Person:Charles Moles (3)

Charles Moles was baptised on 5th December 1813 at Willian in Hertfordshire, son of Mary Ann Moles, formerly Best, and her husband Thomas Moles, an agricultural labourer.

Charles was married on 22nd June 1834, when he was about 20 years old, to a Maria Bullen. They married at her native Great Wymondley, immediately south of Great Wymondley. Their first child was baptised less than two months after their marriage at Great Wymondley. Charles and Maria then moved to the nearby market town of Baldock, where they appear to have had another six children between 1836 and 1851, although two died young.

The 1851 census finds Charles working as an agricultural labourer and living at Norton End in Baldock with Maria and the children. In 1852 Charles was fined thirteen shillings and six pence for assaulting a local landlord and his bailiff as they were trying to seize the property of one of Charles's neighbours who was behind on his rent.

Back in Willian, Charles's father died in 1853. His mother then moved a few miles west to Offley, where she died in 1861.

By 1861 Charles, Maria and the children had moved into the centre of Baldock, living on Middle Row. Maria was working as a straw plaiter at this time.

Charles died in 1864, aged 50. Maria survived him by about 24 years.

1. ↑ Baptisms register, in Church of England. Willian Parish Registers.

   BAPTISMS solemnized in the Parish of Willian in the County of Hertford in the Year 1813
   No.	When Baptized	Child's Christian Name	Parents' Name		Abode	Quality, Trade, or Profession	By whom the Ceremony was performed
   			Christian	Surname
   10	1813 December 5	Charles	Thomas & Sarah	Moles	Willian	Labourer	E. Harvey, Vicar

   Although Charles's parents' names are given as Thomas and Sarah, it is believed that this is an error in the parish register, and that they were actually Thomas and Mary. There are nine baptisms at Willian between 1807 and 1829 of children of Thomas Moles - three (1809-1813) giving the mother's name as Sarah but the remainder (1807 and 1816-1829) give the mother's name as Mary. The spacing of children does not suggest that there were two separate couples. One theory might be that Thomas was married first to a Mary, second to a Sarah and third to another Mary, but there is no evidence of a burial for wives 1 and 2, nor marriages 2 and 3 to support that theory. We therefore conclude that the clerk at Willian was confused as to Mary's name. The fact that Thomas and Mary had only moved to Willian relatively recently and named their first daughter after moving there Sarah may partially explain the mistake.

2. ↑ England. 1841 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class HO107; Piece 436; Book 4; Folio 48; Page 11, 6 Jun 1841.

   Address: Baldock, Hertfordshire
   Charles Mouls, male, 25 [1811-16], Ag[ricultural] Lab[oure]r, born in county
   Maria Mouls, female, 25 [1811-16]
   Sarah Mouls, female, 7 [1833/4]
   Rebecca Mouls, female, 5 [1835/6]
   William Mouls, male, 3 [1837/8]
   Eliza Mouls, female, 4 months [1841]

   Birth place column not filled in for anyone except Charles in this household.

3. ↑ England. 1851 Census Returns for England and Wales. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class HO107; Piece 1709; Folio 119; Page 17, 30 Mar 1851.

   Address: Norton End, Baldock, Hertfordshire
   Charles Moles, head, married, male, 32 [1818/19], Farm Lab[oure]r, b. Baldock, Hertfordshire
   Maria Moles, wife, married, female, 34 [1816/17], b. Baldock, Hertfordshire
   Sarah Moles, daughter, unmarried, female, 17 [1833/4], Straw Plaiter, b. Baldock, Hertfordshire
   Rebecca Moles, daughter, female, 15 [1835/6], Straw Plaiter, b. Baldock, Hertfordshire
   William Moles, son, male, 12 [1838/9], Farm Lab[oure]r, b. Baldock, Hertfordshire
   Jane Moles, daughter, female, 4 [1846/7], b. Baldock, Hertfordshire
   Thomas Moles, son, male, 2mo [1850/1], b. Baldock, Hertfordshire

4. ↑ England. 1861 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class RG9; Piece 816; Folio 47; Page 40, 7 Apr 1861.

   Address: Middle Row, Baldock, Hertfordshire
   Charles Moules, head, married, male, 48 [1812/13], Ag[ricultural] Laborer, b. Willian, Hertfordshire
   Maria Moules wife, married, female, 45 [1815/16], Straw Plaiter, b. Great Wymondley, Hertfordshire
   Jane Moules, daughter, unmarried, female, 15 [1845/6], Straw Plaiter, b Baldock, Hertfordshire

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

   d. Charles MOULES, March Quarter 1864, Hitchin Registration District, Volume 3a, page 199, aged 52 [1811/12]

6.   Hertford Mercury and Reformer, in United Kingdom. The British Newspaper Archive
   Page 3, 12 Jun 1852.

   BALDOCK.
   PETTY SESSIONS, MONDAY, JUNE 7.
   Before J.J. Pryor, and R. Fitzjohn, Esqrs.
   ASSAULT.-Charles Moles, Henry Bray, and Edward Kitchener, labourers, of Baldock, and Edith Walker and Mary Kitchener, appeared to a summons for assaulting Samuel Clark and Thomas Richardson. It appeared that George Males lived in one of Richardson's cottages, and owed him some rent. Richardson, on hearing they were going to leave Baldock, went on Tuesday, June 1st, with Clark, a bailiff, to seize their goods. Males's wife resisted them very much, and called for the neighbours to help her, which they very willingly did, and rescued the goods from the bailiff. They assaulted both Clark and Richardson.-Charles Moles, Edith Walker, and Mary Kitchener, were fined 13s. 6d. each; Henry Bray and Edward Kitchener were discharged.