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Date:January 10, 2019

Richard & Mary Shellaker

CHAPTER IV

Richard marries and starts a family

 

WORK IN PROGRESS

1861 – RICHARD MARRIES
Over four pass since the death of his father and Richard Shellaker, the son of Sarah and the late William Shellaker, in the parish church of St Thomas a Becket at Tugby on Tuesday 12th March 1861. His bride was MARY ANN GROCOCK who came from the neighbouring village of Hallaton where her family were carpenters by trade. Richard was 30 years old when he married, his bride was around 23 years old.

GET RECORD FROM RECORDS OFFICE Tugby Vol. 7a Page 53.

MARY ANN GROCOCK
Mary Ann Grocock was born on 19th October 1837 in Hallaton, a pretty village in East Leicestershire. Her father was John Grocock who was 26 years old when his daughter was born. Mary Ann’s mother was Ann née Exton, her age at this time was 23.

Mary’s parents were married, the year prior to her birth, on 17th October 1836 at St Michael and All Angels Church in Hallaton. Mary was the firstborn child. Her parents subsequently had four further children; John born in 1841, Emma born in 1842, William born in 1845 and Jane born in 1847. However both William and Jane died in infancy.

At the time of the wedding the respective fathers of the bride and groom were both deceased. As mentioned Richard’s father had died four year prior to the wedding of his son. Mary Ann’s father John had died in July 1859 around two years before the wedding

 

 

1861 – CENSUS
Three weeks after the wedding of her son, Sarah Shellaker is recorded on another Census. This Census, taken on was the night of  Sunday 7th April  1861, records Sarah, now a Widow aged 67 years old and as still living in the village of Tugby. She is living alone, a few doors down from the home of her son and daughter-in-law Mary. As can be seen on the section of the Census below her neighbours are the village Blacksmith and a widow, Martha Harrison who was a Grazier, ten years her senior.

On this Census there is an interesting change in Sarah’s occupation since that of ten years previously, 1851, in which she  was recorded as being a ‘Farmer’s Wife’. In this Census, Sarah Shellaker, member of the Wesleyan-Methodist Society,  now runs a Beer House!

A BEERHOUSE
Two years later in the 1863 publication of ‘White’s Trade Directory for Leicestershire’ Sarah Shellaker is again recorded as running a Beerhouse. A beerhouse was not a public house but was basically a private house licensed under the Beerhouse Act of 1830 to sell beers but not spirits, often from just one room.

Apparently The Beerhouse Act 1830 liberalized regulations on the brewing and sale of beer by individuals in the United Kingdom. The Act enabled anyone to brew and sell beer, ale or cider, whether from a public house or their own homes, upon obtaining a moderately priced license of just under £2 for beer and ale and £1 for cider without recourse to obtaining them from justices of the peace, as was previously required. The Act was allegedly aimed to wean the public from the consumption of gin.

1861 Census - Sarah Shellaker

1861 Census – Sarah Shellaker in Tugby

Reproduced by permission of Record Office for Leicestershire, Leicester & Rutland
Name Relationship Condition Sex Age Profession Where Born
Sarah Shellaker Head Widow F 67 Beer House. New Act Lincolnshire, Grantham 

 

1861 – 1874 – ‘GRANNY SHELACRE’
Sarah Shellaker-1Sarah, pictured on the right, was to live for a further thirteen years after her son Richard was married and saw six of her grandchildren grow-up. Sarah Shellaker’s first grandchild arrived in August 1861, a mere five months after her son’s wedding. Richard named his first child was named SARAH after his mother. A second grandchild arrived in March 1863, a boy who was named WILLIAM after his paternal grandfather.

The following year, in August 1864, another girl was born and although she was christened MARY JANE although she was known thereafter as ‘POLLY’. Two years later, on 15th August 1866 another daughter arrived, she was named EMMA. Sixteen months passed and Mary gave birth to another girl in December 1867. She was christened ELIZABETH and she was the fourth girl and fifth child of Richard and Mary. Sarah, William, Polly, Emma and Elizabeth would have all know their grandmother, Sarah Shellaker.

But ‘Granny Shelacre’ was also living for a series of infant deaths which followed as over the next few years as her daughter-in-law Mary gave birth to several children, none of whom survived beyond infancy. A girl LOUISA was born in 1869 two years after the birth of Elizabeth, but she died within a few months aged only sixth months old. In 1872 another child was born, she was named FANNY but again she died in infancy.

In 1873 twin girls were born who Richard & Mary gave the same names as their two recently deceased daughters; LOUISA and FANNY but they also died in infancy. During this time it is believed that another boy was born but subsequently died in infancy. He was named RICHARD.

 

1871 – CENSUS
During the time her son and daughter-in-law were experiencing the sorrow of losing their babies in early infancy another Census was held. This one took place on Sunday 2nd April 1871 and records Sarah Shellaker, now aged 77 years old, still living on her own in Tugby.  However her occupation is not longer the owner of a Beer House but is that of an ‘Accountant’ and I would speculate she is looking after the accounts of her son’s Butcher’s Shop. This was to be the final Census on which she was recorded.

1871 Census - Sarah Shellaker

1871 Census – Sarah Shellaker in Tugby

Reproduced by permission of Record Office for Leicestershire, Leicester & Rutland
Name Relationship Condition Age Occupation Where Born
Sarah Shellaker Head Widow 77 Accountant Lincoln, Spittlegates

A GENERATION PASSES AWAY – SARAH SHELLAKER DIES
On Tuesday June 9th 1874 Sarah Shellaker (née Esther), the widow of William and the mother of the deceased children; Mary, William & Mary Ann, died two days after her 80th birthday. She was survived by her son Richard who was 44 years old at the time of his mother’s death, her daughter-in-law Mary aged 37 years, and by five grandchildren; Sarah aged 12, William aged 11, Mary Jane (Polly) aged 9, Emma aged 7 and Elizabeth aged 6. Sarah Shellaker was buried in Tugby Churchyard, sharing the grave of her late husband William who had died 19 years previously in 1855.

They are buried next to the graves of their three deceased children; their daughter Mary, who was the first of their children to die when in 1827 aged she died at the aged only 11 months, their son William who died on 1st October 1835 at the age of 18 months who shares the same gravestone which record the death of their daughter Mary Jane, who died on 6th October 1842, aged 14 years.

The picture below was taken in 2011 and shows the three gravestones in Tugby Churchyard erected in memory of these five people. The inscriptions are now becoming increasing difficult to read but  I transcribed them in the late 1970’s and so I am able to superimpose the words, on the picture on the right, as they were carved on each stone. (Click on the picture to view a larger version). To the sides of these three gravestones, and in the same row, are three others gravestones all of whom are also members of the Shellaker family but from a latter generation, four offspring of their son Richard.

William & Sarah Shellaker & the Gravestones of their Children - Tugby Churchyard

Tugby Churchyard – The gravestone of William and Sarah Shellaker on the right, in the centre that of their daughter Mary and on the left their son William and second daughter Mary Ann

1861 Richard Married

Mary Grocock background

1861 census

1861 Saran Born

1863 William Born

1864 Polly born

1866 Emma born

1868 Elizabeth born

1871 census

Fanny 1872-1872

Fanny & Louisa 1873-1873

1874 granny dies

Richard born 1874-1874

John r Shellaker born 1876

Helena born 1879

Move to Billesdon

Farm map

 

John born 1881

census 1881

Gravestones

1888 Elizabeth dies

1901 Census

1904 Richard dies

Last Will

1913 – Mary Grocock dioes

 

Poll Books

Trade Directories

Newspapers?

Will