Person:William Nicholls (9)

William Abraham Nicholls was born in 1857 at Wheathampstead in Hertfordshire. He was the son of a straw plaiter called Susan Warner and an agricultural labourer called Daniel William Nicholls. Susan and Daniel were not married, and so William's birth was registered under the name of Warner, but all other sightings of him use the surname Nicholls (or Nichols). Despite not being married, Susan and Daniel went on to have another six children together after William. It is not clear why they did not marry.

The 1861 and 1871 censuses each find William living at Nomansland in Wheathampstead. In the 1871 census, when he was thirteen years old, he was working as an agricultural labourer. Later that year his mother Susan died, and before the year was out William's father had married Susan's half-sister, Maria Wright (formerly Hornet), who thus went from being William's aunt to also being his stepmother.

Some time between 1871 and 1881 William left Wheathampstead and moved about 100 miles north to Derby. The 1881 census finds him living at 30 Park Street in Derby and working as a slater.

William appears to have died in Derby in 1891, aged 34. His father outlived him.

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

   b. William Abraham WARNER, June Quarter 1857, St Albans Registration District, Volume 3a, page 252, mother's maiden name blank

   Cannot be certain if this is him - certainly all his siblings were registered under their mother's surname of Warner, and this is about the right time. Need to obtain birth certificate to be sure.

2. ↑ 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 927; Folio 43; Page 10, 7 Apr 1861.

   Address: No Mans Land, Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire
   Daniel Nichols, head, married, male, 27 [1833/4], Labourer, b. Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire
   Susan Nichols, wife, married, female, 26 [1834/5], Wife of labourer, b. Harpenden, Hertfordshire
   William Nichols, son, male, 3 [1857/8], b. Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire
   Jesse Nichols, son, male, 2 [1858/9], b. Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire

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

   BAPTISMS solemnized in the Parish of Wheathampstead in the County of Hertford in the Year 1861
   No.	When Baptized	Child's Christian Name	Parent's Name		Abode	Quality, Trade, or Profession	By whom the Ceremony was performed
   			Christian	Surname
   50	1861 October 27th	William Nichols	Daniel & Susan	Nichols Warner	Nomansland, Wheathampstead	Laborer	Owen W. Davys, Rector

   Baptised same day as his brother Frederick.

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 1376; Folio 51; Page 18, 2 Apr 1871.

   Address: No Man's Land, Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire
   Daniel Nichols, head, married, male, 37 [1833/4], Ag Labourer, b. Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire
   Susan Nichols, wife, married, female, 36 [1834/5], Straw plaiter, b. Harpenden, Hertfordshire
   William Nichols, son, male, 13 [1857/8], Ag Labourer, b. Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire
   Jessie Nichols, son, male, 11 [1859/60], Ag Labourer, b. Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire
   Frederick Nichols, son, male, 9 [1861/2], Ag Labourer, b. Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire
   Mary Ann Nichols, daughter, female, 7 [1863/4], Straw plaiter, b. Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire
   Alfred Nichols, son, male, 5 [1865/6], b. Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire
   Sarah Nichols, daughter, female, 3 [1867/8], b. Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire
   Arthur Nichols, son, male, 1m [1871], 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 3394; Folio 80; Page 8, 3 Apr 1881.

   Address: 30 Park St, Derby (St Peter), Derbyshire
   George Hewitt, head, married, male, 42 [1838/9], Signalman (Rail), b. Girlsmoore, Leicestershire
   Elizabeth Hewitt, wife, married, female, 37 [1843/4], b. Breedon, Leicestershire
   Samuel B. Hewitt, son, male, 13 [1867/8], Scholar, b. Worthington, Leicestershire
   William S. Hewitt, son, male, 11 [1869/70], Scholar, b. Worthington, Leicestershire
   John K. Hewitt, son, male, 8 [1872/3], Scholar, b. Derby, Derbyshire
   Mary Ann Hewitt, daughter, female, 6 [1874/5], Scholar, b. Derby, Derbyshire
   Martha L. Hewitt, daughter, female, 3 [1877/8], Scholar, b. Derby, Derbyshire
   Charlotte Hewitt, daughter, female, 1 [1879/80], b. Derby, Derbyshire
   Henry Wilson, cousin, unmarried, male, 28 [1852/3], Labourer, b. Kirk Ireton, Derbyshire
   Robert Dixon, lodger, widower, male, 62 [1818/9], Chemist Druggist Dentist, b. Lancaster, Lancashire
   William Nicholls, lodger, unmarried, male, 22 [1858/9], Slater, b. Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire
   Henry D. Crabtree, lodger, unmarried, male, 20 [1860/1], Labourer, b. Girls Moore, Leicestershire
   Frederick North, visitor, married, male, 44 [1836/7], Traveller (Com), b. Bradford, Yorkshire
   Caroline North, visitor, married, female, 43 [1837/8], Traveller (Com), b. London, Middlesex

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

   d. William NICHOLS, June Quarter 1891, Derby Registration District, Volume 7b, page 404, aged 34 [1856/7]