Person:Elizabeth Roper (14)

Elizabeth Roper was baptised on 18th April 1852 at Tolpuddle in Dorset, daughter of Emily Roper, formerly Sturmey, and her husband Benjamin Roper, a gardener. Elizabeth appears in the 1861 census living with her parents and siblings in Tolpuddle. By the 1871 census Elizabeth had left home and was working as a domestic servant for a victualler (publican) in the county town of Dorchester, at 47 High East Street, one of the town's main thoroughfares. A couple of doors down from 47 High East Street there is an arch between numbers 44 and 45, leading to Greenings Court, where one of the residents in the 1871 census was a shoemaker called Alfred Hutchings, who was originally from Crewkerne in Somerset.

Elizabeth and Alfred would go on to marry later that year, back at Elizabeth's native Tolpuddle. Their first child was born at Charminster, just north of Dorchester, after which they returned to Dorchester, having several more children there. The 1881 census finds Elizabeth and Alfred living at 11 Grove Buildings, on the western side of Dorchester. In the late 1880s they moved to Charminster, settling in a three roomed cottage on Church Lane, where they appear in both the 1891 and 1901 censuses.

Alfred died in 1910, aged 69. Elizabeth appears alone in the cottage in Charminster in the 1911 census. She appears to have outlived Alfred by about 24 years, dying in 1934 in the Weymouth district, just south of Dorchester.

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

   b. Elizabeth ROPER, June Quarter 1852, Dorchester & Cerne Registration District, Volume 5a, page 345, mother's maiden name Sturmey

2. ↑ Baptisms register, in Church of England. Parish Registers of Tolpuddle. (Dorchester: Dorset History Centre).

   BAPTISMS solemnized in the Parish of Tolpuddle in the County of Dorset in the Year 1852
   No.	When Baptized	Child's Christian Name	Parents' Name		Abode	Quality, Trade, or Profession	By whom the Ceremony was performed
   			Christian	Surname
   459	April 18th	Elizabeth daug[hte]r of	Benjamin & Emily	Roper	Tolpuddle	Labourer	Morgan Devenish, Officiat[in]g Minister

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 1355; Folio 16; Page 12, 7 Apr 1861.

   Address: Tolpuddle, Dorset
   Benjamin Roper, head, married, male, 54 [1806/7], Gardener Domestic, b. Caststone, Wiltshire
   Emily Roper, wife, married, female, 45 [1815/6], b. Woolwich, Kent
   Maria Roper, daughter, unmarried, female, 17 [1843/4], b Tolpuddle, Dorset
   William Roper, son, male, 14 [1846/7], Ag[ricultural] Lab[ourer], b. Tolpuddle, Dorset
   Edwin Roper, son, male, 11 [1849/50], Ag[ricultural] Lab[ourer], b. Tolpuddle, Dorset
   Elizabeth Roper, daughter, female, 9 [1951/2], Scholar, b. Tolpuddle, Dorset
   Jane Roper, daughter, female, 4 [1856/7], Scholar, b. Tolpuddle, Dorset
   Emma Roper, daughter, female, 2 [1858/9], b. Tolpuddle, Dorset

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 2009; Folio 21; Page 12, 2 Apr 1871.

   Address: 47 High East Street, Dorchester (All Saints), Dorset
   Francis Porter, head, widower, male, 36 [1834/5], Licensed Victualler, b. Stafford, Dorset
   James Porter, son, unmarried, male, 13 [1857/8], Scholar, b. Upway, Dorset
   Joseph Porter, son, unmarried, male, 10 [1860/1], Scholar, b. Dorchester All Saints, Dorset
   Eliz[abe]th Roper, servant, unmarried, female, 19 [1851/2], Domestic Serv[an]t, b. Tolpuddle, Dorset
   Sarah Peach, boarder, married, female, 35 [1835/6], b. Godmanstone, Dorset

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 2111; Folio 79; Page 5, 3 Apr 1881.

   Address: 11 Grove Buildings, Dorchester (West Fordington), Dorset
   Alfred Hutchings, head, married, male, 37 [1843/4], Boot & Shoe Maker, b. Crewkerne, Somerset
   Elizabeth Hutchings, wife, married, female, 29 [1851/2], b. Tolpuddle, Dorset
   John Hutchings, son, male, 9 [1871/2], Scholar, b. Charminster, Dorset
   Jane Hutchings, daughter, female, 5 [1875/6], Scholar, b. Dorchester, Dorset
   Henry Hutchings, son, male, 3 [1877/8], Scholar, b. Dorchester, Dorset
   Herbert Hutchings, son, male, 1 [1879/80], b. Dorchester, Dorset

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 1655; Folio 21; Page 3, 5 Apr 1891.

   Address: Church Lane, Charminster, Dorset
   3 rooms occupied
   Alfred Hutchings, head, married, male, 48 [1842/3], Shoemaker, employed, b. Crewkerne, Somerset
   Elizabeth Hutchings, wife, married, female, 39 [1851/2], b. Tolpuddle, Dorset
   William Hutchings, son, single, male, 13 [1877/8], Grocer's Boy, employed, b. Dorchester, Dorset
   Herbert Hutchings, son, single, male, 11 [1879/80], Scholar, b. Dorchester, Dorset
   George Hutchings, son, single, male, 9 [1881/2], Scholar, b. Dorchester, Dorset
   Arthur Hutchings, son, single, male, 6 [1884/5], Scholar, b. Dorchester, Dorset
   Albert Hutchings, son, single, male, 1 [1889/90], b. Charminster, Dorset

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 2004; Folio 16; Page 4, 31 Mar 1901.

   Address: Church Lane, Charminster, Dorset
   3 rooms occupied
   Alfred Hutchings, head, married, male, 59 [1841/2], Bootmaker, own account, b. Crewkerne, Somerset
   Elizabeth Hutchings, wife, married, male, 49 [1851/2], b. Tolpuddle, Dorset
   Arthur Hutchings, son, single, male, 17 [1883/4], Compositor, worker, b. Dorchester, Dorset
   Albert Hutchings, son, male, 11 [1889/90], Schoolboy, b. Charminster, Dorset

8. ↑ England. 1911 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 RG14; Piece 12399; Schedule 62, 2 Apr 1911.

   Address: Church Lane, Charminster, Dorset
   3 rooms occupied
   Elizabeth Hutchings, head, female, 59 [1851/2], widow, widow of Shoemaker, b. Tolpuddle, Dorset

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

   d. Elizabeth HUTCHINGS, March Quarter 1934, Weymouth Registration District, Volume 5a, page 397, aged 82 [1851/2]

   This appears to be the most likely death for Elizabeth, being the only Elizabeth Hutchings death in Dorset of roughly the right age. Death certificate would need to be obtained to confirm.