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Hanworth Family Histories

This section of our website traces Hanworth family histories. Our first contributor is Jill Waterson with an account of her strong family links to Hanworth.

If you would like to contribute to this section of the website then please email your content to mpickett@hanworthcommon.org.uk.

WATERSON FAMILY OF HANWORTH

As a descendant of Hanworth agricultural labourers, it gives me great pleasure to support the current Hanworth Common campaign. Below is some information about my ancestors which I hope is of interest.

Theophilus Waterson (1753-1809), my 4 x great grandfather, was a farmer in Hanworth. From his will we can see that he kept animals - "horses, cows, swine, poultry etc" - as well as growing crops - "corn, hay, turnips etc" - and possessed farming implements, including "carts, ploughs and harrows". It seems that he was a tenant farmer as there is no mention in his will of real estate.

Theophilus is buried in Sustead, along with his wife, Mary Platten (1756-1820), and some of their children and grandchildren. The gravestones were transcribed by Walter Rye, a historian, in the late 1880s. My son and I recently visited Sustead Church and found that several of the family's gravestones are still there, and although the writing is now barely visible, we were able to identify some of them by matching them to the transcripts.

The IGI shows that there was another Theophilus Waterson living in Gresham in 1656 and it seems likely that the two were related, although I haven't yet identified the links.

Thomas Waterson (1782-1855) was one of Theophilus and Mary's sons. He was an agricultural labourer in Hanworth. His wife was Elizabeth Hendry/Goodwin (1777-1848), a widow. In 1851, Thomas was living at 32, Hanworth with two of their children.

Their son James (1808-89) was also an agricultural labourer in Hanworth. He is shown in all the censuses from 1841-1881 as resident in Hanworth. In 1851, he was living at 10, Hanworth; in 1861, at 39, the Common; in 1871, at 19, the Hall; and in 1881 at Wood Cottage. By then he was aged 73, and still recorded as being an agricultural labourer. He lived to be 82.

Another of Thomas' sons was Samuel Waterson (b1806), who was a blacksmith journeyman. In 1851, he was living in Antingham, but by 1861, he was back in Hanworth, living with brother James at 39, The Common.

George Waterson (1817-78), my great great grandfather, was born in Hanworth and in 1851 was an agricultural labourer, living at 32 Hanworth with his father, Thomas, and sister Maria (1811-57), a dress maker. George later moved to Shoreditch and became a brewer's drayman. We are wondering whether he became involved with brewing while still living in Norfolk, as Whitbread brewery, where we think he worked when in Shoreditch, had maltings in Dereham, Whittington and King's Lynn.

One thing that puzzled us about George is how he acquired his middle name of Christmas. Then we discovered that in 1743, a Lydia Platten married Edmund Christmas in Little Barningham, which I imagine must be the connection between the families.

© Jill Waterson April 2006

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