MERCY WELLAND
Subject Name: Mercy Welland (née Coomber) (b1840 – d1907)
Researcher: Viv Bennett
This is the story of Mercy Welland, who was an inmate of the Guildford Union workhouse on the 1881 census, a widow age 40 born in Edenbridge Kent, with her children Walter and Lucy. So how did she find herself in the Guildford workhouse? And what happened to her and her children in later life?
Mercy Coomber was born on 17th September 1840 in Edenbridge, the sixth daughter of labourer William Coomber and his wife Lucy (1, 2, 3). An older brother and sister had died in infancy (4). Mercy’s mum Lucy registered her birth, signing the certificate with a mark, but tragically, the 33-year-old was dying from consumption. Just over three weeks later on 10th October, Lucy passed away in Edenbridge (5).
Mercy was baptised on 28th May 1841 at Edenbridge’s St Peter and St Paul’s Parish Church, poignantly noted as the daughter of ‘William and late Lucy’ Coomber (6).
The 1841 Census taken just nine days later showed that eight-month-old Mercy was living with her 
widowed father William, an agricultural labourer age 43, at Paradise (now known as Paradise Row), Edenbridge with her four older sisters – Ann age 15, Sarah 11, Lucy 9 and Rhoda 7 (7). It seems certain that Ann, despite her young age, would have been responsible for Mercy and her three other sisters’ care so that their father could continue to earn a wage.
Mercy can be found ten years later, in the 1851 census, still living at Paradise, Edenbridge and recorded as a ‘Scholar Sunday School’, age 10 (8). This was probably the only day that Mercy attended school, as children were needed to work on the other days of the week – full-time education was not made compulsory until 1870 (9).
Living with her were two of her sisters. Ann, 24, was listed as an unmarried housekeeper while Lucy, 18, had no occupation noted. Jane, the two-year-old illegitimate daughter of Ann, made up the household (10). However, it seems that William, the father of Mercy, Ann and Lucy, had perhaps been unintentionally omitted by the enumerator. This is borne out by the fact that on the Census return, no one in the family was noted as “head” of the household. Instead, the three sisters were noted as “daughters” and Jane as “grand-daughter”, which of course were their respective relationships to William, indicating that he was actually there. In fact, it could be said that Ann was effectively the “head” as she was both a mother to two-year-old Jane and was probably also responsible for the well-being of the rest of the family, including her sister Mercy.
Ann had a second illegitimate child William in 1853 (11). Six years later she succumbed to phthisis, the 19th Century term for tuberculosis, passing away in January 1859 (12). With sister Lucy having married in 1856 (13), 18-year-old Mercy and her father would have been left to look after Ann’s two children.
By the time of the 1861 Census, Mercy was still living at Paradise, Edenbridge but as a lodger with the Pellett family, working as a house servant (14). She would have known them well as they had been living next door to her family since at least the time of the 1851 Census (15). Mercy’s father was now lodging in Edenbridge High Street with his eight-year-old grandson William (16) while Jane, Mercy’s 12-year-old niece, was her next-door neighbour, lodging with the Baker family (17).
Mercy married labourer Isaac Welland, also living in Edenbridge, on 19th October 1867 at the Bethel Baptist Chapel in Sevenoaks, Kent (18). Isaac had been born in Godalming, Surrey around 1837(19). It is not known how they met, possibly Isaac had moved to Edenbridge for work. Some time after their marriage, they moved 35 miles (56km) west to Eashing, just outside Godalming, where their son Walter William was born on 27th January 1870 (20). He was baptised at St Mary’s Church in nearby Shackleford on 24th April 1870 (21).
They were not to remain in Eashing for long, as by the time of the 1871 Census, they had moved back to almost where they had come from, lodging at the Old Forge, Lingfield, Surrey, just a short distance from Edenbridge on the Kent border (19). Mercy was 32, with Isaac, 34, noted as a cleaver. Their son Walter was a year old.
