Before I begin this blog entry I need to clarify a point. When we refer to 'the Wellbeloves' it is intended as a collective description, including the various variants, Wellbeloved, Welbelove, Welbeloved, etc. If an entry does refer to a specific variant, say Wellbeloved, only, then this will be made clear in the post.
Frequency and distribution - or how many and where found.
This blog is limited to The 1881 census for England & Wales. Ireland, Scotland & the rest of the world will be covered in future blogs.
In 1881 there were around 250 Wellbeloves living in England and none in Wales. Of these, 94% could be found in London & the surrounding home counties, with 51% in Surrey alone. Over 90%* of all Wellbeloves could claim London/Middlesex, and/or adjoining Surrey ancestry. The early name bearers from Devon & Worcestershire discussed in the origin of the surname, had either migrated elsewhere, probably the London area, or died out. Note that although there are two recorded Devon inhabitants in 1881, neither were born there.
In 1881 there were around 250 Wellbeloves living in England and none in Wales. Of these, 94% could be found in London & the surrounding home counties, with 51% in Surrey alone. Over 90%* of all Wellbeloves could claim London/Middlesex, and/or adjoining Surrey ancestry. The early name bearers from Devon & Worcestershire discussed in the origin of the surname, had either migrated elsewhere, probably the London area, or died out. Note that although there are two recorded Devon inhabitants in 1881, neither were born there.
The census data needs to be further refined so as to show the numbers for each surname variant. This will take time as a number of Wellbeloves were recorded as Wellbeloveds and vice versa. This was primarily due to illiteracy. As many householders could not read or write the census enumerator would record the surname as he heard it and make a guess at the spelling. In the meantime I will include a crude breakdown by surname variant in the second part of this blog when I compare modern figures.
* Applies to individuals born a Wellbelove. Many wives of Wellbeloves were born elsewhere, and their ancestry is often uncertain, and anyhow beyond the scope of this article.
Click on map to enlarge
Frequency & Distribution - Part II, Modern Day, to follow shortly.
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