Person:Sarah May (27)

Sarah May was baptised on 3rd March 1814 at Templeton in Devon, daughter of Mary May, formerly Cockram, and her husband Robert May, a farmer. She was the ninth of the couple's ten children. The 1841 census finds Sarah being the only child still living at home with her parents in Templeton, where they were living at Partridge Farm.

On 22nd May 1842, aged 28, Sarah was married in the nearby town of Tiverton to a widower named William Bowden. Sarah's brother John and his wife Margaret witnessed the marriage. Sarah's father Robert died shortly after Sarah's marriage; he was buried at Templeton on 8th June 1842.

Sarah and William had two sons in Tiverton in 1843 and 1844, before moving to William's native Loxbeare where they had a third son in 1846 and a daughter in 1849. Sadly the girl died when she was only one year old in 1850

The 1851 census finds Sarah and William and their three sons living at Pantacridge in the parish of Loxbeare. Sarah's widowed mother was living with them. William was described as an agricultural labourer.

In 1857, Sarah's mother Mary died. She was buried at Templeton, but her last abode was given as Loxbeare, presumably indicating that Mary had continued living with Sarah until her death. Two years later Sarah's husband William died aged 54, leaving her with three surviving sons, aged between 16 and 12 or 13.

In 1861 Sarah married again. Her second husband was an agricultural labourer named William Tucker. The 1861 census finds them living at Lower Park in Cruwys Morchard with Sarah's son Robert staying with them. By 1871 they had moved to Puddington, where they were to live the rest of their lives. By 1881 they were living there with Sarah's son Robert and his wife and children and described as paupers.

William died later in 1881, when he was said to be 88 years old. Sarah survived him by four years. She was buried at Puddington on 10th December 1885, aged 71.

1. ↑ Church of England. Templeton Parish Registers. (Exeter: Devon Heritage Centre).

   BAPTISMS solemnized in the Parish of Templeton in the County of Devon in the Year 1814
   No.	When Baptized	Child's Christian Name	Parent's Name		Abode	Quality, Trade, or Profession	By whom the Ceremony was performed
   			Christian	Surname
   5	March the 3rd	Sarah Daught[e]r of	Robert & Mary	May	Templet[o]n	Farm[e]r	J.C.

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 261; Book 9; Folios 5-6; Pages 5-6, 6 Jun 1841.

   Address: Partridge Farm, Templeton, Devon
   Robert May, male, 65 [1771-6], Ag. lab, b. in county
   Mary May, female, 65 [1771-6], b. in county
   Sarah May, female, 25 [1811-6], b. 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 1889; Folio 381; Page 4, 30 Mar 1851.

   Address: Pantacridge, Loxbear, Devon
   William Bowden, head, married, male, 46 [1804/5], Ag Lab, b. Loxbear, Devon
   Sarah Bowden, wife, married, female, 38 [1812/3], Ag Lab Wife, b. Templeton, Devon
   Wm Bowden, son, male, 8 [1842/3], Ag Labs Son, b. Tiverton, Devon
   Robert Bowden, son, male, 7 [1843/4], Ag Labs Son, b. Tiverton, Devon
   Henry J. Bowden, son, male, 4 [1846/7], Ag Labs Son, b. Loxbear, Devon
   Mary May, mother of wife, widow, female, 77 [1773/4], Formerly Lab Wife, b. Templeton, Devon

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 1481; Folio 38; Page 16, 7 Apr 1861.

   Address: Lower Park, Cruwys Morchard, Devon
   William Tucker, married, male, 60 [1800/1], Ag Lab, b. Poughill, Devon
   Sarah M. Tucker, wife, married, female, 48 [1812/13], Ag Lab Wife, b. Tiverton, Devon
   Robert Bowden, visitor, unmarried, male, 15 [1845/6], Ag Lab Son, b. Tiverton, Devon

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 2163; Folio 7; Page 8, 2 Apr 1871.

   Address: Cottage, Village, Puddington, Devon
   William Tucker, head, married, male, 76 [1794/5], Ag Lab, b. Stoodley, Devon
   Sarah Tucker, wife, married, female, 65 [1805/6], Ag Lab, b. Templeton, Devon

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 2231; Folio 4; Page 2, 3 Apr 1881.

   Address: The Village of Puddington, Puddington, Devon
   Robert Bowden, head, married, male, 36 [1844/5], Agricultural Labourer, b. Tiverton, Devon
   Lovedy Bowden, wife, married, female, 30 [1850/1], b. Tiverton, Devon
   Elizabeth Bowden, daughter, female, 10 [1870/1], Scholar, b. Cruwys Morchard, Devon
   Walter Bowden, son, male, 8 [1872/3], Scholar, b. Puddington, Devon
   Robert Bowden, son, male, 4 [1876/7], Scholar, b. Puddington, Devon
   Fred Bowden, son, male, 1 [1879/80], b. Puddington, Devon
   William Tucker, ws? father, married, male, 87 [1793/4], Pauper, b. Stoodleigh, Devon
   Sarah Tucker, ws? mother, married, female, 76 [1804/5], Pauper, b. Parish N.K., Devon
   George Hunt, lodger, unmarried, male, 65 [1815/16], Agricultural Labourer, b. Cruwys Morchard, Devon

   Also next door to Sarah's son Henry and his family.

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

   d. Sarah TUCKER, December Quarter 1885, Crediton Registration District, Volume 5b, page 300, aged 78 [1806/7]

8. ↑ Burials register, in Church of England. Puddington Parish Registers. (Exeter: Devon Heritage Services).

   BURIALS in the Parish of Puddington in the County of Devon in the Year 1885
   No.	Name	Abode	When buried	Age	By whom the Ceremony was performed
   218	Sarah Tucker	Puddington	Dec[embe]r 10th	78	Henry J. Fell, Rector