Isaac’s occupation, its full name being a lath cleaver, involved cutting wood to make laths for use in the building industry (22). He may have had to move around where work was required because in 1872, the family were in Limpsfield, Surrey, about ten miles (16km) north of Lingfield. It was clear that the family were very poor as they were presented with a Removal Order from Limpsfield to Isaac’s birth parish of Godalming (23). The Guildford Union Workhouse minutes for 6th July 1872 stated: “The Clerk produced an order for the removal of Isaac Welland, his wife and child from Limpsfield in the Godstone Union to Godalming in this Union and reported from enquiries he had caused to be made it appeared that no objection could successfully be made to the order”.
At this time, Mercy was heavily pregnant with her second child, and Isaac was now seriously ill with phthisis which would almost certainly have prevented him from working. Before the Removal Order could be implemented, Mercy gave birth to a daughter, Lucy Ann, on 22nd August 1872 in Limpsfield (24). Tragically, just 29 days later on 20th September, Mercy’s husband Isaac died age 37 (25). He was buried at St. Peter’s Church, Limpsfield on 25th September (26). Just four days later, Mercy returned to St. Peter’s for the baptism of their baby Lucy (27).
Despite the death of her husband, Mercy Welland and her two children were still subject to the Removal Order. There are no records to show exactly when Mercy and her two children were admitted to Guildford Union Workhouse, but on the 1881 Census Mercy is recorded as a 40-year-old widow of an agricultural labourer (28). Walter age 11 and Lucy 8 were both listed as scholars, most probably in the workhouse school. All three were down as born in Edenbridge, even though Walter had been born in Eashing, and Lucy in Limpsfield.
The children would have stayed with their mother in the female section of the Workhouse until they were seven, and then been transferred to the children’s ward. After that, the rules were that Mercy was permitted to see them once a day (29).
So what happened to Mercy and her children?
At some stage in the 1880s, Mercy and son Walter moved back to Kent while daughter Lucy remained for a time in Guildford. This could have been quite soon after the 1881 census, once Walter and Lucy were older and the family could fend for themselves.
The 1891 Census records Mercy as a widow age 52 working as a general servant for a 52-year-old widowed blacksmith at Greathead Common, Sundridge, just outside Sevenoaks in Kent (30).
Walter meanwhile had enlisted in the King’s Own Scottish Borderers on 6th June 1889 in Sevenoaks, Kent, age 18 years and 4 months (31).
Lucy appeared in the 1891 Census working as a housemaid, age 18, at a ladies’ school in London Road, Stoke Next Guildford, very close to the Workhouse (32). She then moved to her mother’s home town of Edenbridge where she married William Charles Lambert in August 1896 (33). It is possible that Lucy’s mother Mercy signed as a witness to the marriage although the signature on the certificate is not clear. Whether it is her signature or not, she would certainly have been at the wedding as Edenbridge was her birthplace, and was also where Lucy and her new husband William were noted as living. Maybe all three were under the same roof at this time?
Mercy definitely was living with them by the time of the 1901 Census. Noted as a 62-year-old widow, a retired housekeeper, she was at 18 Gladstone Road, Tonbridge, Kent where Lucy, age 28, and William, 29, had settled after their marriage (34).
Mercy became a grandmother when Lucy gave birth to Winifred May in Spring 1902 (35). Her son Walter, having completed 12 years in the Army, married Lois Robus in August 1902 in nearby Westerham (36). Five more grandchildren quickly followed – Lois Millie Welland in 1903, Lucy Gladys May Welland in 1904, Kathleen Winifred Welland 1905, Violet Lilian Lambert 1906, and Walter George Welland in 1906 (37).
Sadly, Mercy had very little time to enjoy the company of her grandchildren as she passed away at her daughter’s home on 11th June 1907 from ‘morbus cordis’ (heart disease) and ‘dropsy’ (oedema), age 70 (38). Her death came just three days after her son Walter and his family had departed Liverpool seeking out a new life in Canada (39).
It seems clear that despite tragedy both in her own childhood and marriage, Mercy had been a devoted mother who had enabled her two children to go on to lead happy and successful lives.
