Tuesday, 12 March 2019

Great x4 Grandmother Sarah Vernon (nee Prout)

My Great x4 Grandmother Sarah (1802 - 1868) was a housewife and mother of eight.



Sarah Prout was born around 1802 in South Molton, Devon, to William and Margarett Prout.

Sarah was baptised on 30th May 1802 in South Molton.

Unfortunarely, beyond her baptism giving the names of her parents, Sarah's childhood remains a mystery. I can neither find a likely marriage record for her parents, nor baptisms of any likely siblings. We are left with several possibilities: Sarah may have been an only child; records may have been lost or events (such as births of siblings) may not have been recorded in the first place; her parents may not have been native to South Molton and records of their marriage or baptisms of other children may be further afield. We cannot say for certain. But we can say Sarah either remained in South Molton from her earliest years, or soon returned there, for there she married as a young woman.

On 26th September 1824, Sarah (about 22) married William Vernon (about 30), a labourer, in South Molton. On the record of their marriage, whilst William was about to sign his name, Sarah left only her mark, implying she could not write. They are both described as native to the parish of South Molton.

Sarah and William had eight children (five sons and three daughters):

  • John  1827 - 1855 (28 years old)
  • William 1829 -
  • Mary 1831 - 1845 or 1847 (13 - 16 years old)
  • James  1833 -
  • Henry  1835 -
  • Elizabeth  1839 -
  • Thomas  1841 -
  • Sarah Bray  1843 -

Records of baptism of their eldest sons, John and William, list the young family as residing on East Street in South Molton in the late 1820s.

Around 1830, Sarah, William and their two infant children moved from South Molton, about twelve miles south west, to Ashreigney. Sadly, they resided for some time in the poorhouse there. Their children, Mary and James, were born in Ashreigney poorhouse.

It seems the family managed to leave behind the poorhouse by the mid 1830s. The 1835 baptism record of their next and sixth child Henry lists their abode of Hayes. Hayes was likely around today's Little Hayes Plantation, a wooded and laked area, and Hayes Moor, both just to the south west of Ashreigney.

The 1841 baptism record of Sarah and William's son Thomas shows the family were back living on East Street up in South Molton. William had lots of family living on East Street.

The couple's eldest daughter Mary passed away as a teenager in either 1845 or 1847 in South Molton. (There are records of death for a Mary Vernon in South Molton in both years, and there isn't a way to find out which is our Mary, as there is no age given, unless I purchase the documents)

By the time of the 1851 Census, Sarah and her family were back living in Hayes, which is then described as a hamlet, and their home called Clarkes Hayes. Though not back in the workhouse, the family were alas again struggling. William and their eldest son John were described as paupers, their middle sons were away from home working as servants and labourers on farms (and were maybe sending money home), bu the only individual bringing in money at home seems to have been Sarah's young daughter, twelve-year-old glover Elizabeth.

1851 Census:


In 1855, Sarah's eldest son John passed away, aged twenty-eight, in Ashreigney or Ring's Ash. He was buried on 25th March 1855, in Ashreigney or Ring's Ash. Sadly his abode was listed as Torrington Union Work House.

Sarah's husband William passed away, in his mid sixties, in 1860. He was buried in Ashreigney or Ring's Ash on 25th November 1860.

Soon after William's death, the 1861 Census shows Sarah, a widow, remained at Hayes with her two youngest children: her son Thomas, a labourer, and daughter Sarah, a glover. As different records show Sarah's daughters Elizabeth and Sarah both worked as glovers as teenaged girls, I wonder if they learnt this trade from their mother. Also living with the family at the time was three-year-old Elizabeth Ann, the illegitimate daughter of one of Sarah's daughters. It's nice she stayed with the family.

1861 Census:


Sarah herself passed away, aged about sixty-six, in 1868. She was buried in Ashreighney or Ring's Ash on 21st August 1868.

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