6.2 Tracing births, baptisms, deaths and burials of John Hill and Mary Upfield

From the censuses, it seems likely that John Hill was born in Elsted around 1804-6, son of another John Hill and his wife Mary. FamilySearch has a copy of the Elsted parish register showing the baptism of John Hill, son of John and Mary Hill, on 2^nd September 1804 (the last baptism of that year):

I have no other records related to John Hill’s early life, before his (probable) marriage to Mary Upfield in 1829 in Bepton, when he was around 25 years old.

Mary Upfield has proved to be more difficult to trace, and I am still uncertain as to her birth/baptism and parentage. Her surname can be written in various ways (Upfield, Uppfield, Upfold, Upfeld) and her first name is hardly uncommon. In the 1851 census she says she was born in ‘Honiker’ (Halnaker), and her age in the censuses indicate a birth around 1811-1814. In later censuses she gives her birthplace as Elsted.

FindMyPast has a transcription of a possible baptism in Rogate, and FamilySearch has images of the parish registers, including a baptism record for a Mary Upfield in Rogate, Sussex (18 miles from Halnaker), on 24 October 1813, illegitimate daughter of Ann Uppfield and a John Briggs:

Halnaker doesn’t itself have a church, but 18 miles seems a long way to go from Elsted or Halnaker, so this may not be the correct Mary Upfield. I haven’t found any information online relating to any bastardy bonds or affiliation orders online relating to John Briggs, but from this entry it was clear he was recognised as the father.

The only other baptism around the right date and area is for Mary Uppfold in Arundel on 3 December 1810, daughter of William and Sarah (FindMyPast), but again, this seems a long way from Halnaker or Elsted.

Her name on the censuses is shown as Mary (1841, 1871) and Mary Ann (1851, 1861); but which is she?

My 3xgreat grandmother Mary Upfield may have to remain a bit of a mystery for a while longer; not only am I uncertain about her birth, but I have failed so far to find an obvious death record for her. At the time of the 1871 census, she is living with her third eldest son William Hill at East Harting Street, in Harting, Sussex (I think!). She is shown as head of household, a widow aged 57 (b1814, Elsted), working as a seamstress. Son William is a 36 year-old agricultural labourer, unmarried. Next door is a family with the surname Glue, with another family member with the name Kemp – which appeared as Hill family neighbours in earlier censuses.

Her husband John Hill died two years before this census, on 8^th September 1869 (the year is given as 1868 on the copy of the certificate from the GRO, but the original entry shows 1869):

The death certificate shows that John Hill died in Harting, aged 66, from ‘disease of the heart, certified’. The informant was Eunice Glue, present at the death. It took me some time to accept that this was ‘my’ John Hill, given the place of death and the name of the informant. Some of the Glue family are living next door to his widow, in Harting, in 1871 (but not Eunice). It turns out that Eunice Glue is the daughter of John Hill’s cousin, Charlotte Hall (née Hill).

John Hill was buried in Harting on 12^th September 1869, aged 66 years. More research is needed to find out when his widow, Mary Hill née Upfield was born and died. 

For the sources mentioned in bold, see blogpost: MyRoots: Lesly's family history: Sources and resources: A quick view