Person:William Ingram (33)

William Nicksom Ingram was baptised on 30th November 1811 at Long Bennington in Lincolnshire, son of Elizabeth Ingram. No father's name is given on the baptism, although his middle name may be a clue to his father's identity. He never appears to have used the middle name himself in later life.

Exactly a year after William's baptism, his mother married a huckster named William Singleton, who was a widower with three children from his first marriage. William's mother would go on to have five children with William Singleton, although the first died aged one of smallpox.

William's stepfather William Singleton died in 1828.

William's next sighting is in 1846, when he was brought before the magistrates following an incident at a public house in Foston, charged with assaulting his step-brother John Singleton's wife Sarah. Witnesses said they thought Sarah may have started the scuffle, which "arose out of a family quarrel"; the case was thrown out with each party paying their own costs.

In the 1851 census William appears in Foston working as a pedlar and living with his mother. She died in 1859.

The year after his mother's death, William married a Rebecca Hoyes at Foston, on 4th December 1860. By the time he married he was 49 years old. Rebecca was nineteen years his junior, being about thirty when they married.

They went on to have five children between 1861 and 1869: Ann Elizabeth in 1861, who died as a baby, Martha in 1863, Annie in 1865, William in 1866 and John in 1869.

Early in 1871, both William's sons died in quick succession, suggesting probably that there was an illness in the family - his son William was buried at Foston on 12th March, aged four, followed two days later by his brother John, aged one. The census the following month finds William, Rebecca and their two surviving daughters living at Foston.

It would appear that William was sometimes violent towards Rebecca. In 1865 she charged him with assault, although the case was settled out of court. In May 1871, a couple of months after the deaths of their sons, Rebecca again charged him with assault, telling the magistrates that she was "in danger of her life", but the case was dismissed. A week later, William placed a notice in one of the local newspapers declaring that he would "not be answerable for any debt or debts my wife Rebecca Ingram may contract after this date".

Ten years later, the 1881 census finds William, Rebecca, and their two daughters living at Foston.

The 1891 census finds William living at the Newark Union Workhouse at Claypole. Rebecca was living with her daughter Martha's family in the nearby town of Grantham. Rebecca died in Grantham on 2nd June 1891, aged 60.

William survived her by a few months. He died at the workhouse in Claypole, and was buried back at Foston on 5th December 1891. He was eighty years old.

1. ↑ Baptisms & Burials Register, in Church of England. Parish Church of Long Bennington (Lincolnshire). Parish registers, 1560-1933. (Lincoln: Lincolnshire Archives, 1991).

   1811 / Nov 30th William Nicksom, the illegitimate son of Elizabeth Ingram

2. ↑ 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 2138; Folio 130; Page 24, 30 Mar 1851.

   Address: Foston, Lincolnshire
   Elizabeth Singleton, head, widow, female, 73 [1787/8], Parochial relief, b. Spittlegate, Lincolnshire
   William Ingram, son, unmarried, male, 39 [1811/2], Pedlar, b. Bennington, Lincolnshire

3. ↑ 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 2481; Folio 110; Page 14, 7 Apr 1861.

   Address: Foston, Lincolnshire
   William Ingraham, head, married, male, 48 [1812/13], Licenced Hawker, b. Foston, Lincolnshire
   Rebecca Ingraham, wife, married, female, 33 [1827/8], b. Foston, Lincolnshire

4. ↑ 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 3544; Folio 47; Page 13, 2 Apr 1871.

   Address: Foston, Lincolnshire
   William Ingraham, head, married, male, 58 [1812/13], Hawker, b. Bennington, Lincolnshire
   Rebecca Ingraham, wife, married, female, 35 [1835/6], b. Hough, Lincolnshire
   Martha Ingraham, daughter, female, 8 [1862/3], Scholar, b. Foston, Lincolnshire
   Ann Ingraham, daughter, female, 5 [1865/6], Scholar, b. Foston, Lincolnshire

5. ↑ 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 3378; Folio 102; Page 6, 3 Apr 1881.

   Address: Foston, Lincolnshire
   William Ingram, head, married, male, 58 [1822/3], Ag[ricultural] Lab[ourer], b. Foston, Lincolnshire
   Rebecca Ingram, wife, married, female, 47 [1833/4], b. Gelstone, Lincolnshire
   Martha Inrgam, daughter, female, 20 [1860/1], Servant, b. Foston, Lincolnshire
   Annie Ingram, daughter, female, 18 [1862/3], Servant, b. Foston, Lincolnshire

6. ↑ England. 1891 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 RG12; Piece 2716; Folio 50; Page 21, 5 Apr 1891.

   Address: Newark Union Workhouse, Claypole, Lincolnshire
   Many inmates, including:
   William Ingram, married, male, 78 [1812/13], Ag[ricultural] Labourer, b. Long Bennington, Lincolnshire

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

   d. William INGRAM, December Quarter 1891, Newark Registration District, Volume 7b, page 247, aged 79 [1811/12]

8. ↑ Burials register, in Church of England. Parish Church of Foston (Lincolnshire). Parish registers, 1776-1940. (Lincoln, England: Lincolnshire Archives Office, 1993).

   BURIALS in the Parish of Foston in the County of Lincoln in the Year 1891
   No.	Name	Abode	When buried	Age	By whom the Ceremony was performed
   610	William Ingram	Claypole Workhouse	5 December	79 years	Henry F. Allison

9.   Lincolnshire Chronicle, in United Kingdom. The British Newspaper Archive
   Page 7, Friday 27 Mar 1846.

   MAGISTRATES' MEETING, SPITTLEGATE, Friday March 20.
   Wm. Ingram, of Foston appeared to answer the complaint of Sarah the wife of John Singleton, of Foston, who charged him with assaulting her. The assault arose out of a family quarrel, and took place in a public-house. One witness said the woman struck Ingram first; and that when her husband, who was present during the scuffle or fight, was appealed to, he said, "If she struck him first, he was to kick her home; but if he struck her first, he was to leave her alone." Case dismissed, both parties to pay their own costs.

10.   Stamford Mercury, in United Kingdom. The British Newspaper Archive
    Page 6, 11 Aug 1865.

    SPITTLEGATE PETTY SESSION, Aug. 4...
    Rebecca Ingram charged her husband, Wm. Ingram, with assaulting her on the 22d ult. Arranged our of court.

11.   Lincolnshire Chronicle, in United Kingdom. The British Newspaper Archive
    Page 6, 26 May 1871.

    SPITTLEGATE PETTY SESSIONS, FRIDAY, MAY 19...
    Rebecca Ingram charged her husband, William Ingram, of Foston, with assaulting her, and said she was in danger of her life. The Chairman dismissed the case, but cautioned defendant against appearing again on a similar charge.

12.   Grantham Journal, in United Kingdom. The British Newspaper Archive
    Page 5, 3 Jun 1871.

    I, WILLIAM INGRAM, of Foston, will not be Answerable for any Debt or Debts my Wife REBECCA INGRAM may Contract after this Date.
    May 27th, 1871. WILLIAM INGRAM.