Sarah Timmins Family in England
Sarah Timmins married Henry Harper and they moved from England to Wakefield, Massachustts to raise their family. This page is about the family she left behind.
Sarah's parents were Benjamin Timmons and Elizabeth Taylor. They were married December 4, 1825 in Sedgley, Staffordshire, England. Their first child Elizabeth was born in 1827. The next child Naomi was born in 1832.
A son Thomas was born in January 1835. He died in November 1835.
In the 1841 census Benjamin and Elizabeth are living with their young son Jacob who is 2 and a 6 week old baby. That baby is Sarah. They are living on Dark Lane, Sedgley, Wolverhampton, Staffordshire.
Benjamin is a forgeman. "Forgeman" in a general sense refers to someone who works with metal, especially by heating and hammering to shape it. It's a term that can be used to describe a blacksmith, a smith, or a person who works in a forge.
1841 England census for Benjamin Timmings
In the 1841 census, the two oldest daughters of Benjamin and Ellizabeth are living with their maternal grandparents. Elizabeth is 14 and Naomi is 9. William Taylor is 67 and he is a miner. His wife Jemima is 64. They live on Mount Pleasant, Sedgley, Wolverhampton, Staffordshire.
1841 England census for William Taylor
William Taylor probably died November 30, 1850 from an accidental drowning. I say probably because death records in England at that time do not contain much information to be sure it is the correct person.
Death record for William Taylor
Exactly five weeks after William's death his wife Jemima dies. The cause of her death is diarrhea and debility. The date is January 5, 1851. From 1832 to 1853 cholera was a big problem in the area. This is probably what Jemima died of.
Jemima probably died at her home on Mount Pleasant since this is where she was living in the 1841 census and this is where she died. With her when she died was her granddaughter Naomi.
Death record for Jemima Taylor
By the 1851 census, Benjamin had died. Elizabeth is a widow living with her children Jacob (10 years old) and Nennie who must be Naomi (19 years old). Elizabeth and Nennie are working as a laundress and Jacob is a laborer in the iron works. They live in Bilston in the parish of St Mary.
The oldest daughter Elizabeth is probably married. I don't think she died because according to family lore when Sarah left England for America, she left behind one brother and two sisters.
1851 England census for Elizabeth Timmings
Sarah would be 9 in the 1851 census. She may be found twice. Once living with John Lowe and his wife. She is listed as a relative. The other entry she is listed as a servant with the Joseph Beyan family.
In 1853 Naomi marries George Humphreys at St Leonard's in Bilston. They have one son named Jacob born in 1857.
In 1855 Elizabeth marries William Colbourn. On the marriage record both Elizabeth and William signed with their mark. This means they could not write. Also signing with their mark as witnesses are Elizabeth's daughter Naomi and her husband George.
1855 marriage of William Colbourn and Elizabeth Timmins
In the 1861 census Jacob and Sarah are living with Elizabeth and William Colbourn. William is 73 years old and works as a laborer in the iron works. Elizabeth is a domestic, Jacob is an iron puddler and Sarah is a domestic servant. The family lives at 5 Pearson's Yard, in Bilston in the parish of St Mary.
An iron puddler converts pig iron into bar or wrought iron in a coal fired furnace.
The area of Staffordshire where the Timmims family lived was known as Black Country. There is an abundance of coal that could turn the soil black. Iron ore was also plentiful and there were many iron foundaries with furnances burning creating smoke that turned the air black.
1861 England census fo William Colbourn
Jacob Timmons married Mary Edwards in 1863. They have two daughters and are found living in Glasgow, Scotland in 1871. He is still an iron puddler.
According to family lore, Sarah married Henry Harper on December 24, 1864 in Dudley Port, Staffordshire. There is no record of this marriage.
Sarah and Henry went to New York state where their first child was born in 1865. They went back to England and lived in Birmingham for a few years. In late 1871 they permanently settled in Wakefield, Massachusetts.
Sarah and Henry officially got married in 1886 in Boston, Massachusetts after they had eight children.
In the 1871 census, William is 83 and works as a watchman in the iron works. Elizabeth is with him. She is 68 years old. They live in Tipton, Staffordshire in parish of St Mark.
Jacob's wife Mary dies sometime after 1871. In 1876 he marries the widow Elizabeth Hadwins. Jacob adopts Elizbeth's two children and they have five children together. He continues to be an iron puddler.
Sometime after the 1871 census, Elizabeth and her husband William were living in the Dudley Union Workhouse. The Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834 consolidated parishes into larger administrative units called Unions. A workhouse was opened in 1859 at 10 Burton Road, Dudley (no longer standing). The objective was to achieve greater administrative control by creating a union, reduce costs by limiting "outdoor relief" (assistance provided in one's home). In order to obtain relief a person had to enter into the workhouse.
