Elizabeth Martin

Subject Name :  Elizabeth Martin née Slyfield (b ca 1800 – d 1883)

Researchers : Jean Libaert and Mike Brock

Despite widowed Elizabeth Martin successfully raising her family for many years on her own, her eldest son refused to pay for her keep when she was an inmate of the Guildford Union Workhouse, saying he ‘would rather rot in gaol than do so’.

Elizabeth was born in Chobham, Surrey in about 1800, the third child of John and Jane Slyfield (Slifield) née Elliot, who had married on 5th March 1794 in nearby Horsell 1, 2, 3. 

Elizabeth most probably spent her early years in Chobham as she married bachelor Richard Martyn sic at the St Lawrence Church on 2nd July 1826 4.   Both ‘made their mark’ on the register, meaning they could not read or write.  Elizabeth’s elder brother James Slyfield was one of the witnesses.

Elizabeth and Richard set up home in East Clandon, about 10 miles (16km) south-east of Chobham where Mary, the first of their five children, was born.  She was baptised at the St Thomas and Canterbury Church on 23rd March 1828, with Richard noted as a labourer 5.

Jane was their second child, baptised in August 1830 6, followed by Robert in 1833 7, Caroline in 1835 8 and William in 1839 9.  Sadly, Jane passed away age 5 in 1835 10. Caroline was also 5 when she died from consumption in 1841 11.  Life expectancy of children born in the United Kingdom around this time showed that over a quarter would not reach their fifth birthdays 12. 

Not only had Elizabeth lost two children, but her husband Richard had also passed away, on 14th February 1840 age 51, leaving her a widow at the time of the 1841 Census with no apparent source of income 13, 14.  She was living in Clandon Street, now known as The Street, East Clandon, with her children Mary (12), Robert (7) and William (2). 

Elizabeth would clearly have needed to work to keep the family out of the workhouse.  The 1851 Census showed her to be a charwoman, so she had probably been doing that for some time 15.  Age 52, Elizabeth was living East Clandon ‘village’ with son Robert (18) and William (12), both agricultural labourers, so they would have brought in a small income.  Her daughter Mary was a 23-year-old unmarried house servant living and working at Woodcote Farm, West Horsley, the adjacent village to East Clandon 16.

Getting by, though, would still have been difficult for Elizabeth, and in December 1856, she was brought before the County Bench for allegedly stealing a bundle of twigs known as a ‘faggot’ from Colonel Sumner at his nearby Hatchlands Park home 17, 18.  Elizabeth claimed to the Guildford Bench that she had found the ‘faggot’ lying in the road, so the chairman instructed that without further evidence, Elizabeth should be released without charge.

Elizabeth, 63, was lodging in West Clandon with widow Sarah Styles but still working as a charwoman at the time of the 1861 Census 19.  Her sons were both lodging elsewhere – Robert, 28, was a groom in East Horsley while 22-year-old William, a farm labourer, was in Stoke-next-Guildford 20, 21.  Daughter Mary, 30, was a house servant at the Ship Inn in Guildford 22.  None of them were married.

Elizabeth’s health around this time must have been in decline, as the 1864-1871 Guildford Union Poor Law Accounts Book showed her to be ‘infirm’ throughout the eight years recorded 23.  This meant that she received money and ‘in kind’ donations (for example bread, clothing) from the Guildford Union which helped ensure that she did not have to go into the Workhouse during this time.

The 1871 Census noted Elizabeth as 67, still lodging with Sarah Styles in West Clandon 24.  Elizabeth’s son Robert was also lodging there.  Labourer Robert had married in 1864, but his wife and children were not with him in West Clandon 25.  Instead, they were with Eliza’s parents in Morden, Surrey, about 20 miles (32km) away 26.  Elizabeth’s other son William had married Ann Ricketts in West Clandon in May 1870 and they had settled close by in Merrow 27, 28. Daughter Mary was still an unmarried domestic servant, now in Stoke-next-Guildford 29.

