Person:William Bent (7)

William Bent was baptised on 25th September 1785 at Luton in Bedfordshire, son of Susannah Bent, formerly Sheffield, and her husband James Bent. The family lived at Ashwell Bridge, a hamlet at the southern end of the parish, right on the border with the parish of Wheathampstead in Hertfordshire. William was the second of seven children, all of whom lived to adulthood. William's father died in 1803, when William was seventeen years old.

On 18th May 1810, aged 24, William married Mary Mountague. She was from the neighbouring parish of Harpenden, and they married and settled there. They had seven children baptised there between 1813 and 1828.

The 1841 census finds the family living in Harpenden, with William working as an agricultural labourer. Three of their children were living with them, as well as a one week old baby boy, presumably a grandson. By 1851 William and Mary's children had left home, and they were living at Lodge Row, probably somewhere near Harpenden Lodge on Luton Road. The 1861 census does not give a specific address, but they were still in the village of Harpenden.

William and Mary both died in 1868, at about the same time. Both were buried on 13th August 1868 at Harpenden. William was 82 years old.

1. ↑ Bedfordshire Family History Society. Luton Parish Register Transcript. (Bedford).

   Baptisms 1785: Sep 25 W[illia]m s[on] Ja[me]s Sus[an]n[a]h Bent Ash[well]br[idge]

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 441; Book 4; Folio 24; Page 1, 6 Jun 1841.

   Address: Harpenden Village, Harpenden, Hertfordshire
   William Bent, male, 55 [1781-6], Ag[ricultural] Lab[ourer], born in county
   Mary Bent, female, 50 [1886-91], Pl[aiter], born in county
   Charles Bent, male, 20 [1816-21], Ag[ricultural Lab[ourer], born in county
   Eliza Bent, female, 25 [1811-16], Pl[aiter], born in county
   Samuel Bent, male, 12 [1828/9], born in county
   N.K. Bent, male, 1 week [1841], 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 1713; Folio 106; Page 23, 30 Mar 1851.

   Address: Lodge Row, Harpenden, Hertfordshire
   William Bent, head, married, male, 76 [1774/5], Ag[ricultural] Lab[ourer], b. Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire
   Mary Bent, wife, married, female, 59 [1791/2], Straw Plaiter, b. Harpenden, Hertfordshire

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 827; Folio 58; Page 3, 7 Apr 1861.

   Address: Village, Harpenden, Hertfordshire
   William Bent, head, married, male, 77 [1783/4], Agr[icultural] Laborer, b. Wheathampstead
   Mary Bent, wife, married, female, 70 [1790/1], b. Harpenden

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

   d. William BENT, September Quarter 1785, St Albans Registration District, Volume 3a, page 241, aged 83 [1784/5]

6. ↑ Burials register, in Church of England. Harpenden Parish Registers.

   BURIALS in the Parish of Harpenden in the County of Hertford in the Year 1868
   No.	Name	Abode	When buried	Age	By whom the Ceremony was performed
   534	William Bent	Harpenden	August 13th	83	G.R. Hadow, Curate

   Buried same day as wife Mary.