#41 Harriott Cooper

Birth
Harriott, or Harriett, Cooper has many possible dates of birth, all in Slaugham, Sussex, England:
1. 1811 in Slaugham, Sussex, England [1]
2. 1812 in Slaugham, Sussex, England [2]
3. about 1817 in Slaugham, Sussex, England [3]
4. about 1820 in Slaugham, Sussex, England [4]
5. about 1821 in Slaugham, Sussex, England [5]

Marriage
Harriott Cooper married William Napper in Slaugham, Sussex, England, on March 25, 1838, when she was around 27 years old and he was around 25. [6 & 7]

Family
Harriott and William lived at Rose Bramble Oak Cottage in Slaugham, Sussex,in 1841. The cottage appears to have been shared by several families, including some with the last name Cooper. It was during this time when Charles Dickens’ literary works became popular. [5]

The 1842 General Strike fought for better treatment and higher wages for industrial workers.

Harriett and William may have had a daughter prior to the birth of their 3 sons, however I have been unable to find a reliable sources for this.

Their son William (John William?), my great-great grandfather, was born in 1842 in Tunbridge Hill, Kent, England and baptised on April 28, 1844. Son Edward/Edwin was born in 1847 or 1848 in Slaugham, Sussex, England. Son John was born between 1849 and 1851 in Slaugham, Sussex, England.

The family lived at HandCrofts (sp??) in Slaugham, Sussex, England, in 1851 when the worldwide cholera epidemic made deadly passes through England and Wales. William worked as an agricultural labourer, while 7 year old William was an errand boy. [3]

When Queen Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert, died suddenly in 1861 the family was living in Lower Beeding, Sussex. That year also saw the railroad industry swiftly expanded in England. They lived in the Sun Oak Cottage and William was a farm labourer, along with his 3 sons. [2]

Son Edward/Edwin may have married Elizabeth Boniface in 1867.

William, Harriett, and their youngest son John lived in Peas Cottage in Slaugham, Sussex, England, in 1871. William and John worked as agricultural labourers. [1]

I wonder if in their line of work they enjoyed additional days off from work, thanks to Sir John Lubbock’s bill that sanctioned government-sponsored bank holidays in the Bank Holiday Act of 1871.

Progress made by the United States and Germany in manufacturing and agriculture in 1881, affected many in the United Kingdom, including Harriott during the Great Depression of 1873 to 1896. 


Death
Harriott died in July 1880 [4 & 8] in Cuckfield, Sussex, England, when she was 69 years old. She was buried on July 12th. [8]

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Sources:
1. 1871 England Census
2. 1861 England Census
3. 1851 England Census
4. England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1837-1915

5. 1841 England Census

6. LDS Batch M071071: Source 0918468: Call 0416746 
7. England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1837-1915 and England, Select Marriages, 1538–1973
8. England, Select Deaths and Burials, 1538-1991, FHL Film Number 1041589 Reference ID162