Person:George Parsons (27)

George Parsons was baptised on 9th June 1793 at St Paul's Walden in Hertfordshire, son of Martha Parsons formerly Brown and her husband Edward Parsons. George later reported his place of birth as being Bendish, a hamlet which straddled the parishes of St Paul's Walden and King's Walden.

Some time before 1812 he appears to have married a lady called Mary, although their marriage has yet to be found. She appears to have been about 14 years his senior. They appear to have had six children together between 1812 and 1822. One possibility is that they were the George Parsons and Mary Hopkins who married at St George Hanover Square in the western suburbs of London on 6th June 1812, although this is a couple of weeks after their first child's baptism. Perhaps if they hadn't married before their daughter's birth they felt the need to go somewhere anonymous to marry. However, there were other couples called George and Mary Parsons having children in the London area too, making it hard to be sure.

George and Mary's first four children were baptised at Letchworth, after which the family moved about fifteen miles south to Kimpton, where the youngest two were born. They later settled at Gustard Wood, a hamlet on the border of Kimpton and Wheathampstead parishes. George's mother died in 1818 and his father died in 1823.

Mary died aged 61 and was buried on 3rd January 1841 at Wheathampstead. The 1841 and 1851 censuses each find George living at Gustard Wood in the parish of Wheathampstead, on each occasion living with one of his children. He worked as an agricultural labourer.

George died in 1858, aged 65. He was buried at Wheathampstead on 29th July 1858.

1. ↑ Church of England. St Paul's Walden Parish Registers. (Hertford: Hertfordshire Archives and Local Studies).

   1793
   June 9: George Son of Edward and Martha Parsons

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 442; Book 8; Folio 9; Page 13, 6 Jun 1841.

   Address: Gustardwood Common, Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire
   Geo Parsons, male, 45 [1791-6], Ag Lab, b. in county
   Edward Parsons, male, 17 [1823/4], Ag Lab, b. in county

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 1713; Folio 12; Page 16, 30 Mar 1851.

   Address: Gustard Wood, Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire
   James Groom, head, married, male, 35 [1815/6], Ag Labr, b. Wheathamstead, Hertfordshire
   Susanna Groom, wife, married, female, 37 [1813/4], Straw Plaiter, b. NK, Bedfordshire
   William Groom, son, male, 5 [1845/6], Scholar, b. Wheathamstead, Hertfordshire
   James Groom, son, male, 3 [1847/8], b. Wheathamstead, Hertfordshire
   George Parsons, father in law, widower, male, 56 [1794/5], Ag Lab, b. Bendish, Kingswalden, Hertfordshire

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

   d. George PARSONS, September Quarter 1858, St Albans Registration District, Volume 3a, page 163, aged 66 [1791/2]

5. ↑ Burials register, in Church of England. Wheathampstead Parish Registers. (Hertford: Hertfordshire Archives and Local Studies).

   BURIALS in the Parish of Wheathampstead in the County of Hertford in the Year 1858
   No. 1340
   Name: George Parsons
   Abode: Wheathampstead
   When buried: July 29th
   Age: 66 [1791/2]
   By whom the Ceremony was performed: Leigh Spencer, Off[iciatin]g Minister