Person:Mary Watts (54)

Mary Watts' origins have yet to be established. Her first confirmed sighting is on 11th October 1737, when she married a blacksmith named William Hammond at Aldingbourne in Sussex. At the time of their marriage, William lived in the nearby village of Slindon, which is where they had their first child, James, baptised the year after their marriage.

By 1740 they had moved to the neighbouring village of Oving, having a daughter baptised there.

By 1746 they had settled at South Bersted (the parish which then included the fishing village of Bognor), where they had a further four sons baptised between 1746 and 1755.

The name Hammond is a very common one in the area and it has not been possible to trace all their children, but it is clear that Mary and William had several grandchildren born in their lifetimes.

William died in 1793. He and Mary had been married for 55 years. Mary survived him by two years, and was buried at South Bersted on 14th July 1795.

1. ↑ Church of England. Parish Church of South Bersted (Sussex). Parish registers of South Bersted, 1564-1904. (Chichester: West Sussex County Council).

   Burials / 1795 / July 14th / Mary Hammond

   This appears to be the only plausible burial of a Mary Hammond at South Bersted.