#42 Richard Botting

Birth
Richard Botting was born on September 26, 1819, in Lindfield, Sussex, England, to Mary Mitchell, age 42, and Richard Botting, age 46. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

The 1841 England Census puts his birth year around 1826, however the rest of the censuses confirm it to be 1819. [6]

Early Years
Richard had at least one sibling, a brother named Henry born around 1831 in Sussex. There must have been more children before them as Richard's mother would have been 50 when Henry was born. [6]

Richard lived at Stone Cross in Lindfield, Sussex, England from his birth to death. See here for an interesting report on Lindfield.

Historical
The early 1840s were a time of great social change, as well as when Charles Dickens’ literary works became popular.

The era of Chartist rebellion against limited voting rights saw British citizens met with violent oppression when they marched, petitioned, and printed articles demanding the right to vote. in 1839, when only 18 percent of the male population had the right to vote. Growing from William Lovett’s 1838 People’s Charter, which demanded political reform in England, Chartism argued in favor of voting rights for all men, the abolition of property qualifications to hold office in Parliament, payment for Parliamentary service, secret ballots, annual elections, and equal electoral districts.

Workers in English industries, fed up with low pay and poor conditions and influenced by the Chartist Movement for workers’ rights and greater suffrage, went on strike in August 1842. Coal miners angry over wage cuts went on strike first, followed by strikes by textile workers in cotton mills. On August 8, a general strike was called by workers at a mass meeting near Stalybridge. Nearly half a million workers across England walked off their jobs, and in the mills workers even removed plugs and bolts from machinery to stop the mills from functioning at all.

Marriage
Richard Botting married Jane Cook in Cuckfield, Sussex, England, between September-December 1844, or possibly in 1845. [7] He was 26 years old and she was around 21. 

Family
They had eleven children, all born in Lindfield, Sussex, England:
Son Richard was born in 1845
Daughter Harriett was born around 1846 [8]
Son William was born in 1848
Son James was born around May 1850
Daughter Ann was born in 1853
Son Peter was born around 1855
Daughter Fanny was born in 1857
Daughter Mary Ann (my great-great-grandmother) was born in 1859 [9]
Son Harry was born around 1863
Son George was born in 1865
Daughter Emily was born around 1868 

The Corn Laws were designed to encourage the export of English grain while limiting imports when crop prices fell below a certain point. However, the laws were viewed by many as a subsidy that enriched the pockets of the nobility and other wealthy landowners, while making it increasingly difficult for the working class and poor to eat. Over time, anti-Corn Law Leagues appeared, challenging the existing laws. By 1846, Prime Minister Robert Peel, feeling the political heat and fearing a possible uprising, argued for the repeal of the law. Finally on May 15, 1846, a coalition of Whigs and Conservatives successfully repealed the Corn Laws. 

As an agricultural labourer [1] Richard may have followed these events closely to see the outcome.

In 1851, Richard, Jane, four children, and Richard Sr (a widower and pauper) were living at Stone Cross in Lindfield, Sussex when the worldwide cholera epidemic made deadly passes through England and Wales. [1]

Death of Father
His father Richard passed away in April 1857 in Cuckfield, Sussex, England, at the age of 83.

In 1861 the house might have felt a little crowded as Richard, Jane, and eight children were living at Stones Cross in Lindfield, Sussex in 1861. [2] Richard was still working as an agricultural labourer, an occupation he would hold for at least the next decade. That same year saw Queen Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert, die suddenly. 

Although others may have benefited from the Bank Holiday Act of 1871, I have to wonder if Richard would have since he was an agricultural labourer. Richard (51), Jane, and six children were living at Stone Cross Cottages. Fourteen year old Fanny is listed as working as an occasional nurse. Henry (age 62) is living with his wife Martha next to him. His age makes him seem a bit too old to be Richard's brother. [3]

Richard, Jane, and their youngest daughter Emily lived at 1 Stone Cross Cots in Lindfield, Sussex in 1881 and Richard worked as a gardener.

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

Death
Richard Botting died in Brighton, Sussex, England in October 1887 when he was 68 years old.

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Sources:
1. 1851 England Census
2. 1861 England Census
3. 1871 England Census
4. 1881 England Census
5. England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1837-1915
6. 1841 England Census
7. "Dec 1844 Vol 7, Page 525" (from pages entitled "History of Mary Botting," found among items bequeathed to me by my grandmother Ruby nee Napper)
8. England, Select Marriages, 1538–1973
9. England & Wales, Christening Index, 1530-1980