Romany gypsy?

Question:my great great grandmother was a romany gypsy,her family visted kidderminster worcestershire,once a year to sell horses at the horse fair there,she meet her husband here in 1876,and stayed,her romany family name was smith,any one known anything of this family and how to go about tracing it

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: my great great grandmother was a romany gypsy,her family visted kidderminster worcestershire,once a year to sell horses at the horse fair there,she meet her husband here in 1876,and stayed,her romany family name was smith,any one known anything of this family and how to go about tracing it

"The Romany Smiths...

My great-grandfather Ted Goodman was born to a Romany family who had been travelling around the country in their vardo (caravan). At some point after his birth in 1904 they decided to settle in New Bradwell, Bucks where they lived in the caravan and started up a scrap metal and horse-dealing business.

Teds parents were Reservoi Smith and Thomas Edward Goodman. Thomas had been born in Blunham, Beds in 1873 to a Butcher/Publicans family and went away with the gypsies after meeting Reservoi and marrying her in Bedford in 1873.

Reservoi Smith was a full Romany travelling gypsy who was born in Forsters Booth in Bucks in 1873. Its been said that she was named Reservoir after being born near a reservoir but the name Rizavoi is actually a true Romany name and it's therefore more likely that she was named after other Romany ancestors and the reservoir story has been made up by descendants over the years.

Reservoi's parents were Shadrach "Shady" Smith, born in around 1840 and Emily Loveridge, another Romany. Shadrachs family are thought to have had a travelling circuit which included Bucks, Northants, Oxon, Beds, Yorks, Gloucs, Worcs and Warks. Emily Loveridge also belonged to a travelling family who had many ties to Worcs and Northants. Towcester in Northants seems to have been a popular stopping-off place and it was here that Shadrach and Emily married in 1866.

Their children, including Reservoi were born around the Bucks and Northants area. They were Isabella (1864), Wisdom (1869), Reservoi (1873), Mary (1874), Shadrack (1878), Sammy (1881) and Emily (1885).

It's believed that Reservoirs father Shadrach Smith was actually registered as John Shadrach Smith, after his father John Smith. John was married to Ann (or Nanny) Byles. Nanny was probably born in Worcestershire and legend has it that she lived to be over 100. Their other children, siblings to Shadrach were Sid, Mary, Rizavoi, Nathan, and Wisdom. "

Smith was likely not her original name.

Smith is a very common name but every time there is a Massacur, Genecide, War or so on, Smith is a good name to pick to replace your real name.

People will also fabricate their ancestors name to be something common to protect themselves from being tortured, killed, or treated unfairly for their ancestry.

You may want to go on a quest and see if you can find out what her true or original name was. Or that of her Ancestors.

This name shift could have happened a millinum ago so it may not be easy. There are also the males married into a family that influence name changes.

Still Smith SCREAMS fabricated name to protect one's self.