Although not a direct ancestor of mine, Sarah Ann Frost (nee Bednall) was an important and integral part of William’s life, and as this life history is about William and his family, Sarah Ann most assuredly deserves to be mentioned and written about.
Sarah Ann Bednall was born in (c1833) to Joseph Bednall and Hannah Dakin; being christened on the 3rd of February 1833, and as such, her first appearance on the census occurs in 1841:
The seven strong Bednall family at this time were living on Nottingham Road (no dwelling number or area defined; so probably in Hunger Hill), with Sarah Ann being known quite simply as Ann.
The Bednall family consist of Joseph (34) Framework Knitter, Hannah (31) Lace Runner, James (10), Ann (8), Alfred (6), Isaac (4), Jacob (1)
In 1851 we find the Bednall family still living on Nottingham Road, but with the addition of Martha (aged 9), Joseph (6) and Maria (1). It’s of interest to see that Joseph Bednall (Head of the household, a Framework Knitter) was born in Stapleford while confirming his wife’s place of birth as being West Hallam; it is also of interest to note that Sarah Ann’s occupation was ‘Stitcher’.
I’m aware that this may have been a brief but I believe important insight into Sarah Ann’s life.
By using historical documents such as the census we are unable to get a feel for what the person was like. It fires up one’s feelings to make us want to know more regarding how they looked, how they spoke, how they saw life, their beliefs etc, etc, but having said that, nothing can take away how nice it is to find even the most basic snippet of information regarding one’s ancestors, for in some small way it affords us a bond with those long since passed.
Unfortunately little more can be added to Sarah’s timeline other than what is written about above and in her short life with William, for as is mentioned earlier, Sarah died nine years after this census was recorded; aged just 27, her cause of death being Menorrhagia Anaemia (uncontrollable menstrual bleeding).
Just over a year later William married his second wife.
