John 2919 and Martha Clarke. Also an Excise officer
John 2919 was born in Cawston, in Norfolk in 1780, and also became and Excise Officer. He was stationed around Framingham in Suffolk, then various places in Hertfordshire, Stratford in Essex, and then in Chatham, Maidstone and finally Brentwood.
When in Stratford, he married Martha Clarke in Wanstead, East London, which is not far away. Their children were:
- John 1186 b 1815 in Stratford, London,
- Maria 3107 b 1820 Chatham, Kent
- Rebecca Martha 3108 b 1821, Chatham
Martha, John’s wife died in 1846 in Ingatestone, Essex, but then his daughter Maria committed suicide in 1847. It was reported in the 1847 20 May, Morning Post, London. She was obviously struggling mentally, and occasionally drinking heavily. The full report is contained in the this document. The details of her death are graphic, so it is your choice to read it or not.
This family seems to have lost a lot of people in a short space of time. Two years earlier his brother William lost his wife and daughter in the Yarmouth Bridge disaster. The family seemed to be strong Protestants, with John and his brother Samuel applying to start a new church in Watford in 1811 and John retiring to Quaker Lane.
William 630, Alice Hawtree and Elizabeth Starling
William 630, was also and exciseman, and consequently moved around much. He died in Bramford, Suffolk. His first marriage was to Alice 2983 Hawtree (who was born in St Albans) in Heybridge in 1816. Why she was married there is not evident. Their children were: