| Our journey had now become much more difficult, the biggest problem being that before 1837 births deaths and marriages were not registered, so we had to rely on church records more and more. I visited the archives on numerous occasions, searching for Aaron in the census returns without success. Then Barbara came up with an amazing find, the marriage of one Aaron Hawkins to Sarah Malkin at BUCKNALL church! The same church that we got married in. The marriage was in 1818, so there would be no certificate to tell us the name of Aaron's father. Could it be THE Aaron? We had no way of knowing for certain at the time, and just kept looking at the census returns, with little success for a while. I was searching the 1841 census when I made the breakthrough, I suddenly found Sarah Hawkins at Oxford Street in Shelton, not far from the church! She was the right age, 40, and guess what? A son named John, exactly the right age. Also living there was Hannah Hawkins, 20yrs., William Hawkins, 15yrs., Ann Hawkins, 6yrs., and Moses Hawkins, 2yrs. Aaron wasn't listed. In 1851 Sarah had moved to Sheaf Street, Shelton, still no Aaron though, but John and Charlotte were together in Willam Street, now Clyde Street, opposite the church. The conditions in this area must have been shocking, it was renowned for prostitution and crime, there were no sewers and the whole area must have stunk to high heaven! It was essential to our quest that we found Aaron, without him there was no clue as to who his father was. Well, we were in for a shock! I was looking through the Burials at St. Marks church when I came across the burial of Aaron Hawkins!....in 1839!! Barbara lost no time at the Registrars and we were soon in possession of the Death Certificate. We couldn't believe our eyes...."hung himself in a fit of insanity" !!!!!!!!! Well, I think we both felt so many mixed emotions, disappointment, incredulity, curiosity, but most of all pity...whatever could have driven this poor man to hang himself? He was only 43! Pity for Sarah, too, left alone in that hideous place with children to rear on her own! Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be any Coroner's records, so I'm afraid that his death will have to remain a mystery!!!! Curse that inner tube!!...so frustrating! In the same burials I also found that of Moses Hawkins and I remembered that there was a 2yr. old Moses with Sarah on the 1841 Census. Was he that Moses? Off went Barbara again and we were soon looking at that Death Certificate. He died aged just 4 years of convulsions, poor Sarah, another death to contend with. Father of Moses....Aaron Hawkins! We decided to obtain Moses' Birth Certificate to obtain the mother, Sarah's maiden name. There it was, Barbara had found the right marriage, absoloutely spot on! What a find!....Mother....Sarah Hawkins, formerly Malkin! So we were still on the right track! What revelations already! Good old inner tube!! It seemed incredible, Aaron and Sarah, married in the same church as us, nearly two hundred years ago!!!....definitely horses! Incidentally, Sarah Malkin was christened in 1794, at St. John's in Hanley, her parents were Charles and Ann Malkin. |
| From an inner tube to Shoemakers!! |