Person:William Hobbs (26)

William Hobbs was baptised on 4th April 1773 Great Gaddesden in Hertfordshire. He was the son Elizabeth Hobbs, formerly Cook, and her husband John Hobbs. The family lived at Ballingdon, which was actually a detached part of the parish of Whipsnade at the time, but on the borders with the neighbouring parishes of Great Gaddesden and Flamstead.

Some time before 1803, William married a woman called Elizabeth. They had seven children baptised between 1803 and 1821. Most were baptised at Flamstead, just north-east of Great Gaddesden, apart from one who was baptised in 1807 at Little Gaddesden. At least two of their children died young.

William's father died in 1810 and his mother in 1815.

Elizabeth died in 1834. She was said to be 56 years old.

William appears in the 1841 census living alone at Flamstead, described as an agricultural labourer. He was still there in 1851, with his grandson George, who was son of his son William, who lived nearby.

William died aged 82 in 1855 at the workhouse in the nearby town of Hemel Hempstead, which catered for the poor of Flamstead. He was buried at the chapel at Boxmoor in Hemel Hempstead on 14th August 1855.

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

   April 4th 1773
   Baptized at Gaddesden William Son of John and Elizabeth Hobbs

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 1; Folio 41; Page 7, 6 Jun 1841.

   Address: Flamstead, Hertfordshire
   William Hobs, male, 65 [1771-6], Ag[ricultural] Lab[ourer], 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 1715; Folio 382; Page 14, 30 Mar 1851.

   Address: Flamstead, Hertfordshire
   William Hobbs, head, widower, male, 78 [1772/3], Ag[ricultural] Lab[ourer], b. Whipsnade, Bedfordshire
   George Hobbs, grandson, male, 5 [1845/6], b. Flamstead, Hertfordshire

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

   d. William HOBBS, September Quarter 1855, Hemel Hempstead Registration District, Volume 3a, page 177, aged 85 [1769/70]

5. ↑ Burials register, in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England. Parish Registers of St John, Boxmoor (Hertfordshire Archives and Local Studies).

   BURIALS in the District Chapelry of Boxmoor in the County of Hertford in the Year 1855
   No	Name	Abode	When buried	Age	By whom the Ceremony was performed
   436	William Hobbs	Hemel Hempstead Workhouse	Aug[ust] 14	85 y[ea]rs	A.S. Douglas, Off[iciatin]g Min[iste]r