Person:Eliza Bonser (1)

Childhood

Eliza Worth Bonser was baptised on 27th March 1826 at East Stoke in Nottinghamshire, daughter of Ann Bonser, a shoemaker's daughter. Ann was only 18 when she had Eliza and was unmarried. Eliza's middle name may be a clue to her putative father. She never used the middle name later in life - it only appears on her baptism. When Eliza was six, her mother had a son George.

In 1834, when Eliza was eight, her mother married a shoe maker named William Haywood, who thus became Eliza's stepfather. Sadly he died after only a month of marriage, leaving Eliza's mother Ann a widow at the age of 26, and pregnant. Ann gave birth later that year to a son called William, but then died herself. Young Eliza and her brothers George and baby William were therefore left orphans when Eliza was only eight years old. Eliza's grandparents William and Elizabeth Bonser were still living at East Stoke and the three children went to live with them. The 1841 census finds Eliza and her brothers George Bonser and William Haywood living at East Stoke with their grandparents.

Adulthood

By 1846, Eliza was working as a domestic servant. On 12th January that year, aged 19, she was married at East Stoke to a coachman and groom named Robert Singleton from Foston in Lincolnshire. Eliza's grandfather William Bonser was one of the witnesses to the marriage. They returned to Foston and had two children there, although the second died young. They then moved to Allington and had another nine children there, although one of those died young too. They stayed in Allington for at least 20 years. Back in East Stoke, Eliza's grandparents both died during the 1850s: William in 1853 and Elizabeth in 1856.

Eliza's eleven children were born over a period of nearly 25 years. When her youngest daughter, Ada Jane, was born in August 1871, Eliza was 45 years old and some of her eldest children had already left home.

Shortly after Ada Jane's birth, the family left Allington, moving to Aston on Trent in Derbyshire. Eliza died at Aston on Trent on 1st November 1872 from abdominal tumours and exhaustion. She was 46. Her youngest daughter Ada Jane was only fourteen months old at the time.

After Eliza's death, Robert did not stay long in Aston on Trent. He moved to Bainton in Northamptonshire, and outlived Eliza by 29 years.

1. ↑ Copy of baptisms register, in Church of England. Parish Church of East Stoke (Nottinghamshire). Bishop's transcripts of East Stoke, 1602-1843. (Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1966).

   COPIES of the Register Books of BAPTISMS, BURIALS and MARRIAGES, solemnized in the Parish of East Stoke in the Diocese of York in the Year One Thousand Eight Hundred and twenty six
   When Baptized	Child's Christian Name	Parent's Name		Abode	Quality, Trade, or Profession	By whom the Ceremony was performed
   		Christian	Surname
   March 27th	Eliza Worth Dau[ghte]r of	Ann	Bonsor illegitimate	Stoke		W[illia]m Bartlett, Vicar

   This baptism has been linked to the Eliza Bonser who married Robert Singleton on the basis that it is in the same parish and at the time suggested by Eliza's appearances in the censuses. One of the witnesses to Eliza and Robert's marriage was a William Bonser, who was grandfather to the Eliza baptised in 1826, corresponding with the family in the 1841 census where Eliza was living with her grandparents in East Stoke. Eliza's marriage record leaves the section for her father's name blank, and as the Eliza baptised in 1826 was illegitimate this explains why that would be so.

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 867; Book 1; Folio 6; Page 6, 6 Jun 1841.

   Address: East Stoke, Nottinghamshire
   Willm Bonser, male, 70 [1766-71], Shoe M[aker], born in county
   Elizabeth Bonser, female, 60 [1776-81], not born in county
   Eliza Bonser, female, 15 [1821-26], born in county
   George Bonser, male, 8 [1832/3], born in county
   Willm Haywood, male, 6 [1834/5], 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.)
   lass HO107; Piece 2138; Folio 146; Page 23, 30 Mar 1851.

   Address: West Allington, Lincolnshire
   Robert Singleton, head, married, male, 32 [1818/9], Servant Groom, b. Foston, Lincolnshire
   Eliza Singleton, wife, married, female, 25 [1825/6], b. Stoke, Nottinghamshire
   Samuel Singleton, son, male, 4 [1846/7], b. Foston, Lincolnshire
   Mary Eliz[abe]th Singleton, daughter, 11 mos [1850], b. West Allington, 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 2481; Folio 12; Page 18, 7 Apr 1861.

   Address: West Allington, Lincolnshire
   Robert Singleton, head, married, male, 42 [1818/9], Groom, b. Foston, Lincolnshire
   Eliza Singleton, wife, married, female, 35 [1825/6], b. East Stoke, Nottinghamshire
   Samuel Singleton, son, male, 14 [1846/7], Ag[ricultural] Boy, b. Foston, Lincolnshire
   Mary Eliz[abe]th Singleton, daughter, female, 10 [1850/1], Scholar, b. West Allington, Lincolnshire
   William Singleton, son, male, 8 [1852/3], Scholar, b. West Allington, Lincolnshire
   Bonser Singleton, son, male, 5 [1855/6], Scholar, b. West Allington, Lincolnshire
   James Singleton, son, male, 3 [1857/8], Scholar, b. West Allington, Lincolnshire
   Richard Singleton, son, male, 2 [1858/9], b. West Allington, 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 3544; Folio 13; Page 17, 2 Apr 1871.

   Address: West Allington, Lincolnshire
   Robert Singleton, head, married, male, 51 [1819/20], Coachman (Domestic), b. Foston, Lincolnshire
   Eliza Singleton, wife, married, female, 43 [1827/8], Coachmans wife, b. East Stoke, Nottinghamshire
   William Singleton, son, unmarried, male, 17 [1853/4], Farm Servant, b. Allington, Lincolnshire
   Richard Singleton, son, male, 12 [1858/9], Scholar, b. Allington, Lincolnshire
   Ann Singleton, daughter, female, 8 [1862/3], Scholar, b. Allington, Lincolnshire
   Frederick Singleton, son, male, 6 [1864/5], Scholar, b. Allington, Lincolnshire

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

   Registration District Shardlow
   1872 DEATH in the Sub-District of Shardlow in the County of Derby
   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
   346	First November 1872 Aston on Trent	Eliza Singleton	Female	46 years	Wife of Robert Singleton a Groom	Abdominal Tumours Exhaustion Certified	Bonser Singleton Present at Death Great Gonerby, Lincolnshire	Fifth November 1872	Charles Harwood, Registrar

   
7. ↑ Burials register, in Church of England. Parish Church of Aston-upon-Trent (Derbyshire). Parish registers, 1667-1966. (Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1982).

   BURIALS in the Parish of Aston-on-Trent in the County of Derby in the Year 1872
   No.	Name	Abode	When buried	Age	By whom the Ceremony was performed
   1303	Eliza Singleton	Aston-on-Trent	Nov[ember] 4th	46	James S. Holden (Rector)