Person:Sarah Barrowcliff (1)

Sarah Barrowcliff was born on New Year's Day 1812 and baptised four days later at Gringley on the Hill in Nottinghamshire, daughter of a farmer called Charles Barrowcliff and his wife Margaret.

On 8th June 1835, aged 24, Sarah married John Sharpe at Gringley on the Hill. They do not appear to have had any children. Less than two years later John died, being buried at Gringley on 21st February 1837. He was said to be 27 years old.

By 1840, Sarah had left Gringley and moved nearly thirty miles west to Sheffield, where she ran a corner shop which appears to have been at the corner of Doncaster Street and Allen Street. On 30th September 1840, aged 29, she was married in Sheffield to William Bonser, a shoe maker who was a widower with an eleven year old son, Manuel, from his first marriage. Sarah and William do not appear to have had any more children together.

Sarah and William stayed at the shop in Allen Street throughout their marriage. As well as raising William's son, they also took in his nephew George as an apprentice around 1851, when they also had two visitors called Barrowcliff from Gringley on the Hill staying with them, who were presumably relatives of Sarah's.

From their shop, Sarah sold poultry, butter and eggs, which she regularly travelled to the market at Gainsborough to buy. William would then collect it from the railway station and take it to Sarah's customers in the officers' mess at the barracks in Sheffield. William also continued working as a boot and shoe maker on a small scale, as well as working as a night-timekeeper for a factory in the Philadelphia area of Sheffield.

On the night of 11th-12th March 1864, in the hills to the west of Sheffield, the newly-built Dale Dyke Dam burst. Vast quantities of water rapidly swept down the valley into Sheffield, with many low-lying parts of the town being very suddenly flooded. At least 240 people were killed in what became known as the Great Sheffield Flood. Sarah's husband William was one of the flood's victims, being drowned at the factory where he had been at work that night. He was 62 when he died.

The Sheffield Waterworks Company, which had built the dam, was held to be responsible for causing the disaster. An "Inundation Commission" was set up, and Sarah claimed compensation from it for the loss of her husband. The case came to court in February 1865. Sarah reported that following William's death she had left the shop on Allen Street. She claimed for £1000 compensation. At the hearing it was established that William had earned about fifteen shillings a week from his work at the factory and a little more from his shoe making and helping Sarah with the shop. The company called witnesses to show that William had often been drunk and was not of the most steady habits, and suggested that given these facts and his age Sarah would probably not have expected him to support her for many more years anyway. They offered her £50 compensation. There was criticism from Sarah's representatives of the company's approach, which they said was an effort to "blacken the man's character after his death in order to reduce the damages to his widow". The Court fixed the compensation due to Sarah at £75 - nowhere near what she had sought, but more than she had been originally offered.^[12]

After William's death, Sarah appears to have returned to her native village of Gringley. In 1869 she married a farmer from the nearby parish of Haxey called William Tindall. He was a widower with several adult children. They did not marry locally to Gringley or Haxey but back in Sheffield at the Mount Zion Chapel, on 3rd December 1869. After their marriage they settled at William's farm, Haxey Grange. The 1871, 1881 and 1891 censuses find Sarah and William living there with various relatives, visitors and servants.

Sarah died on 16th May 1891 at Haxey Grange, aged 79. She was buried back at Gringley on the Hill where she had been born. William survived her by two years.

1. ↑ ^1.0 1.1 Nottinghamshire Family History Society. Nottinghamshire Baptisms Database.

   ch. 5 Jan 1812, Gringley on the Hill, Nottinghamshire: Sarah daughter of Charles & Margaret Barrowcliff, born 1 Jan 1812

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 1335; Book 15; Folio 19; Page 3, 6 Jun 1841.

   Address: Doncaster Street, Sheffield, Yorkshire
   William Bonsor, male, 35 [1801-6], Grocer, not born in county
   Sarah Bonsor, female, 30 [1806-11], not born in county
   Manual Bonsor, male, 12 [1828/9], not born in county
   Clarissa Crump, female, 15 [1821-6], F[emale] Servant, not 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 2339; Folio 212; Page 24, 30 Mar 1851.

   Address: 48 Allen Street, Sheffield, Yorkshire
   William Bonser, head, married, male, 35 [1815/6], Boot & shoe maker, b. Nottingham, Nottinghamshire
   Sarah Bonser, wife, married, female, 39 [1811/2], b. Nottingham, Nottinghamshire
   Manuell Bonser, son, unmarried, male, 22 [1828/9], Brass caster, b. Nottingham, Nottinghamshire
   George Bonser, apprentice, male, 17 [1843/4], Boot maker, b. Nottingham, Nottinghamshire
   Margarette Boots, visitor, female, 9 [1841/2], b. Nottingham, Nottinghamshire
   Joseph Barrowcliff, visitor, male, 43 [1807/8], Waterman, b. Nottingham, Nottinghamshire
   Geor[ge] Barrowcliff, male, 22 [1828/9], Waterman, b. Nottingham, Nottinghamshire

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 3486; Folio 99; Page 32, 7 Apr 1861.

