2^nd Great Grandfather – FFMF¹

Sarah Elizabeth Nurse’s father Samuel Nurse was also my great-great grandfather. He was Robert’s older brother, the third son of Robert Nurse and Sally Nurse (nee Couch)

Samuel was born the 12th Nov 1809 and baptised a month lateer on 10^th December at St George’s, Hanham.² As with his younger brother, not much is known about Samuel’s earlier life, but it is a fairly safe assumption that he helped his father in the malting business. He was still living with his parents when the 1841 Census was carried out.³

His occupation was not mentioned, but both his father and his brother Jonathan, who is the adjacent entry and may have lived in the same house are both described as Maltsters. The Census says he was 25 (ages of adults were supposed to be rounded up to the nearest 5 years), but he was actually 32. His occupation is stated as Maltster in the 1851 Census.⁴

The next mention of Samuel was when he married Dinah Willis on Christmas Day 1848.⁵ Dinah was the youngest⁶ of six children (5 daughters and one son) of Robert Willis and Dinah Leonard.⁷

Willis is quite a popular name in Hanham, most of the Willises being labourers or quarrymen. Robert however, was quite well off, being classified, as a Land Proprietor in the 1851 census⁸ and as a Yeoman (see “Yeoman” (2023)) in the 1861 census⁹ and his will, where he leaves most of his estate to his daughter Dinah Nurse, Samuel Nurse’s wife.

It is my intention to create future articles on the Willis family and Leonard family.

While both Samuel and his brother Robert had inherited the family malting business from their father Robert and brother Jonathan, it was Samuel who operated the business.

Samuel and Dinah had three children a boy Robert Willis (who died in infancy) and two daughters Sarah Elizabeth (my great grandmother) and Frances Willis. (Figure 4)

Dinah died on the 20^th November 1877, being buried at Bitton on the 24^th November 1877¹⁰. Samuel live for another four years, dying on 23^rd May 1881 and being buried at St. Mary, Bitton on 26^th May 1881¹¹.

While I have not found a will for either Dinah or Samuel, Samuel apparently left his share to his son-law Robert Francis Nurse (who had already inherited his father’s share, and therefore became the sole owner of the business).

References

Footnotes