Person:Mary Grant (81)

Mary Grant was baptised on 24th February 1788 at Pagham in Sussex, daughter of Phyllis Grant, formerly Marshall, and her husband Joseph Grant. She was the eldest of the couple's three children. Mary's mother Phyllis died in 1797, when Mary was nine years old.

Mary was married on 17th August 1806, aged 18, to an agricultural labourer named Thomas Tapner. He was about four years her senior and from East Lavant, just the other side of Chichester. They married in Pagham, but then moved to the neighbouring parish of Sidlesham, where their first two children were baptised, before moving a little further east to the small town of Bognor, which at the time was part of the parish of South Bersted. Thomas and Mary had a further five children baptised at South Bersted, although one died as a baby.

At the time of the 1841 census, Mary was working as a beer retailer at Sea Houses in Bognor. Her youngest daughter Ellen was living with her, although her husband was away from home on census night. He was back home for the 1851 census, when the family was living at Dorset Gardens in Bognor, and Thomas and Mary were looking after one of their granddaughters.

Mary died later in 1851, being buried at South Bersted on 12th September 1851. She was 63. Thomas outlived her by nearly 22 years.

1. ↑ England. Births and Christenings, 1538-1975. (FamilySearch, Ancestry.com, Findmypast).

   ch. 24 Feb 1788, Pagham, Sussex: Mary daughter of Joseph & Felice Grant

   Needs to be confirmed at West Sussex Archives.

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 1099; Book 1; Folio 5; Page 3, 6 Jun 1841.

   Address: Sea Houses, Bognor, South Bersted, Sussex [listed between "Bognor Station Houses" and "Rock Buildings" - the station won't be the railway though as that wouldn't reach the town until over twenty years later]
   Mary Tapner, female, 50 [1786-91], Retailer of beer, born in county
   Ellen Tapner, female, 15 [1821-6], 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 1653; Folio 462; Page 43, 30 Mar 1851.

   Address: Dorset Gardens, Bognor, South Bersted, Sussex
   Thomas Tapner, head, married, male, 66 [1784/5], Laborer, b. East Lavant, Sussex
   Mary Tapner, wife, married, female, 63 [1787/8], b. Pagham, Sussex
   Charlotte Ide, granddaughter, female, 11 [1839/40], b. Bognor, Sussex
   John Osborn, lodger, unmarried, male, 66 [1784/5], Annuitant, b. Chichester, Sussex

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

   d. Mary Ann TAPNER, September Quarter 1851, Chichester Registration District, Vol. 7, page 253

5. ↑ England. Deaths and Burials, 1538-1991. (FamilySearch, Ancestry.com).

   bur. 12 Sep 1851, South Bersted, Sussex: Mary Ann Tapner

   Needs to be confirmed at West Sussex Archives.