Person:Susan Dean (9)

Susan Dean was baptised on 2nd March 1806 at Whipsnade in Bedfordshire, daughter of Elizabeth Dean, formerly Hobbs, and her husband James Dean, a labourer. Her baptism notes that the family lived at Great Gaddesden; Susan was the only one of their eleven children baptised at Whipsnade. It is worth noting that in Great Gaddesden the family was later recorded as living at Gaddesden Row, and immediately north of Gaddesden Row was a detached part of the parish of Whipsnade known as Ballingdon Bottom - within which there is a Dean Lane, Dean Cottage and Dean Wood. Susan's maternal grandparents lived at Ballingdon, so it is reasonably likely that she was born at their house.^[7]

Susan was married aged 24 on 19th March 1830, to 21 year old James King from Caddington. One of the witnesses to the marriage was Susan's brother William Dean. James and Susan were both described as being resident at Great Gaddesden at the time of their marriage, but fairly soon after their marriage returned to James's native Caddington, where they had eight children between 1831 and 1846. Two of the eight died young, but the other six all lived to adulthood and married.

Back in Great Gaddesden, Susan's father died in 1840.

In Caddington, Susan and her family lived at the hamlet of Aley Green in the part of the parish which fell within Hertfordshire (the parish straddled Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire until 1897 when the Hertfordshire part was transferred to Bedfordshire). Susan worked as a straw plaiter, plaiting straw at home for sale to the hat-making industry centred on the nearby town of Luton. Her husband James worked as an agricultural labourer.

Susan lived to see five of her six surviving children marry. Her first known grandchild was born in 1851, and she had 21 grandchildren born in her lifetime, although some died young.

Susan died on 23rd August 1865, aged 59. She was buried at Caddington on 27th August 1865, described as having lived at Pipers Bottom, which adjoins Aley Green. Her husband James outlived her by nearly thirty years. Her mother also survived her.

1. ↑ Church of England. Parish registers of Whipsnade, 1682-1983. (Bedford: Bedfordshire and Luton Archives and Records Service).

   1806 March 2nd Susan Daughter of James & Elizabeth Dean of the Parish of Great Gaddesden was baptized.

   This baptism has been linked to the adult Susan Dean who married James King in 1830 in Great Gaddesden on the basis that:
   A. It is in the parish which Susan gave as her birthplace in the 1851 and 1861 censuses;
   B. It matches the ages quoted for the adult Susan in her census, death and burial records;
   C. The baptism notes that the family was from Great Gaddesden, which was the parish where Susan married;
   D. One of the witnesses to Susan's marriage in 1830 was a William Dean, and the Susan baptised in 1806 had a brother William baptised in 1810.
   It is worth noting that the (normally reliable) Bedfordshire Parish Register Transcript series has mistranscribed this record as 'Sarah' rather than 'Susan' (and consequently several online sources base on that transcript make the same mistake). Having inspected the original handwriting the mistake is understandable, but it does definitely say Susan not Sarah.

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 440; Book 10; Folio 22; Page 8, 6 Jun 1841.

   Address: Haley Green, Caddington, Hertfordshire
   James King, male, 30 [1806-11], Ag[ricultural] lab[ourer], born in county
   Susanna King, female, 35 [1801-6], not born in county
   Hannah King, female, 10 [1830/1], born in county
   Mary King, female, 6 [1834/5], born in county
   Bertha King, female, 4 [1836/7], born in county
   Thomas King, male, 2 [1838/9], born in county
   Edward King, male, 5m [1840/1], born in county
   ~ second household in same house ~
   Mary King, female, 65 [1771-6], Straw plaiter, born in county
   John King, male, 25 [1811-16], born in county
   William King, male, 7 [1833/4], 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 1757; Folio 341; Page 8, 30 Mar 1851.

   Address: Caddington, Hertfordshire
   James King, head, married, male, 41 [1809/10], Farm labourer, b. Caddington, Hertfordshire
   Susan King, wife, married, female, 45 [1805/6], b. Wipsnade, Bedfordshire
   Mary King ,daughter, unmarried, female, 16 [1834/5], Platter of straw, b. Caddington, Hertfordshire
   Bethiah King, daughter, unmarried, female, 14 [1836/7], Platter of straw, b. Caddington, Hertfordshire
   Ann King, daughter, female, 8 [1842/3], Scholar, b. Caddington, Hertfordshire
   Lewis Ellis, lodger, married, male, 20 [1830/1], Farm labourer, b. Stretly, Bedfordshire
   Hannah Ellis, lodger, married, female, 20 [1830/1], Platter of straw, b. Caddington, Hertfordshire
   Matilda Ellis, lodger, female, 1m [1851], b. Caddington, 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 1015; Folio 89; Page 4, 7 Apr 1861.

   Address: Aley Green, Caddington, Hertfordshire
   James King, head, married, male, 52 [1808/9], Ag[ricultural] lab[ourer], b. St Albans, Hertfordshire
   Susan King, wife, married, female, 55 [1805/6], Straw plaiter, b. Whipsnade, Bedfordshire
   Bethia King, daughter, unmarried, female, 24 [1836/7], Bonnet sewer, b. Caddington, Hertfordshire
   Edward King, son, unmarried, male, 20 [1840/1], Ag[ricultural] lab[ourer], b. Caddington, Hertfordshire
   Ann King, daughter, unmarried, female, 18 [1842/3], Bonnet sewer, b. Caddington, Hertfordshire
   Leticia King, granddaughter, female, 1m [1861], b. Caddington, Hertfordshire

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

   Registration District Luton
   1865 DEATHS in the Sub-district of Luton in the Counties of Beds and Herts
   No.	When and where died	Name and surname	Sex	Age	Occupation	Cause of death	Signature, description and residence of informant	When registered	Signature of registrar
   250	Twenty third August 1865 Caddington Herts	Susan King	Female	59 years [1805/6]	Wife of James King Farm Labourer	1. Morbus Cordis 2. Ascites Certified	X the mark of Mary Rumble Present at the death Caddington Herts	Twenty fifth August 1865	Charles Maffey Registrar

   
6. ↑ Burials register, in Church of England. Caddington Parish Registers. (Bedford: Bedfordshire Record Office).

   BURIALS in the Parish of Caddington in the County of Bedford in the Year 1865
   No.	Name	Abode	When buried	Age	By whom the Ceremony was performed
   117	Susan King	Piper's Bottom	Aug[ust] 27	59 years	Tho[ma]s Prescott, Vicar

7. ↑ Ballingdon Bottom was transferred from the parish of Whipsnade to Flamstead in 1897.