This post was deleted by the author on 3 Jan 2013 8:00AM GMT

Working from his date of death he would have been about 50 when the Pharmaceutical Society was founded and introduced the qualification and registration of chemists in 1841, so it is possible he was never registered there. However there was a movement towards this from responsible chemists as opposed to the Apothecaries who were allowed to prescribe, for some years before 1841 with which he could have been associated. You could approach the Royal Pharmaceutical Society and ask if they have any record of him.

Watch your dates, in another post you have his date of death as 1866, probably a typo.

I really detest it when somebody posts a nebulous request such as, or similar to, " I am trying to find information on my ancestor ".

Because that doesn't say specifically, or even generally, say what information is being sought, nor what information, sources, and documentation, the enquirer already has.

That can result in repliers wasting time and effort in going over, what might already be old ground to the enquirer, in order to provide information which the enquirer may already be aware of.

So when you, or anyone else, posts these kinds of messages, it's really useful, ( and only fair ), to say, at least in general terms, what you already know, and equally importantly, HOW you know it, i.e., sources and documentation and proof.

Having said that...

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1861 U.K. census

Piece: 225
Folio: 67
Page: 9
Registration District: London City
Civil Parish: St Edmund the King
Municipal Borough: London
Address: 6, Three King Court, St Edmund The King, London
County: London

FORDHAM, James Head Married M 68 1793 Retired laboratory Man ( Chemist ) b Tottenham Parish

The transcript says married, but the original is pretty illegible and I think that it really says widower

CHRIST, Mary ... Visitor Married F 51 1810 Nurse b Marylebone

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1851 U.K. census

Piece: 1530
Folio: 317
Page: 19
Registration District: City of London
Civil Parish: Saint Edmund-The-King and Martyr
Municipal Borough: London
Address: 6, Three King Court, Saint Edmund-The-King And Martyr, London
County: Middlesex

FORDHAM, James Head Married M 59 b 1792 b Tottenham, Middlesex
Laboratory Man

FORDHAM, Lucinda Wife Married F 61 b 1790 b Tottenham, Middlesex

FORDHAM, Elizabeth Daughter Unmarried 22 b 1829 b London

SMITH, Daughter Married 25 b 1826 b Kingsland, Middlesex
( no forename stated )

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Census pages attached, left click the attachments to enlarge them, and then right click them to download and save them.

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Civil registration event: Death
Name:FORDHAM, James
Registration district: London City
County:London
Year of registration:1862
Quarter of registration:Jul-Aug-Sep
Volume no: 1C
Page no: 60

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Civil registration event: Death
Name:FORDHAM, Lucinda Susan
Registration district: London City
County:London
Year of registration:1855
Quarter of registration:Oct-Nov-Dec
Volume no: 1C
Page no: 72

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London City= City of London i.e., the old/ancient central part of London, within the bounds of the former city walls.

City of London birth/marriage/death registers are now held by Islington - but only for 1912 and post 1912 BMD events.

Where they are for BMD event dates prior to 1912, goodness knows.

So for pre 1912 BMD event certs, you'll need to apply to the, ( probably slower ), UK GRO = General Register Office.

http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/

http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/

http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/fees.asp

http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/most_customer...

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These City of London cemetary links might be of use to you.

http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/things-to-do/green-spaces/cem...

http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/things-to-do/green-spaces/cem...

See also the recent London info sources message on here, it has info about London churches and cemeteries.

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I suggest tha you follow this up with these 4 sources...

The Worshipful Society of Apothecaries of London

http://www.apothecaries.org/

http://www.apothecaries.org/the-archives/

http://www.apothecaries.org/the-archives/enquiries-access/

The Guild church of The Worshipful Society of Apothecaries of London is...

St Andrew-by-the-Wardrobe

http://www.standrewbythewardrobe.net/

You might find some relevant parish records there.

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society

http://www.rpharms.com/about-pharmacy/history-of-pharmacy.as...

http://www.rpharms.com/about-pharmacy/our-museum.asp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-aua671XBs

Chelsea Physic Garden

Which is where James would probably have spent a lot of his time whilst traing.

http://www.chelseaphysicgarden.co.uk/

The London Guildhall Library

Which has, ( or had ) apothecary training and qualification records.

