1861 census @ Temple Street, Brill, Bucks.      Place of Birth.
Jonathan     Pickering 36  Baker.               Brailes.  Warwickshire.
Ursula             “   33                           “          “
John Henry         “   10     1851              Banbury.  Oxfordshire.
Caroline Elizabeth “    8     1852                “           “
William Henry      “    6     1854              Brill.  Buckinghamshire.
Thomas Henry       “    4     1856                “            “
Sarah Anne         “    2     1857                “            “
Louisa             “    1     1859                “            “
Thomas Wearing         17  Baker's Servant.     Byfield.       “
Ellen King             16  Servant.(Domestic)   Brill.         “

To get a rough idea of when they moved from Oxfordshire to Buckinghamshire, have a look at where the children were born. The first two, John Henry and Caroline Elizabeth, were born in Oxfordshire, the next four were born in Buckinghamshire. As the third child, William Henry, was born in 1854, in Buckinghamshire, they most probably moved sometime between 1852 (when Caroline Elizabeth was born in Oxfordshire), and 1854 (when William Henry was born in Buckinghamshire).

While checking for the birthdates of the children, I found that there had been another child born to Jonathan and Ursula, another little Sarah Anne. If a child died (as often happened in those days), then when the next, in this case little girl, was born, she would be given the same name. Their first little Sarah Anne was born in 1855, between the two boys, William Henry and Thomas Henry, and sadly she only survived for four weeks. When looking at the ages of children in the censuses, be wary if you have a five year old Charles in one census, then in the next census, ten years later, there is a four year old Charles. Check first that he is not a grandson or nephew, then check for the death of the first Charles from that first census to the birth of the second Charles. It might just turn out that the 4 should have been a 14, and it's the same Charles, censuses were quite often a year out!

One piece of good news, that little baby born to Jonathan and Ursula just before the last census,1851, and hadn't then been named, survived and was named John Henry.

A point of interest from the census. In those days if you wanted to learn a trade, you usually took out an apprenticeship which was quite expensive. Another way was to become a 'servant' to someone in your chosen trade. In this census Jonathan, the baker, had 17 year old Thomas Wearing as his 'servant', measuring out flour, mixing dough, etc., learning as he worked. This was a good way for those to learn who didn't have enough money for an apprenticeship. The other 'servant' was a general domestic servant, a rather daunting task for 16 year old Ellen King in that large household!

Jonathan and Ursula went on through the censuses, living in Brill and producing 12 surviving children. I've managed to trace all their children up to 1911, and some beyond that date, this is definitely work in progress, as I am now trying to trace some of their children's children!

  • Ursula Pickering died in 1907 aged 79.
  • Jonathan Pickering died in 1922 at the grand old age of 97!