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| St Peter, Colchester, Essex - East end cc-by-sa/2.0 - © John Salmon - geograph.org.uk/p/1862874 |
Henry Wilton, forth child and eldest son of Stephen Wilton and Elizabeth Hankin, married Sarah Staines, daughter of Thomas Staines and Sally Hockley on 9 Aug 1838 at St Peter's Church, Colchester, Essex.
Henry Wilton and Sarah Staines had at least eight children:
- Henry Staines Wilton b. 14 Aug 1840 (1840 S Quarter in DUNMOW Vol 12 Page 70), bap. 27 Sep 1840 at St Giles' Church, Mountnessing
- Stephen Thomas Wilton b. 1841 D Quarter in DUNMOW UNION Vol 12 Page 68, bap. 29 May 1842 at St Giles, Mountnessing
- Maria Wilton b. 19 Dec 1843 (reg. 1844 M Quarter in DUNMOW Vol 12 Page 76), bap. 24 Mar 1844 at St Giles', Mountnessing
- Mary Ann Wilton b. 1846 M Quarter in DUNMOW UNION Volume 12 Page 82, bap. 29 Oct 1848 at St Giles's Church, Mountnessing. Died at 27 in 1873 J Quarter in DUNMOW UNION Volume 04A Page 239.
- Still Born Child of Henry and Sarah Wilton buried 7 Jan 1850
- William Hankin Wilton b. 1851 M Quarter in DUNMOW UNION Volume 12 Page 93 (at home on 1871 Census, nothing since)
- Still Born buried 24 Jul 1854 (Dissenters)
- Sarah Wilton b. 1856 S Quarter in DUNMOW UNION Volume 04A Page 299. Died 1856 S Quarter in DUNMOW UNION Volume 04A Page 207. As 'Infant Wilton' buried 10 Jul 1856 (Dissenters)
These "Dissenters" or Non-Conformist Burials are listed at the Protestant Dissenters Burial Ground, which I assume to mean of the Independent Meeting House (Quaker Meeting House) in New Street, Great Dunmow.
In 1841, Henry Wilton (25) Saddler, Sarah Wilton (20), Henry [Staines] Wilton (10 months); Henry Prior (14) Apprentice Tailor; Henry Joice (17) Apprentice Saddler and Charlotte Lodge (14) Female Servant, were in the High Street, Great Dunmow, located next door to Henry's uncle Henry Wilton and his wife, Mary Barton, who, in turn, were next door to George Saich (25) Ostler (and his wife, Charlotte Thorogood). The other side of them was John Prior (55) Basket Maker, father-in-law of Henry's sister Mary.
White's Directory of Essex 1848, also lists Henry Wilton as a saddler in the High Street, Great Dunmow (as had been his uncle Henry).
In 1861, Henry Wilton (50), Saddler; Sarah Wilton (42), Stephen Wilton (19) Cabinet maker; Mary Ann Wilton (15), William Wilton (10) and apprentices; Charles Gandey (18) and Charles Knight (14) were still in High Street, Great Dunmow. Henry Staines Wilton (20) was staying with his grandparents, Thomas Staines and Sally Hockley in Ingatestone, Chelmsford.
In 1871, Henry Wilton (62) Sadler employing 1 man and 1 boy was still in the High Street, Great Dunmow with Sarah Wilton (54), Stephen Thomas Wilton (29) Cabinet maker; Mary Ann Wilton (25), William H Wilton (20) and Edith Mary Fuller (6) Granddaughter (Daughter of Maria Wilton).
Sarah Wilton died, aged 56, 1872 J Qtr in DUNMOW Vol 04A Page 226.
It's what happens next that's interesting, because the widowed Henry Wilton then married Ann Staines in the 3rd quarter of 1873, in Chelmsford.
Without ordering the actual marriage certificate, I cannot be sure of the venue for this marriage, but it was presumably openly in Ann's own parish, because her parents, Thomas Staines and Sally Hockley, had moved to Lord Peter Alms Houses, Stone Field, Ingatestone, Chelmsford by 1861. As you may have deduced, Ann Staines (bap. 31 Mar 1829 in at St Giles, Mountnessing) was the younger sister of Henry's deceased wife, Sarah Staines. And marrying the sister of a deceased wife was illegal in Victorian England and this remained the case until the Deceased Wife's Sister's Marriage Act 1907.
In England the list of forbidden marriages was drawn up by the Church of England in 1560 and from then a marriage between a widower and his wife’s sister was valid but voidable - on the grounds of a passage in Leviticus, which suggested that such a relationship was incestuous (the same biblical extract Henry VIII had used to cast doubt on his marriage to Catherine of Aragon).
However, it was not explicitly illegal until the passing of the Marriage Act in 1835. The 1835 bill said that the marriages that had already happened could no longer be voided, but from then on, "such marriages could no longer take place in the United Kingdom and colonies at all". It went on to say that these marriages would have to take place abroad, a solution available only to the rich. Au contraire, Henry and Ann's marriage did take place in England, in 1873, and thus, was not lawful. When the vicar came to the bit about "any lawful impediment", either they didn't know, or everybody kept schtum.
In 1881, Henry Wilton (69) Saddler, and his new wife, Annie Wilton (52), with Henry Fuller (14) Grandson; Charles Fuller (10) Grandson (both sons of Charles William Fuller and Maria Wilton); Martha Palmer (52) Boarder [older sister of Henry Staines Wilton's wife, Amelia Palmer) and Mary Smith (14) General Servant from Good Easter, were living in High Street, Great Dunmow, where Henry had his business for many years.
Henry Wilton died on 9 May 1890, leaving £180 (£23,000 in 2020) to his son, Henry Staines Wilton.
In 1891, Ann Wilton (62) Living On Own Means, Widowed, was living in New Street, Great Dunmow and still boarding with her was Martha Palmer (63).
In 1901, Ann Wilton (72) and Martha Palmer (72) were back living in the High Street, Great Dunmow and they had one General Domestic Servant looking after them, Emily E Lee (15) from Boston, Lincolnshire.
In 1911, Ann Wilton (82) was still in Great Dunmow with one General Domestic Servant, May Bird (19). (Martha Palmer had died in 1909.)
In 1921, Ann Wilton (92) was still in the High Street, Dunmow, Great Dunmow, Essex, still employing May Bird (29) Domestic Servant.
Ann Wilton, widow, died at 93, on 13 Apr 1922, leaving £757 19s 10d (worth £43,299 in 2020), also to Henry Staines Wilton, who was, of course, both her nephew and step-son (although, presumably, they'd not remained in contact, or she'd have known that he'd pre-deceased her in 1915.)