Elizabeth had remained independent until now, but by 1875, she was an inmate of the Guildford Union Workhouse.   The shocking circumstances behind this was revealed when her son Robert was summoned to the Guildford Bench in February 1875 for ‘allowing his mother to become chargeable to the Guildford Union’ 30.  Robert was told by the Relieving Officer of the Union, Mr Higgins, that he ‘received good wages’ and ‘ had no one to support but himself’ – clearly, Mr Higgins did not know about Robert’s wife and children – so Robert was ordered to pay 2 shillings a week for Elizabeth’s keep in the workhouse.  Robert’s reply was that he would not pay the amount and ‘would sooner rot in gaol than do so’.

Unfortunately, there are no records to show what happened as a result of Robert’s reply, but it seems that very shortly afterwards, he moved away to Rudgwick, Sussex, where just a year later, he had become a father again with a new partner 31.

Elizabeth, therefore, would almost certainly have remained in the Workhouse.  The details for her on the 1881 Census were somewhat inaccurate, putting her age as 96 – she was probably just a little over 80 – and said that she was a domestic servant 32.  Her birthplace of Chobham was correct, though. 

Elizabeth passed away in the Guildford Union Workhouse on 6th June 1883 from ‘decay of age’, aged 88, with the death certificate noting her to be the ‘widow of William Martin, labourer of East Clandon’ 33.  William, of course, was the name of her youngest son who was living with his family nearby.  He may well have provided the information for the death certificate, but may not have known that Richard was his father’s name as William was only a year old when his father had died.  It is also likely that William did not know his mother’s true age either. 

Elizabeth was buried on 9th June at St Thomas of Canterbury church in East Clandon, where her children had been baptised, and two daughters and her husband laid to rest 34. She had the honour of being the ‘First burial in new Burial Ground’.

It certainly would have been interesting to know what Elizabeth had thought of her treatment by her own son as she passed her final years in the Guildford Union Workhouse.