Much of that material has been returned to the Society of Apothecaries, and the email address for the societies archivist is...

archivist@apothecaries.org

http://www.history.ac.uk/gh/apoths.htm

http://www.history.ac.uk/gh/apoth.htm

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Some info about Three King Court

http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=63339#s1...

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Someone else was also researching James in 1998 on Rootsweb, the precursor of Ancestry dot com

http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/LONDON/1998-10...

http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/LONDON/1998-10...

One needs to be careful - Chemists and Druggists were not Apothecaries. The Worshipful Company of Apothecaries does not have an Archivist, enquiries have to be made in writing addressed to the Clerk, although an email to "Archives" can be used. In general they only cover the City of London, the Guildhall Library has records pertaining to the City only. Apothecaries had been organisedf since the Rose Act in 1703 - Chemists and Druggists only became organised and registered after the Pharmaceutical Act of 1841. Although it is now an independent charity the Apothecaries own the Chelsea Physic Garden and have the records. For the original query the RPS would probably be the quickest route to information.

Yes Hal, I agree, details matter, and accuracy is important, but so is staying flexible, and not taking unproven speculation as hard fact, not until there is some sound, and probably documentary, evidence to support the assumptions.

Anecdotal evidence is one thing, proof is another.

At the moment, neither you nor I, nor the enquirer, can know for certain what James's formal job title was, nor what his precise training was, nor what his qualification was, ( if any ), nor which organisation bestowed his qualification, if indeed he did have a qualification.

The 1841 census enumerator lists James, ( still BTW at Three King Court, and with a large family ), as a labourer, possibly an error in mistake for, laboratory.

However, it's also possible, if unlikely, that the census enumerator was correct, and that James was a semi skilled shop assistant.

The records, if any, should clarify that, and the enquirer should now have the necessary information to verify which organisation is the relevant one, and to establish who to approach, and how to approach them.

So between 1841 and 1861 3 job titles were applied to James in the censuses, and pending the records, nobody can say for certain, exactly what his formal job title was.

Also, whenever new terms and new job titles first appear, there is always a period of overlap and interchangeability, at least in an informal context, until one particular term becomes accepted and enters common linguistic usage.

For example, Natural Philosopher/Scientist, Fireman/Stoker and Fireman/Fire Fighter, and even today, Pharmacist/Chemist.

As for the Archivist, well the Apothecaries might not have one today, but they used to, because that information and email address comes from one of the web pages listed on one of the above links from the Guildhall Library.

As I said above, the Guildhall Library states, again on one of the above links, that all, or most of the Apothecaries records have been returned to the Apothecaries.

What is the problem with the City of London ?, James lived at three King Court from at least 1841 to 1861, and as you, or someone else, correctly said on the enquirer's other James Fordham message, Three King Court was within the bounds of the City of London.

So he may have been living/working within the City whilst he was training.

Anyway, it's probably all pretty academic now, ( no pun intended ), and we may never know the truth of the matter, because the enquirer has chosen to delete both of their James Fordham messages.

It probably is academic by now - perhaps the original enquirer thought that being told that anyone "detested" "nebulous" queries was a bit off-putting. After all, offering help is purely voluntary and if one is lucky enough to have some useful knowledge why not share it - even if a questioner is inarticulate? Statements in censuses about occupations, means and even family relationships are notorious for being fibs - I have met some real porkies. If the man was a "Chemist and Druggist" he would have had to be registered with the RPS after 1841 which could have been the quickest way to prove, or disprove, that particular point. He is unlikely to have been an Apothecary as they were very proud of their titles and it is something he would have been unlikely to hide. I do not think the Guildhall Library ever held the Apothecaries' records, they have always been at the Hall, although where jurisdictions crossed or overlapped they could have had duplicates. Web-sites are not always up-to-date - if you check the Apothecaries' web-site you will see they quite clearly say they no longer have an archivist -so perhaps Guildhall is not up-to-date. As accuracy is so important I would add that I am a Fellow of the Society of Apothecaries' Faculty of History and Philosophy of Medicine, holding their Diploma in the History of Medicine and also have an M.Sc. in the History of Science, Technology and Medicine from Inperial College - they were quite strict on accuracy in their exams! I am also an experienced translator and research worker - although retired and just do things from interest. I'll stop there - not requesting any comment.