Person:David Dawson (8)

David Dawson was born around 1819 at Gunby St Nicholas (also known as Gunby by Grantham) in Lincolnshire, son of a cottager and parish clerk called John Dawson and his wife Sarah.

David appears in both the 1841 and 1851 censuses living at Gunby with his parents and working as an agricultural labourer.

By 1856 David had left Gunby and moved about 25 miles north-east to Heckington, where he worked as a farmer. He was married at Heckington on 8th May 1856 to Jane Taylor, whom he probably knew from before moving to Heckington, as she gave her residence as Gunby at the time of their marriage.

David and Jane do not appear to have had any children. The 1861 census finds David farming 67 acres at Fen Side in Heckington with a couple of servants living with him. Jane was not at home on census night; she was staying with her mother, brother and sister at Sewstern in Leicestershire, just west of Gunby.

The 1871 census finds David and Jane living together at Littleworth Grange in Heckington, which appears to have been a farm in the low-lying area known as Heckington Fen to the east of Heckington village.

Jane died in 1873, aged 44. Her death was registered in the Sleaford district, which included Heckington, but she was buried back at Gunby on 3rd July 1873.

The following year, David remarried. His second wife was Elizabeth Abbott Turner, daughter of another farmer from Heckington Fen. She was the sister of one of the servants who had been living with David in the 1861 census. Elizabeth was about 22 years David's junior; when they married David was about 54 and Elizabeth was 32. They married on 10th February 1874 at Heckington.

David and Elizabeth went on to have five children together at Heckington between 1874 and 1883. The 1881 census finds the family living at Heckington Fen, with David described as being a farmer of 122 acres.

Some time between 1883 and 1890 the family left Heckington and moved to Sewstern, the adjoining parish to David's native Gunby. David died at Sewstern on 16th October 1890, aged 71. He was buried five days later at Gunby. Elizabeth survived him by over 44 years.

1. ↑ England. Births and Christenings, 1538-1975. (FamilySearch, Ancestry.com, Findmypast).

   ch. 12 Oct 1819, St Peter, Gunby by Spilsby, Lincolnshire: David son of John & Sarah Dawson

   This baptism is listed as being at the wrong Gunby - Gunby St Peter, near Spilsby. However, the record comes from film 432516, which is described in the catalogue as containing the Bishop's Transcripts from both Gunby St Nicholas and Gunby St Peter. It it does seem quite a coincidence for there to have been two David Dawsons sons of John and Sarah born in villages called Gunby around the same time. It is therefore possible that this record has been misindexed and this baptism was actually at Gunby St Nicholas, near Grantham. Needs to be confirmed at Lincolnshire Record Office.

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 618; Book 18; Folio 5; Page 3, 6 Jun 1841.

   Address: Gunby [St Nicholas], Lincolnshire
   John Dawson, male, 60 [1776-81], Cottager, born in county
   Sarah Dawson, female, 60 [1776-81], born in county
   David Dawson, male, 20 [1816-21], Ag[ricultural] Lab[ourer], born in county

3. ↑ ^3.0 3.1 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 2102; Folio 199; Page 20, 30 Mar 1851.

   Address: Gunby [St Nicholas], Lincolnshire, England
   John Dawson, head, married, male, 71 [1779/80], Cottager (Parish Clerk), b. Gunby, Lincolnshire
   Sarah Dawson, wife, married, female, 71 [1779/80], b. Gunby, Lincolnshire
   David Dawson, son, unmarried, male, 31 [1819/20], Ag[ricultural] lab[ourer], b. Gunby, Lincolnshire
   Mary Branston, lodger, unmarried, female, 17 [1833/4], b. Stainby, Lincolnshire

   The parish name on the form is simply given as "Gunby", but as the registration sub-district is Colsterworth and the registration district Grantham, this is clearly the parish also known as both Gunby St Nicholas and Gunby by Grantham, and not the other Gunby in Lincolnshire which was in Spilsby registration district.

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 2345; Folio 75; Page 11, 7 Apr 1861.

   Address: Fen Side, Heckington, Lincolnshire
   David Dawson, head, married, male, 42 [1818/19], Farmer of 67 acres, b. Heckington, Lincolnshire
   Sarah Turner, servant, unmarried, female, 20 [1840/1], Serv[an]t, b. Heckington, Lincolnshire
   George Senescall, visitor, unmarried, male, 13 [1847/8], Scholar, b. Heckington, Lincolnshire
   Thomas Judson, servant, unmarried, male, 21 [1839/40], Serv[an]t, b. Heckington, Lincolnshire

5. ↑ England. England and Wales. 1871 Census Schedules. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class RG10; Piece 3352; Folio 93; Page 25, 2 Apr 1871.

   Address: Littleworth Grange, Heckington, Lincolnshire
   David Dawson, head, married, male, 40 [1830/1], Farmer, b. Gunby, Lincolnshire
   Jane Dawson, wife, married, female, 35 [1835/6], b. Osbournby, Lincolnshire
   John Taylor, servant, married, male, 40 [1830/1], Ag[ricultural] Lab[ourer] indoors, b. Buckminster, Leicestershire
   Louisa Taylor, niece, unmarried, female, 13 [1857/8], Buckminster, Leicestershire
   George Ward, servant, unmarried, male, 14 [1856/7], Ag[ricultural] Lab[ourer] indoors, b. Heckington, Lincolnshire

6. ↑ England. 1881 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 RG11; Piece 3225; Folio 79; Page 16, 3 Apr 1881.

   Address: Heckington Fen, Heckington, Lincolnshire
   David Dawson, head, married, male, 55 [1825/6], Farmer 122 acres 1 man, b. Gunby, Lincolnshire
   Elizabeth Dawson, wife, married, female, 39 [1841/2], b. Heckington Fen, Lincolnshire
   George Dawson, son, male, 6 [1874/5], Scholar, b. Heckington, Lincolnshire
   Albert Dawson, son, male, 4 [1876/7], Scholar, b. Heckington, Lincolnshire
   Sarah E. Dawson, daughter, female, 2 [1878/9], b. Heckington, Lincolnshire
   Henry Gaton, servant, unmarried, male, 16 [1864/5] ,Farm Serv[ant] Indoor, b. Swineshead, Lincolnshire
   Edward Pepper, servant, unmarried, male, Farm Serv[ant], b. Heckington Fen, Lincolnshire

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

   d. David DAWSON, December Quarter 1890, Melton Mowbray Registration District, Volume 7a, page 195, aged 71 [1818/19]

8. ↑ Grantham Journal, in United Kingdom. The British Newspaper Archive
   Page 4, 25 Oct 1890.

   DEATHS.
   DAWSON.-At Sewstern, on the 16th inst., Mr. David Dawson, formerly of Heckington Fen, aged 71 years.

9. ↑ England. National Burial Index.

   bur. 21 Oct 1890, Gunby St Nicholas, Lincolnshire: David Dawson, 71 [1818/19]

10.   http://search.ancestry.co.uk/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=uki1851&h=9913693&ti=5538&indiv=try&gss=pt