Who Was Edward Jeal?

As a little break from my family history research I have also been gathering snippets of information about our house so that I may eventually write a brief history. It's only been around for about 130 years so "brief" is the appropriate word.

The first occupants appear to have been Edward and Adelaide Jeal who may be found there in the 1891 census (RG12/574/80/10). The house doesn't appear in the 1881 census. Edward is listed as a carpenter, born about 1863 or 1864 in Croydon. The 1901 and 1911 census entries (RG13/620/70/9; RG14/3169/35/2/13/64) are in agreement. Edward and Adelaide were still there in 1939 when the National Register was compiled giving his birth date as 15 April 1863 (RG101/1955C/023/1).

There is a problem, however - I can't find any birth record for an Edward Jeal (or Geal or any of a number of other possible alternatives) that matches.

I had seen it suggested that he could actually be the Edward Jeal registered as being born in Reigate in 1866 (GRO ref 1866 Sep Reigate 2A 148) so I decided to try to chase this Edward down. In the baptism register of Reigate St Mary there is a record of Easton Edward Jeal being baptised on 28 October 1866. Could this be the same one? What I did note is that no father's name is given, just that of the mother - Elizabeth Jeal. And when I searched at the GRO website no mother's maiden name is given in the indexation information. So it looks as though this Edward was illegitimate.

I then found a marriage record for Elizabeth Jeall and Thomas Bashford in Reigate St Mary dated 19 January 1867. I rather suspected that this was the same Elizabeth.

In the 1871 census (RG10/830/28/3) Elizabeth and Thomas appear with three children - Edward (4), Matilda (2), James (1m). I could find GRO indices for the births of Matilda and James, but not Edward making me think that Edward Bashford and Edward Jeal are one and the same.

Looking forward in the censuses Edward Bashford gains an extra initial E in the 1891 (RG12/1361/68/15) and 1901 (RG13/893/59/5) censuses. It's not until the 1911 census (RG14/4293/73/1/7/26) that he is listed with his wife in the same schedule. She's Agnes. Back to the GRO indices and low and behold we have Edward Easton Bashford marrying one of Rosanna Sophia Funnell or Mary Agnes Glyde (1894 Mar Ticehurst 2B 173).

The case of the Reigate Edward is duly closed.

But what of "my" Edward Jeal? In the record of his marriage to Adelaide Mott at Wonersh St John the Baptist on 29 August 1888 his father is supposedly John Jeal, a carpenter.

There is a carpenter John Jeal resident in Croydon in 1871 (RG10/845/40/1) with a son Edward also present. However, this Edward  was only 2 at the time (birth registration GRO index 1869 Jan Croydon 2A 214). Furthermore I found him still in Croydon with his widowed mother in 1891 (RG12/592/55/33) when "my" Edward was in Wonersh.

So, who is Edward? The hunt goes on.