Person:William Clark (232)

William Clark was baptised on 21st February 1779 at Lydiard Millicent in Wiltshire, England, son of Ann Clark, formerly Ody, and her husband Isaac Clark. William appears to have been the fifth of the couple’s nine children.

William’s father died in 1790, when William was only eleven years old. His mother died less than two years later, when William was thirteen years old.

William’s next sighting is in 1803, by which time he had left Lydiard Millicent and moved to the neighbouring parish of Swindon. On 2nd July 1803, aged 24, William married Mary Tuff, who was from the nearby town of Wootton Bassett, which is where they married and appear to have lived the rest of their lives together. They had six children baptised there between 1804 and 1818. William was described as a labourer on some of the children’s baptism records. One of their daughters died when only one year old in 1817.

William’s second son, Richard, married on 2nd April 1828. William’s first grandchild was born in 1829. Later that year William’s eldest son, also called William, died aged 25.

In 1831 Mary’s father Thomas died. He left a will, in which he left £20 to Mary and also provided that a mortgage that William had taken out on their house should be repaid.

The 1841 census finds William and Mary living at Buthay in Wootton Bassett (the street has subsequently been renamed and is now known as Rope Yard). William was described as an agricultural labourer.

William’s daughter Elizabeth died in 1845 at Dursley in Gloucestershire, aged 35, leaving five surviving children who ranged in age from eleven years old down to just seventeen days old.

The 1851 census finds William and Mary still living at Buthay.

Mary died on 9th December 1856, aged 78. William survived her by just over eight years. The 1861 census finds him living with his son Richard and Richard’s wife Esther on Buthay in Wootton Bassett. Despite being in his eighties he was still described as an agricultural labourer.

William died at Wootton Bassett on 4th January 1865, aged 85. He had seen 32 grandchildren born in his lifetime, although several of them had died young. He had also outlived three of his six children.

1. ↑ Lydiard Millicent, Wiltshire: Parish Registers (Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre, Chippenham).

   William the Son of Isaac and Ann Clark was baptized 21 February 1779

   This baptism has been linked to the William who married Mary Tuff on the basis of the 1861 census, in which William gave his place of birth as Lydiard Millicent and was living with his son Richard and Richard’s wife Esther.

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 1179; Book 14; Folio 24; Page 41, 6 Jun 1841.

   Address: Buthay, Wootton Bassett, Wiltshire
   William Clark, male, 60 [1776-81], Ag[ricultural] Lab[ourer], born in county
   Mary Clark, female, 60 [1776-81], born in county
   ~ second household in same house ~
   Joseph Wood, male, 25 [1811-16], Mason, not born in county
   Abram Hardy, male, 35 [1801-6], Mason, not born in county
   Thomas Marriot, male, 25 [1811-16], Mason, not born in county
   Thomas Lowe, male, 45 [1791-6], G[eneral] L[abourer], not born in county
   Robert Wilsdon, male, 35 [1801-6], Porter on Railroad, 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 1834; Folio 121; Page 15, 30 Mar 1851.

   Address: Buthay, Wootton Bassett, Wiltshire
   William Clark, head, married, male, 73 [1777/8], Ag[ricultural] Laborer, b. Wootton Bassett, Wiltshire
   Mary Clark, wife, married, female, 72 [1778/9], b. Wootton Bassett, Wiltshire

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 1273; Folio 108; Page 28, 7 Apr 1861.

   Address: Buthay, Wootton Bassett, Wiltshire
   William Clarke, householder, widower, male, 81 [1779/80], Ag[ricultural] Lab[ourer], b. Lidiard Millicent, Wiltshire
   ~ [second household in same house] ~
   Richard Clarke, head, married, male, 54 [1806/7], Ag[ricultural] Lab[ourer], b. W[ootton] Bassett, Wiltshire
   Hester Clarke, wife, married, female, 58 [1802/3], b. Rodbourne, Wiltshire

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

   Superintendent Registrar's District: Cricklade Registrar's District: Wootton Bassett
   1865 DEATHS in the District of Wootton Bassett in the County of Wilts
   No.	When died	Name and Surname	Sex	Age	Rank or Profession	Cause of Death	Signature, Description, and Residence of Informant	When Registered	Signature of Registrar
   97	Fourth January 1865 Wootton Bassett	William Clarke	Male	88 years [1776/7]	Agricultural Labourer	X The mark of Rebecca Smith, present at the death, Wootton Bassett	Course of Nature Certified	Sixth January 1865	A. Woodward, Registrar

   
6. ↑ Burials register, in Church of England. Wootton Bassett Parish Registers, 1584-1938. (Chippenham: Wiltshire Record Office).

   BURIALS in the Parish of Wootton Bassett in the County of Wilts in the Year 1865
   No	Name	Abode	When buried	Age	By whom the Ceremony was performed
   445	William Clarke	Wootton Bassett	Jan[uar]y 8	87 [1777/8]	W.P.S. Bingham