John Hardman on Mother's Day 1851

Motherly Piety: The Two Mothers by Dante Gabriel Rossetti 1851

The census of 1851 was taken on Sunday 30th March to record in each household or institution all the people who had spent the previous night there. That Sunday also included a religious census noting the number of seats and the number of attendees at as many religious institutions as could be identified. When the results of the religious census were published in 1854, pious Victorians were shocked to learn that of the twelve-and-a-half-million reckoned available to attend worship at least once that Sunday, more than 5 million had neglected to do so. Mostly, these lived in the new industrial cities. Of those who did attend worship, more than half were non-conformists.

The 1851 census also coincided with Mothering Sunday. Traditionally, this was the Sunday people returned to the church of their baptism, usually with their families. It became a day when domestic servants were allowed to visit home. Over time, the family significance replaced the religious significance, and the modern English Mother's Day is still celebrated on the fourth Sunday in Lent.

Having located John Hardman (later to be Captain of the Mizzen Top) on census night 1851, I became interested in how he was related to Elizabeth Maskell Widow living at High Town, Weobley, Herefordshire. Here is the return for her household at High Town:
       Elizabeth Maskell  Head  W  43  Shoemaker and Grocer    Herefords Hereford
       William     Do        Son         13   Grocer                                  Do      Weobley
        John         Do       Son          11  Scholar                                  Do      Weobley
       George      Do       Son           9   Scholar                                  Do          Do
       Mary         Do       Daur         7   Scholar                                  Do          Do
       John Hardman     Visitor  U 19  Seaman Royal Navy (Ap) Worcesters Worcester
       William Phillips  Servant  U  31  Grocer                             Monmouths Grosmont
       Charlotte Morgan Serv    U  17  General Servant                Herefords Weobley

The ancestry index has Markell, but it looks like Maskell to me. There are no Markells in Weobley, but England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975 has the following baptisms for children of John and Elizabeth Maskell in Weobley, Herefordshire:
       William Maskell 8 March 1838
       George Maskell 10 April 1842
       Mary Maskell     31 December 1843

These three, and John, have the following civil birth registrations in the BMD Birth Index:
       William Maskell Mar1838 Weobley 26
       John Maskell 1840 Weobley 26
       George Maskell Jun1842 Weobley 26
       Mary Maskell Dec1843 Weobley 26

There are also baptisms of children of Richard and Sarah Maskell in Weobley, Richard presumably being John's brother. There is also a record of the death of John Maskell, who is most likely Elizabeth's husband, the father of these children:
       BMD Death Index Jun1846 Weobley 26 171

In 1841, on Back Street, Weobley is this household:
        John Maskell  30  Shoemaker  Y[es, born in Herefordshire]
        Elizabeth do   30                      Y
        William  do     3                       Y
        John       do     1                       Y

And searching for a marriage record in Herefordshire for John Maskell and Elizabeth discovered England, Select Marriages, 1538-1973:
       John Maskell and Elizabeth Wilson at St Peter Hereford 18 Feb 1836

We have already met a couple of Wilsons, one of them Mary Wilson, dressmaker of Hereford who married James Hardman, the tailor; the other being William Wilson, her father, Sergeant at Mace of Hereford. This raises the possibility that Elizabeth Wilson, widow of John Maskell is another of his children. This being the case, John Hardman spent Mothering Sunday 1851 with his aunt's sister and her family. We will come to this later, after we have looked for another of Mary's sisters.

In The Tailor and Dressmaker of Hereford, we met Thomas Williams and Thomas Hardman (who, I suggest, are probably the same person) born in Hoarwithy, Herfordshire. We found him living with Mary and James Hardman. In 1861, Thomas Hardman born in Hoarwithy is described as grandson of Mary's father, William Wilson, and in 1871 as the nephew of James and Mary. From this, we can infer that he is the child of one of a sister of Mary. So, are there any Wilsons who marry Williams in the neighborhood of Hereford? The closest (Breinton is just to the west of Hereford) is this one in England, Select Marriages, 1538-1973:
       Thomas Williams and Sarah Wilson in Breinton, Herefordshire 10 Jul 1845

