there is a family story, which is difficult to prove, that my great grandfather came from Poland and settled in England before coming to America. I haven't been able to find much on him over the years, including not able to find his immigration records. I have an account with Ancestry.com, and I have found some later trips of his into the U.S. at Ancestry.com, but not his original arrival. it isn't in the online files at Ellis Island or Castle Garden, either. he might have come in as a seaman and therefore not have an immigration record. that's one possibility, anyway.

the family, as far as I can find, is not in the British census, or listed at FreeBMD. but then I have so little regarding this family.

Anton Wagner m. Thecla __mnu__. they had a son Charles born about 1855 in Poland/Russia, and it is said he had siblings but no names are mentioned. he came to America prior to 1883 and disappeared after 1894. that's when we have the last provable record for him, a workpay record of his time on the Mercedita.

Charles was a mariner, and I've dug up all the mariner records I can for him. I would probably get a better idea of when he came to America if I could find all of his work records, but the work records are not indexed and are extensive. they're at the National Archives in Washington DC, if memory is correct, it's been over a decade since I accessed them.

I do have records of his arrivals in America from England after he married my great grandmother, and if there was a record in England of his leaving, it might give me a clue. the record is of his trip from Liverpool, England, on the Ethiopia, arriving in New York in June of 1883. on it he is listed as an American citizen. later that year, in October, he marries my great grandmother in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.

can anyone solve the mystery of where they lived in England, and who the rest of his family is?

I've run out of American records, those that are still extant. the 1890 census and his marriage record application (I think) do not exist. those would be of great help if they did.