Unexpected: Sphia ROLLINGS

Hunting For Sophia Rollings/Rawlings my  Three Times Great Grandmother. 

I want to acknowledge the help from the contributors to the Face Book page called The Brick Wall Group. Without their help I would not have been able to find all the information about Sophia. I also want to thank Wendy Hibbitt of the Writtle Archives for generously providing me with information about my Porter and Rawlings ancestors.

From the Writtle archives, Sophia Married William Porter At Writtle's All Saints Church  23 May 1831, witnesses C Porter, J Bailey & R Livermore. 

(Charles Porter married Ann Bailey 10 Jan 1831, their witnesses J Porter, J Bailey & R Livermore have almost the exact same witnesses).

My head is spinning and I am struggling to get things straight. The most recent known child before the death of this Sophia Porter (June 1845) was John born in the January quarter of 1844 and baptised in May of the same year. So, the drowning occurred more than a year later. There was also the fact of the death of three-year-old Clara b 1839 died 1842. Sadly, there was also the death of eleven year old young Emma b 1837 died in 1846-7

Sophia Rollings/ Rawlings/Porter Born c 1816 

1841 Census

The death below certificate for the person I think was my 3 x great grandmother Sophia Porter, formerly Rollings/Rawlings . Born c 1815. According to the Writtle archives my Sophia was married to William Porter 23 May 1831 in Writtle. Her age on the death cert was 31. It is sad to read that her cause of death was ‘Drowned. Being unsound in her mind’, and the death was notified by a Crown Magistrate in 1846, but she died 5th June 1845. Until I can locate any records from the court relating to her death, or a newspaper article I can only speculate on the reason for Sophia to take her own life.

Though her husband on the only census I have so far located was called he may have been Thomas William or William Thomas, and as it was legal proceeding may have been required to give his legal name.  On her death certificate her status is ‘ wife of Thomas, which I think ‘probably means that her husband was still living. He may have been Thomas William or William Thomas, and as it was legal proceeding may have been required to give his legal name. 

Sophia and William’s Children’s Births   William Edward 3 June 1832,

Edmund/Edward c 1834 Emma was found in a search of the UK GRO with a death age of fourteen years, making her birth pre sept 1837, she was baptised 1 January 1837 and died and  was buried  6 Jan 1847    William Edward Porter was born in 1832 in Writtle, Essex, He died in July 1867 at the age of 35. Edward/Edmund, my grt grt grandfather, born 1834, married Rachel Copsey 1852 at Chelmsford. Died 1902 Westham John b 1844 Residence, 1871 • Kentish Town, London, England, Relation to Head: Visitor the only other details found is the 1871 Writtle Census 1871 census, misspelling of Writtle as Rittle, transcribed as Kettle  I have found a possible second marriage William to Elizabeth Humphreys  Map of Writtle