Sarah Horton [h.1.7.1]

Sarah Horton was the first child of Richard Horton & Mary Phipps born at West Bromwich & christened June 13th, 1847 at St Martin's Tipton, Staffs.

At the time of the 1851 census Sarah & her parents & younger brother William were living at Grant Village, West Bromwich.

In 1861 Sarah (13) was visiting her uncle David Phipps & his wife Mary J, also living in West Bromwich.

In 1871 Sarah was living at home with her parents & younger brother Henry at Dunkirk Rd, West Bromwich. She was a school mistress.

Sarah married John Fisher on January 25th, 1877 at the Parish Church of West Bromwich after the reading of banns. Witnesses were Richard Horton (possibly her brother) & Martha Elizabeth Stone who was to marry Sarah’s brother Richard in 1879. John was 22 at the time of the marriage & a bricklayer of West Bromwich, like his father Daniel Fisher. John was born c1855 at West Bromwich, the son of Daniel & Keziah Fisher.

Sarah gave birth to twins in 1879, but sadly little Daniel Richard died aged 4 months.

In 1881 Sarah was the head of the household at 52 Whitehall Rd, West Bromwich. She had a son John (3) & daughter Mary (1) with her & visiting was her 64 year old mother Mary. Sarah is noted as married but husband John’s whereabouts is unknown. Next door at #48 Whitehall Rd was Sarah’s uncle David Phipps, a shop keeper, & his wife Mary Jane.

Sarah was still head of the household in 1891 & still living at the same address with her 2 children. She is now described as a grocer’s assistant, presumably for her uncle David, still living next door. Sarah’s son John E was a grocer’s errand boy.

By 1901 Sarah was working as an asylum nurse at Rubery Hill, Kings Norton, Worcs. Her marital status was given as single. Her uncle David, now an 80 year old widower, had retired from being a grocer & was now a parish clerk.

Sarah was still employed as a nurse at Rubery Hill & Hollymoor Lunatic Asylum in 1911. Son John was lodging at 61 Thompson St, Bilston, Staffs in 1911 where he was described as receiving goods for a wholesale grocer.

Son John joined the Army Service Corps at Aldershot in November 1916. His address at this time was 54 Coningham Rd, Hammersmith & he gave his trade as a packer for Lipton Ltd, City Rd. He gave his sister Mary Kezia as his next of kin & her address was 388 Dudley Rd, Birmingham. He was immediately posted to France & was demobilized in June 1919 when his address was given as 499 Upper Richmond Rd, Mortlake. He received a pension due to a condition which had begun in 1907, namely a double inguinal hernia, which had been aggravated during his time in service.

Tragedy struck John in 1921 as reported in the Bucks Herald of May 21st. John was travelling on the Paddington to Birmingham Express when the communication cord was pulled & passengers reported that a fellow passenger had fallen on to the line. John of Upper Richmond Rd, Mortlake was traveling to Bilston to see his fiancé. He died before reaching hospital. His sister Mary confirmed that John had left her house to call at the Hammersmith Labour Exchange & stay in the area before catching the train at Paddington the next morning. She said that he had been demobilised in 1919 & had had only occasional employment since. He was lately rather depressed, as soon he would have to live on his savings which only amounted to £70. He was happy in his engagement but said he would not marry until he had employment.

Daughter Mary married Edwin Venour, a commercial clerk in Oct-December 1919 at Richmond South. The 1939 register shows Mary & Edwin, a retired stationer, living in Exeter, Devon. Mary was also a stationer, retired through ill health. Edwin, born in Oct-December 1875 at Aston, Warwickshire died, aged 73, in 1948 at Exeter, Devon. Mary outlived her husband by 25 years.

The children of Sarah Horton & John Fisher were:

h.1.7.1.1 John Emmanuel Fisher born Jan-March 1878 at West Bromwich; died May 1921 at Aylesbury, Bucks
h.1.7.1.2 Mary Kezia Fisher born June 13th, 1879 at Oakwood St, & christened June 15th, 1879 at St Andrews, West Bromwich; died July 8th, 1973 at Arthur Roberts House, Burnthouse Lane, Exeter, Devon

h.1.7.1.3 Daniel Richard Fisher born June 13th, 1879 at Oakwood St & christened July 6th, 1879 at St Andrews, West Bromwich; died at Whitehall Rd & buried November 3rd, 1879 at St Peter’s, West Bromwich