Richard Float (1773-1862) and Hannah Windom (????-1841)

Richard Float (1773-1862) and Hannah Windom (????-1841).
My 5th great-grandparents.

Richard Float was baptised on 10 January 1773 to parents William Float and Sarah Michel at St Mary’s Church in Washington, Sussex. His surname was spelled ‘Flote’ in the register.

Richard signed up for service in the Corps of Royal Artillery Drivers on 12 July 1794 having previously worked as a labourer. The Royal Hospital Chelsea Regimental Register of Pensioners noted his admission on 1 November 1814, a date that essentially marked his retirement after just over 20 years. His official discharge papers noted that he had been pensioned as a consequence of “debility”. He was described as just over 5ft 8ins tall with a dark complexion and dark hair.

The Corps of Royal Artillery Drivers had been founded the year before Richard joined in 1793 and was disbanded in 1822. It was set up in order to provide trained drivers of guns, wagons and horses for the Royal Artillery, which had previously relied on civilian contractors, and saw service in the Napoleonic Wars. The corps did earn a bad reputation for unreliability, drunknenness and theft but Richard’s record makes no mention of any such transgressions.

Richard married Hannah Windom at the Church of St John sub Castro in Lewes, Sussex, on 15 September 1801 and went on to have a large family. I’ve yet to track down Hannah’s baptism record.

Hannah died in Warminghurst, Sussex, and was buried there on 6 June 1841 said to be aged 60. The census of that year, taken the day after her burial, showed agricultural labourer Richard in Heath Common, Warminghurst, with his daughter Sarah and his son James and his family.

Subsequent census returns again showed Richard living with James and his family. At the 1851 census they were in Ashington, Sussex. Richard was still working as an agricultural labourer and listed as an army pensioner. By 1861 they were back in his home village of Washington.

Richard’s military papers confirmed his death at a great age on 29 November 1862. He was buried in the village on 3 December.

Richard and Hannah’s children were:

• James Float (1802-1873), my 4th great-grand uncle. James was baptised on 25 July 1802 at St Mary’s Church in Washington, Sussex. He married Lydia Lillywhite at St John the Baptist in Findon, Sussex, on 9 February 1828. She was from Findon in Sussex, where census records place her birth year at 1803. However, while various Lillywhite children were baptised there around that time to parents Joseph and Hannah, Lydia wasn’t among them. And neither are there records for a Lydia being christened anywhere else. James and Lydia’s own children were baptised in Findon, Warminghurst and Washington in Sussex. The 1841 census placed them in Warminghurst, the 1851 census in Ashington and the 1861 in Washington. James was an agricultural labourer so it’s likely that availability of work was determining their residence. Lydia died in 1865 and was buried in Washington on 29 October. James was lodging in Ashington at the 1871 census but died in 1873 and was buried in Washington on 19 December. Their children were:
  • Jane Float (1828-1858) was baptised in Findon, Sussex, and was recorded living with her parents in the various census returns. She died in 1858 and was buried in Washington.
  • James Float (1830-1916) was baptised in Warminghurst, Sussex, and married Charlotte Wood in Southborough, Kent, in 1855. She came from Sullington in Sussex. They had children and he worked as a stockman and agricultural labourer. They lived in Washington and Ashurst, Sussex, for many years and latterly at Dial Post near West Grinstead, Sussex. He died in 1916, Charlotte in 1918.
  • George Float (1832-1832) was baptised in Warminghurst and buried in Washington, Sussex, in 1832.
  • William Float (1833-1835) was baptised in Warminghurst in 1833 and buried in Washington, Sussex, in 1835.
  • Charlotte Float (1836-1909) was baptised in Washington, Sussex, and went to work as a housekeeper for house painter William Vicars and his family in Brighton, Sussex. By 1871 she was listed as his wife in the census but it’s unlikely they’d gone through a proper ceremony because a marriage wasn’t registered in the town until 1891. He died there in 1896, Charlotte in 1909.
  • Luke Float (1838-1893) was baptised in Warminghurst, Sussex, and worked as an agricultural labourer. He married Jane Whitington, who came from Pulborough in Sussex, in Washington in 1862. They settled in her home village and raised a family. He died in the workhouse in 1893, the same year in which he was jailed for three months for neglecting his children (Sussex Express 23 May 1893). Described as an old offender, he was said to have spent his money on drink at the expense of providing food and attention to his offspring. The newspaper archives of full of mentions of Luke carrying out petty crimes, drunkenness and neglecting to send his children to school. Jane, who worked as a charwoman for many years, died in 1921 in Hertfordshire.
  • Ellen Float (1841-1842) was baptised in Warminghurst in 1841 and buried there in 1842.
  • Henry Float (1843-1925) was baptised in Warminghurst, Sussex, and married Susanna (sometimes Susan Annie) Hickox in her home village of Washington in 1864. They settled there and raised a family while Henry worked as a farm labourer. Henry was buried in Washington in 1925, Susanna in 1926.

