The Children of Francis & Sarah Scott (née Scott) – Part 2: RICHARD
As a reminder at this point. Richard was the firstborn child of Francis and Sarah Shellaker and he arrived around 17 months after their marriage. He was baptised on Sunday 11th October 1761 in the parish church at Lyndon in Rutland. He was my great-great-great grandfather and it is his line that will take this story to Tugby and then onto Billesdon.
1787 – The Marriage of RICHARD Shellaker to Mary Gibbons
Richard Shellaker married Mary Gibbons on Monday 19th November 1787 in the parish church at St Martin in Lyndon (pictured right and is reproduced by permission of LeicesterPhoto). This marriage took place around two years after his sister Mary, now 24 years of age, married the soldier Cuthbert Buck in the nearby parish church of St Andrew in Owston and Newbold in September 1785.
His younger brother William was around fifteen years old at this time and sister Ann was seven years old. Both of Richard’s parent were also alive at this time, his father Francis was 53 years old, his mother Sarah (née Scott) was around the age of 48.
Richard, as I mentioned above was baptised on Sunday 11th October 1761 in the same church in which he was to be married, was around 26 years old when he married. It is likely Richard was a farmer, probably at the time of his marriage but definitely in later life as in a book entitled ‘The Place Names of Rutland’ I found a record of a field name in Lyndon of a ‘Shelakers Close’ and an indication the field given that name belonged to a ‘Mr. R. Shelakers’ who was a resident in Lyndon in 1794.
Richard’s wife, MARY GIBBONS was 25 years old on her wedding day. She was born on Thursday 3rd June 1762 in the Leicestershire village of HALLATON, a village approximately 13 miles south west of Lyndon.
The entry of Richard’s marriage to Mary Gibbons can be seen in the parish records of the Lyndon;
Banns of marriage between Richard Shellaker & Mary Gibbons
both of this parish were published on three serial Sundays on 4th,
11th & 18th days of Nov’ber 1787 & no impediment alleged. J. Freeman Rector.
The said Richard Shellaker, Batchelor & Mary Gibbons, Spinster were
Married in this church by banns this nineteenth day of November
1787 by me. J. Freeman. Rector.
This marriage was solemnized between us
Richard Shellaker
Mary Gibbons
In the presence of us Andrew Haseldine John Barsby
THE CHILDREN OF RICHARD SHELLAKER AND MARY GIBBONS – a son
Richard and Mary go on to have three children who became the fifth and final generation of the Shellaker family to live in the village of Lyndon. The first of three children arrives around 10 months after the wedding when a son is born around September 1788. This boy was named WILLIAM (my great-great grandfather). Records indicate he was baptised twice; a ‘private baptism’ on Friday 12th September 1788 and publicly a month later on Sunday 5th October 1788. This is probable evidence that he was not expected to live when he was born.
Below is a copy of a document from 1788 in the Lyndon parish records showing the dates of William’s private and public baptisms.
William, Son of Richard & Mary
Shellaker was baptized, privately Sept 12th.
THE DEATH OF SARAH SHELLAKER
Almost exactly two years after the birth of William, Richard’s mother and William’s grandmother, Sarah Shellaker (née Scott) died and was buried on Sunday 3rd October 1790. Sarah was around 52 years old when she died. It is possible that she knew her granddaughter for a few days. She certainly knew her grandson William who was two years old when Sarah died,
THE CHILDREN OF RICHARD SHELLAKER AND MARY GIBBONS – two daughters
Also around October in 1790 Richard & Mary Shellaker have a second child, a sister for William who was now approaching his second birthday. She was named KATHERINE and was baptised on Sunday 10th October 1790 – exactly one week after her grandmother was buried in the same church in Lyndon.
INSERT BAPTISM records
Another two years pass and in February 1793 another girl arrives. She was named SARAH and was baptised on Friday 15th February 1793. William was over four years old at the time of the birth of his second sister. Katherine was two years and four months old. All three children lived into adulthood.
THE DEATH OF FRANCIS SHELLAKER
However before William, Katherine and Sarah reach adulthood their grandfather, Francis dies and is buried on Thursday 31st August 1815. Francis is the widower of Sarah Shellaker (née Scott) who had died 25 years prior to the death of Francis. He had reached the age of 83 years when he died. He was buried in Lyndon churchyard.
The Marriage of KATHERINE SHELLAKER to John Partridge
The oldest daughter, Katherine, who was baptised on 10th October 1790, married JOHN PARTRIDGE, was from the nearby village of PRESTON in Rutland on Monday 30th May 1814 in the parish church of church of St Peter and St Paul in Wing, Rutland at which time she was 24 years old.
Below is a record of this marriage from Pallots Marriage Index
The church in which they married is pictured right and is reproduced by permission of LeicesterPhoto. Wing is less than two miles from the village of Lyndon. John Partridge was born in the east Leicestershire village of Tugby in or about the year 1789.
