Person:Sophia Smith (42)

Sophia Smith was baptised on 29th March 1795 at Princes Risborough in Buckinghamshire, daughter of Mary Smith. A couple of months later, Mary married a John Jones, and Sophia seems to have become known as Sophia Jones.^[7] It would appear that John Jones was not Sophia's father however, as when she married she called herself Sophia Smith.

In 1814, when she was nineteen years old, Sophia had a daughter called Celia baptised at Barnet in Hertfordshire. Celia was baptised at St John's Church in Chipping Barnet, although her baptism notes that the family lived at Barnet Gate, a hamlet to the west of the town in the neighbouring parish of Shenley. Celia's baptism names her father as Isaac Crossley, a private in the Buckinghamshire Militia. The baptism also implies that Isaac and Sophia were married, but this appears not to have been the case. Indeed, it seems that Isaac was married to someone else and later returned to live with his wife.

By 1824 Sophia was living in Westminster, in the western suburbs of London. She was married there at the church of St George, Hanover Square, on 1st June 1824 to a William Fox. He had been born at Fenny Stratford in Buckinghamshire, and the couple later left London and settled in Fenny Stratford. No children from this marriage have been found.

In 1835, Sophia's daughter Celia married George Kempson at Totternhoe in Bedfordshire, about ten miles south of Fenny Stratford. Celia married under the name Celia Jones. Celia and George went on to have seven children together. George was some 35 years Celia's senior; Sophia's son-in-law was older than she was.

The 1841 census finds Sophia and William living on Cross Street in the part of Fenny Stratford which was within the parish of Bletchley. Sophia was working as a lace maker, whilst William was an agricultural labourer. They were still at Cross Street in 1851, and Sophia's granddaughter Rachel Kempson had come to live with them.

In 1853 George Kempson died. Five years later, Celia married again to a James White at Eggington in Bedfordshire. Sophia was one of the witnesses to her daughter's second marriage.

The 1861 census still finds Sophia living with husband William and granddaughter Rachel Kempson on Cross Street in Fenny Stratford. Sophia's granddaughter died as a young woman of about 26 years old in 1868. Sophia's husband William Fox died in 1870, aged 71.

The 1871 census finds Sophia living alone at 42 Cross Street in Fenny Stratford. Sophia died in 1873, aged 78. Her daughter Celia died at about the same time; both their deaths were registered in the first three months of 1873. She had lived to see several great-grandchildren.

1. ↑ Princes Risborough Bishop's Transcripts, in Buckinghamshire Family History Society. Buckinghamshire Baptisms Database
   D/A/T/154.

   ch. 29 Mar 1795, Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire: Sophia daughter of Mary Smith

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 56; Book 4; Folio 14; Page 22, 6 Jun 1841.

   Address: Cross Street, Fenny Stratford, Bletchley, Buckinghamshire
   William Fox, male, 40 [1796-1801], Ag[ricultural] Lab[ourer], born in county
   Sophia Fox, female, 45 [1791-1796], Lace Maker, 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 1723; Folio 134; Page 14, 30 Mar 1851.

   Address: Cross Street, Fenny Stratford, Buckinghamshire
   William Fox, head, married, male, 53 [1797/8], Hawker, b. Fenny Stratford, Buckinghamshire
   Sophia Fox, wife, married, female, 56 [1794/5], b. Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire
   Rachel Campson, granddaughter, female, 9 [1841/2], b. Tattenhoe, Bedfordshire

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 872; Folio 103; Page 8, 7 Apr 1861.

   Address: Cross Street, Fenny Stratford, Buckinghamshire
   William Fox, head, married, male, 64 [1796/7], Labourer, b. Fenny Stratford, Buckinghamshire
   Sophia Fox, wife, married, female, 66 [1794/5], b. Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire
   Rachel Kempson, granddaughter, unmarried, female, 18 [1842/3], b. Totternhoe, Bedfordshire

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 1418; Folio 108; Page 16, 2 Apr 1871.

   Address: 42 Cross Street, Fenny Stratford, Buckinghamshire
   Sophia Fox, head, widow, female, 76 [1794/5], Pauper, b. Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire

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

   d. Sophia FOX, March Quarter 1873, Newport Pagnell Registration District, Volume 3a, page 367, aged 78 [1794/5]

7. ↑ Whilst no records explicitly calling her Sophia Jones have been found, Sophia's daughter Celia was referred to on her marriage as Celia Jones and most of Celia's children's birth certificates give Celia's maiden name as Jones.