January 1895 carries a death notice for Elizabeth Ann, and says that James ran the Bowling Green Inn at Elmstead near Colchester. Simon Fowler