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Church of St Mary the Virgin, Great Dunmow, Thursday, 19 October, 2023 Photo available for reuse under this Creative Commons licence. |
Charles William Fuller (bap. 4 Nov 1832 in High Easter), son of Benjamin Fuller and Mary Ann Mead, married Maria Wilton (b. 19 Dec 1843), daughter of Henry Wilton and Sarah Staines, on 3 Oct 1862 at St Mary the Virgin, Great Dunmow, Essex. The announcement in the Suffolk Chronicle of 4 Oct 1862, read "On the 3rd at Great Dunmow Church, Essex, by the Rev. G. W. Lowe, Mr Charles William Fuller of Albion Mills, Woodbridge Road, Ipswich, to Maria, eldest daughter of Mr Henry Wilton of the former place."
Charles and Maria had six children:
- Edith Mary Fuller b. 1864 S Quarter in DUNMOW UNION Volume 04A Page 341, bap. 28 Sep 1864 in Great Dunmow (venue unknown)
- Annie Fuller b. 1865 J Quarter in DUNMOW UNION Volume 04A Page 363, bap. 7 Apr 1867 in Great Dunmow (venue unknown)
- Henry Fuller b. 1867 M Quarter in DUNMOW UNION Volume 04A Page 384, bap 7 Apr 1867 in Great Dunmow (venue unknown)
- Alfred William Fuller b. 21 Apr 1868 J Quarter in DUNMOW UNION Volume 04A Page 371, bap. 18 Nov 1868 in Great Dunmow
- Emily Maria Fuller b. 1869 J Quarter in DUNMOW UNION Volume 04A Page 362 (Died 1870 J Quarter in DUNMOW Vol 04A Page 249)
- Charles William Fuller b. 1871 J Quarter in DUNMOW UNION Volume 04A Page 382, bap. 24 Aug 1873 at Ingatestone, Essex. The baptism record lists his father's occupation as Corn Factor.
GRO birth registrations confirm the mother's maiden name as WILTON.
Charles William Fuller's father, Benjamin Fuller, was then a miller in High Easter. (There The Old Mill house, former roundhouse and trestle of postmill, is a listed building. The listing tells us that, Isaac Mead, author of 'The Life Story of an Essex Lad' 1923 was an apprentice here and inscribed his name in the main post. One imagines it likely he was related to Mary Ann Mead.)
The Albion Mills (which later lent their name to a pub) were a pair of 19th-century windmills (the North Mill and South Mill) that once operated along the windy Woodbridge Road hillside. The South Mill was last worked in 1864 by Charles Fuller and then stood vacant until demolition in 1876. [Source]
In 1871, Charles William Fuller (38), Corn Merchant's Clerk, was in High Street, Great Dunmow with wife Maria (27), sons Henry (4), Alfred (3) and Charles William (0), as well as Jane Philpott (56), Monthly Nurse. Edith Mary (6) was staying with her grandparents, Henry and Sarah Wilton, while Annie (5) was staying with her other grandparents, Benjamin and Mary Ann Fuller.
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| Maria Wilton |
Very soon afterwards, however, Charles William Fuller died, aged 38, on 30 May 1871 (1871 J Quarter in DUNMOW UNION Volume 04A Page 256). The Essex Newsman of 3 Jun 1871, reported on his death "from a brief, but severe affliction". His death certificate, which lists his occupation as Cornfactor's Clerk, shows that he died from Rheumatic fever and Endocarditis. The informant was Anne Pepper, present at the death, High Street, Great Dunmow.
Just 5 years later, the unthinkable happened: Maria Fuller (née Wilton) died, on 18 Jun 1876 (1876 J Quarter in DUNMOW UNION Volume 04A Page 247), aged just 32. Her death certificate, which lists her as the widow of Charles William Fuller, Corn Merchant's Clerk, died from Phthisis pulmonalis 2 years (Phthisis pulmonalis is an archaic medical term for pulmonary tuberculosis), historically known as "consumption" due to the severe physical wasting it causes. No surprise, seeing how thin she appears in this photo of her (left). Henry Wilton, her father, was present at her death, also in High Street, Great Dunmow.
Of their children, in 1881, Edith M Fuller (16) was a Draper's Assistant to Joseph Parkhurst, Draper, in High Street, Chipping Ongar; Annie Fuller (15) was a Draper's Assistant to Denny Stone, Draper, in Market Place, Romford; Henry Fuller (14) and Charles Fuller (10), Scholars, were living with their maternal grandfather, Henry Wilton in Great Dunmow; while Alfred William Fuller (13), had been sent to the Infant Orphan Asylum, Wanstead (photo). (The building now houses Snaresbrook Crown Court, the busiest Crown Court in the UK.) Sad that the child was sent to such a place, when his paternal grandparents were still alive and living in Bishops Stortford, where the retired miller was then described as a 'Gentleman'. Both Alfred William Fuller and Charles William Fuller later emigrated to Australia.
Photo of Maria Wilton via Kerry Johns @ Ancestry
