The earliest Prior known to our family is our 5th great grandfather William Prior, who married Sarah Playle on 6 July 1808 at the Church of St Margaret of Antioch in the village of Toppesfield Essex UK. He lived with his family in this village, had a number of children, and worked as an Agricultural Labourer.
Agricultural Labourer
Our rural Essex ancestors census occupations, like many others, were quite often 'Ag Lab' meaning Agricultural Labourer. Generally this meant the man was employed by tenant farmers on a casual basis, being paid only for the work done and nothing if they were sick or the weather bad. The labourer would live with their family in a cottage owned by the landholder or in rented lodgings nearby, and would grow their own vegetables and graze their own animals on common land. The farmers grew crops which required harvesting in summer, done by hand with a sickle or a scythe, and sowing and tending at other times of the year. There were also farm animals to care for, such as dairy cows, sheep, pigs and poultry. The farm land & building, fences & hedges, tracks & ponds also required regular maintenance.
Twig Talk - the novels of author Thomas Hardy (born 2 June 1840) often revealed the plight of rural labourers in 19th century England, and likely reflect the life of our ancestors in the rural village of Toppesfield Essex UK.
Sarah Playle came from Stambourne, a neighbouring village, and I believe her parents were Frances Playle and Elizabeth Pask. However, we do not know where William came from or his parents names, or when he arrived in Toppesfield.
Toppesfield Village sign
- courtesy of www.villagesigns-essex.co.uk
There is an unofficial census for the parish of Toppesfield, taken by the church curate, for the 1801 & 1811 years. They can be found in the back of the register of burials from the Church of St Margaret of Antioch, held at the Essex records office and available online. They are merely lists of the names of heads of household and the number of occupants. William Prior is noted in the 1811 list with a household of 1 male & 2 females, while there are no Prior's noted in the 1801 list. I surmise that the Prior females in the 1811 census were William's wife Sarah & a daughter born in either 1809 or 1810, but I have not yet found any records to confirm this.
The children of William & Sarah that I have noted from the baptism register of the Church of St Margaret of Antioch, although I am sure there are more, are:
- John - bap. 18 August 1811
- Thomas - b.26 July 1818
- Betsey - bap. 13 January 1822
- George - bap. 30 July 1826
- Sarah - bap. 12 September 1830
Church of St Margaret of Antioch, Toppesfield, Essex UK
© Copyright Peter Stack and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
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