Elizabeth Webb 1814-1899

I have already written about the mysterious Mills family after 1851, but what of Elizabeth Webb, great great grandmother no 2, who married William Mills in 1832 in Wolverhampton, according to IGI.

Details are of course sketchy at this stage, but the 1851 and 1861 censuses give Elizabeth’s birth year as 1814 and her place of birth as Sedgley. According to IGI she was christened on 6^th November 1814, and her parents were John Webb and Hannah Unitt who were married on 15^th September 1811 at St Peter Or, Wolverhampton. IGI does not mention the church in which Elizabeth was christened but the parish church of Sedgley was All Saints.

We do not know what Elizabeth did, if anything for a living, as she did not work after her marriage to  William Mills who was a master whitesmith, as so many of our ancestors on this side are.

In 1841 this family is living at Sheepcot Wall Sedgley .

The couple were in Sedgley in 1851, at Dudley Road Sedgley with 6 children

William Mills	1811	Fire Iron Maker employing 3 men and three boys	Born Sedgley
Elizabeth Mills	1814	Wife	Born Sedgley
Mary Ann Mills	1834	Daughter - Tailoress	Born Sedgley
Julia Mills	1836	Daughter	Born Sedgley
Elizabeth Mills	1841	Daughter	Born Sedgley
Miram Mills	1844	Daughter	Born Sedgley
Thirza Mills	1845	Daughter	Born Sedgley
Phoebe Ann Mills	1849	Daughter	Born Sedgley

 By 1861 they have two more children

Mils	Hannah	Daughter		1854		Sedgley
Mils	Sarah	Daughter	Unmarried	1857		Sedgley

 However Elizabeth is described as a laundress and William is not there. So, is William dead, as implied by Elizabeth being “Head”, or is he away, as implied by her being “married”? I’m guessing the former, in which case he died some time after 1857 and before 1861. I have been unable to find out for sure.

The family is missing from the 1871 and 1881 census (they may be leaving in a different area), but Elizabeth turns up in the 1891 census as a widow living with Sarah Emily and Joseph Hamilton in Roebuck Street. She died in 1899 at the age of 85.