The workhouse is where you lived and worked. You were fed. At the Dudley Union Workhouse couples over 60 were allowed to live in the same ward. Other married couples were separated into different wards and their children were placed in another ward.
Dudley Workhouse
Elizabeth died in the Union House in 1875. She died of old age (senectus) at the age of 74. The following year her husband William died in the same place.
Death record for Elizabeth Colbourn
Sources
1851 England Census, Ancestry.com, Class: HO107; Piece: 2021; Folio: 109; Page: 4; GSU roll: 87425-87426, Registration district Wolverhampton, Sub-registration district Bilston, Elizabeth Timmings head.
Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1881 England Census, Class: RG11; Piece: 3793; Folio: 66; Page: 56; GSU roll: 1341907, Lancashire, Warrington, ALL, District 11, image 58 of 63, Jacob Timmons head
Ancestry.com. 1841 England Census, Class: HO107; Piece: 998; Book: 7; Civil Parish: Sedgley; County: Staffordshire; Enumeration District: 15; Folio: 31; Page: 11; Line: 15; GSU roll: 474626, Staffordshire, Sedgley, ALL, District 15, Wm Taylor head.
Ancestry.com. 1861 England Census, Class: Rg 9; Piece: 2004; Folio: 94; Page: 19; GSU roll: 542901, Staffordshire, Bilston, All, District 06, William Colbourn head
Ancestry.com. 1871 England Census [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004, The National Archives; Kew, London, England; 1871 England Census; Class: RG10; Piece: 3001; Folio: 69; Page: 11; GSU roll: 838854, Staffordshire, Tipton, ALL, 21, William Colbourn head
Ancestry.com. 1871 Scotland Census, Parish: Glasgow Govan; ED: 14; Page: 13; Line: 23; Roll: CSSCT1871_141, Jacob Timmons head.
Ancestry.com. Cheshire, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1939, Cheshire West and Chester Council; Cheshire, England; Parish Registers; Reference: 147/3/2, Parish Register, Latchford, St. James the Great, 1838-1891, image 151 of 264, marriage Jacob Timmins and Elizabeth Hadwins
Ancestry.com. England, Select Marriages, 1538-1973, FHL film number 1040827, not image, marriage of Naomi Timmins and George Humphreys
Ancestry.com. Massachusetts, Marriage Records, 1840-1915 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013. Original data: Massachusetts Vital Records, 1840-1911. New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts. Massachusetts Vital Records, 1911-1915. New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts. Sarah Timmins, _Up Through 1910, 1886, image 1142 of 1336
Ancestry.com. Staffordshire, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1900, baptism Thomas Timmons
Ancestry.com. Staffordshire, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1900, Indexes created from Anglican Parish Registers held at Staffordshire Record Office; Stafford, Staffordshire, England, marriage Jacob Timmins and Mary Edwards.
Colbourn, Elizabeth, death record, digital image downloaded from the GRO (General Register Office) website, year 1875, qtr Jun, district Dudley, vol 06C, page 49
Colbourn, William, death record, digital image downloaded from the GRO (General Register Office) website, year 1876, qtr Jun, district Dudley, vol 06C, page 38
Dudley Board of Guardians, The Dudley Union Workhouse, https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/5381c134-4b6c-4d3b-8bcb-e93f84c4eed7
England and Wales Census, 1841, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MQT6-QW3 : Fri Mar 08 11:02:47 UTC 2024), Entry for Benjamin Timmings and Elizabeth Timmings, 1841.
Findmypast, Staffordshire Marriages, Bilston, St Leonard, Staffordshire, England, William Colbourn and Elizabeth Timmins page 104.
Findmypast.com, England Marriages 1538-1973 Transcription, marriage Benjamin Timmings and Elizabeth Taylor, https://search.findmypast.com/record?id=r_22085057274&hintid=a98b80f0-9c48-42ad-a378-38470ce7f498&hintsrequestid=5b1267bd-3e5c-924e-8980-12ff5e16b0d6&fulfillmenttypekey=6916.
Letter written by Elsie M. Tenney to Arlene Roy, June 26, 1986, Harper Family Reunion held June 21, 1986, personal correspondece, 1986; privately held by Patty Roy.
Sarah Timmins birth certificate, General Register Office, England, Application Number PAS 1005551, Registration District: Dudley, 1841 Birth in the Sub-district of Sedgley in the County of Stafford.
Taylor, Jemima, death record, digital image downloaded from the GRO (General Register Office) website, year 1851, qtr Mar, district Dudley, vol 18, page 265
Taylor, William, death record, digital image downloaded from the GRO (General Register Office) website, year 1850, qtr Dec, district Dudley, vol 18, page 258
Timmins, Thomas, FindAGrave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/249777735/thomas-timmins.
Wolverhampton History & Heritage Website, Dudley in the Past Nineteenth Century, http://www.historywebsite.co.uk/articles/Dudley/19thcentury.htm