Person:William Myers (51)

William Myers was baptised on 10th September 1815 at Kimpton in Hertfordshire. He was the son of an agricultural labourer also called William Myers and his wife Lydia. Young William's baptism gives the family's abode as Luton, and William himself later gave his place of birth as Bower Heath, which is in the parish of Wheathampstead, but close to the border with the parishes of Kimpton, Luton and Harpenden.

William appears in the 1851 census living with his parents at Peters Green, a hamlet in the west of Kimpton parish. He was working as an agricultural labourer.

Later in 1851, aged 36, William married Mary Swallow, who had been widowed twice already. She was twelve years his senior and had five surviving children from her first two marriages. Mary died in 1857, after less than six years of marriage to William, aged 54.

The following year, William married again. His second wife was Keturah Barker, who was fourteen years his junior. She already had a daughter called Dinah, and William and Keturah went on to have another four children together between 1859 and 1868, although two of these died young. They appear in the 1861 census living at The Folly in Wheathampstead. They then moved to the neighbouring parish of Sandridge, where the 1871 census finds them at The Slade. By 1881 they had returned to Wheathampstead, living at Bury Green.

William died in 1886, being buried at Wheathampstead on 10th April 1886. He was seventy years old. Keturah survived him by five years.

1. ↑ Baptisms register, in Church of England. Kimpton Parish Registers.

   BAPTISMS solemnized in the Parish of Kimpton in the County of Hertford in the Year 1815
   No. 73
   When Baptized: 1815 Sep[tembe]r 10
   Child's Christian Name: William Son of
   Parents Name - Christian: William & Mary
   Parents Name - Surname: Myhouse
   Abode: Luton
   Quality, Trade, or Profession: Labourer
   By whom the Ceremony was performed: Char[le]s Chauncy Curate

   Although William's mother's name is here given as Mary, this is considered likely to be in error, and her name was actually Lydia. There were earlier baptisms at Kimpton for Charlotte Myhouse in 1810 and John Myhouse in 1812 who were children of William and Lydia. There is no evidence of Lydia having died and William remarried between 1812 and 1815. Further, in the 1851 census, the William baptised here was living with a William and Lydia.

2. ↑ 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 1710; Folio 506; Page 11, 30 Mar 1851.

   Address: St Peters Green, Kimpton, Hertfordshire
   William Myers, head, married, male, 63 [1787/8], Ag Lab, b. Luton, Bedfordshire
   Lidia Myers, wife, married, female, 62 [1788/9], Plait worker, b. Kimpton, Hertfordshire
   William Myers, son, unmarried, male, 36 [1814/5], Ag Lab, b. Kimpton, Hertfordshire

3. ↑ 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 29; Page 22, 7 Apr 1861.

   Address: Folly, Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire
   William Miers, head, married, male, 43 [1817/8], Labourer Ag, b. Kimpton, Hertfordshire
   Keturah Miers, wife, married, female, 31 [1829/30], b. Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire
   Dinah Barker, daughter in law, female, 7 [1853/4], Scholar, b. Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire
   Frederick W. Miers, son, male, 4 [1856/7], b. Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire

4. ↑ 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 1377; Folio 86; Page 9, 2 Apr 1871.

   Address: The Slade, Sandridge, Hertfordshire
   William Mears, head, married, male, 55 [1815/6], Ag Lab, b. Kimpton, Hertfordshire
   Ketura Mears, wife, married, female, 42 [1828/9], Plait (straw), b. Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire
   Dinah Barker Mears, daughter, unmarried, female, 17 [1853/4], Plait (straw), b. Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire
   Frederick William Mears, son, male, 10 [1860/1], Scholar, b. Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire
   Charlotte Mears, daughter, female, 2 [1868/9], b. Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire

5. ↑ England. 1881 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 RG11; Piece 1429; Folio 49; Page 9, 3 Apr 1881.

   Address: Berry Green, Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire
   William Myers, head, married, male, 66 [1814/5], Farm labourer, b. Bowerheath, Hertfordshire
   Kitt Zora Myers, wife, married, female, 54 [1826/7], Charwoman, b. Bowerheath, Hertfordshire
   Charlotte Ann Myers, daughter, female, 14 [1866/7], Sewer, b. Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire

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

   d. William MEARS, June Quarter 1886, St Albans Registration District, Vol. 3a, page 275, aged 72 [1813/4]

7. ↑ Burials register, in Church of England. Wheathampstead Parish Registers. (Hertford: Hertfordshire Archives and Local Studies).

   BURIALS in the Parish of Wheathampstead in the County of Hartford [sic] in the Year 1886
   No. 602
   Name: William Mears
   Abode: Wheathampstead
   When Buried: April 10
   Age: 72 [1813/14]
   By whom the Ceremony was performed: F.C. Marshall, Curate
   [Note in margin:] "Myers"