Aaron Roberts (1796 - 1857) (Urgent)

by Jefff , West London, Middlesex, Sunday, November 05, 2023, 22:26 (376 days ago) @ davidgeorge

Hi David,
thank you SO much for this post, and also to MPG and Slowhands for their research, I've found it all very interesting and helpful.
It's hard to be absolutely certain, seeing as the newspaper reports etc don't give an age for Aaron Roberts, and his wasn't a rare nameset in this area at this time, but it does seem very likely that this is the man from one of my trees.
Indeed, of the various Aaron/Aron/Arun Roberts detailed in this site's PRs database, my one is the youngest and the only one old enough to be drunk and fighting in 1857.

The Aaron Roberts I have was born in Ruardean in 1796, not far from Hope Mansell.

Record_ID: 470396
Entry_Number:
Year: 1796
Month: Feb
Day: 7
Parents_Surname: ROBERTS
Child_Forenames: Aaron
Fathers_Forenames: William
Mothers_Forenames: Hannah
Mothers_Surname:
Residence:
Occupation:
Officiating_Minister: J H BEESTON - minister
Event: Baptism
Memoranda:
Notes:
Register_Reference: P275 IN 1/6
Page_Number: 26
Parish_Chapel: Ruardean
Soundex: R163

Sadly the PRs don't give his occupation, his marriage record suggests he lived local to, but not in, the Parish of Walford - so it could well have been Hope Mansell. I wonder why they married at Walford, as both Aaron and his bride Phoebe had been baptised at Ruardean. All their parents were alive when they married, yet they were not even mentioned, possibly not present, at the service ?

Record_ID: 202456
Entry_Number: 110
Year: 1822
Month: Jan
Day: 31
Grooms_Surname: ROBERTS
Grooms_Forenames: Aaron
Grooms_Age: [not stated]
Groom_Condition: Bachelor
Grooms_Occupation: [not stated]
Grooms_Residence: extraparochially
Grooms_Fathers_Surname:
Grooms_Fathers_Forenames:
Grooms_Fathers_Occupation:
Brides_Surname: HARRIS
Brides_Forenames: Phebe
Brides_Age: [not stated]
Brides_Condition: Spinster
Brides_Occupation: [not stated]
Brides_Residence: extraparochially
Brides_Fathers_Surname:
Brides_Fathers_Forenames:
Brides_Fathers_Occupation:
Licence_or_Banns: Banns
Date_of_Banns:
Signature_or_Mark: Both sign
Witness_1: Mark of Maria Webb
Witness_2: James Webb
Other_Witnesses:
Officiating_Minister: T. D. Fosbroke Min[iste]r
Event: Marriage
Memoranda:
Notes:
Register_Reference: AO19/6
Page_Number: 37
Parish_Chapel: Walford
Soundex_Groom: R163
Soundex_Bride: H620

Record_ID: 470618
Entry_Number:
Year: 1801
Month: Apr
Day: 19
Parents_Surname: HARRIS
Child_Forenames: Phebe
Fathers_Forenames: George
Mothers_Forenames: Phebe
Mothers_Surname:
Residence:
Occupation:
Officiating_Minister: J H BEESTON - minister
Event: Baptism
Memoranda:
Notes:
Register_Reference: P275 IN 1/6
Page_Number: 39
Parish_Chapel: Ruardean
Soundex: H620

The 1841 Census shows Aaron, Phebe and their young family residing at Hope Mansell.

The 1851 Census again shows Aaron and family residing at Hope Mansell, where he's described as a labourer - which fits his reported job c1857 as a quarryman in that same place.

So I'm led to believe that the Aaron Roberts in my tree is the man who died in this sad and regretable incident of January 1857. His given age at death suggests a birth date of around 1797, which fits nicely.

Record_ID: 91142
Entry_Number: 1137
Year: 1857
Month: Jan
Day: 15
Surname: ROBERTS
Forenames: Aaron
Residence: Hawthorns
Age_at_death: 60 years
Officiating_Minister: H.G Nicholls
Event: Burial
Cause_of_death:
Memoranda:
Notes: Burial detailsO.Y. R9 g9
Register_Reference: P109 IN 1/11
Page_No: 143
Parish_Chapel: Drybrook
Soundex: R163

Aaron's name was remembered in perpetuity by successive generations of his family, the first being this baby who was buried the year later.... all very sad.

Record_ID: 91213
Entry_Number: 1207
Year: 1858
Month: May
Day: 25
Surname: ROBERTS
Forenames: Aaron
Residence: Hawthorns
Age_at_death: 7 Months
Officiating_Minister: W.A.Whitestone
Event: Burial
Cause_of_death:
Memoranda:
Notes: Burial details O.Y. 3R 10g
Register_Reference: P109 IN 1/11
Page_No: 151
Parish_Chapel: Drybrook
Soundex: R163

I haven't yet found a birth or baptism record for this child, maybe there isn't one, but given the date and address it seems likely to be one of the same family, a grandchild perhaps ?.

The reason Aaron Roberts d1857 is of interest to me is he is my brother-in-law's G-G-Grandfather. My brother-in-law was born on Ruardean Hill, and with my sister and I coming from the "big town" of Cinderford we've always joked that Rurdenill is a wild and dangerous place. In truth, and before I started researching his family tree about 10 years ago, we had NO reason whatsoever to believe that our family joke had any factual basis at all - my brother is an excellent chap, just like his own family. However, with the help of the old newspapers, I've found that the Roberts of Ruardean Hill seemed to have had more than their fair share of run-ins with the law, often involving beer houses - but of course in Victorian times life for most Foresters was a very harsh affair, altho the Roberts' perhaps took it to excess at times..... but we never ever expected to hear of a case as sad as this one.

Thanks again David for your post.