Person:Abigail Hornet (1)

Abigail Hornet was baptised on 7th November 1770 at Welwyn in Hertfordshire, daughter of Mary Hornet, formerly Mailes, and her husband George Hornet, a labourer.

On 3rd April 1796, aged 25, Abigail married a merchant's clerk called Edward Willoughby. They married at St Thomas's church in Southwark, in the southern suburbs of London, about 23 miles south of Welwyn. They went on to have two daughters together: Mary in 1797 and Charlotte in 1799, both of whom were baptised at St Olave's church in Southwark. Abigail's brother Joseph also moved to Southwark for a time, marrying there in 1803. Abigail's husband Edward was a witness to Joseph's marriage.

Edward died in 1806, leaving Abigail a widow at the age of 35.

After his death, Abigail returned to her native county of Hertfordshire, settling at London Colney, about eight miles south of Welwyn. London Colney straddled the three parishes of St Albans St Peter, Shenley, and Ridge at that time. Abigail was married in 1808 to a labourer called James Webster at St Peter's church in St Albans, and they had a daughter, also called Abigail, baptised at Shenley the following year. Back in Welwyn, Abigail's father George died in 1812.

Abigail's husband James died in 1815, aged 38.

Abigail married for a third time in 1817 to a widower called William Potter, who was about seventeen years her junior. He had a young daughter from his first marriage, but she died aged three just six months after Abigail and William's marriage.

Abigail's mother died in 1825 in Welwyn.

The 1841 census finds Abigail and William living at Mimmswood Lane in the parish of North Mymms, a mile or two east of London Colney. William was working as an agricultural labourer. Some time between 1841 and 1850 Abigail and William left the London Colney area and moved about ten miles south-west to the parish of Harefield in Middlesex. Abigail died there in 1850, being buried there on 24th March 1850. She was 79 years old. William survived her by eighteen years and remarried in 1854.

1. ↑ Church of England. Welwyn Parish Registers, 1558-1939. (Hertford: Hertfordshire Archives and Local Studies).

   Baptisms 1770
   Hornet / Abigail, Daughter of George & Mary Hornet was publicly baptiz[e]d Nov[ember] the 7th

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 442; Book 1; Folio 4; Page 3, 6 Jun 1841.

   Address: Mimswood Lane, North Mimms, Hertfordshire
   William Potter, male, 55 [1785/6], Ag[ricultural] Lab[ourer], born in county
   Abigail Potter, female, 65 [1775/6], born in county
   Joshua Potter, male, 20 [1816-21], born in county

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

   d. Abigail POTTER, June Quarter 1850, Uxbridge Registration District, Volume 3, page 259, aged 80 [1769/70]

4. ↑ Burials register, in Harefield, Middlesex, England. Parish Registers (London Metropolitan Archives, London / ancestry.co.uk).

   BURIALS in the Parish of Harefield in the County of Middlesex in the Year 1850
   No. 1013
   Name: Abigail Potter
   Abode: Harefield
   When buried: March 24th
   Age: 80 years [1769/70]
   By whom the Ceremony was performed: John Lightfoot, Perp[etual] Cur[ate]