Person:Sarah Walby (6)

Sarah Walby was born around 1765, daughter of Dorcas Walby, formerly Chapman, and her husband George Walby, a butcher. The family lived at Aston in Hertfordshire, although no baptism has been found for Sarah there.

Sarah's father died in 1776, leaving her five pounds to be paid to her when she reached the age of 21.

On 9th May 1781 Sarah married a John Pearman (recorded in the marriage register as "Spearman"), who was from the nearby parish of Ardeley. After their marriage they settled in Ardeley, having four children baptised there between 1783 and 1790.

Sarah died in 1791, when she was probably still in her twenties. She was buried at Ardeley on 18th November 1791. Back in Aston, her mother outlived her. John survived Sarah by about 38 years. When he died he was described as a victualler of the Dog and Partridge public house in the hamlet of Cromer in Ardeley parish.

1. ↑ Church of England. Parish Registers of Ardeley. (Hertford: Hertfordshire Archives and Local Studies).

   1791 / Nov[embe]r 18th / Sarah Wife of John Pearman Ju[nio]r / Tax 3d

2. ↑ No birth or baptism record has been found for Sarah. However, she is listed last of her siblings in her father's will, written on 10 May 1776, when she was also the only child noted as being under the age of 21, indicating that she was born no earlier than 1754. She is also not mentioned in the will of her father's cousin William Walby, written in March 1764 which did name all her other siblings, including Charles who was a baby at the time. It is therefore reasonable to assume that Sarah was born after March 1764. As her mother was 45 years old in March 1764, it would also seem likely that she was born relatively soon thereafter, supported by the fact that she married in May 1781, which would make her still only in her late teens if she were born in the mid 1760s.