Sarah Davey

ID # 772, (1826-1907)
FatherThomas Davey (1801-)
MotherHarriet Smith (1801-)
BirthSarah Davey was born on 1 December 1826 at Ashfield, Suffolk. 
MarriageShe married William Church, son of William Church and Clementine Sheldrake, on 17 September 1848 at Kenton, Suffolk.
On their marriage registration in England, Application number W148610, they were married, by banns, in the Church at Kenton. William was 19 and Sarah 'full age'. He was a labourer and she a servant. His residence at the time of marriage was Ashfield and hers was Kenton. Their fathers are named on the marriage registration and both were labourers. They were married by Henry B. Pickering, Curate. The witnesses were Samuel Church and Harriet Backham, or possibly Rackham.
 
DeathShe died on 24 May 1907 at Galt, Ontario, at age 80. 
BurialShe was buried at McKillop Cemetery, Dunwich Twp., Elgin County. 
NoteShe Sarah's death registration, 034438-07, says that she is a widow living on Ainslie Street in Galt. It gives her age as 80 years. It gives her husband's name as William Church. The death year given on a transcription of her stone is 1902. Either this has been mistranscribed, or, since it appears that there are several problems with death dates on the stone, it may be that it was put up years later when the person responsible couldn't clearly remember the correct years.

We are able to deduce some of Sarah's history from the available record. English census information can only take us back to 1841 and this particular year is incomplete. Still, we know from Sarah's marriage record that her father was Thomas Davey and that her age would place her birth year as 1826. In the 1841 census for Kenton, Suffolk, we find Thomas Davey and family. Especially, as we find that Thomas' wife was Harriet, and William and Sarah's first born was Harriet, it seems reasonable that this is Sarah's family. Kenton is not a large village and the census shows less than 300 people. With the clear statement of the name of Sarah's father, Thomas, we seem to be on safe ground. Information for her parents and siblings is taken from this census.

The one difficulty with the census is that Sarah does not appear to be present. We must take into consideration the fact that 1841 census does not survive in complete condition. Still, the one available candidate for Sarah is Sarah Davey, shown as a servant in a home in Ipswich, Suffolk, at age 15. Complicating this is the fact that a daughter Mary, shown as age 15, is present in the Davey household in Kenton. Looking at the ages of other children, there is room here for error with Mary's age. Wherever Sarah may have been at the time of the 1841 census, the reasonable interpretation is that Thomas Davey of Kenton is her father. 

Children of Sarah Davey and William Church

Last Edited10 May 2021