Stephen Wilton (bap. 25 Dec 1777 in
Sawston, Cambridgeshire), Bachelor, son of
Richard Wilton and Mary Robinson, married
Elizabeth Hankin (bap. 28 Aug 1777 in
Royston, Hertfordshire), Spinster, daughter of
Robert Hankin and Elizabeth Edwards, both 'of the parish' of
St Mary the Virgin,
Ashwell, Hertfordshire on
24 Mar 1803. Both appear to have signed their own names. One of the witnesses was an Elizabeth Abbot.
Stephen and Elizabeth had nine children, the first six baptised in Royston:
- Mary Wilton b. 1804, bap. 25 Feb 1807
- Elizabeth Wilton b. 1805, bap. 25 Feb 1807
- Martha Wilton bap. 25 Feb 1807
- Henry Wilton bap. 15 Jan 1809
- Richard Wilton bap. 20 Mar 1811
- Ellenor Hannah Wilton b. 5 Aug 1812, bap. 11 Jan 1829
- Joseph Wilton b. 1815
- Ann Wilton b. 1817
- Sarah Wilton b. 1819
In 1792, at the age of 15, Stephen Wilton had been apprenticed to
William Haggis in
Great Shelford, Cambridgeshire, as a Collarmaker. On Ellenor's baptism, Stephen's occupation is listed as Harness Maker (trade also carried on by his sons Henry and Richard). Originally, I'd assumed a Collarmaker had meant he was making collars for men's shirts, but it appears this was actually leather collars for horses. "Historically there were three separate trades: saddlery, collar making and harness making. There are two types of collars: heavy horse collars and driving collars. However, today the demand dictates that collar making is done as a complete service with harness making." [
Horse Collar Making] (
Draught Harness and Horse Collar Making). On his second marriage in 1873, son Henry Wilton describes his father as Stephen Wilton, Deceased, Sadler (sic), which now makes perfect sense with the
leather-working traditions in Sawston, Cambridgeshire and his sons' trades.
Stephen Wilton, Sadler, died, aged 62, on 21 Mar 1839 (1839 M Quarter in ROYSTON AND BUNTINGFORD Volume 06 Page 389), from Consumption (tuberculosis (TB). The informant was Mary Ward, Sister-in-Law, Present at the Death. (Mary Hankin, who had married John Ward at St Martin-in-the-Fields, Westminster, on 3 Sep 1809, was Elizabeth's younger sister.)
In 1841, Elizabeth Wilton (60) was living at Lewers Cottages, Royston with Ellen Wilton (22), Ann Wilton (20) and a Mary Whitechurch (16), all Dressmakers. Ellen will actually have been 29, but when unmarried daughters are beyond 'one and twenty', you probably won't tell the whole truth. :)
Elizabeth Wilton, 69, widow of Stephen Wilton, Collar Maker, died on 13 Sep 1846 (1846 S Quarter in DUNMOW UNION Volume 12 Page 61) from Debility and Age. Her non-conformist burial, which it appears was in the burial ground attached to the Quaker Meeting House (PDF) in New Street, Great Dunmow, took place on 17 Sep 1846. The burial record usefully lists her as Elizabeth Wilton, mother of Henry and Joseph Wilton, but curious that it does not mention her son Richard Wilton (my 3x great-grandfather), who was still alive then. One wonders if there had been a rift and, if so, it appears to have occurred since Richard's marriage 3 years previously. A date of death of 10 Sep 1846 seems to be inferred on the burial record, but it is just as '10 Do' [Ditto] in the left margin, which hardly seems explicit or trustworthy, so I'm more apt to believe the government death registration, with 13th also being a much more reasonable interval to the burial on the 17th.
Ann Wilton despite never marrying, had two children:
- Stephen Wilton b. 1848 J Quarter in SAINT GEORGE THE MARTYR SOUTHWARK Volume 04 Page 461
- Martha Wilton b. 1860 J Quarter in CAMBERWELL Vol 01D Page 469
In 1851, Ann Wilton (34) Visitor and Stephen Wilton (3) Nephew, were staying with her brother-in-law and younger sister,
Thomas and Sarah Clark, at South Place, Saint Giles Camberwell, Camberwell, London.
On 5 Aug 1867, Stephen Wilton (18) Harness Maker, 5ft 3in with brown hair, blue eyes, a fresh complexion and a scar on his chest, was sentenced to 20 days in
Wandsworth Prison and a £2 fine, for Assault. Again, on 19 Apr 1870, Stephen Wilton (21) Harness Maker, 5ft 6in, with one previous conviction, was sentenced to 1 month in Wandsworth Prison, also for Assault.
In 1871, Ann Wilton (54), Needlewoman, 'wife's sister' was again living with
Thomas and Sarah Clark, in Blakes Road, Camberwell, with her children, Stephen Wilton (23), Harness Maker, and Martha Wilton (10) Scholar.
In 1881, Ann Wilton (64), was listed as an inmate at the
Workhouse Gordon Road, Camberwell. (With Thomas Clark, having died in 1877 and sister, Sarah then lodging with her own daughter, options must have run out for Ann.) Martha Wilton (21), in 1881, was a General Servant to John Newlands (61) Warehouseman Fancy Goods, at
16, Talfourd Road, Camberwell.
In 1891 Ann Wilton (73) was again an Inmate in Camberwell Workhouse.
She must have left the workhouse at some point, because the Workhouse Admission and Discharge Records show Ann Wilton (77) being (re)admitted to Camberwell Workhouse on Thursday, 18 Jul 1895.
In 1901, Ann Wilton (83) Pauper was once again at Camberwell Workhouse.