For more on Mercy’s son Walter’s story, click here
For more on Mercy’s daughter Lucy’s story, click here
January 2021, updated August 2022
References
(1) ‘Mercy Coomber’ Birth Jul-Aug-Sep 1840, registration district Sevenoaks Union, Volume 5, Page 370, mother Bowrah. FreeBMD.co.uk. Original certificate available from Gro.gov.uk
(2) ‘Ann Coomber’ (11 Mar 1827) Surrey Parish Registers, Ss Peter & Paul, Lingfield, Surrey, Baptisms 1813-1838, reference 2399/1/5, page 108. Surrey History Centre. FindMyPast.co.uk
‘Sarah Coomber’ (27 Sep 1829) Surrey Parish Registers, Ss Peter & Paul, Lingfield, Surrey, Baptisms 1813-1838, reference 2399/1/5, page 129. Surrey History Centre. FindMyPast.co.uk
‘Lucy Coomber’ (9 Oct 1831) Kent Parish Registers, Ss Peter & Paul, Edenbridge, Kent, Baptisms 1813-1845, reference P131/1/B/2, page 115. Kent History and Library Centre. FindMyPast.co.uk
‘Rhoda Coomber’ (22 Feb 1835) Kent Parish Registers, Ss Peter & Paul, Edenbridge, Kent, Baptisms 1813-1845, reference P131/1/B/2, page 137. Kent History and Library Centre. FindMyPast.co.uk
‘Elizabeth Coomber’ (22 Feb 1837) Kent Parish Registers, Ss Peter & Paul, Edenbridge, Kent, Baptisms 1813-1845, reference P131/1/B/2, page 155, mother Bowra. Kent History and Library Centre. FindMyPast.co.uk
(3) ‘William Coomber and Lucy Boorer’ (8 Dec 1824) Surrey Parish Registers, Ss Peter & Paul, Lingfield, Surrey, Marriages 1813-1837, reference 2399/1/12, page 41. Surrey History Centre. FindMyPast.co.uk
(4) ‘William Coomber’ (18 Dec 1825) Surrey Parish Registers, Ss Peter & Paul, Lingfield, Surrey, Baptisms 1813-1838, reference 2399/1/5, page 99. Surrey History Centre. FindMyPast.co.uk
‘William Coomber’ (29 Jan 1826) Surrey Parish Registers, Lingfield, Surrey, Burials. Surrey History Centre. FindMyPast.co.uk
‘Elizabeth Coomber’ (22 Oct 1837) Kent History & Library Centre, Kent, Baptisms 1813-1845, Ss Peter & Paul, Edenbridge, Kent, reference P131/1/B/2, page 155. FindMyPast.co.uk
‘Elizabeth Coomber’ (26 May 1839) Kent History & Library Centre, Kent, Burials 1813-1875, Ss Peter & Paul, Edenbridge, Kent, reference P131/1/E/2, page 86. FindMyPast.co.uk
(5) ‘Lucy Coomber’ (Oct-Nov-Dec 1840) England & Wales Civil Registration Death Index, registration district Sevenoaks Union, Volume 5, Page 303. General Register Office. Original available from Gro.gov.uk
(6) ‘Mercy Coomber’ (28 May 1841) Kent History & Library Centre, Kent Baptisms 1813-1845, Edenbridge Ss Peter & Paul, reference P131/1/B/2, page 175. FindMyPast.co.uk
(7) ‘William, Ann, Sarah, Lucy, Rodia, Mercy Comber’ 1841 England, Wales & Scotland Census, Paradise, Edenbridge, Sevenoaks, Kent. Reference HO107; Piece 482; Book 7; Folio 51; Page 17. FindMyPast.co.uk
(8) ‘Ann, Lucy, Mercy, Jane Coomber’ 1851 England Census, Edenbridge, Sevenoaks, Kent. Reference HO107; Piece 1613; Folio 576; Page 48. Ancestry.co.uk
(9) ‘The Education of the Working Classes to 1870’. A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 1, Physique, Archaeology, Domesday, Ecclesiastical Organization, the Jews, Religious Houses, Education of Working Classes To 1870, Private Education From Sixteenth Century, ed. J S Cockburn, H P F King and K G T McDonnell (London, 1969), pp. 213-240. British History Online
British-history.ac.uk
(10) ‘Catherine Coomber’ Birth Jan-Feb-Mar 1849, registration district Sevenoaks Union, Volume 5, Page 491, mother -. Gro.gov.uk
‘Catherine Jane Coomber and William Coomber’ (23 Oct 1853) Kent History & Library Centre, Kent Baptisms 1813-1845, Edenbridge Ss Peter & Paul, reference P131/1/B/2, page 175. Mother Anne. FindMyPast.co.uk
(11) William Coomber’ Birth Jul-Aug-Sep 1853, registration district Sevenoaks Union, Volume 5, Page 491, mother -. Gro.gov.uk
‘Catherine Jane Coomber and William Coomber’ (23 Oct 1853) Kent History & Library Centre, Kent Baptisms 1813-1845, Edenbridge Ss Peter & Paul, reference P131/1/B/2, page 175. Mother Anne. FindMyPast.co.uk
(12) ‘Ann Coomber’ Death Jan-Feb-Mar 1859 (4 Jan), registration district Sevenoaks, Volume 2A, Page 265. FreeBMD.co.uk Copy of original certificate available from Gro.gov.uk‘
Ann Coomber’ (9 Jan 1859) Kent History & Library Centre, Kent Burials 1813-1875, Edenbridge Ss Peter & Paul, reference P131/1/E/2, page 150. FindMyPast.co.uk
(13) ‘Lucy Coomber and James Edwards’ (8 Nov 1856) Kent History & Library Centre, Kent Marriages 1837-1899, Edenbridge Ss Peter & Paul, reference P131/1/D/2, page 85. FindMyPast.co.uk
(14) ‘Henry, Sarah, Kate, Lucy Pellett. Mercy Coomber’ 1861 England Census, Edenbridge, Sevenoaks, Kent. Reference RG9; Piece 490; Folio 137B; Pages 31-32. Ancestry.co.uk
(15) ‘Henry, Sarah, Ann, Fanny, Alfred, James, Kate Ellen Pellett’ 1851 England Census, Edenbridge, Sevenoaks, Kent. Reference HO107; Piece 1613; Folio 576; Page 48. Ancestry.co.uk
(16) ‘Henry, Elizabeth, Sarah Ann, Lydia, Henry, Emily Anscomb. William, William Coomber’ 1861 England Census, Edenbridge, Sevenoaks, Kent. Reference RG9; Piece 490; Folio 125; Pages 5-6. Ancestry.co.uk
(17) ‘George, Lucy, Richard, John, Emily Baker. Jane Coomber’ 1861 England Census, Edenbridge, Sevenoaks, Kent. Reference RG9; Piece 490; Folio 137B; Pages 31-32. Ancestry.co.uk
(18) ‘Mercy Coomber and Isaac Welland’ Oct-Nov-Dec (19 Oct 1867), registration district Sevenoaks, Volume 2a, Page 826. FreeBMD.co.uk Copy original certificate available from Gro.gov.uk
(19) ‘Isaac, Mercy, Walter Welland’ 1871 England Census, Lingfield, East Grinstead, Surrey. Reference RG10; Piece 1057; Folio 21; Page 5. Ancestry.co.uk
(20) ‘Walter William Welland’ Birth Jan-Feb-Mar 1870 (27 Jan 1870), registration district Hambledon, Volume 2a, Page 129. FreeBMD.co.uk Copy of original certificate available from Gro.gov.uk
(21) ‘Walter William Welland’ 24 Apr 1870 Baptism. Surrey Church of England Parish Registers, Shackleford St Mary the Virgin 1866-1917, reference 6588/1/1, page 6. Surrey History Centre, Woking, Surrey. Abode Eashing. Ancestry.co.uk
(22) ‘Lath Render/Cleaver’ Rootschat.com
(23) ‘Isaac Welland’ 6 Jul 1872, Guildford Poor Law Union Minute Books 1836-1913, reference BG6/11/17, page 45. Surrey History Centre, Woking, Surrey.
