Staff of the Earl of Gosford

Question

My 3xgreat grandfather Robert Halligan was a coachman. His marriage record in 1849 gives his address as Gosford Castle, County Armagh, so presumably he was driving for the Earl of Gosford, Archibald Acheson, or one of his family. His first child, my 2xgreat grandmother Elizabeth, was born in 1850. 

The next record I have of him is in the 1871 census, when he and his family were living in Bristol. Elizabeth wasn't living with them. Family oral history says she worked as a lady's maid when she was young. I can't find her in England, Wales or Scotland in the 1871 census, and the 1871 Irish census is lost. Is there any way of tracing the staff of aristocratic families?

Also, is there any way of tracing who Robert might have been driving for in Bristol in 1871?

Comments

Have you looked for places in Bristol where he might have been employed?  (He may have been driving a hack, or something less glamourous than a Lord's carriage, as "coachman" could mean anything he wanted it to mean.)

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I haven't - I wouldn't know where to start.

He'd moved to Belfast by 1881, where he advertised his services in the News Letter. I don't know if he was looking for a permanent position, or if he was a freelancer who drove for a variety of people as and when required.

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So the stint in Bristol wasn't a long one.

I wonder if adding the tag Ireland to your question would pull in more people who could help.  (I know you have irish_roots, but more sometimes is better .. and, unless I'm misreading the tags numbers, more folk follow Ireland.)