• Ann Float (1809-1892), my 4th great-grandmother. Ann married James Wheatland and lived in Shipley, Rusper and other Sussex villages. See their details here.
• Sophia Float (1811-1882), my 4th great-grand aunt. Sophia and her husband were Petworth Pioneers who took their family to Canada to start a new life. Read their story here.
• Henry Float (1814-1898), my 4th great-grand uncle. Henry was baptised on 1 May 1814 at St Peter’s Church in Bexhill, Sussex. He married Louisa Fuller at St Mary’s Church in Washington, Sussex, on 11 June 1834. She was the daughter of labourer William Fuller and his wife Maria and had been baptised in Washington on 30 October 1815. The couple lived in Warminghurst, Sussex, for most of their married life, raising a family. Henry was listed as an agricultural labourer in all the census returns. They appeared to live a fairly uneventful life, although Louisa was the victim of an assault that led to her Warminghurst neighbours Robert and Edith Simmons being sentenced to three weeks’ hard labour. The Horsham, Petworth, Midhurst and Steyning Express of 3 January 1865 reported that Louisa had gone to draw water from a well at the back of the Simmons’ garden, which she had a right to do. But Edith Simmons came out, swore, raised her fists and threatened to kill her. Louisa said she defended herself by throwing the pail of water over Mrs Simmons, who she claimed was very drunk. The latter grabbed Louisa and they fell to the ground. Robert Simmons then emerged, grabbed Louisa by the hair and dragged her down the street. Back at home, Mrs Simmons came in and hit her twice in the face. A neighbour spoke in defence of Louisa, whose face was said to be covered in blood. Louisa died in 1871 and was buried in Warminghurst on the 13 December. Ten years later the census showed Henry living with his son Henry in Ashington, Sussex, but in 1891 he was in the Thakeham Union workhouse – probably temporarily for medical reasons. He lived until 1898 and was buried in Ashington on 18 June. Henry and Louisa had a large family:
  • Jane Float (1835-1835) was baptised and buried in Washington, Sussex, and said to have been just a day old when she died.
  • Eliza Float (1839-????) was baptised in Washington, Sussex, but I’m unsure what happened to her.
  • Hannah Float (1836-1887) was baptised in Washington, Sussex, and married Andrew Kinnis Dewar in Brighton, Sussex, in 1858. He was described as a gold miner of Islington in Middlesex, where his father was a table linen manufacturer. They left England the same year for Melbourne, Australia, arriving in January 1859. They settled in Springs, Victoria, and had a family there. But Andrew died in May 1864 of pulmonary apoplexy. At the time he was working as assistant to a hotelkeeper in the town but was also described as a storeman in various documents. Hannah went on to hold shares in various mining companies, such as the United Extended Band of Hope Mining Company, according to the Government Gazettes. Her husband had held shares prior to his death too. She left £2,244 in her will. She died in Ballarat, Victoria, on 11 May 1887.
  • Caroline Float (1842-????) was baptised in Warminghurst, Sussex, but then disappears from the records.
  • Sarah Float (1845-1930) was baptised in Warminghurst, Sussex, and worked as a domestic servant before marrying agricultural labourer Stephen Charman of Sullington in Sussex in 1864. They settled in Ashington and raised a family but he died in 1887. Sarah remarried in Ashington in 1891. Her new husband was local man John Ockenden, an agricultural labourer and hay trusser. They lived in the village for the rest of their lives, Sarah often working as a laundress. John died in 1912, Sarah in 1930.
  • Henry Float (1847-1892) was baptised in Warminghurst, Sussex, and worked as an agricultural labourer and thatcher. He married Eliza Caroline Boniface in Ashington, Sussex, in 1885. They settled there and had children but Henry died in 1892 and was buried in the village. His widow married again and lived until 1924.
  • William Float (1850-1929) was baptised in Warminghurst, Sussex, and initially worked as an agricultural labourer. In 1870 he joined the army – the 2nd Regiment of Foot – and served in the East Surrey Regiment before being discharged in 1888. He was posted to India and Egypt as well as covering home duties. He was in the Second Afghan War of 1878-79, in which British forces defeated the Emirate, being awarded the Afghan Medal. He was also awarded the Egypt Medal with clasp and the Egyptian Bronze Star for service during the Egyptian Campaign of 1885. His service records note a few courts martial that saw him jailed. Outside of the army he married Mary Ann Hilton in 1888 at Kingston-Upon-Thames in Surrey but what happened to her is a mystery. By the 1921 census he was settled in East Cosham, Portsmouth, Hampshire, and living with Emma [Arnell] as his wife, although it appears from the records that they didn’t actually marry there until 1925. His military records noted his death on 16 May 1929.
  • Ellen Float (1855-????) was baptised in Warminghurst, Sussex, and married labourer Samuel Stringer there in 1871. They had children, who were baptised in Washington, Sussex, and Ellen was in the Thakeham Workhouse with her children at the 1881 census. I’ve not traced them with any confidence after this.

