Person:Sarah Stokes (10)

Sarah Stokes was baptised on 5th April 1793 at Hitchin in Hertfordshire, daughter of Elizabeth Stokes, formerly Thrussell, and her husband John Stokes, a labourer. Sarah was the youngest of the couple's five children.

On 10th June 1813 Sarah married James Odell at Hitchin. The family had obviously known James for some time as he had witnessed her brother Edward's marriage two years earlier. Sarah and James went on to have at least seven children baptised at Hitchin between 1813 and 1830. All the children's baptisms record that James was a blacksmith and that the family lived on Back Street (later renamed Queen Street) on the east side of the town.

Sarah's father died in 1817 and her mother in 1825.

Sarah appears to have died either giving birth to her youngest daughter or shortly afterwards; the girl was baptised privately on 18th September 1830 and Sarah was buried six days later on 24th September 1830, aged 37. James outlived Sarah by eleven years.

1. ↑ Church of England. Parish Registers of St Mary's Church, Hitchin. (Hertford: Hertfordshire Archives and Local Studies).

   Baptized 1793 / April 3 Sarah Dau[ghte]r of John & Eliz[abet]h Stokes Lab[oure]r

2. ↑ Burials register, in Church of England. Parish Registers of St Mary's Church, Hitchin. (Hertford: Hertfordshire Archives and Local Studies).

   BURIALS in the Parish of Hitchin in the County of Hertford in the Year 1830
   No.	Name	Abode	When buried	Age	By whom the Ceremony was performed
   1132	Sarah wife of James Odell	Back St[reet]	Sep[tember] 24	36 [1793/4]	H. Wiles