Person:William Singleton (27)

William Singleton's origins have yet to be established. If the age given when he died was correct, then he was born around 1777. William's first confirmed sighting is on 14th December 1801, when he married Martha Burden at Long Bennington in Lincolnshire. They settled in Long Bennington, having three children baptised there between 1805 and 1808. Martha died in 1811, aged 33.

William married again the following year. His second wife was Elizabeth Ingram, and they married on 30th November 1812 at Long Bennington. Elizabeth had a son named William already, to whom William became stepfather.

In 1813, William's son George from his first marriage died tragically - the parish register records that he burned to death. He was only five years old.

The following year William and Elizabeth had their first child, a son named Robert, but he died of smallpox when he was just one year old.

William and Elizabeth had a daughter, Mary, baptised in 1816 in Long Bennington. They then left Long Bennington and moved to the neighbouring parish of Foston, where they had three more children: another Robert in 1818, Samuel in 1820 and Sarah in 1823. Robert's and Samuel's baptisms both describe William as a huckster; an old term for a pedlar or hawker, someone who sold things he carried around with him. Sarah's baptism gives William's occupation as labourer.

William was buried at Foston on 4th April 1828. He was said to be 50 years old. Elizabeth survived him by 31 years.

1. ↑ ^1.0 1.1 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 1828
   No.	Name	Abode	When buried	Age	By whom the Ceremony was performed
   105	William Singleton	Foston	April 4th	50 years [1777/8]	M.E. Welby, Vicar

2. ↑ There are several William Singletons baptised in the area near Long Bennington and Foston around the 1770s, including the following, any or none of which may be this man.
   A William Singleton baptised at Foston in 1769, who was probably the William Singleton who married Elizabeth Kidward at Long Bennington in 1795 and was buried at Foston in 1799.
   Another William Singleton baptised at Hougham in 1777.
   A William Singleton baptised at Bassingham in 1777, who seems likely to have also been buried there in 1792.
   A William Singleton baptised at Stubton in 1776.
   None of the possible baptisms found so far explain the apparent connection between this William's family and that of William Singleton and Ann Newcombe who married at Honington in 1836 - they appear to have witnessed this William's son John's marriage at Muston in 1838, whilst John witnessed their marriage.