Person:Sarah Bonser (1)

Sarah Bonser was baptised on 11th September 1803 at East Stoke in Nottinghamshire, daughter of Elizabeth Bonser, formerly Fernihough, and her husband William Bonser, a shoemaker.

There was a baby boy called John Bonser baptised at East Stoke in April 1818 who was described as being the son of Sarah Bonser. This Sarah was only fourteen or fifteen years old at the time, making her young (but not impossibly so) to be having a child. However, no obvious alternative Sarah Bonser living in East Stoke around this time has been found. Baby John died when he was only eleven weeks old.

Sarah was married at East Stoke on 17th September 1821, aged 18, to William Clifton, who was 24 years old and also from East Stoke. After their marriage, Sarah and William settled in the nearby town of Newark on Trent, where they went on to have twelve children together between 1822 and 1848, although at least two died as infants and one of their daughters died in 1838, aged fourteen years old.

The 1841 and 1851 censuses both find Sarah, William and their children living on Mill Gate in Newark, being just south-west of the town centre and on the line of the Fosse Way Roman road. William was described as a labourer in 1841 and a groom in 1851.

Back in East Stoke, Sarah's father died in 1853 and her mother died in 1856.

By 1861 Sarah and William were living at 6 Taylor's Yard in Newark and William was working as a gardener. Taylor's Yard was also in the Mill Gate area of the town, being a courtyard of small houses accessed through an alley beside the frontage house at 33 Mill Gate.

William was still working as a gardener in 1871, by which time the family had moved to 29 Victoria Street.

William died on 19th June 1876, aged 79. He died at Farndon Road in Newark, which is a continuation of Victoria Street.

The 1881 census finds Sarah living at 29 Victoria Street with one of her grandsons. Her occupation was given as "formerly nurse".

Sarah died at Newark on 30th October 1882, aged 79.

1. ↑ Nottinghamshire Family History Society. Nottinghamshire Baptisms Database.

   ch. 11 Sep 1803, St Oswald, East Stoke: Sarah daughter of William & Elizabeth Bonsor

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 868; Book 7; Folio 15; Page 23, 6 Jun 1841.

   Address: Millgate, Newark on Trent, Nottinghamshire
   William Clifton, male, 43 [1797/8], Labourer, born in county
   Sarah Clifton, female, 37 [1803/4], born in county
   Jane Clifton, female, 11 [1829/30], born in county
   Maria Clifton, female, 8 [1832/3], born in county
   Mary Clifton, female, 5 [1835/6], born in county
   William Clifton, male, 2 [1838/9], born in county
   Sarah Clifton, female, 13 [1827/8], born 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 2137; Folio 319; Page 14, 30 Mar 1851.

   Address: Mill Gate, Newark, Nottinghamshire
   William Clifton, head, married, male, 51 [1799/1800], Groom, b. Stoke, Nottinghamshire
   Sarah Clifton, wife, married, female, 47 [1803/4], Groom Wife, b. Stoke, Nottinghamshire
   Maria Clifton, daughter, unmarried, female, 18 [1832/3], Domestic, b. Newark
   Mary Clifton, daughter, female, 14 [1836/7], Servant, b. Newark, Nottinghamshire
   William Clifton, son, male, 12 [1838/9], Scholar, b. Newark, Nottinghamshire
   Emma Clifton, daughter, female, 8 [1842/3], At Home, b. Newark, Nottinghamshire
   Eliza Clifton, daughter, female, 6 [1844/5], Scholar, b. Newark, Nottinghamshire
   Thomas Clifton, son, male, 2 [1848/9], b. Newark, Nottinghamshire

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 2480; Folio 33; Page 17, 7 Apr 1861.

   Address: 6 Taylor's Yard, Newark, Nottinghamshire
   William Clifton, head, married, male, 60 [1800/1], Gardener, b. Stoke, Nottinghamshire
   Sarah Clifton, wife, married, female, 55 [1805/6], b. Stoke, Nottinghamshire
   Eliza Clifton, daughter, unmarried, female, 17 [1843/4], b. Newark, Nottinghamshire
   Thomas Clifton, son, male, 12 [1848/9], Wireworker, b. Newark, Nottinghamshire

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 3543; Folio 48; Page 37, 2 Apr 1871.

   Address: 29 Victoria Street, Newark, Nottinghamshire
   William Clifton, head, married, male, 72 [1798/9], Gardener, b. Nottinghamshire
   Sarah Clifton, wife, married, female, 68 [1802/3], b. Nottinghamshire
   Harry Clifton, grandson, unmarried, male, 7 [1863/4], Scholar, b. Nottinghamshire
   William Moyns, lodger, unmarried, male, 25 [1845/6], Farm Labourer, b. Long Bennington, 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 3377; Folio 52; Page 41, 3 Apr 1881.

   Address: 29 Victoria Street, Newark, Nottinghamshire
   Sarah Clifton, head, married, female, 80 [1800/1], Formerly Nurse, b. Stoke, Nottinghamshire
   Harry Clifton, grandson, unmarried, male, 17 [1863/4], Joiner's apprentice, b. Newark, Nottinghamshire

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

   d. Sarah CLIFTON, December Quarter 1882, Newark Registration District, Volume 7b, page 242, aged 82 [1799/1800]

8. ↑ Lincolnshire Chronicle, in United Kingdom. The British Newspaper Archive
   Page 5, 3 Nov 1882.

   DEATHS.
   At Newark, on the 30th ult., Sarah Clifton, widow, aged 82.