Person:William Norman (41)

William Norman was baptised on 9th September 1781 at the small village of Letchworth in Hertfordshire. He was the son of Sarah Norman, formerly Allen, and her husband Joseph Norman, a shopkeeper. He was couple's eldest child and their only son. Just over a year after William's baptism his parents had a daughter named Elizabeth baptised at Letchworth. Elizabeth was followed two years later in 1784 by a daughter named Sarah, who was followed in 1787 by a daughter named Mary. Mary died as a baby and was buried in 1788; her burial is the family's last sighting in Letchworth. Some time between 1788 and 1790, when William was about seven or eight years old, the family moved a short distance to the east to the neighbouring parish of Willian. At Willian they had one more daughter, Ann, baptised in 1790.

At Willian in 1807, William's sister Elizabeth died, aged 25. In March 1811, when William was 29 years old, his father Joseph died. Seven weeks later William (and his mother) witnessed the marriage of a John Sharnbrook and Joanna Warren at Willian. The connection, if any, with that couple is unknown, but it shows that William was still local to Willian in May 1811.

On 9th March 1812, aged 30, William married Elizabeth Samm Ralphs, who was 20. Both signed the marriage register, indicating they were both literate. She was from the nearby market town of Hitchin, but they did not marry locally to Hitchin or Willian, but some forty miles to the south at Marylebone on the (then) outskirts of London. At the time of their marriage both were living in the parish of Marylebone, but they did not stay long there. Shortly after their marriage, they returned to Willian.

Back in Willian, William's sister Sarah died the month after William's marriage, aged 27. Therefore of William's parents' five children, only the eldest and youngest lived to marry and have children of their own.

William and Elizabeth's first child was baptised at Willian in 1813: a girl called Sarah, presumably named after both William's mother and the sister he had recently lost. At the time of Sarah's baptism William was described as a shopkeeper and labourer. In 1814 William was again a marriage witness, this time for his only surviving sister Ann's marriage to a John Dean. The other witness was Lydia Ralphs, who was Elizabeth's sister.

Some time between 1813 and 1815 William and Elizabeth moved again, this time from Willian back to William's native parish of Letchworth, where William became a farmer rather than a shopkeeper. At Letchworth they had a son named Robert Samm Norman in 1815, a daughter named Mary Ann Norman in 1819 and a son named Edward Norman in 1822. The month after Edward's baptism, William's mother Sarah died and was buried at Willian, aged 78. Shortly after her death, William and Elizabeth brought the family back to Willian.

In autumn 1824, Elizabeth had another daughter. Shortly after giving birth she died, aged 32. She was buried at Willian on 7th November 1824. The baby was not baptised until the month after Elizabeth's burial - and William named her Elizabeth after her late mother. Sadly the baby would not live long either; she managed to outlive her mother by a few months, but died aged seven months old in 1825.

William was therefore left with four children aged between eleven and two years old to care for.

By 1831, William was no longer being described as a farmer. Instead he became a publican - perhaps returning to something similar to his former role as a shopkeeper. In that year he was prosecuted for contravening the licensing laws, although the details of the case have yet to be established.

After nearly ten years as a widower, on 9th May 1834, aged 52, William married again. His second wife was a widow named Elizabeth Pratt, formerly Copps, who was 56 and had eight surviving children from her first marriage. They were married for just over five years until her death in 1839, aged 61, leaving William a widower for a second time at the age of 58.

The 1841 census finds William living in Willian and working as a publican. His son Robert and daughter Mary Ann were living with him. Robert was working as a plait buyer in the local straw plaiting industry.

William died aged 65 and was buried at Willian on 14th May 1847.

1. ↑ Church of England. Parish Church of Letchworth. Parish registers, 1696-1937. (Hertford: Hertfordshire Archives and Local Studies).

   Baptisms
   1781
   William S[on] of Joseph & Sarah Norman bapt[ize]d 9 Sept[embe]r 1781

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 437; Book 11; Folio 3; Page 1, 6 Jun 1841.

   Address: Willian, Hertfordshire
   William Norman, male, 50 [1786-91], Publican, born in county
   Rob[er]t Norman, male, 20 [1816-21], Plat Byer, born in county
   Mary Ann Norman, female, 20 [1816-21]

3.   Crime & Punishment (1825-1917), in Hertfordshire Archives and Local Studies. Hertfordshire Names Online.

   William Norman
   12 Jul 1831
   Willian
   accused
   Contravention of Licensing Act
   Hertfordshire Quarter Sessions
   conviction
   QSCB/1 (page 36)

   Needs to be confirmed at Hertfordshire Archives.

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

   d. William NORMAN, June Quarter 1847, Hitchin Registration District, Volume 6, page 392, aged 64 [1782/3]

5. ↑ Burials register, in Church of England. Willian Parish Registers.

   BURIALS in the Parish of Willian in the County of Hertford in the Year 1847
   No.	Name	Abode	When buried	Age	By whom the Ceremony was performed
   200	William Norman	Willian	May 14	65	J.F. Holden Curate