See also
| Husband: | Arthur BAKER (1767-1844) | |
| Wife: | Elizabeth CHANTLER (1770-1850) | |
| Children: | Reuben BAKER (1810- ) | |
| James BAKER (1794- ) | ||
| Elizabeth BAKER (1800- ) | ||
| David BAKER (1796- ) | ||
| Sarah BAKER (1796- ) | ||
| Mary BAKER (1802-1819) | ||
| Martha BAKER (1805-1826) | ||
| Marriage | 23 Mar 1793 | Billingshurst, Sussex |
| Name: | Arthur BAKER | |
| Sex: | Male | |
| Father: | - | |
| Mother: | - | |
| Birth | 1767 | |
| Death | 8 Dec 1844 (age 76-77) | Billingshurst, Sussex |
| Name: | Elizabeth CHANTLER | |
| Sex: | Female | |
| Father: | Moses CHANTLER (1742-1811) | |
| Mother: | Hannah Mahala CONNELL (1739- ) | |
| Birth | 26 Sep 1770 | Horsham, Sussex |
| Death | 10 Apr 1850 (age 79) | Billingshurst, Sussex |
| Name: | Reuben BAKER | |
| Sex: | Male | |
| Spouse: | Frances AGATE (1817-1895) | |
| Birth | 1810 | Billingshurst, Sussex |
| Census | 1851 (age 40-41) | 20 Vine Street, Brighton |
| Death | "BEF. 1861" | |
| Name: | James BAKER | |
| Sex: | Male | |
| Birth | 1794 | |
| Name: | Elizabeth BAKER | |
| Sex: | Female | |
| Birth | 1800 | Billingshurst, Sussex |
| Name: | David BAKER | |
| Sex: | Male | |
| Birth | 1796 | |
| Name: | Sarah BAKER | |
| Sex: | Female | |
| Birth | 2 Jan 1796 | Billingshurst, Sussex |
| Name: | Mary BAKER | |
| Sex: | Female | |
| Birth | 1802 | Billingshurst, Sussex |
| Death | 1819 (age 16-17) | |
| Name: | Martha BAKER | |
| Sex: | Female | |
| Birth | 1805 | Billingshurst, Sussex |
| Death | 1826 (age 20-21) | |
Died 10 April 1850. Cause of death written as "Old age - not certified". See transcription of death certificate : www.familychest.co.uk/History/Data/DthEC_01.htm
1. The reason for including Arthur Baker and Elizabeth Chantler is that Arthur left a will in 1844 saying that he had a son Reuben (among others). It is no more than a hope that this is our Reuben. A slight problem is that Elizabeth would have been aged 40 in 1810 when we suppose Reuben was born.
The will isn't very detailed - Arthur simply leaves everything to his wife during her lifetime and then to his four (surviving) children. Total value is less than £20.
2. Encouraging is the presence of DNA matches with people who trace their ancestry to Arthur Baker's other 3 children. ie. James (b.1794) - 1 match; David (b.1796) - 2 matches and Elizabeth (b.1800) - 2 matches. The link to Elizabeth's descendant (4th cousin twice removed) is particularly strong at 37 cM. Unfortunately there are no matches at all with descendants of the supposed sibling Sally Baker.
3. I have been in touch with a John Hurd of Billingshurst (whose interest is in the property owned by Arthur, rather than the family itself). He has established that Arthur and Elizabeth were buried at the Billingshurst Free Christian Chapel, which would explain why there is no record in the parish registers of the birth of any of their children. He believes that Arthur lived on the Causeway (house called Botterills ?) until 1820, when he sold that house and built another in East Street (known then as High Holborn, now as High Bank). The Manor of Storrington has two documents from 1842 and 1844 detailing a copyhold cottage with garden in Billingshurst in the hands of Arthur Baker. There is a Heriot and Fine of 6d each and the yearly rent is two fat pullets compounded for at 1s 6d per annum. A further document of 1845 says that the Heriot and Fine are both due since Arthur Baker has lately died.
4. John Hurd has followed up the house in Arthur Baker's will and believes that it is mentioned in the will of a John Fanstone in 1854, and by 1875 is in the hands of James Fanstone of Brighton. The 1854 will says that the property was bought from Reuben Baker. John Hurd has also seen (on Ebay) a reference to a document detailing the admission of John Fanstone in 1857 to a cottage which he bought from Reuben Baker (of Brighton) for £54.. The yearly rent specified in this document is 2 fat pullets.
