Person:Abigail Males (1)

Abigail Males was born on 6th February 1752 and baptised ten days later at Cottered in Hertfordshire. She was the daughter of Mary Males, formerly Dearman, and her husband John Males, a yeoman farmer.

The family appears to have left Cottered and moved about nine miles south-west to Codicote some time between 1757 (when Abigail's youngest brother was baptised at Cottered) and 1762 (when Abigail's eldest sister married at Codicote).

Abigail married at Codicote on 6th November 1769, aged 17, to a farmer called William Lake. He was about twenty years her senior.

By the following year they had moved about nine miles north to Ickleford, where they had three children baptised between 1770 and 1777. Meanwhile Abigail's parents moved in about 1774 to Shaw Green Farm at Rushden, back near Cottered.

Some time between 1777 and 1779 Abigail and William moved from Ickleford to the neighbouring parish of Pirton, where they had another eight children baptised between 1779 and 1793.

William died on 18th April 1793, and was buried at Pirton two days later. He was said to be 61 years old. Abigail appears to have been pregnant at the time; her youngest child would not be baptised until November that year. Over in Rushden, Abigail's father also died in 1793, being buried in the October.

Abigail's mother died in Rushden in 1807, and Alice was named as one of the beneficiaries of her mother's will.

Abigail survived William by nearly 43 years. She died on 4th April 1838, aged 86, and was buried at Pirton alongside William.

1. ↑ ^1.0 1.1 Church of England. Parish Church of Cottered. Parish registers, 1558-1977. (Hertford: Security Microfilms, 1975-1989).

   Baptized at Cottered in the years 1751-1752 / Mailes / Abigail daug[hte]r of John Mailes Farmer & Mary his wife (born Feb[ruary] 6) Feb[ruary] 16

   The heading of this page refers to the baptisms being in 1751-2, and from the position of this entry it is fairly clear that the baptism must have been in February 1752. There is a marginal note further down the page saying '1752' but this comes between entries on 15th March and 22nd May so is therefore probably a continuation in error of the old calendar which had started on 25th March. In Britain, 1752 was the first year to legally begin on 1st January.

2. ↑ Deaths index, in General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration. (London: General Register Office).

   d. Abigail LAKE, June Quarter 1838, Hitchin Registration District, Volume 6, page 408, aged 87 [1750/1]

3.   Monumental Inscription Transcript Pirton Local History Group.

   In Memory of
   WILLIAM LAKE
   who died 18th April 1793
   Aged 61 Years
   Also on the Right lies
   ABIGAIL, his Wife
   who died 4th April 1838
   Aged 87 Years