Peasants to Puddles - My Family History

Peasants to Puddles
My Family History - By Nicky Rowberry

The Morris-Bent Connection

Almost all of the information given here is the work of Margaret Hatton and Polly Rubery. All I have done is take all their hard work and summarise it below.

Hannah Rowberry was my 2 x great grandfather James Rowberry's sister. She was born in 1833 and baptised on 30th June in Kilpeck,Herefordshire; the daughter of William Rowberry and Sarah Ruck. William Rowberry had married Sarah Ruck (his brother's widow) on Boxing Day the year before. For more information on the Rowberrys, please click the following link:

In the 1841 census Hannah is living in Kilpeck, Herefordshire, with her widowed mother Sarah and four of her siblings (and half-siblings). The table below gives the details from the 1841 census (HO 107/432/12 page 7).

City or Borough of
Parish or Township of Kilpeck
Place	Names of each Person who abode therein the preceding Night	Age	Profession, Trade, Employment or of Independent Means	Where Born in Same County
Pentwine Common	Sarah Rowbrey	40	Shopkeeper	Yes
	William Rowbrey	25	Ag Lab	Yes
	Mary Rowbrey	15		Yes
	Hannah Rowbrey	7		Yes
	Eliza Rowbrey	5		Yes
	Emma Rowbrey	3		Yes

By 1851 she was living in Orcop with her brother James and her aunt & uncle Edward & Ann Niblett. Later that year she married her first husband Thomas Bent. Thomas & Hannah had several children and were still living together in the 1861 census in Orcop. The table below gives a transcription from the 1861 census (RG9/1823 Page 20 schedule 123):

Page 20]	The undermentioned Houses are situated within the Boundaries of the
Parish [or Township] of		City or Municipal Borough of	Municipal Ward of	Parliamentary Borough of	Town of	Hamlet or Tyhthing of	Ecclesiastical District of
St Marys
No. of Schedule	Road, Street and Name of House	Name and Surname of each person	Relation to Head of Family	Condition	Age	Rank, Profession or Occupation	Where Born
123	Harris Cottages(?)	Thomas Bent	Head	Married	40	Hurdel Maker	Much Dewchurch
		Hannah Bent	Wife	Married	27		Kilpeck
		Charles Bent	Son	Unmar	6		Much Dewchurch
		Sarah Bent	Dau	Unmar	4		Much Dewchurch
		Ester Ellen Bent	Dau	Unmar	2		Much Dewchurch

However, by 1871, Hannah was living at Old Orchard, Orcop with a "boarder" William Morris, but no husband - Thomas Bent was living some miles away. It seems that at some point between 1861 and 1871, Thomas Bent was replaced by William Morris in Hannah's affections. Thomas Bent had been some 13 years Hannah's senior and William Morris seems to have been a few years her junior - perhaps that was the appeal?

The table below gives the details from the 1871 census. (RG10/2702 p6 schedule 39)

Page 6	The undermentioned Houses are situated within the Boundaries of the
Civil Parish [or Township] of		City or Municipal Borough of	Municipal Ward of	Parliamentary Borough of	Town of	Village or Hamlet of	Local Board of
Orcop
No. of Schedule	Road, Street and Name of House	Name and Surname of each person	Relation to Head of Family	Condition	Age	Rank, Profession or Occupation	Where Born
39	Old Orchard	Hannah Bent	Head	Married	40		Kilpeck
		Ellen Bent	Dau		11		Orcop
		James Bent	Son		9		Orcop
		Clara Bent	Dau		7		Orcop
		Thomas Bent	Son		5		Birch
		Julia Bent	Dau		3		Birch
		Mary Bent	Dau		1		Orcop
		William Morris	Boarder	Unmar	34		Orcop

Hannah continued to have children, all of whom were registered as having Thomas Bent as the father, but it seems that in fact the real father was William Morris. Certainly many of the younger children took the surname Morris in later life. Without knowing exactly when William Morris came into Hannah's life it is difficult to tell which of the middle children at any rate belong to which father.

Thomas Bent died in 1879 in Hereford Infirmary - Hannah Bent was the informant on his death certificate, so they must have been in touch still, even though she had been living with William Morris for some time now. In 1881 Hannah is still living with William Morris, although all the children living with her still went by the name Bent. Hannah and William finally married in 1883 at Orcop.

Hannah & William Morris were still together in 1901, when they were recorded in the census at Old Orchard, with two of their children, Blanch & Henry, who had by this time taken the name Morris. William Morris died later in 1901 after accidentally falling off a load of barley. Hannah died in 1912, still at Old Orchard, Orcop.

The family tree below summarises what I know about the above generations of the Morris/Bent family. It is hopefully reasonably accurate, but if you spot any errors, or any relatives, please feel free to E-mail me

Please click on one of the red links on the tree to move to a different page, or on one of the blue links to read a biography of that person, researched by Margaret Hatton.

If any of the above is of further interest, please feel free to contact me at: n.rowberry@btinternet.com

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Peasants to Puddles - My Family History. By Nicky Rowberry