Wondering if anyone had any insight on this, or suggestions as to where to look for more info?
My 3x great grandfather James Pullen is living on/by Mitcham Common, Surrey in the 1881 census:
John Powell, age 80, widower, tinker, birthplace not known
James Pullen, age 28, unmarried, lab, born Wisley
There's nothing written in relation to head box, and unsurprisingly they're living nearby to many travellers in caravans and tents on the common.
I know that 'tinker' is a word used to describe travellers/gypsies - Irish ones especially - and that Mitcham Common is a very significant site for gypsies in the south of England.
There's nothing else to suggest that James' family were travellers - before coming across this census I believed they were simply a labouring family from Surrey. My quick google came up with this site (http://theromany.weebly.com/) where someone has indexed my James Pullen as a possible gypsy (although it seems to just be based on this one census)
Does anyone have any thoughts on this? And any suggestions as to how to research this connection?