Person:Thomas Clark (189)

Thomas Clark was baptised on 23rd July 1826 at Ruskington in Lincolnshire, son of Mary Clark, formerly Newton, and her husband John Clark, a labourer. Thomas appears in the 1841 census at nearby Roxholm in a household made up entirely of young agricultural labourers.

By 1851 Thomas was working as a farm servant at Little Hale. On 20th May 1852 Thomas was married at neighbouring Great Hale to Rebecca Ward. They settled in Great Hale after their marriage. They do not appear to have had any children.

The 1861 census finds Thomas and Rebecca living at South Fen, when Thomas was described as a shepherd. In 1871 they were a couple of miles east of Great Hale at Gibbet Hill and Thomas was working as a farmer's foreman. By 1881 they had returned to Great Hale and were living on Poor's Row, with Thomas described as an agricultural labourer.

In 1891 Rebecca was still living in Great Hale, although Thomas was not at home on census night. The 1901 census finds them together again in Great Hale, with Thomas described as being a retired farm labourer.

Thomas died at Great Hale on 20th October 1903, aged 77. Rebecca survived him by just over five years.

1. ↑ Baptisms register, in Church of England. Parish Church of Ruskington (Lincolnshire). Parish registers, 1558-1914. (Lincoln, England: Lincoln Archives Office, 1993).

   BAPTISMS solemnized in the Parish of Ruskington in the County of Lincoln in the Year 1826
   No.	When Baptized	Child's Christian Name	Parents' Name		Abode	Quality, Trade, or Profession	By whom the Ceremony was performed
   			Christian	Surname
   360	July 23	Thomas son of	Thom[a]s & Mary	Clarke	Rusking[ton]	Labour[e]r	S. Winship, Curate

   Although his father's name here is given as Thomas, this is considered an error. There is a sequence of baptisms at Ruskington with parents called John and Mary, with children baptised to that couple in 1824 (Ann), 1828 (Mary), 1830 (John), 1833 (William), 1835 (Elizabeth), 1837 (Betsy), 1839 (George), 1842 (Sarah) and 1848 (Eliza Ann). The youngest three children's birth registrations indicate that their mother's maiden name was Newton. John Clark and Mary Newton had married in the nearby town of Sleaford in 1824. There are no other baptisms to a couple called Thomas and Mary Clark(e) in Ruskington around this time.

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 620; Book 18; Folio 3; Page 2, 6 Jun 1841.

   Address: Roxholme, Leasingham, Lincolnshire
   Shilton Samuel, male, 14 [1826/7], Ag[ricultural] Lab[ourer], born in county
   James Spinel, male, 17 [1823/4], Ag[ricultural] Lab[ourer], born in county
   Tho[ma]s Clarke, male, 15 [1825/6], Ag[ricultural] Lab[ourer], born in county
   Charles Weston, male, 12 [1828/9], Ag[ricultural] Lab[ourer], 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 2101; Folio 264; Page 8, 30 Mar 1851.

   Address: Little Hale, Lincolnshire
   George Thompson, head, married, male, 56 [1794/5], Farmer of 80 Acres, b. Scredington, Lincolnshire
   Mary Thompson, wife, married, female, 27 [1823/4], b. Little Hale, Lincolnshire
   Mary Thompson, daughter, female, 7 [1843/4], b. Little Hale, Lincolnshire
   William Thompson, son, male, 2 [1848/9], b. Little Hale, Lincolnshire
   William Asher, servant, unmarried, male, 15 [1835/6], Farm Servant, b. Helpringham, Lincolnshire
   Thomas Clark, servant, unmarried, male, 24 [1826/7], Farm Servant, b. Ruskington, Lincolnshire
   Joseph Walton, servant, male, 14 [1836/7], Farm Servant, b. Great Hale, Lincolnshire
   Hannah Shalby, servant, female, 13 [1837/8], House Servant, b. Helpringham, Lincolnshire

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 92; Page 1, 7 Apr 1861.

   Address: South Fen, Great Hale, Lincolnshire
   Thomas Clark, head, married, male, 34 [1826/7], Shepard [sic], b. Ruskington, Lincolnshire
   Rebecca Clark, wife, married, female, 34 [1826/7], b. Great Hale, 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 3345; Folio 53; Page 20, 2 Apr 1871.

   Address: Gibbet Hill, Lincolnshire
   Thomas Clarke, head, married, male, 44 [1826/7], Farmer's Foreman, b. Ruskington, Lincolnshire
   Rebecca Clarke, wife, married, female, 44 [1826/7], D[itt]o Wife, b. Hale Magna, Lincolnshire

   Gibbet Hill (or Gibbet Hills) had been an extra-parochial area until 1858 when it became a parish. The parish was abolished in 1891, being absorbed into the parish of Swineshead.

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 104; Page 20, 3 Apr 1881.

   Address: Poor Row, Great Hale, Lincolnshire
   Thomas Clark, head, married, male, 54 [1826/7], Ag[ricultural] Lab[ourer], b. Ruskington, Lincolnshire
   Rebecca Clark, wife, married, female, 54 [1826/7], b. Great Hale, Lincolnshire

7. ↑ England. England. 1901 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 RG13; Piece 3050; Folio 74; Page 16, 31 Mar 1901.

   Address: Great Hale, Lincolnshire
   3 rooms occupied
   Thomas Clark, head, married, male, 74 [1826/7], Retired Labourer on Farm, b. Hale Magna, Lincolnshire
   Rebecca Clark, wife, married, female, 74 [1826/7], b. Hale Magna, Lincolnshire

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

   d. Thomas CLARKE, December Quarter 1903, Sleaford Registration District, Volume 7a, page 274, aged 77 [1825/6]

9. ↑ Burials register, in Church of England. Parish Church of Great Hale (Lincolnshire). Parish registers for Great Hale, ca.1568-1988. (Lincoln, England: Lincoln Archives Office, 1993-2002).

   BURIALS in the Parish of Hale Magna in the County of Lincoln in the Year 1903
   No.	Name	Abode	When buried	Age	By whom the Ceremony was performed
   1556	Thomas Clark	Hale Magna	October 23	77 y[ea]rs	E.J. Turckheim

10. ↑ Boston Guardian, in United Kingdom. The British Newspaper Archive
    Page 1, 31 Oct 1903.

    DEATHS.
    HALE MAGNA.-Oct. 20th, Thos. Clarke, 77.