Person:William Smith (787)

William Smith was baptised on 26th May 1822 at Luton, son of Esther Smith formerly Sheffield and her husband William Smith, an agricultural labourer and shepherd. William was the fourth of seven children, although the youngest died as a baby.

William grew up in Luton, and was married there on 31st May 1845, aged 23, to a Mary Ann Cain, from the village of Whitwell in the parish of St Paul's Walden, a little way east of Luton into Hertfordshire. Mary already had a daughter called Mary Ann, who had been born the previous year.

William and Mary went on to have another nine children after their marriage. Four of their children were baptised on the same day in 1858. Of their nine children, only four lived to adulthood.

The 1851 census finds William, Mary and their children living at Bailey Field in the New Town area to the south of the centre of Luton. William was working as a farm labourer, whilst Mary was a straw plaiter. William's mother died in 1858.

By 1861 the family had moved to Park Lane, in the centre of the town. William was still working as a farm labourer, whilst Mary was a charwoman. William's daughter Sarah married in 1867 and his first grandchild was born later that year. William appears to have had 22 grandchildren born in his lifetime, although some of these died young.

The 1871 census finds William, Mary and two of their sons living at Tower Hill, which was a courtyard of cottages on the west side of the road later called Manchester Street in the centre of Luton. On this occasion he was described as a labourer, whilst Mary was a washerwoman. William's father died in 1873.

Mary died in 1878, aged 50. William outlived her by over nineteen years. In the 1881 census he was living with his youngest son, David, at 15 Tower Hill. By 1891, William was living in the Union Workhouse.

William died at the Luton Union Workhouse on 7th July 1897, aged 75. His son James's daughter was present when he died.

1. ↑ Bedfordshire Family History Society. Luton Parish Register Transcript. (Bedford).

   ch. 26 May 1822, St Mary: William s William & Esther SMITH labourer

   We know from the censuses that William was born about 1821 in Luton, and William's marriage in 1845 tells us that his father was a labourer also called William Smith, whilst the witnesses to the marriage were called James Smith and Sarah Smith. Three plausible baptisms have been found for a William son of William Smith at Luton around the 1820s:
   
   A. Baptised 26 May 1822, St Mary, Luton: William son of William & Esther Smith
   Other baptisms in Luton with parents William & Esther / Hester 1800 to 1839: John 1810, Robin 1813, Sophia 1815, James 1819, Esther 1823, Sarah 1828, Daniel 1831
   
   B. Born 29 May 1822, registered at Independent Baptist Chapel, Luton: William son of William & Mary Smith
   Other baptisms in Luton with parents William & Mary 1800 to 1839: Philip 1811, Charlotte 1814, George 1817, Jane 1820, Jonathan 1820, George 1824, John 1825, Joseph 1827, Anne 1829, Elizabeth 1831
   
   C. Baptised 8 Apr 1827, St Mary, Luton: William son of William & Ann Smith
   Other baptisms in Luton with parents William & Ann 1800 to 1839: James 1801, William 1802, Thomas 1804, Robert 1813, Mary 1832, Hannah 1835, William 1837
   
   In all three cases it is possible (indeed likely) that the sequences of children listed may be from more than one couple. However, baptism A for William son of William and Esther has been identified as the correct one on the basis that it is the only one who had siblings called both James and Sarah, who were presumably the witnesses to this William's marriage. Moreover, this William gave one of his daughters the name Esther, which was the name of the mother of the child baptised in 1822.

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 1757; Folio 748; Page 17, 30 Mar 1851.

   Address: New Town (Bailey Field), Luton, Bedfordshire
   William Smith, head, married, male, 27 [1823/4], Farm Labourer, b. Luton, Bedfordshire
   Mary Ann Smith, wife, married, female, 25 [1825/6], Straw Plaiter, b. Whitewell, Hertfordshire
   Mary Ann Smith, daughter, female, 7 [1843/4], At Home, b. Whitewell, Hertfordshire
   Sarah Smith, daughter, female, 3 [1847/8], At Home, b. Luton, Bedfordshire
   Ellen Smith, daughter, female, 1mo [1851], b. Luton, Bedfordshire

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 1014; Folio 50; Page 19, 7 Apr 1861.

   Address: Park Lane, Luton, Bedfordshire
   William Smith, head, married, male, 40 [1820/1], Farmer's Labou[re]r, b. Luton, Bedfordshire
   Mary A. Smith, wife, married, female, 35 [1825/6], Char-woman, b. Whitwell, Hertfordshire
   Sarah Smith, daughter, unmarried, female, 14 [1846/7], Bonnet Sewer, b. Luton, Bedfordshire
   Ellen Smith, daughter, unmarried, female, 11 [1849/50], Bonnet Sewer, b. Luton, Bedfordshire
   James Smith, son, unmarried, male, 7 [1853/4], Scholar, b. Luton, Bedfordshire
   Esther Smith, daughter, unmarried, female, 5 [1855/6], Scholar, b. Luton, Bedfordshire
   William Smith, son, unmarried, male, 2 [1858/9], b. Luton, Bedfordshire

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 1570; Folio 43; Page 22, 2 Apr 1871.

   Address: Tower Hill, Luton, Bedfordshire
   William Smith, head, married, male, 50 [1820/1], Laborer, b. Luton, Bedfordshire
   Mary Smith, wife, married, female, 48 [1822/3], Washerwoman, b. Whitwell, Hertfordshire
   James Smith, son, unmarried, male, 18 [1852/3], Laborer, b. Luton, Bedfordshire
   David Smith, son, unmarried, male, 4 [1866/7], Scholar, b. Luton, Bedfordshire

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 1648; Folio 105; Page 18, 3 Apr 1881.

   Address: 15 Tower Hill, Luton, Bedfordshire
   William Smith, head, widower, male, 61 [1819/20], Laborer, b. Luton, Bedfordshire
   David Smith, son, male, 16 [1864/5], Laborer, b. Luton, Bedfordshire

6. ↑ England. 1891 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 RG12; Piece 1275; Folio 144; Page 6, 5 Apr 1891.

   Address: Luton Union Workhouse, Dunstable Road, Luton, Bedfordshire
   [many inmates, including:]
   William Smith, pauper, widower, male, 74 [1816/17], Agricultural Labourer, b. Luton, Bedfordshire

   There appear to have been three similarly aged William Smiths in Luton in the 1891 census, all of them in the workhouse. This one would appear to be the correct man, as one of the others was a hat blocker and the other gave his place of birth Enfield.

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

   1897 Death in the Sub-District of Luton in the Counties of Beds & Herts
   No.	When and where died	Name and surname	Sex	Age	Occupation	Cause of death	Signature, description and residence of informant	When registered	Signature of registrar
   53	Seventh July 1897, Union Workhouse, Luton U.D.	William Smith	Male	77 years	Farm Labourer of Luton	Senile Decay Certified by Ryder Draper L.R.C.P.&c.	S. Smith, Daughter-in-law, In Attendance, 69 Chase Street, Luton	Seventh July 1897	Edward Barnard, Registrar