Sarah Carter

LIFE GOES ON: AN INTRODUCTION

MY GRANDPARENTS - I - MY GREAT-GRANDPARENTS - I - MY GREAT-GREAT-GRANDPARENTS - I - MY GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GRANDPARENTS

THE SIXTEEN FAMILIES

KNOTT - I - BOWLES - I - WATERS - I - HARRALL - I - PAGE - I - WISEMAN - I - CROSS - I - CARTER

CORNWELL - I - HUCKLE - I - MORTLOCK - I - MANSFIELD - I - REYNOLDS - I - CARTER - I - ANABLE - I - STEARN

CHRONOLOGY - I - DRAMATIS PERSONAE - I - WHERE PEOPLE CAME FROM - I - CALENDAR

MAP OF ELY - I - MAP OF MEDWAY
MAP OF CAMBRIDGE AND DISTRICT

THE WORKHOUSE

WORLD WAR I - I - WORLD WAR II

simonknott.co.uk I home I e-mail

LIFE GOES ON

Sarah Ann Carter
born Ely, Cambridgeshire, 1860
died Ely, Cambridgeshire, 1917

on the Page family tree
part of the Cross family story

married to Thomas Cross

mother of Sophia Cross

Sarah Ann Carter (1860-1917). My Father's Mother's Mother's Mother. My Great- Great-Grandmother.

Sarah lived next door to her future husband, Thomas. The Cross and Carter families came from the same part of Ely as the Pages. Sarah and her husband Thomas had at least nine children, one of whom, Sophia, was my great-grandmother, while another, my great-great-uncle Herbert, would be killed in WWI at the Battle of Gaza. Sarah's daughter Sophia was still alive to appear on my parents' wedding photograph in 1956, but does not appear on the wedding photograph of my father's brother in 1959, or on my Christening photograph in 1961.

1861 census:

The 1861 census returns for Ely are lost. Sarah would have been about one year old at the time of the 1861 census.

1871 census:

Sarah Ann was eleven years old at the time of the 1871 census. The Carter family were living in Water Side, Ely, Cambridgeshire.

Sarah Ann's father, Elijah, is shown as a labourer (general). He was 36 years old. Her mother Anne was 35.

Sarah was the second of three children. Sophie was 16 and James was 7.

All the family were born in Prickwillow, Cambridgeshire, which is on the outskirts of Ely. The transcript for their entry is here. Interestingly, the Cross family lived next door, and Sarah would marry Thomas Cross, who was 19 at the time of the census.

1881 census:

Sarah's first child was born almost exactly nine months after the 1881 census, but she is still single and living at home. Sarah was 21 years old at the time of the 1881 census. The Carter family was living in Broad Street, Ely, Cambridgeshire.

Sarah Ann is shown as a farm labourer. her father was not at home. Her mother Anne is 48 years old.

Sarah is the oldest of two children. Her brother James is 16.

All the family were born in Prickwillow, Cambridgeshire, which is on the outskirts of Ely. The transcript for their entry is here.

There is an Elijah Carter of the right age living at the Bull Inn, March, Cambridgeshire, and giving his occupation as an agricultural labourer. But he says he is unmarried, and gives his place of birth as Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.

1881:
Sarah Ann Carter married Thomas Cross in Ely, Cambridgeshire in the 4th quarter. The marriage is not included in the Holy Trinity PRs, and was probably at Ely Register Office.

1891 census:

Sarah was thirty-two at the time of the 1891 census. She was married. The Cross family were living in Potters Lane, Ely, Cambridgeshire.

Her husband Thomas is shown as a gas works labourer. He was 41 (probably 39).

Sarah had five children living at home. Sophia and Alice were both 9, Sophia being 9 months older than Alice. Tom was 5, James was 2 and Herbert was 4 months old. Also in the house on the night of the census was Sophia Convine, aged 37 and described as a visitor.

Sarah was born in Prickwillow, Cambridgeshire. Her husband and the children were born in Ely, Cambridgeshire. The visitor, Sophia Convine, was also born at Prickwillow, suggesting that she was a friend of Sarah's or even a relative. The transcript for their entry is here.

1901 census:

Sarah was forty-two at the time of the 1901 census. The Cross family were living in Potters Lane, Ely, Cambridgeshire.

Her husband Thomas is shown as a gasworks labourer. He was 49.

Sarah had seven children at home at the time of the 1901 census. Tom was 15, and is shown as a farm labourer. James was 12, Herbert was 10, Annie was 8, Sarah was 6, John was 3 and Violet was 2 months old.

Sarah was born in Prickwillow, Cambridgeshire. Her husband and the children were born in Ely, Cambridgeshire. The transcript for their entry is here.

Sarah's daughter Sophia, my great-grandmother, was twenty years old at the time of the 1901 census. Her birth year is given as 1881. She was married to Arthur Page. The Page family were living on west side of Bull Lane, Ely, Cambridgeshire.

Her husband Arthur is shown as a baker's labourer. He was 22 years old. His birth year is given as 1879.

Sophia had no children at the time of the census.

Sophia was born in Ely, Cambridgeshire, as was her husband Arthur. The transcript for their entry is here.

1911 census:

Sarah was fifty at the time of the 1911 census (actually 52).The Cross family were living in Potters Lane, Ely, Cambridgeshire. This had been their address since the time of the 1891 census, an unusual length of tenure in a single house in any of my ancestral families.

Her husband Thomas is shown as a general labourer in gasworks. He was 57 (actually 59). They declared they had been married for 29 years.

Sarah had seven children at home at the time of the 1911 census. Tom was 25 and is shown as a farm labourer. James was 23 and is shown as unfit for work, Herbert was 20 and is shown as a farm labourer (On 18th June 1917, Herbert would be killed when a Private in the 1st/5th Batallion of the Suffolk Regiment in Gaza, Palestine), Annie was 18 and was shown as a jam factory general labourer, Sarah was 15 and is shown as an errand girl, John was 13 and was shown as a schoolboy, and Violet was 10 and is shown as a schoolgirl. Curiously, her husband Thomas wrote on the form that they had had seven children. In fact, there had been at least nine.

Sarah was born in Prickwillow, Cambridgeshire. Her husband and the children were born in Ely, Cambridgeshire. The transcript for their entry is here. You can see the original form here.

1917: Sarah died at Potters Lane, Ely, Cambridgeshire in October at the young age of 57. This was a few months after the death of her son Herbert in the Battle of Gaza. She was buried in Ely cemetery on 9th October in plot F1148.