   Address: No. 2 Doncaster Street, Sheffield, Yorkshire
   William Bonser, head, married, male, 55 [1805/6], Shop Keeper, b. East Stoke, Nottinghamshire
   Sarah Bonser, wife, married, female, 49 [1811/12], b. Gringley on the Hill, Nottinghamshire
   Ann Pye, boarder, widow, female, 73 [1787/8], b. Brampton, Yorkshire
   Charles B. Clipper, boarder, unmarried, male, 18 [1842/3], Cabinet Case Maker, b. Gringley on the Hill, Nottinghamshire

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 3440; Folio 63; Page 14, 2 Apr 1871.

   Address: Haxey Grange, Haxey, Lincolnshire
   William Tindall, head, married, male, 59 [1811/12], Farmer of 154 Acres, b. Misterton, Nottinghamshire
   Sarah Tindall, wife, married, female, 59 [1811/12], b. Gringley, Nottinghamshire
   Jane Tindall, daughter, unmarried, female, 27 [1843/4], Assistant in House duties, b. Walkeringham, Nottinghamshire
   Sarah Tindall, daughter, unmarried, female, 22 [1848/9], Assistant in House duties, b. Walkeringham, Nottinghamshire
   William Tindall, son, unmarried, male, 26 [1844/5], Assistant on the farm, b. Walkeringham, Nottinghamshire
   Thomas Otter, servant, male, 13 [1857/8], General Farm Servant Indoor, b. Misterton, Nottinghamshire

6. ↑ 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 3292; Folio 119; Page 17, 3 Apr 1881.

   Address: Haxey, Lincolnshire
   William Tindall, head, married, male, 69 [1811/12], Farmer of 150 Acres, b. Misterton, Nottinghamshire
   Sarah Tindall, wife, married, female, 69 [1811/12], Farmer Wife, b. Gringley, Nottinghamshire
   Charlotte Otter, servant, unmarried, female, 17 [1863/4], Domestic Servant, b. Misterton, Nottinghamshire
   Samuel Gibbson, servant, unmarried, male, 20 [1860/1], Ag[ricultural] Servant Indoor, b. Kirton, Nottinghamshire
   Joseph Tindall, servant, unmarried, male, 16 [1864/5], Ag[ricultural] Servant Indoor, b. Haxey, Lincolnshire
   Jonas Audas, servant, unmarried, male, 13 [1867/8], Ag[ricultural] Servant Indoor, b. Thorne, Yorkshire

7. ↑ 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 2631; Folio 105; Page 12, 5 Apr 1891.

   Address: Haxey Grange, Graizelound, Haxey, Lincolnshire
   William Tindall, head, married, male, 79 [1811/12], Farmer, employer, b. Misterton, Nottinghamshire
   Sarah Tindall, wife, married, female, 79 [1811/12], b. Gringley, Nottinghamshire
   Lucy Norton, visitor, married, female, 39 [1851/2], b. Gringley, Nottinghamshire
   Betsey Barrowcliffe, visitor, single, female, 16 [1874/5], b. Brightside, Yorkshire
   Florance Barrowcliffe, visitor, single, female, 14 [1876/7], b. Holmes, Yorkshire
   Alfred Audas, visitor, single, male, 18 [1872/3], b. Hull, Yorkshire
   George Pedge, servant, single, male, 19 [1871/2], Farm Servant, employed, b. Saxilby, Lincolnshire
   John H. Beau, servant, single, male, 13 [1877/8], Farm Servant, employed, b. not known

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

   d. Sarah TINDALL, June Quarter 1891, Gainsborough Registration District, Volume 7a, page 634, aged 78 [1812/13]

9. ↑ Stamford Mercury, in United Kingdom. The British Newspaper Archive
   Page 4, 29 May 1891.

   Deaths.
   HAXEY.-May 16, at the Grange Farm, Westwoodside, Sarah wife of Mr. Wm. Tindal, 79

10. ↑ Sheffield Independent, in United Kingdom. The British Newspaper Archive
    Page 6, 26 May 1891.

    Deaths.
    TINDALL.-May 15, at Haxey Grange, Sarah, wife of William Tindall, late of Sheffield, aged 79 years.

11. ↑ Nottinghamshire Family History Society. Nottinghamshire Burials Database.

    bur. 20 May 1891, Gringley on the Hill, Nottinghamshire: Sarah Tindall of Haxey Grange

12. ↑ See newspaper articles transcribed on William's page.