• Harriet Float (1816-1891), my 4th great-grand aunt. Harriet was baptised on 17 November 1816 at St Mary’s Church in Washington, Sussex. She married Felix Fuller there on 15 September 1834. He was the son of George Fuller and his wife Martha and had been baptised at Washington on 2 December 1804. Harriet, who occasionally used the name Elizabeth, and agricultural labourer Felix settled in the village and had children but county newspapers subsequently featured references to Felix and imprisonment. Baptism and burial records also showed the family were repeatedly in the Thakeham Union Workhouse over the years, clearly unable to support themselves. The Sussex Advertiser of 21 October 1839, reporting on the Sussex Western Sessions, noted that Felix had been sentenced to 14 days’ hard labour for the theft of a round frock – a type of smock largely found in Sussex and Surrey. The Brighton Gazette of 11 February 1847 reported that Felix had been given another 14 days’ hard labour in the Petworth house of correction after refusing to go to work at a mill when ordered by the governor of the Thakeham Union Workhouse. Felix told the court that he’d disobeyed his orders having been refused rations, but these had been stopped as a result of a prior offence. The 1851 census showed the couple and their children at the same workhouse. The family’s situation didn’t improve. The Brighton Gazette of 13 June 1861 reported that Felix and his son Henry had appeared at Shoreham Petty Sessions charged with the theft of a sack in Henfield, Sussex. Henry was acquitted but Felix sentenced to three weeks’ hard labour. The report described them as vagrants who’d been caught begging. Felix told the magistrates that the sack came from a barn where the pair had been sleeping. Felix died in 1867 and was buried in Horsham, Sussex, on 16 January. Harriet married again later that year, on 11 December at St Nicholas’s in Brighton, Sussex. Her new husband was widower Charles Peacock, described as a traveller on the marriage certificate. They settled in West Chiltington, Sussex, where he worked as an agricultural labourer. Harriet died in 1891 and was buried in the village on 28 February. Charles, who’d been in the Thakeham workhouse, died in 1894 and was buried in Pulborough, Sussex, on 20 February. Harriet’s children with Felix were:
  • Charles Fuller (1835-????) was baptised in Washington, Sussex, and was in the Petworth house of correction at the 1851 census. I have not traced him beyond this.
  • William Fuller (1837-1838) was baptised in Washington, Sussex, and died in Thakeham Union Workhouse, Sussex, the following year. He was buried in Washington.
  • Ruth Fuller (1839-1841) was baptised in Warminghurst, Sussex, and buried an infant in Washington.
  • Sarah Fuller (1842-1899) was baptised in Washington, Sussex, and worked as a servant before marrying Maurice King of Bury, Sussex, in 1862. They settled in Southwick, Sussex. Maurice had a range of jobs over the years, including agricultural labourer, bargeman, furniture dealer and beach sand contractor. They had children but Sarah died in 1899. Maurice lived until 1921.
  • Felix Fuller (1844-1892) was baptised in Washington, Sussex, and like his siblings spent at least part of his childhood in the workhouse at Thakeham. He was an agricultural labourer and in later life used the name Frederick. He married Lewes-born Sarah Ann Taylor in 1871 and had a large family. He died in 1892, Sarah in 1901.
  • Susanna Fuller (1846-1929) was baptised in Washington, Sussex, and worked as a servant before marrying William Speller in Edmonton, Middlesex, in 1867. Subsequent census returns placed them in Thakeham and then Hove, Sussex, with William billed as an agricultural labourer and subsequently a carter. Susanna worked as a dressmaker. In 1898, after William’s death, Susanna married Alfred Lawrence. They lived in Hove and he worked as a bath chairman or attendant. Alfred died in 1926, Susanna in 1929.
  • Henry Fuller (1848-1926) was baptised in Washington, Sussex, and had an early brush with vagrancy and the law (see above) but then married Esther Short of Hove in Sussex in 1869. They had children and he worked as a general labourer, a carman and a foreman’s contractor. They lived around Hove and Portslade. Esther died in 1909, Henry in 1926.
  • George Fuller (1851-1928) was baptised in Washington, Sussex, and initially worked as an agricultural labourer. He then became a police constable and married Ellen Banks in Croydon, Surrey, in 1877. She came from Mitcham in Surrey and had children with him. They were living in Carshalton, Surrey, at the 1881 census. It’s likely that he and Ellen separated for in 1901 he was living in Lower Beeding, Sussex, as a market gardener but his wife at this point was Sarah Ann (probably Allcock of Lewes). No marriage has been found. They later moved to Henfield in Sussex. George died in 1928, Sarah Ann in 1943. Ellen lived on in Croydon.
  • Eliza Fuller (1855-????) was baptised in Washington, Sussex, and married John Penfold of West Chiltington there in 1869. She would’ve been little more than 14 at the time, although she gave her age as 17 on the certificate. I’m unclear what happened to her and John, although he was lodging as an agricultural labourer in Durrington, Sussex, in 1881. Eliza was not with him.
  • Elizabeth Fuller (1859-????) was baptised in Washington, Sussex.