(24) ‘Lucy Ann Welland’ Birth Jul-Aug-Sep 1872 (22 Aug 1872), registration district Godstone, Volume 2a, Page 176. FreeBMD.co.uk / Original certificate available from Gro.gov.uk
(25) ‘Isaac Wellen’ Death Oct-Nov-Dec 1872 (20 Sep 1872), registration district Godstone, Volume 2A, Page 101. Original certificate available from Gro.gov.uk
(26) ‘Isaac Wellend’ 25 Sep 1872 Burial. Surrey Church of England Parish Registers, Limpsfield St Peter 1839-1883, reference P11/1/18. Surrey History Centre, Woking, Surrey. FindMyPast.co.uk
(27) ‘Lucy Ann Welland or Wellen’ 29 Sep 1872 Baptism. Surrey Church of England Parish Registers, Limpsfield St Peter 1837-1900, reference P11/1/10, page 246. Surrey History Centre, Woking, Surrey. FindMyPast.co.uk
(28) ‘Mercy, Walter, Lucy Welland’ 1881 England Census, Guildford Union Workhouse, Stoke Next Guildford, Surrey. Reference RG11; Piece 778; Folio 91; Page 4. Ancestry.co.uk
(29) ‘Life for children in the workhouse. A brief history by Kay Handford’ Published by the Charlotteville Jubilee Trust Ltd., Guildford
‘Children in the Workhouse. The Workhouse, the story of an institution’ Peter Higginbottom. workhouses.org.uk
(30) ‘James Whitbread, Mercy Welland, Henry Turner’ 1891 England Census, Sundridge, Sevenoaks, Kent. Reference RG12; Piece 674; Folio 62; Page 16. Ancestry.co.uk
(31) ‘Walter Welland’ 6 Jun 1889 The National Archives; Kew, Surrey, England; War Office: Soldiers’ Documents, First World War Wo363. UK, British Army World War I Service Records, 1914-1920. Ancestry.co.uk
(32) ‘Lucy A Welland’ 1891 England Census, Stoke Next Guildford, Surrey. Reference RG12; Piece 559; Folio 170; Page 21. FindMyPast.co.uk
(33) ‘Lucy Ann Welland and William Charles Lambert’ 15 Aug 1896 Parish Registers, Ss Peter & Paul, Edenbridge, Kent, Marriages 1837-1899, reference P131/1/D/2, page 233. Kent History & Library Centre. FindMyPast.co.uk
(34) ‘William Charles, Lucy Ann Lambert, Mercy Welland’ 1901 England Census, Tonbridge, Kent. Reference RG13; Piece 757; Folio 120; Page 2. FindMyPast.co.uk
(35) ‘Winifred May Lambert’ Apr-May-Jun 1902 England & Wales Civil Registration Birth Index, registration district Tunbridge Wells, Volume 2A, Page 806. General Register Office Gro.gov.uk
(36) ‘Walter William Welland and Lois Robus’ 23 Aug 1902 Parish Registers, St Mary the Virgin, Westerham, Kent, Marriages 1837-1902, reference P389/1/D/2, page 250. Kent History & Library Centre. FindMyPast.co.uk
(37) ‘Lois Millie Welland’ Jul-Aug-Sep 1903 England & Wales Civil Registration Birth Index, registration district Dartford, Volume 2A, Page 582. General Register Office Gro.gov.uk
‘Lucy Gladys May Welland’ Jul-Aug-Sep 1904 England & Wales Civil Registration Birth Index, registration district Hendon, Volume 3A, Page 296. General Register Office Gro.gov.uk
‘Kathleen Winifred Welland’ Oct-Nov-Dec 1905 England & Wales Civil Registration Birth Index, registration district Bromley, Volume 2A, Page 539. General Register Office Gro.gov.uk
‘Violet Lilian Lambert’ Jul-Aug-Sep 1906 England & Wales Civil Registration Birth Index, registration district Tonbridge, Volume 2A, Page 887. General Register Office Gro.gov.uk
‘Walter George Welland’ Oct-Nov-Dec 1906 England & Wales Civil Registration Birth Index, registration district Hendon, Volume 3A, Page 375. General Register Office Gro.gov.uk
(38) ‘Walter, Lois, Millie, Lucy, Kath., Walter Welland’ Arrival 18 Jun 1907 Canada Incoming Passenger Lists 1865-1935. Library and Archives Canada; Series RG76-C. Ancestry.com
(39) ‘Mercy Welland’ Death Apr-May-Jun 1907 (11 June), registration district Tonbridge, Volume 2A, Page 460. FreeBMD.co.uk Copy of original certificate available from Gro.gov.uk