5. Karen Norrish has pencilled in an unknown fifth child who married a Thomas Pillock of Billingshurst in 1838. Evidently this refers to Sally Baker even if the name and date are wrong. (I think that I've seen a record somewhere to say that the Pillocks emigrated to America.)
6. The 1841 census shows Arthur Baker living at Highbank House, aged 74 with his wife Elizabeth Baker, aged 71. See the census transcript at www.familychest.co.uk/History/Data/Cen41_004.htm
7. FFHS online has Billingshurst Land Tax records which mention Arthur Baker (almost) continuously from 1795 to 1832.
(i) In each year from 1795 to 1808 inclusive he is the owner of a house valued at 4s 0d. From 1795 - 1800 this house is occupied by Joseph Pope. From 1801 - 1808 the occupier is Arthur Baker.
(ii) From 1807 to 1829 inclusive he owns a house assessed at 12s 4d (I am guessing that it is always the same house, but only because the value never changes). From 1807 to 1811 this house is described as 'late Mrs Matthews'. From 1826 to 1829 it is called 'High Holborn'. The occupier changes as follows : 1807 - none; 1808 to 1812 - Arthur Baker; 1813 - William Greenfield; 1814 - John Evershed; 1815 - none; 1816 - Bisshop (sic); 1817 - Steer; 1818 to 1822 - Arthur Baker; 1823 - Peter Evershed; 1826 to 1829 - Arthur Baker; (NB. Arthur Baker does not appear in any records for 1824 and 1825 ? Did he move ? Were the records lost ? )
(iii) From 1830 to 1832 inclusive Arthur Baker is the owner and occupier of a house valued at 4s 0d. (The records include a cryptic entry "pre £1 0s 0d". Don't know what this means.)
8. He died in Billingshurst on 8/12/1844. A transcription of his death certificate can be seen at www.familychest.co.uk/History/Data/DthAB_01.htm
1. In the 1841 census she is aged 71, living with her husband at Highbank house, Billingshurst. She was born in Sussex.
2. John Hurd tells me that there is a burial record for her at the Billingshurst Free Christian Chapel in 1850. She is described as 'of East Lane' Billingshurst.
3. Her death certificate describes her as Elizabeth Baker, aged 80, widow of Arthur Baker, bricklayer. She died 10/4/1850 in Billingshurst. The informant was Martha Chantler. (In the 1841 census there is a Martha Chantler, aged 49, born Sussex, living in Caffins Row, Billingshurst. By the 1851 census she is still at Caffins Row, widow aged 62, occupation pauper, born Wisborough Green). A transcription of Elizabeth's death certificate can be seen at www.familychest.co.uk/History/Data/DthEC_01.htm
There is a particularly informative birth certificate for Sarah Baker. In particular it says that she is the daughter of Arthur Baker and Elizabeth (nee Chantler). See transcription at:
www.familychest.co.uk/History/Data/BthSB_02.htm
There are too many candidates for the birth of Elizabeth Chantler to give an easy answer as to who were her parents. ( One thought is that, if she can be tied in with Martha Chantler, this might help find the answer. This hasn't yielded any results as yet).
A solution which matches exactly her age (as in the 1841 census) is the birth record of Elizabeth Chantler on 26/9/1770 to parents Moses and Hannah Chantler. This is a record made at the Horsham Quaker meeting house monthly meeting (and it says that the meetings also covered Ifield and Shipley).
(This leads to a record of Moses Chantler (jr) born 29/12/1770 in Horsham, to parents Moses and Hannah Mahala Connell.)
We then get a marriage of Moses Chantler (Sr) to Hannah at the Ifield Meeting House on 28/6/1762. The obvious problem with this solution is that siblings Moses and Elizabeth appear to have been born within 3 months of each other. (But if Quakers had to travel from miles around to get to the Horsham centre, maybe they might miss a few of the monthly meetings, so the dates of baptism, christening or whatever get a bit removed from the actual births.
Unfortunately there is absolutely NOTHING to connect this couple (ie. Moses (Sr) and Hannah) to Billingshurst. All the records only mention Horsham, Ifield, Wadhurst, and Charlwood. It remains possible that Moses (Sr) was the one born in Billingshurst in 1742 born in Billingshurst, but there is no certainty that it's the same guy.