October 2022, updated March 2024

References

All references are Ancestry.co.uk unless otherwise stated

  1. Elizabeth Slifield Baptism 16 Feb 1800 Surrey History Centre; Woking, Surrey, England; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Chobham, St Lawrence; Reference: CHOB/1/3
  2. John Slifield & Jane Elliot Marriage 5 Mar 1794 Surrey History Centre; Woking, Surrey, England; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Horsell, St Mary; Reference: HORS/2/1
  3. Sarah Slyfield Baptism 19 Oct 1794 Surrey History Centre; Woking, Surrey, England; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Chobham, St Lawrence; Reference: CHOB/1/3
    James Slyfield Baptism 29 Apr 1798 Surrey History Centre; Woking, Surrey, England; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Chobham, St Lawrence; Reference:CHOB/1/3
  4. Elizabeth Slyfield & Richard Martyn Marriage 2 Jul 1826 Surrey History Centre; Woking, Surrey, England; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Chobham, St Lawrence; Reference:CHOB/2/3
  5. Mary Martin Baptism 23 Mar 1828 Surrey History Centre; Woking, Surrey, England; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; East Clandon, St Thomas of Canterbury; Reference: CLE/3/1
  6. Jane Martin Baptism 29 Aug 1830 Surrey History Centre; Woking, Surrey, England; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; East Clandon, St Thomas of Canterbury; Reference: CLE/3/1
  7. Robert Martin Baptism 17 Feb 1833 Surrey History Centre; Woking, Surrey, England; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; East Clandon, St Thomas of Canterbury; Reference: CLE/3/1
  8. Caroline Martin Baptism 13 Dec 1835 Surrey History Centre; Woking, Surrey, England; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; East Clandon, St Thomas of Canterbury; Reference: CLE/3/1
  9. William Martin Baptism 24 Feb 1839 Surrey History Centre; Woking, Surrey, England; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; East Clandon, St Thomas of Canterbury; Reference: CLE/3/1
  10. Jane Martin Burial 10 Jun 1835 Surrey History Centre; Woking, Surrey, England; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; East Clandon, St Thomas of Canterbury; Reference:–
  11. Caroline Martin Burial 4 Feb 1841 Surrey History Centre; Woking, Surrey, England; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; East Clandon, St Thomas of Canterbury; Reference:–
  12. Child Mortality Rate (under 5 years old) in the United Kingdom from 1800 to 2020 Statista.com
  13. Richard Martin Burial 18 Feb 1840 Surrey History Centre; Woking, Surrey, England; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; East Clandon, St Thomas of Canterbury; Reference:–
  14. Elizabeth, Mary, Robert, William Martin 1841 England Census for East Clandon, Surrey; class HO107; piece 1080; book 9; folio 5; page 4
  15. Elizh, Robert, William Martin 1851 England Census for East Clandon, Surrey; class HO107; piece 1594; folio 292; page 11
  16. Mary Martin 1851 England Census for West Horsley, Surrey; class HO107; piece 1594; folio 267; page 6
  17. County Bench, Saturday, Dec 20th Elizabeth Martin 27 Dec 1856, The West Surrey Times, page 2 FindMyPast.co.uk / British Newspaper Archive
  18. The History of Hatchlands Park / The Families who lived at Hatchlands Park NationalTrust.org.uk/visit/Surrey
  19. Elizabeth Martin 1861 England Census for East Clandon, Surrey; class RG9; piece 426; folio 81; page 16
  20. Robert Martin 1861 England Census for East Horsley, Surrey; class RG9; piece 426; folio 94; page 10
  21. William Martin 1861 England Census for Stoke, Guildford, Surrey; class RG9; piece 427; folio 15; page 22
  22. Mary Marton 1861 England Census for Guildford, St Nicholas, Surrey; class RG9; piece 428; folio 108; page 20
  23. Elizabeth Martin Guildford Poor Law Half Yearly Accounts 1864-1871, BG6/33/1. Surrey History Centre, Woking
  24. Elizabeth, Robert Martin 1871 England Census for West Clandon, Surrey; class RG10; piece 810; folio 84; page 17
  25. Robert Martin & Eliza Worsfold Marriage 13 Nov 1864 London Borough of Sutton, Sutton, England; Sutton, Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Sutton, St Nicholas; Reference: P42/1/4
  26. Richard, James, Jane Worsfold. Eliza, Marianne J, Clara K, William R Martin 1871 England Census for Morden, Surrey; class RG10; piece 854; folio 86; pages 5 and 6
  27. William Martin & Ann Rickets Marriage 7 May 1870 Surrey History Centre; Woking, Surrey, England; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; West Clandon, St Peter and St Paul; Reference:CLW/2/3
  28. William, Ann Martin 1871 England Census for Merrow, Guildford, Surrey; class RG10; piece 810; folio 67; page 3
  29. Mary Marton 1871 England Census for Stoke-next-Guildford, Surrey; class RG10; piece 811; folio 67; page 33
  30. An Inhuman Son 13 Feb 1875, The West Surrey Times, page 3 FindMyPast.co.uk / British Newspaper Archive
  31. Robert, Emily, Alice, William, Elinor, Ernest Martin 1881 England Census for Rudgwick, Sussex; class RG11; piece 1110; folio 49; page 3
  32. Elizth Martin 1881 England Census for Guildford Union Workhouse, Guildford, Surrey; class RG11; piece 778; folio 90; page 2
  33. Elizabeth Martin Death 6 Jun 1883 England & Wales Deaths; Apr-May-Jun 1883, Guildford, Surrey; volume 2A; page 55. Copy of original from General Register Office GRO.gov.uk
  34. Elizabeth Martin Burial 9 Jun 1883 Surrey History Centre; Woking, Surrey, England; Surrey Church of England Parish