WAYE William -thatcher and YEO

I am always pleased to receive any additional information about Sticklepath members or families. This is just a starting place, based on a blog post.

Let’s start with the family I am calling household ‘5’ in the 1841 census. It is hard to know where exactly they were living, but somewhere near Oaktree Park and the current village shop in Sticklepath. John Yeo, aged 42, an ag. lab. was living with his wife Jemima aged 40, his 4 children and his grandfather. The children were James, 17, also an ag.lab., Mary a worsted spinner aged 15, John aged 9, and William aged 3 months. The grandfather (baby William’s great grandfather) was William Way aged 78 who is described as a thatcher. Was he still thatching at 78? We will probably never know.

1907 The Thatcher a DB Tuck postcard https://tuckdbpostcards.org/items/73156

Ten years later 1851 census, taken 30 March shows William Waye (different spelling) ‘former thatcher’. John Yeo died in February 1850 (see below) and Jemima Yeo and son John aged 10 are now living, along with our thatcher, in the household of James Crocker aged 28y, Cordwainer, and his wife Mary A Crocker aged 25 a wool sorter.

For every record you find there are immediately at least two more records needed and several questions you need to go and find the answers to! There should be a death certificate to confirm this was our John Yeo who died, records of a marriage for Mary Yeo to James Crocker, and, of course we need to follow the family to the next census. A Cordwainer is a shoe-maker, especially one who makes new shoes as compared to a cobbler who mends old shoes for example. Mary having been a worsted spinner at 15 is now a wool sorter – is that a promotion I wonder?

Sadly though, the burial records show that just one month after the census, on 29 April 1851 William Waye was buried by Rev WS Best in Sticklepath ‘Quaker burying ground’. A note is made in the register that at his graveside were children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and great great grandchildren. So a day or two earlier if passing through Sticklepath we could have seen 5 generations of the one family.

It is always a good idea to look at other burials in close proximity in the register. Sadly on 21 May, less than 4 weeks after that, the family would have been mourning the loss of William Waye Clarke, great great grandson of the thatcher.

Jemima Yeo died aged 57 and was buried in Sticklepath Quaker burial ground 8 May 1859. Below are the Yeos (not necessarily all related) and Wayes that I know are buried in Sticklepath from the burying ground register:

1881 Aug-05 Ada Yeo 5 weeks Burial number 222 in the register

1845 Apr-28 Ann Yeo 79 years Burial number 58 in the register

1883 Jan-31 Edith Yeo 3 months Burial number 231 in the register

1879 Jan-01 James Yeo 2 months Burial number 209 in the register

1859 May-08 Jemima Yeo 57 years Burial number 129 in the register

1845 Apr-27 John Yeo 13 years Burial number 57 in the register

1850 Feb-12 John Yeo 50 years Burial number 85 in the register

1886 Sep-23 John Yeo 15 months Burial number 247 in the register

1878 Feb-13 Richard Yeo 4 months Burial number 204 in the register

1841 Feb-08 William Yeo 80 years Burial number 39 in the register

And the Wayes:

1858 Mar-29 Elizabeth Waye 12 years Burial number 124 in the register