A communion plate and silver cup and cover, a silver
plate for bread and pewter flagon. A linen tablecloth and napkin for communion
and a green, cloth carpet for the communion table.
No doubt
members of our own family took communion from these items.
In the baptism registers of the church we find the earliest recorded
information on our family. Stephen
and Sarah Sherwood's first child Sarah was baptised there in 1744.
The couple had six children, four sons and two daughters. The baptism dates of
their other children were;
William 1746, Elizabeth 1749, John 1752 and Stephen 1756. Their youngest child James was baptised 25 February 1760 and
was buried four days later. The baptisms span a period of 16 years from 1744
to 1760 and were carried out by the vicar Joseph Reed. In these records the family name is spelt Sherrug.
Prior to
1744 there is no mention of Stephen and Sarah in Weston. It seems unlikely that they were married there as there is no
record of their marriage in the church
registers. It would appear that
the marriage took place in another Hertfordshire parish or perhaps in a nearby
county. Stephen and Sarah may have settled in Weston not long after they
married and just prior to their
daughter Sarah's birth. There is no record of Stephen's birth or baptism
in Weston around 1720. There is
the possibility that a record of his birth or baptism may still be found in a
nearby parish or neighbouring county. The
search continues.
The
Hertfordshire Militia
The militia or local defence force has a long history in England.
It was established in the event of internal unrest or attack by
invading forces. With the outbreak of the Seven Years War in 1756 (a war
fought between France and England) the militia was re-established.
For recruitment purposes lists were drawn up of all men in each parish
between the ages of 18 and 50. These
lists were known as militia ballot lists.
The earliest ballot list to survive for Weston is for the year 1758.
Stephen appears as number 50 on the list.
He was one of 96 men in Weston who were liable for service that year.
On the list his name is
spelt 'Stev'n Sherrood.' It was the job of William Munt the parish
constable to draw up the list of names for that year.
Once the list was completed it was displayed in the parish.
Any man who wished to appeal against the inclusion of his name on the
list could do so. Appeals were
heard at the White Hart Inn, Welwyn, 15 kilometres to the south of Weston.
Because a man's name appeared on one of these lists it didn't mean
he went on to serve. A ballot was held to choose those to be conscripted. The
names of men who were drawn from the ballot were entered onto lists known as
principals or drawn men. The Muster Rolls or Enrolment Books show the names of
men who were actually chosen in the ballot. Muster rolls for Weston do not
appear to have survived, so it is uncertain if Stephen actually served.
Stephen's
name appears in the Weston militia lists from 1758 through to 1762. From 1762 the upper age limit of men who were
liable to serve was lowered to 45. This may explain why there are no
further references to Stephen in militia lists after 1762. He may have passed
the age of 45 by this date. Poor men with three legitimate children were
exempted from serving.
From the
militia ballot lists we can
get some idea of the occupations of many of the men in
Weston. The majority of
males in the parish worked as either labourers or servants. For the years 1758 through to 1762 Stephen appears
as a labourer in these lists. His two sons John and Stephen junior
appear in subsequent years as servants. The term servant in those times
referred to young men who did labouring work on farms. Farmers were well
represented in Weston. They
provided work for many of the labourers, including no doubt members of our own
family. Farmers were quite often required to serve as parish officers.
Some were required to act as surveyors of the highway, overseers of the
poor and churchwardens.
The office
of churchwarden dates back to the 12th century.
Churchwardens acted as the principal lay officers of the parish.
They together with the surveyors of the highways and overseers of the
poor were appointed by the vestry, the governing body of the parish.
Normally two churchwardens were appointed. Their chief responsibility was levying church and other rates
and maintaining accounts books.
Farmers living in the parish at this time were; Thomas Fanson (he was
appointed a churchwarden in 1759 and 1760) John and William Aburn, John Brown,
Robert Bonfield and Nicholas Honour.
The parish supported a wide range of occupations. Joseph Adams
was a cabinetmaker, William and Parish Austin, and James Everard were
carpenters. So too were three
members of the Turner family. They were John Turner senior and his son John
and William Turner. William was
in later years described as a poor man with three children. This would have
excluded him from service in the militia. John Benn, John and James Cawdell,
and John Waldock were cordwainers or shoemakers.
Two other shoemakers in the parish were George Peck and John
Smith. William Cannon and Robert
and William Hide were tailors. Joseph
Cawdell, Underwood Dearman, John Honour and Samuel and William Swaine were
blacksmiths. John Fray was a
brickmaker and so too were members of the Munt family. They were; John
and William Munt junior and Samuel Munt and his son Samuel. Samuel Munt
had 'But one eye.' The
village butchers were William Fray and John Hall. John Hall was nominated as
one of the overseers of the poor in 1765.
Thomas Grant, William Lagdon, and John Wille were millers.
The watchmaker for
that period was Joseph Green. In
1775 he was recorded as a 'broken man.'
He also appears as a storekeeper.
The parish wheelwrights were Thomas Green, Thomas Kiddall and Richard
Richardson.
The role of
parish constable was an honorary position and as such the incumbent received
no financial reward for his considerable efforts. He was not only responsible
for law and order in the parish but many other things as well.
His responsibilities included compiling militia lists and jurors'
lists, dealing with intruders, drunks and vagabonds, and those who failed to
attend church.
The
bricklayer William Munt held the position of parish constable from at least
1758 until 1761. He was followed in 1762 by the tailor William Hide.
Thomas Green was the parish constable in 1763. He is also recorded in
other years as a farmer and wheelwright. The following year 1764, George Munt
took over. Prior to his
appointment as constable Munt
worked as a woolcomber. In 1765
William Hide was once again appointed as parish constable. The previous year
he worked as the parish clerk.
Nicholas
Honour who appears as a farmer is also listed as a grocer and storekeeper.
The parish tile maker was Israel Robinson.
James Izard worked as a thatcher and in later years was described as a
'poor man with three children.' The majority of males who appear as
'poor men' in the militia lists came from either the labouring or servant
classes. Several men in the
parish were listed as lame or infirm.
When
Stephen and Sarah died in Weston in 1774, they were most likely in their mid
fifties. They were buried eight days apart.
It would have been a difficult time for their children the youngest of
which was Stephen who was
perhaps not quite 20 years old. Sarah
the eldest child was
barely thirty. The couple had
lived in Weston for at least thirty years.
Apart from Stephen junior not much is known of
Stephen and Sarah's other children. Sarah the oldest in the family had
an illegitimate son. He was
baptised John in 1769. Their other
daughter Elizabeth may have married George Saby. An
entry in the church register has an Elizabeth Sherook, spinster of Weston
marrying George Saby, bachelor of Hitchin by banns 17 March 1777. They were
married by the vicar Joseph Reed. Witnesses to the marriage were Rob. Hide and
William Fray. Aside from Stephen junior, Stephen and Sarah had two other sons William
and John. William baptised in 1746. Apart from his
baptism entry no further information has been found for William. It might be William who appears in the neighbouring parish of
Bygrave's militia lists
in 1775 as a servant.
Stephen and Sarah's second son John was baptised in 1752. He appears in
the Weston militia list for the year 1769 as 'John Shearwood, servant.'
For
many years I was puzzled by the following entries which appear in the Fowlmere
(Cambridgeshire) Independent Chapel's records. Fowlmere
is about 20 kilometres north east of Weston.
In the church minutes for
the years 1815 and 1816, a John Sherwood is mentioned. I believe these entries refer to John.
The entries read...
1815, Sep.14. A
Church Meeting held- after solemn prayer to the Lord, the members proceeded to
consider the case of Elizth Harvey-and after a careful investigation she was
voted in as a member of the Church... After this John Sherwood was then
proposed as a proper person to be joined to the church- and the Brethren
Morley and Buy, were requested to converse with him and report the next church
meeting.
The Morley referred to here is John Morley, father of Thomas. Thomas
married Jane Sherwood in Fowlmere in 1835.
1815,
Oct 14. A church meeting held
after solemn prayer and praise to the Lord, inquiry was made of the two
brethren who were appointed to visit J. Sherwood.
Their opinions respecting his state was most satisfactory - the Word
seems to have been blessed ? to his soul; but fearing lest he sh'd (should) bring a disgrace on the Lord's
cause- he requested to have some time allowed, previous to his joining as a
member.
1816, (Feb'y
9) A church meeting held- after
solemn prayer to the Lord, the Brethren were enquired of, respecting W'm
Jeeves, and their report being satisfactory he was admitted a member. Also J.
Sherwood of whose expression and satisfaction had been given at a previous
meeting.
The John Sherwood referred to here is very likely related.
I suspect that he is Stephen and Sarah's son who was baptised John
Sherrug 6 March 1752 at Weston.
He then appears in militia lists for Weston in 1769 as 'John Shearwood,
servant.'
The next reference to John in the
Fowlmere Independent church records is in 1816.
A
list of persons who are considered as belonging to the Church of Christ at
Foulmire. 1816 Feb'y. John
Sherwood and William Geeves.
There are further references to him in the church records. It appears that John and another church member William
Geeves were not turning up to
church as often as they should.
1823.
March 21st. A church
meeting held after solemn prayer and exaltation the Deacons addressed the
Church respecting the conversation held with five of the Brethren respecting
their neglecting meetings for prayer.
Their
reasons were considered as frivolous and their conduct improper and as they
had shown symptoms of a better spirit the subject was referred to the next
church meeting when it is hoped that they will manifest a more scriptural
temper.
April
1 ...the Church considered the conduct of W'm Geeves and John Sherwood and
they having expressed contrition for their past
conduct, permission was given for their joining the Brethren at the
next church meeting.
Assuming that John Sherwood was born in 1751/2, he would have been
about sixty-five years old when he first joined the Fowlmere Independent
Church in 1816. John may have joined the church
because of his nephew William Sherwood (c.1782-1843).
William was a member of the church and his children were baptised there
from 1813 to 1819.
When he was last mentioned in
the church minutes (1823) John Sherwood would have been about 71 years old.
No further trace can be found of John Sherwood in Cambridgeshire after
1823. The appearance of John Sherwood in Fowlmere at the time William was
living there is I believe a further link between the Sherwoods of Fowlmere and
Weston.
R J Sherwood. 2001
