Person:Joseph Pratt (34)

Joseph Pratt was baptised on 11th October 1812 at Willian in Hertfordshire, son of Elizabeth Pratt, formerly Copps, and her husband John Pratt, a labourer. Joseph's father died in 1826.

In 1833, aged 21, Joseph married Mary Ann Moles at Willian. This was the third marriage between their two families: Joseph's sister Hannah had married Mary's brother William in 1827, whilst Joseph's brother John had married Mary's sister Ann in 1829.

After their marriage, Joseph and Mary moved to the nearby market town of Baldock, where they had five children between 1835 and 1844. Back in Willian, Joseph's mother died in 1839. The 1841 census finds Joseph, Mary and the children living in Baldock, with Joseph working as an agricultural labourer.

Mary died in 1846, aged 29. Joseph was left looking after their five children, who were aged from ten down to one when their mother died. The 1851 census finds Joseph and the four elder children living at Norton End in Baldock. Joseph's youngest daughter had gone to live with her late mother's sister Susannah at Offley, a few miles to the west.

Joseph remarried in 1853. His second wife was a widow named Mary Newland, formerly Grant. They had a daughter, Emma, baptised at Norton in 1854, but she died later that year. They then had a son, William, baptised at Norton in 1855.

Joseph died in 1856, being buried at Norton on 1st March 1856. He was 43. His youngest child, William, died less than six months later. Mary survived him by nearly eighteen years and remarried in 1857.

1. ↑ Church of England. Willian Parish Registers.

   Baptized Anno D[omi]ni 1812 / Joseph Pratt, Son of John & Elisabeth Pratt October 11

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 46; Page 7, 6 Jun 1841.

   Address: Baldock, Hertfordshire
   Joseph Pratt, male, 25 [1811-16], Ag[ricultural] Lab[ourer]
   May Pratt, female, 25 [1811-16]
   Sarah Pratt, female, 5 [1835/6]
   George Pratt, male, 3 [1837/8]
   Mary Pratt, female, 1 [1839/40]

   Column which was supposed to indicate whether born in same county or not left blank for this whole page.

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 122; Page 23, 30 Mar 1851.

   Address: Norton End, Baldock, Hertfordshire
   Joseph Pratt, head, widower, male, 37 [1813/4], Farm Lab, b. Willian, Hertfordshire
   Sarah Pratt, daughter, female, 15 [1835/6], Straw Plaiter, b. Baldock, Hertfordshire
   George Pratt, son, male, 13 [1837/8], Farm Lab[ourer], b. Baldock, Hertfordshire
   Mary Pratt, daughter, female, 11 [1839/40], Straw Plaiter, b. Baldock, Hertfordshire
   Thomas Pratt, son, male, 9 [1841/2], Scholar, b. Baldock, Hertfordshire

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

   d. Joseph PRATT, June Quarter 1856, Hitchin Registration District, Volume 3a, page 142, aged 43 [1812/13]

5. ↑ Burials register, in Church of England. Norton Parish Registers.

   No. 275
   Name: Joseph Pratt
   Abode: Norton
   When buried: 1 Mar 1856
   Age: 49 [1806/7]
   By whom the ceremony was performed: G.J. Pierson, Vicar