Person:James Marshall (58)

James Marshall was baptised on 27th May 1804 at Kimpton in Hertfordshire, son of Elizabeth Marshall, formerly Bent, and her husband William Marshall, and agricultural labourer. James was the eldest of the couple's eight or nine children. He was probably named after his maternal grandfather, James Bent, who had died the previous year. The family lived at Peters Green, a hamlet to the west of the parish, close to the border with Luton in Bedfordshire. In the early 1820s the family moved a little way north of Peters Green into the neighbouring parish of King's Walden - many years later James would give his place of birth as King's Walden in one of the censuses. James's mother Elizabeth died in March 1826, and was buried at Luton.

Six weeks later James married. By this time he was living at Hertford, some way from King's Walden or Kimpton. He did not marry at Hertford, but at Hatfield, on 4th May 1826, to Hannah Arnold, who was about the same age as him and from Bushey. James and Hannah had five children baptised at Hatfield between 1826 and 1835, although one died as a baby. The 1841 census finds James and Hannah living at Mill Green in Hatfield. James's father William was still living at King's Walden in the 1841 census, at Diamond End. William died at King's Walden in 1847.

Some time between 1841 and 1851 James, Hannah and their youngest daughter Eliza left Hatfield and moved to Sarratt, where they appear in both the 1851 and 1861 censuses with James working as the farm bailiff at Sarratt Hall Farm. Their sons Joseph and William stayed behind in Hatfield, although William later moved to Sarratt too. Their eldest daughter Sarah moved to London, where she married in 1849.

Between 1861 and 1871 James and Hannah left Sarratt Hall Farm, and moved a short distance to Bucks Hill Bottom, which at that time fell within the rural part of the neighbouring parish of Watford, but has subsequently been transferred to Sarratt. In the 1871 census James and Hannah were living in a cottage at Bucks Hill Bottom, joined by one of their granddaughters, Harriet Jeffs, who was their daughter Eliza's daughter. Their son William died just after the 1871 census, aged just 40.

Hannah died in 1872, aged about 67. It has yet to be established when James died.

1. ↑ Church of England. Kimpton Parish Registers.

   Baptisms:
   1804: May 27 James Son of William Marshall & Eliz[abe]th his Wife

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 436; Book 10; Folio 25; Page 3, 6 Jun 1841.

   Address: Mill Green, Hatfield, Hertfordshire
   James Marshall, male, 38 [1802/3], born in county
   Hannah Marshall, female, 37 [1803/4], born in county
   Sarah Marshall, female, 15 [1825/6], born in county
   Joseph Marshall, male, 10 [1830/1], born in county
   William Marshall, male, 9 [1831/2], born in county
   Eliza Marshall, female, 5 [1835/6], 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.)
   Class HO107; Piece 1714; Folio 558; Page 11, 30 Mar 1851.

   Address: Sarratt Hall Farm, Sarratt, Hertfordshire
   James Marshall, head, married, male, 47 [1803/4], Ag Labourer, b. Kimpton, Hertfordshire
   Hannah Marshall, wife, married, female, 46 [1804/5], b. Bushey, Hertfordshire
   Eliza Marshall, daughter, unmarried, female, 15 [1835/6], b. Hatfield, Hertfordshire

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 835; Folio 148; Page 7, 7 Apr 1861.

   Address: Lodge, Sarratt Hall Farm, Sarratt, Hertfordshire
   James Marshall, head, married, male, 56 [1804/5], Ag Lab Farm Bailiff, b. Kimpton, Hertfordshire
   Hannah Marshall, wife, married, female, 56 [1804/5], b. Bushey, Hertfordshire

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 1382; Folio 40; Page 14, 2 Apr 1871.

   Address: Bucks Hill Bottom Cottage, Watford, Hertfordshire
   James Marshall, head, married, male, 66 [1804/5], Ag Lab, b. Kings Walden, Bedfordshire [sic]
   Hannah Marshall, wife, married, female, 66 [1804/5], b. Bushey, Hertfordshire
   Harriet Jeffs, granddaughter, female, 13 [1857/8], b. Watford, Hertfordshire

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

   James's death has yet to be found. He is almost certainly not the James Marshall who died in St Albans district in the June quarter of 1880, aged 69, as that death appears to correspond to a burial in Harpenden, and there was a James Marshall of that age living in Harpenden in the 1871 census - he was a builder from Nottinghamshire. The most likely death is therefore perhaps this one:
   d. James MARSHALL, June Quarter 1871, Barnet Registration District, Volume 3a, page 97, aged 63 [1807/8]
   Death certificate needs to be obtained to confirm.