• William Bennett died, once again leaving Fanny as a widow. Date of death as yet unknown.
  • Jonathan Pickering married Ursula Taylor 1850 in Brailes, Warwickshire, where they were both born.

Let's now have a look at the 1851 census.

The 1851 census @ Horley, Oxfordshire.                            Place of birth.
Jonathan Pickering  26             Baker.                         Brailes.  Warwickshire.
Ursula     “        23             Wife.                             “            “
Un-named     “  Under 1 week old.  Son.                           Horley.  Oxfordshire.
Fanny Bennett       55             Widowed Mother of Jonathan.    Tysoe.  Warwickshire.
Caroline Pickering  21             Sister of Jonathan.            Brailes.      “
Sarah Taylor        45             Ursula's Mother. Farmer's Wife.   “          “

Looking at this census makes you realise how hectic things must have been when the enumerator came round. Jonathan and Ursula had just become parents, and hadn't even had time to name their new little son, only a few days old. As you can see, Jonathan gave up learning to weave (see 1841 census) and became a baker instead, just like his brother Thomas.

Also staying in the house, to help with the new baby, were:-

  • Fanny Bennett, Jonathan's mother. As she was now classed as a widow, it didn't take much effort to work out that William Bennett had died sometime between the two censuses 1841 and 1851.
  • Caroline Pickering, Jonathan's sister, at least she was nearer to Ursula's age than the two mothers, so she must have been good company.
  • Sarah Taylor, Ursula's mother and Jonathan's mother-in-law. As a farmer's wife she was extremely useful to have around with a new baby!

Very soon after this census Jonathan's mother, Fanny Bennett, died in 1853, aged about 57 or 58. To get an exact age, and also cause of death, you would have to send off for a copy of the death certificate. The freeBMD site doesn't show ages at death until 1866.

When you look at a census and see that a visitor is staying in the household, I'm always curious to know what kind of family they have and where they live. In this census we have Sarah Taylor, Ursula's mother and farmer's wife. Let's go back ten years and look at the 1841 census for Sarah's family.

1841 census @ Upper Brailes village, Warwickshire.
John Taylor  35  Farmer.
Sarah   “    36  Farmer's wife.
Edmund  “    14  Farmer's son.
Ursula  “    13  Farmer's daughter, who married Jonathan.
After Ursula came five more children and a domestic servant.

I find it very interesting to trace the families of in-laws, here is Ursula as a 13 year old, at home with her parents and brothers and sisters. It makes her appear more of a 'real' person, if you have some idea of what kind of upbringing she had.

We'll now jump another ten years to find out how Jonathan and Ursula are getting on in 1861!