Records indicate this marriage produced at least five children born in the 16 years following wedding; JEMIMA born around 1815, MARY, born around seven years later in 1823, four years later, around 1827, a son was born ROBERT, two years pass to 1829 and a third daughter is born – she was named ANN and their final recorded child, a second son, THOMAS, born in 1831 when Katherine was around 40 years old.
Further information on Katherine’s life is below
1841 Census – In the records for the 1841 Census, which was taken on 6th June, Katherine Partridge (née Shellaker) is recorded as living in the Rutland village of Manton with her husband John, who have reached the ages of 50 and 51 respectively. John’s occupation is that of a ‘Miller and Baker’. With them in the house are their two youngest children, Ann age 12 years and Thomas age 9 years. The children not with their parents on the night of the Census are Jemima who would be around 26 years old, Mary who would have been 18 years old and their oldest son Robert who would have been around 16 years old.
| Name | Age | Occupation | Whether Born in same County |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Partridge | 51 | Miller and Baker | No |
| Catherine Partridge | 50 | Yes | |
| Ann Partridge | 12 | No | |
| Thomas Partridge | 9 | No |
Manton is a neighbouring village of Lyndon, lying around two miles west of that village and is just over 3 miles from the town of Oakham. Around this time the village had a population of around 272 souls. (White’s History, Gazetteer and Directory 1846.
Jemima Partridge is recorded on this Census in the home of her grandmother Mary Shellaker (née Gibbons) in Lyndon who is now a widow as her husband Richard has died in 1835 seven years prior to this Census. Mary was to die herself within two years of this Census at the age of 80. It is possible that granddaughter Jemima was caring for her elderly grandmother in her final years – on the Census her occupation is recorded as a ‘servant’.
Strangely the two children not in the house of their parents, Mary and Robert are recorded as being in an adjoining house in Manton where a lady named Mary Lightfoot lived. She was 75 years old and shared the house with Jane and Catherine Lightfoot aged 40 and 30 years respectively, who were presumably Mary’s daughters. I cannot confirm why Mary and Robert are staying in the home of Mary Lightfoot but the initial ‘F.S.‘ and ‘M.S.’ in the ‘occupation’ column against their names are likely to be ‘Female Servant’ and ‘Male Servant’.
| Name | Age | Occupation | Whether Born in same County |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mary Lightfoot | 75 | Snr | No |
| Jane Lightfoot | 40 | Yes | |
| Catherine Lightfoot | 30 | Yes | |
| Mary Partridge | 18 | FS | No |
| Robert Partridge | 14 | MS | No |
1843 Death – The 1841 Census was the only one in which Katherine Partridge (née Shellaker) is recorded as she died in the first few months of 1848 at the age of 57 years. Online records indicate Thomas Partridge remarried the following year in the June of 1849 to Elizabeth Dixon of Medbourne in Leicestershire. She was 53 years old. The widower Thomas was 60 years old. Thomas in recorded in the 1851 as living with his second wife Elizabeth. Thomas lived until he was 67 years old before dying in the years 1856.
The Children of KATHERINE SHELLAKER and John Partridge
Jemima Partridge – Online records indicate she married John Thorpe in March 1842 in Lyndon and together had six children; William (b.1843), John Thomas (1944-1913), Alfred Robert (b. 1846), James Charles (b,1849), Catherine Mary (b.1850) and Richard Even (b. 1854). She lived with her family in the Rutland village of Edith Weston and died in 1887, the years after her husband John at the age of 72 years.
Mary Partridge – No further information since the 1841 Census when she was a servant in the house of Mary Lightfoot.
Robert Partridge – Online records indicate he married Sarah Cant in January 1855 in Uppingham and together had eight children; Mary Ann (b.1855), Henry William (b. 1857), John Thomas Partridge (b.1859), Sarah Ada (b.1862), Alfred Robert (b.1864), Herbert Edwin (b. 1866), Arthur Heneage (b.1869) and Albert Edward (b.1871). He can be seen on the Census 1861, 1871, 1881 and 1891 living with his wife Sarah in the village of Manton. On the 1901 Census he is 74 years old and recorded as a ‘Widower’ with an occupation of ‘Master baker & bread retailer’. I cannot see him on the 1911 Census, it is probably fair to assume he has died.
Ann Partridge – In addition to her entry on the 1841 Census aged 12 years lving with her family (mentioned above) she is also recorded on the 1851 Census as aged 22 years and living with her father in Manton and her step-mother Elizabeth. No further records can be found after the 1851 but it is possible she has married.
