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William Fuller and Mary Ann May © The son of James Fuller and his wife Sarah (nee Earle), William was born in Dorking, Surrey around 1806. It would appear William was baptised on the 5th September 1827, in the Parish Church, Dorking, just a few weeks before his marriage1. The baptism record indicates William was 'of Upper Years' and gives his parents as James & Sarah of Back Lane, Dorking, and his father's occupation as a Limeburner. It is not known if, or when, William re-located to Fetcham, but records of St Mary's Parish Church in Fetcham, show William married Mary Ann May, in that church on the 11th October, 1827, after Banns2. William and Mary indicated they were both from the Parish of Dorking, and both made their mark. The witnesses were John May and Mary Faulkner, it is thought John was Mary's father. Mary Ann was the daughter of John May and Sarah (nee White). She was born in Fetcham on the 30th September, 1806, and she was baptized on the 26th October, 1806, in St Mary and St Nicholas Parish Church, Leatherhead, Surrey1. The name Fetcham is derived from the Anglo-Saxon ‘Feccas ham’ or Fecca’s settlement, and is 6km south-south-west of Dorking. There is evidence that there were very early settlements in and around Fetcham, with the discovery of Stone and Bronze Age tools and Roman artefacts, as well as three ancient burial grounds. Fetcham appears in Domesday Book of 1086 as Feceham with a total population of 44 very large households, rendering £10.10s per year to its feudal system overlords. It was also referenced in the Domesday survey as having three manors; one known as King's Manor (probably Fetcham Park); another which was given to Odo, Bishop of Bayeux after the Norman Conquest, and the third was an Augustinian foundation from Merton Priory, at Cannon Court, which Henry VIII dissolved in 1538. Its small manorial farming community numbered 176 in the Domesday survey, but halved as a result of the Black Death in 1349. In the first half of the 19th Century the population was still only around 370. By the 1931 Census it had reached 1,318 and by 1972 was nearly 8,0003. Parish records indicate William and Mary had at least seven children, all baptised in Dorking: Elizabeth 1828-1829; Richard c1830; Robert c1832; John 1833, he married Mary Inwood 1857; Susanna c1836; Alfred 1838; and Jane 1843. These same records suggest William and Mary lived in Back Lane until around 1831. But, by the time of their son Robert’s birth in 1832, the family are recorded as living at Chalk Pits, Dorking. William’s occupation in the records varies between Limeburner and Labourer, so I assume, like his ancestors, William alternated between Agricultural Labourer and Limeburner depending on the season. The 1841 Census4 has William and his wife Mary, both age 35, along with their children: Richard 10; John 7; Susan 5; Alfred 2; and a Sarah Fuller age 75; it believed Sarah was William's mother. Still living at Chalk Pits, William's occupation is given as Limeburner and the record indicates all the family were born in Surrey. In 18514, William and Mary are still at Chalk Pits, Dorking, with children: John; Alfred; and Jane, and William Read, a Lodger. Now 45, William’s occupation is recorded as a Labourer, and his place of birth as Dorking. Mary is 44 and her place of birth is recorded as Fetcham, Surrey. At the age of just 50years, William died, at Chalk Pit, on the 17th May, 18565. The cause of death was given as Cerebral Disease. The Informant was Eliza Razzell (possibly his daughter Elizabeth) who was present at the death. William's occupation is recorded as Limeburner. In the mid-1800s Cerebral Disease could have referred to a number of brain related diseases, for example William may have had a stroke, or contracted Encephalitis, or he may have even suffered from the effects of some form of poisoning related to Lime-burning. William was buried on the 11th May, 1856, in the Dorking Cemetery6, Plot K, Grave No. 1726. It would appear that in 18614 Mary Fuller, a 54 year old Charwoman, birthplace Fetcham, was living in Kings Head Square, Dorking, but she is recorded as the wife of Thomas Fuller a Shoemaker. However in 1871 Mary, still at the same address, is now recorded as a Laundress, age 65, born in Fetcham, and the wife of a James Fuller, a Shoemaker, who is also listed as an Imbecile. While the 1861 & 1871 Census raised some doubts, our Mary Ann is found on the 1881 Census4, a 75 year old Widow, born in Surrey. She is living on her own in The Square, Dorking (looks to be possibly the same address as 1861 & 1871 but re-named), which leads to the assumption it is the same person in all three Census. The 1891 Census4 shows her living in North Street, Dorking, just a short distance from the Square, her place of birth is again given as Fetcham, Surrey with her age recorded as 86. Living on her own means, she has a Boarder, William John Davey, with her. At the age of 90, on the 16th July 1897, Mary died at Rothes Road, Dorking, from exhaustion caused by Cancer of the Intestines5. She was at the home of her daughter Jane Brown, who was present at her death. Mary’s death was registered in Dorking on the 17th July and information provided by daughter Jane, states that Mary was the Widow of William Fuller, a Limeburner. Mary was laid to rest in the Dorking Cemetery6 on the 21st July, 1897. It is not known if William and Mary were buried together or if there is, or ever was, a headstone for their graves.
References: 1. Parish Baptism Record via Ancestry.co.uk https://www.ancestry.co.uk 2. Parish Marriage Record via Ancestry.co.uk https://www.ancestry.co.uk 3. British History Online: Fetcham http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/surrey/vol3/pp284-290 4. UK Censuses via Ancestry.co.uk https://www.ancestry.co.uk 5. Death Certificate 6. Parish Burial Record via Ancestry.co.uk https://www.ancestry.co.uk
Other Sources: Exploring Surrey’s Past http://www.exploringsurreyspast.org.uk Oral Family History Public Family Trees via Ancestry.co.uk https://www.ancestry.co.uk |