• Jane Float (1820-????), my 4th great-grand aunt. Jane was baptised on 20 February 1820 at St Mary’s Church in Washington, Sussex. She married Daniel Gray there on 18 August 1839. He came from Amberley in Sussex, where he was baptised to labourer George Gray and his wife Matilda on 3 December 1819. The couple were in Amberley at the 1841 census, Daniel listed as an agricultural labourer, but were in Hove, Sussex, by 1851. At this point there were no children with them. I have found no record of Jane dying around this time but Daniel married again, in Rogate, Sussex, on 18 March 1857. His new bride was Eliza Kemp and subsequent census returns showed him in Pulborough and Amberley. He died in 1881. Jane’s fate remains a mystery.
• Sarah Float (1822-1892), my 4th great-grand aunt. Sarah was baptised on 15 September 1822 at St Mary’s Church in Washington, Sussex. She married labourer Daniel Stepney at St Paul’s in Shipley, Sussex, on 12 September 1841. He’d been baptised there on 21 March 1819 to labourer Daniel Stepney Snr and his wife Ann. Sarah had children and the family were registered in various Sussex villages in the census returns – Shipley (1851 and 1861), Storrington (1871), Nuthurst (1881) and West Grinstead (1891). Sarah died in 1892 and was buried on 21 September that year in West Grinstead. Daniel was an inmate of Horsham Union Workhouse at the 1901 census. He died there in 1902 and was buried at West Grinstead on 29 January. Their children were:
  • Daniel Stepney (1842-1842) was baptised in Shipley, Sussex, and buried there a few months later. He was a twin with Henry.
  • Henry Stepney (1842-1842) was baptised in Shipley, Sussex, and buried there a few months later. He was a twin with Daniel and died a few weeks before him.
  • Sarah Stepney (1844-????) was baptised in Shipley, Sussex, and was a servant in Nuthurst by the 1861 census. Her fate is unknown.
  • Mary Stepney (1847-1851) was baptised and buried in Shipley, Sussex – sometimes transcribed as Maisy.
  • Walter Stepney (1850-1861) was baptised and buried in Shipley, Sussex. The burial record noted that he died after being kicked by a horse.
  • John Stepney (1852-1930) was baptised in Shipley, Sussex, and married Brighton-born Dorenda Richardson in the seaside town in 1889. They lived in Hove for most of their lives and had no children. John worked first as a platelayer on the railways and then as a road sweeper for the local council. Dorenda died in 1924, John in 1930.
  • James Stepney (1856-????) was baptised in Shipley, Sussex, and is sparsely represented in the records. He worked as an agricultural labourer and census returns placed him in Warnham near Horsham, Sussex, in the later 19th century and 1901. I have found no marriage records for him but the censuses suggest he was married to Sarah and then Elizabeth.
  • Reuben Stepney (1857-1859) was baptised and buried in Shipley, Sussex.
  • Jane Stepney (1860-????) was baptised in Shipley, Sussex, and married Berkshire-born Henry Horn in Horsham, Sussex, in 1887. He worked as a carter on a farm and the couple had children. They were later recorded in Albourne, Rudgwick and Cootham, Sussex. I’ve not been able to trace them after the 1911 census.
  • Richard Stepney (1863-1918) was baptised in Shipley, Sussex, and worked as a farm labourer. I’ve found no marriage for him and no census returns after 1891, when he was living at home. I suspect he died in 1918 in Brighton.

Sources: BMD, census and military records at Ancestry.co.uk and Findmypast.co.uk. Sussex Family History Group records. Corps of Royal Artillery Drivers information. Petworth Emigration Project. British Newspaper Archive (titles in text). Australian newspapers – The Star, Ballarat in Victoria, 14 and 16 May 1864 editions. Canadiana for Canadian newspaper reports.