Thomas Partridge – As with his sister Ann, Thomas is with his parents on the 1841 Census and on the 1851 Census with his father in Manton and his step-mother Elizabeth. In the 1861 Census he appears to be living in the Leicestershire village of Theddingworth. He is 31 years old and he has a 25 years old wife Ann and their six year old daughter Annie. In the 1871 Census he is in Northamptonshire, the home country of his wife. He is in the village of Marston Trussell together with wife Ann and daughter Annie. In the 1881 Census there is a Thomas Partridge living in the Nottinghamshire village of Greasley. This man has a recorded birthplace on the Census of Northamptonshire and not Tugby, Leicestershire, which at first view indicates he is not the son of Sarah Partridge (née Shellaker). However his age is recorded as 51 years old which is consistent with his age recorded on previous Census records. On this 1881 Census are also wife Ann and daughter Annie, with recorded ages of 46 and 26 years old respectively, which is also consistent with prior records. I have not seen any further records of Thomas Partridge.
The Marriage of SARAH SHELLAKER to Thomas Barsby
The younger of the three children, Sarah, married THOMAS BARSBY on Sunday 23rd July 1826 in the All Saints Parish Church at Oakham at which time she was 33 years old. This parish church, which is situated in the heart of the town, can be seen on the right.
The bridegroom, Thomas Barsby was born in the Leicestershire village of Hallaton in 1799 consequently he was around 27 years old when he married Sarah Shellaker.
Online information, which I have not validated, indicate Thomas’ parents were named John and Susannah (née Cook). However Susannah Barsby was not alive when her son Thomas married Sarah Shellaker as she had died around a decade before that wedding in the April of 1817 at the age of 49 years.
However his father John was alive and was around 53 years old at that time. Both of Sarah’s parents, Richard and Mary, were alive at this time and living in the village of Lyndon where they were born.
Further information on Sarah’s life is below.
1832 Birth – Six years after their wedding the couple have a baby daughter- she was named SARAH.
1837 Birth – Five years later a second daughter was born – she was named MARY.
1841 Census – In the records for the 1841 Census, which was taken on 6th June, Sarah Barsby (née Shellaker) is recorded as living with her husband Thomas. Sarah is recorded as being 45 years old, husband Thomas recorded as 40. In the 1841 Census the ages of adult are rounded down to the nearest multiple of 5. Sarah’s actual age at this time was 48 years – rounded down to 45. Thomas was around 42 years – rounded down to 40. This census also records their two daughters; Sarah who was 9 years old and Mary who was 4. The family were living in Tugby with, or neighbouring, the family and Sarah’s brother William. The record shows that Thomas and the two children were born in Leicestershire and Sarah was born ‘outside the County’, which was Lyndon in Rutland.
1851 Census – In the records for the 1851 Census, which was taken on 30th March Sarah is living in the village of Allexton in Leicestershire but only a few yards from Eye Brook which runs just north and forms the boundary with Rutland. With Sarah, who is 58 years old at this time, is with her husband Thomas, aged 52 years and recorded as a Farmer with 15 acres of land and fourteen years old daughter Mary. Sarah, their firstborn daughter, who would have been 19 years old, is not living with the family.
1861 Census – In the records for the 1861 Census, which was taken on 7th April, Sarah and Thomas is living in the village of Allexton in Allexton Hall. Their ages are 61 and 68 years respectively. Thomas is recorded as being a ‘Farmer with 25 acres of land.’ Neither of their daughters are with their parents but I have seen a record of a ‘Sarah Barsby’ aged 29 years and born in Leicestershire who is working as a ‘servant’ in a house in Torquay, Devon.
1865 Death – Sarah Barsby (nee Shellaker) died towards the final months of 1865. She would have been around 72 years at this time
1871 Census – In the records for the 1871 Census, which was taken on 2nd April, Thomas Barsby is recorded as a ‘Widower‘ aged 71 years, with Thomas is his daughter Mary now aged 33 years.
THE DEATH OF RICHARD & SARAH SHELLAKER
The parents of William Shellaker and his sisters Katherine Partridge and Sarah Barsby died within eight years of each other; Richard Shellaker died at the end of 1834 at the age of 73 years and was buried on Thursday 1st January 1835, his wife Mary Shellaker (née Gibbons) was buried on Tuesday 16th May 1843. Mary’s daughter Katherine actually died a few weeks before her mother in the first few months of the same year. Her daughter Sarah (Barsby) was living when Mary died, as was her son William.
Mary Shellaker was 81 years when she died, and with her burial in May of 1843, the name ‘Shellaker’, which first was recorded in Lyndon over 160 years before, disappeared forever from that village………
THE CHILDREN OF KATHERINE AND SARAH SHELLAKER
The tree below shows the families of the two daughters of Richard & Mary Shellaker, Katherine and Sarah and their own children. Details of the family of their brother William are not shown nor are the siblings of their father Richard
WILLIAM SHELLAKER – THE STORY CONTINUES…..
The narrative above has very little mention of William Shellaker, other than details of his baptism on the 12th September 1788. Neither are his full details included on the tree above. The reason is that the part that the village of Lyndon plays in the story of our family has now ended – the story now continues with William and Sarah Shellaker.
13th April 2016