William ROBERTS (C1766-1848) and Sarah GARDINER (C1793-....)
Family Stories > 6th GENERATION
William Roberts (C1766 - 1848)
Partner : Sarah Gardiner (1793 - .... )
William Roberts and Sarah Gardiner were my 3rd Great-Grandparents - 6th Generation
1. Nola Irene Warren
2. .... George Ernest Edward Warren & Iris Ella Ford
3. .... .... Leonard Leslie Warren & Burdett Launder
4. .... .... .... Roberts Launder & Sarah Burdett Salisbury
5. .... .... .... .... George William Launder & Sarah Gardiner (Roberts)
6. .... .... .... .... .... William Roberts & Sarah Gardiner
WILLIAM ROBERTS Father Mother Partner Sarah Gardiner Children 1. Sarah Gardiner (later known as Sarah Roberts) Born 1813 at Brasted, Kent, UK Baptism 1813, November 28 at Brasted, Kent, UK Father William Roberts Mother Sarah Gardiner Marriage 1824 January 29 at t. Mary's Church, Newington, Sussex Occupation Gentleman Residence High Street, Sevenoaks, Kent, UK Death 1848, May at Sevenoaks, Kent Age at Death 82 years Burial 1848, May 11 at Sevenoaks, Kent _______________________________________________________________________________ SARAH GARDINER Birth Possibly about 1793 in Kent, UK Father Mother Partner William Roberts Occupation House Servant Death Unknown. Possibly in a Workhouse in Kent, UK |
William Roberts
In 1813, a young unmarried woman named Sarah Gardiner, living in Sevenoaks, Kent, became pregnant with a child by a man called William Roberts who was a well-to-do gentleman resident of Sevenoaks. It is also possible he may have been a member of the clergy. William Roberts owned quite a bit of land and property in Kent as well as shares and cash and employed a number of servants, quite possibly including young Sarah. Whether he looked after the young mother-to-be during her pregnancy is not known, but the young woman went to a near-by village, Brasted, to give birth to her baby.
The High Street and London Road, Sevenoaks photographed by Charles Essenhigh Corke - 1890
The unmarried mother, Sarah Gardiner, gave birth to a daughter on November 25 in 1813 and the little girl was christened three days later on November 28. She was given the same name as her mother – Sarah Gardiner.
The entry in the church baptismal records, which I have obtained, are faint and therefore difficult to copy. The record shows the birth labelled as “B.B.” which means “Base Born” or born to an unmarried mother.
Transcription of Parish Register of Brasted, Kent, 1813
Parents’ Usual Place
Date Child’s Name Given Names Surname of Residence
Nov 28th Sarah Roberts ………
BB daughter of Sarah Gardiner Sevenoaks
Whether it was courage, defiance, anger, resentment, pride or some other motivation, the young unmarried mother entered the surname of the father of her baby as “Roberts”. Her usual place of abode was Sevenoaks. William Roberts was about 47 years old at the time of Sarah’s birth.
Name: Sarah Roberts Gardner
Gender: Female
Baptism Date: 28 Nov 1813
Baptism Place: Brasted, Kent, England
Mother: Sarah Gardner
Ancestry.com. England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975
Baby Sarah would later adopt the surname of her father and be known as Sarah Roberts. Sarah grew up in Sevenoaks, and it can be assumed that she had contact with her biological father, William Roberts, because before he died, he wrote a will which acknowledged Sarah as his natural daughter and included a substantial entitlement to her. It was possibly under his influence that Sarah gained a good education – there were good schools in the area at that time.
1841 - Census
Name Wm Roberts
Age 72
Estimated Birth Year abt 1769
Gender Male
Where born Kent, England
Civil parish Seven Oaks
Piece 485 Book 3Folio 6
Household members
Name Age
Wm Roberts 72
Martha Stanley 25
Martha Stanley was a house servant and is mentioned in the Last Will and Testament of William Roberts.
1848 – Death of William Roberts
William Roberts died in May of 1848. In his last will and testament, dated December 21, 1847, he acknowledged Sarah as his natural born child.
The original LW&T is hand-written and difficult to read. It is also lengthy. For the purposes of our story here, I will summarise that which is pertinent to George and Sarah.
William Roberts acknowledged his “natural daughter Sarah now the wife of George Launder of Sevenoaks aforesaid Brewer formally Sarah Gardiner spinster.”
He left Sarah a cottage and garden situated at Ide Hill. The cottage was occupied but was Sarah’s for her lifetime, after which, the property was to be shared between her children and their heirs “as tenants in common and not as joint tenants.”
He left Sarah a third of ”all my share and stock in the long annuities now standing in my name in the Books of the Governor and Company of the Bank of England.”
He left Sarah “my plate china linen and printed books ready money, money in the public stocks or funds and securities for money and all other of my personal estate and effect …….” …to “my natural daughter the wife of the said George Launder”
William Roberts was clearly a very wealthy man when he died and there were many beneficiaries to his will. Sarah certainly benefited greatly and perhaps her inheritance helped herself and her husband, George Launder in their decision to make a new start in a new country - Australia.
William Roberts was 82 years old at his death in May of 1848. He was buried in the churchyard of the parish church at Sevenoaks, Kent on May 11, 1848.
Name: William Roberts
Gender: Male
Death Age: 82
Record Type: Burial
Birth Year: 1766
Burial Date: 11 May 1848
Burial Place: Sevenoaks, Kent
Kent Archives Office; Maidstone, Kent, England; England, Kent, Parish Registers, 1538-1911
1848 – Birth of Sarah's Son, Roberts Launder
On June 11 in 1848, just a month after Sarah’s father’s death, George and Sarah’s eighth child arrived. They named the baby Roberts, presumably in honour of Sarah’s biological father. My great-grandfather was born! William Roberts’ Will was proved on July 18, 1848 making Sarah a wealthy woman.