Ancestors of Mandy Willard

Allen OLDER (c1775-1842)

and Sarah BROOKS (1775-1862)

Allen Older and Sarah Brooks were my 4x Great Grandparents.  (Click here to see their place in my pedigree chart.)  They married by banns on 27 November 1794 at the parish church of St. Mary's in Pulborough, Sussex.  They both made their X marks.  The witnesses to their marriage were Thomas Slater and Esther Clements.  The banns were published on 2, 9 and 16 November 1794 in Pulborough.

Allen Older died aged 67 years on 2 December 1842, therefore, he was born about 1775.  He was buried on 7 December 1842 in Pulborough.  Allen's cause of death was obstruction of the bowels and his death was registered by John Older of Pulborough who was present at the death.  (John was most probably Allen's illegitimate grandson.)  The 1841 census records that Allen was a 65 year old agricultural labourer and notes that he was born in Sussex, but where?  My current thoughts are that he was the son of James Older (1737-1810) and Eleanor Etheridge (1745-1825).  They married in 1765 in Billingshurst and had 2 daughters baptised there in 1765 and 1769 and Eleanor also had a brother named Allen.  Or might he have been the son of Thomas Older and Mary Elphick who married 29 July 1770 in Thakeham?  A removal order was issued to Thomas and Mary on 30 July 1770, removing them from Thakeham to Pulborough, where they had a daughter baptised in 1770.

Sarah Brooks may have been born in about March 1772, as she died aged 90 and 3/4 years on 26 December 1862.  She was buried on 2 January 1863 in Pulborough.  In 1841 she was living with her husband at Pot Common in Pulborough and she was said to be 67 years old.  The 1851 census records that she was born in Pulborough and the only possible baptism there was on 7 April 1775, making her the daughter of John Brooks (1744-1807) and Catherine Redford (1745-1816).  (John and Catherine are already my 5x Great Grandparents via another daughter.)  Sarah's cause of death was senile decay and on her death certificate it was recorded that she was the widow of Allen Older, a bargeman.  Her death was registered by Frances Herbert of Pulborough, who was present at the death.  When the 1861 census was recorded Sarah was an 89 year old widow living with the family of her daughter Frances.

There was another Sarah Brooks baptised on 29 September 1771 in nearby Billingshurst, Sussex, who was the daughter of Henry Brooks (1746-?) and Sarah Mills (1747-?).  She most probably married James Slater on 4 September 1794 in Pulborough.  Sarah Slater gave her place of birth as Billingshurst in the 1851 census, whilst Sarah Older said she was born in Pulborough.

As mentioned, Allen and Sarah were living at Pot Common in Pulborough in 1841.  The previous property recorded in the census was occupied by the family of their daughter Frances, whilst the next household was that of 35 year old William Older and his wife Esther.  William was the son of Richard Older, who was born in Newick, Sussex in 1780, and Ann Cheesman.  They married in Pulborough in 1806 and William was their first child.  Richard was the son of Richard Older and Sarah Funnell, who had married in 1778 in Newick.  Could Allen be in some way related to the Older family from Newick, or was it just a coincidence that in 1841 he was living next door to William?

Allan Older and Sarah Brooks had 9 known children:

1. Sarah Older was baptised on 25 May 1795 in Pulborough.  (What became of her?)

2. Harriet Older was baptised on 7 August 1796 in Pulborough.  She most probably married Thomas Smart in 1819.  (They have their own page.)

3. Allen Holder was baptised on 13 May 1798 in Pulborough.  He died aged 64 in the Thakeham Workhouse and was buried on 30 January 1858 in Pulborough.  His name was recorded in the burial register as Allen Older.  In 1851 he was a widower and a bargeman living alone in Pulborough, although next door was his nephew John Older.

   Allen married Esther Steer on 30 August 1840 in Godalming, Surrey.

   Esther was baptised on 4 August 1816 at Holy Trinity, Guildford, Surrey, and was the daughter of David Steer (1783-1829) and Frances Alcock (1785-1842).

   (Where were Allen and Esther when the 1841 census was recorded?  Might Esther Older's death have been registered in the second quarter of 1841 in the St. Olave, Southwark, London, registration district?  Did they have any children?)

4. Charles Holder was baptised on 22 November 1801 in Pulborough.  He most probably emigrated to Australia in 1826, where he worked as a ploughman and gardener.  (If I remember rightly, Jillian Baines told me Charles may have emigrated.  I'm afraid I don't know anything more about him.)

5. Caroline Holder was baptised on 11 September 1803 in Pulborough and buried there on 19 September 1810.

6. Frances Older was baptised on 11 August 1805 in Pulborough.  She married William Herbert in 1829.  (They have their own page.)

7. Eliza Older was baptised on 15 November 1818 in Pulborough.  She was the first of three siblings to have been baptised on the same day.  (What became of her?  I assume she was born about 1807-9.)

8. Sophia Older, my 3x Great Grandmother, was born about September 1811 and baptised on 15 November 1818 in Pulborough.  She married Clement Willard in 1832.  (They have their own page.)

9. Gainias Older (a son) was born about 1818 and also baptised on 15 November 1818 in Pulborough.  His was the last of the three siblings to be recorded in the baptism register.  He died aged 14 years and buried on 13 February 1832 in Pulborough, as Geaney Older.

BROOKS          HOLDER