The names Mary, Elizabeth and Sarah as daughters of William Wilson compare well with a series of Hereford baptisms from England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975:
       Mary Wilson 21 Jan 1802 St Peter Hereford  William Henry and Elizabeth
       Elizabeth Wilson 22 Apr 1803 St Peter Hereford William and Elizabeth
       William Henry Wilson 1804 St Peter Hereford
       Caroline Wilson 9 Sep 1807 St Owen Hereford (born 12 Apr 1807)
       Henry Wilson 15 Nov 1809 St Peter Hereford (born 3 Sep 1809)
       James Wilson 1 Feb 1813 St John Hereford William Henry and Elizabeth
       Sarah Wilson 24 Jun 1818 St Peter Hereford William and Elizabeth
       Richard Wilson 11 Oct 1821 St Owen Hereford
     
Thomas and Sarah Williams of Hereford (the latter from St Peters, no less) may be found in the 1871 Wales Census at 30 Queen Square, Tredegar:
       Thomas [Williams]  Head  Mar  56  Brewer  Herefordsh Monnington on Wye
       Sarah         Do         Wife   Mar  53                       Do       Hereford
       Sarah E     Do          Daur  Unm 17                       Do       Hentland
       Caroline    Do          Daur           12  Scholar  Monmouthsh Nantyglo

And then in the England 1851 Census at the Harp Inn, Hentland
       Thomas Williams  Head  Married  36  Victualer  Monnington Hereford
       Sarah Williams      Wife     Do       30                   St Peters Hereford
       Francis Williams   Son                    5                    Hentland Hereford
       William Williams  Son                    3                    Hentland Hereford
       Thomas Williams  Son                    1                    Hentland Hereford

Hentland is near Hoarwithy, Herefordshire in the Ross-on-Wye registration district. And England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975 have the following baptisms at Hentland, all children of Thomas and Sarah Williams.
       Francis Williams                4 May 1846
       William Henry Williams    9 Apr 1848
       Thomas Williams              28 Oct 1849
       Sarah Elizabeth Williams  30 Nov 1851
       Ellen Gertrude Williams   26 Mar 1854

And their civil birth registrations in the BMD Birth Index must be:
       Francis Williams               Jun1846 Ross 26 245
       William Henry Williams   Mar1848 Ross 26 828 (this is not in the expected page range
                       for Ross, so the index entry is doubtful. I would suspect it is an error for 228)
       Thomas Williams               Dec1849 Ross 26 227
       Sarah Elizabeth Williams   Dec1851 Ross 26 235
       Ellen Gertrude Williams    Mar1854 Ross 6a 412

Note, there is no Thomas Hardman birth registered in the Ross registration district in 1849, so I am sure that Thomas Hardman of the 1861 England Census, born in Hoarwithy is Thomas Williams.

Of these, Francis Williams appears in Weobley for the 1861 England Census. The return is at High Street, Weobley, and the head of of household is none other than Elizabeth Maskell:
       Elizabeth Maskell Head Widow 56 Grocer Draper Hatter & Tallow Chandler
                                                                Employing 3 Men and 1 Boy  [Herefordshire] Hereford
       William     Do      Son     Un       23  Managing Grocery Business       Do             Weobley
       Mary         Do      Daur   Un       16                                                      Do                  Do
       James Phillips       Asst    Un      41  Grocers Assistant                 Monmouth Grossmont
       Francis Brewer     Clerk  Un      20  Bookkeeper                          Worcester Worcester
       Francis Williams  Ap      Un      15  Grocer's Ap                           Hereford Horewithy
       William Bowley   Asst    Un      19      Do     Assistant                       Do     Dilwyn
       Mary Phillips        Serv   Un      15  Domestic Servant                        Do     Kenchurch

Conclusion: By March 1851, John Hardman had made the rank of Boy 1st Class, and signed on (on the 9th) to serve with HMS Prince Regent. He apparently was on leave on census night, enumerated in the household of Elizabeth Maskell in Weobley, Herefordshire. The genealogical data are consistent with Elizabeth Maskell being his aunt's sister, providing a plausible explanation as to why he is found there. Elizabeth's later census return of 1871 links her to Mrs. Sarah Williams (through the latter's son, Francis). We previously saw that census returns of 1861 and 1871 link another Wilson sister (Mrs. Mary Hardman) to Mrs. Sarah Williams (through her son, Thomas). While the Wilson's are not directly related to me, the research gives us some idea of John Hardman's extended family. We do not know how long his leave lasted, nor who else he may have visited, although I suspect his parents had died by then, maybe even before 1841. In fact, I have so far found no direct evidence for them. His spending Mothering Sunday with Mrs. Maskell may indicate a close relationship with this part of the family, such as I have already found between his brother Thomas and the Tailor and Dressmaker of Hereford.