Person:Frances Preston (5)

Frances Preston was baptised on 12th April 1730 at Kirkby la Thorpe in Lincolnshire, daughter of Bridget Preston, formerly Vincent, and her husband John Preston, a carpenter. Frances's mother died in 1753, when Frances was 22.

Frances was married at Kirkby la Thorpe on 2nd December 1755 to Watson Clare, who was from the neighbouring parish of Asgarby. After their marriage they moved initially to the nearby village of Howell, having two children baptised there in 1757 and 1758.

Some time between 1758 and 1759 they moved some 26 miles south-east to the small town of Long Sutton (also known as Sutton St Mary at the time), where they had another two children baptised in 1759 and 1761, although one died young.

They moved again some time between 1761 and 1765, moving another nine miles further south to the town of Wisbech in Cambridgeshire. At Wisbech they went on to have another five children baptised between 1765 and 1773, although again it would appear that some died young.

Frances has yet to be traced after the baptism of their youngest child in 1773. One possibility is that she was the "Frances Clarke" buried at Wisbech on 9th January 1783. Back in Kirkby la Thorpe, Frances's father died in 1777. Watson lived to be 88 years old and died in 1820.

1. ↑ Church of England. Parish Church of Kirkby-le-Thorpe (Lincolnshire). Parish registers, 1660-1979. (Lincoln, England: Lincoln Archives Office, 1993).

   Frances the daughter of John Preston & Bridget his wife was baptiz[e]d April the 12th 1730

2.   Cambridgeshire Burials (Cambridgeshire Family History Society).

   bur. 9 Jan 1783, St Peter, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire: Frances Clarke

   Needs to be confirmed at Cambridgeshire Record Office.