Henry Richard was baptised on 11 Jan, 1831 at St. Mary's Church in Newark on Trent, Nottinghamshire, England^a1, the son of William Alcock (1798–1864)★, a labourer, and Ann Lawson (1796–1862)★. He is Stephanie's great great grandfather.

Henry Richard was recorded in the 1851 census at Tenter Buildings in Newark on Trent, Nottinghamshire, England^b1 with his father William, now a stone sawer, mother Ann, a lace runner and three siblings Maria, a lace runner, Alfred, an agricultural labourer and Emma.

He married Millicent Mary Sharp (1837–1901)★, a domestic servant, on 4 Aug, 1859 at The Register Office in Newark on Trent, Nottinghamshire, England^c1 and went on to have three children with her:–

• William baptised on 11 Feb, 1862 in the parish of Newark on Trent in Nottinghamshire, England^a2. Married Annie Elizabeth Staines in 1881 at St. John's Church in Muston, Leicestershire, England^d1 and Gertrude Mary Greenwood in 1937 in the registration district of Peterborough in Huntingdonshire, England^e1. Died on 17 May, 1941 in Peterborough^f1 at the age of eighty-one.
• Henry Arthur★, soldier, baptised on 11 Feb, 1862 in Newark on Trent^a3. Married Anastatia Cody★ on 25 Nov, 1886 in the parish of St. Canice in Kilkenny City, Kilkenny, Ireland^g1. Died on 31 Jan, 1931 at 108 Salisbury Street in Bedford, Bedfordshire, England^c2,f2,h1 at the age of sixty-nine.
• Susannah Eliza born on 6 Apr, 1866 at Hillside in Old Lenton, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England^c3. Married Alfred Mayson and John Beardsley in 1912 in the parish of Glentham in Lincolnshire, England^e2,k1. Died in the Oct-Dec quarter of 1919 in the registration district of Caistor in Lincolnshire, England^e3 at the age of fifty-three.

In the 1861 census he was living at 48 Tenter Buildings in Newark on Trent, Nottinghamshire, England^m1 with his wife Millicent Mary and son William.

The time and place of Henry Richard's death is not known.

Timeline

1831

11 Jan

Baptised at St. Mary's Church, Newark on Trent, Nottinghamshire, England.^a1

1851

30 Mar

Recorded in the 1851 census at Tenter Buildings, Newark on Trent, Nottinghamshire.^b1
Occupation recorded as agricultural labourer.^b1

1859

4 Aug

Married Millicent Mary Sharp★ at The Register Office, Newark on Trent, Nottinghamshire.^c1
Occupation recorded as plaster pit labourer.^c1
Recorded as living at Tenter Buildings, Newark on Trent.^c1

1860

29 Mar

Son, William Alcock (1860–1941), born at Tenter Buildings, Newark on Trent.^a2

1861

7 Apr

Recorded in the 1861 census at 48 Tenter Buildings, Newark on Trent, Nottinghamshire.^m1
Occupation recorded as working maltster.^m1

1862

27 Jan

His son, Henry Arthur Alcock (1862–1931)★, born at Tenter Buildings, Newark on Trent. He was the informant.^c4

3 Feb

Occupation recorded as working maltster.^c4
Recorded as living at Tenter Buildings, Newark on Trent.^c4

11 Feb

Occupation recorded as maltster.^a2,a3
Recorded as living at Tenter Buildings, Newark on Trent.^a2,a3

28 Jul

Mother, Ann Lawson (1796–1862)★, died at Tenter Buildings, Newark on Trent.^c5

1866

6 Apr

Daughter, Susannah Eliza Alcock (1866–1919), born at Hillside, Old Lenton, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England.^c3
Occupation recorded as maltster.^c3

1881

24 Oct

Occupation recorded as maltster.^d1

1886

25 Nov

Occupation recorded as seaman.^g1

1901

22 Mar

Occupation recorded as maltster.^c6

1919

Oct-Dec

Daughter, Susannah Eliza Alcock (1866–1919), died in Caistor, Lincolnshire, England.^e3

1931

31 Jan

Son, Henry, died at 108 Salisbury Street, Bedford, Bedfordshire, England.^c2,f2,h1

1941

17 May

Son, William Alcock (1860–1941), died in Peterborough, Huntingdonshire, England.^f1

Facts

Research Notes

Where did Henry go? #

Henry was born in 1831 in Newark and married Millicent Mary Sharp★ (Mary) there on 4 Aug, 1859. By 1861 he was living with his wife and eldest child, William, in Tenter Buildings, Newark. He was recorded as a working maltser, a common occupation in the area.

However, something happened in the mid 1860s that led to Henry’s disappearance. The last mention of Henry in the records is the baptism of his last child Susannah in 1866. Thereafter we just have indirect references to him:

• In 1871 his wife Mary is living with her two sons William and Henry★ in Newark. She is recorded as married and is working as a charwoman to support the family. Their youngest child, Susannah, is living with Mary’s parents William and Mary Sharp in Grantham.
• By 1881, Mary has joined her parents and is living in Grantham with them and two of her children, William and Susannah. Henry junior has enlisted in the army and is barracks at Aldershot. Mary is still recorded as married so she presumably still believes her husband to be alive. She is working as a washerwoman.
• In 1891 Mary, still recorded as married, is living alone with her widowed father in Grantham.
• Mary dies on the 24 March 1901. Her son William was the informant on her death certificate where her occupation is recorded as “Wife of Richard Alcock, maltster master”. If William believed his father to be dead then almost certainly her occupation would have been recorded as “Widow of Richard Alcock”.
• Strangely, when Henry junior married Anastatia Cody★ in 1886 he stated his father’s occupation as “Seaman”.

We can can only speculate why Henry Richard is missing from the records for40 years. There are a number of possibilities, of varying plausibility:

a) He abandoned his family and took up with another woman. However, there is no trace of him in the census or civil registration records. He could have changed his name, which would make him exceedingly hard to find.

b) He was in prison. We haven’t found any records of his conviction or any reports in newspapers of the time. Being in prison might be an explanation for his son recording his father’s occupation as Seaman to avoid the shame.

c) He was at sea. We could take Henry’s marriage certificate at face value and assume his father was at sea. Newark was apparently a major inland port and the maltings were built close to the canal for transportation. The River Trent ran past Newark through Gainsborough to the Humber. (see humber packet boats article) We could check merchant seaman records for him.

d) He was present with his family but somehow was not recorded in the census. This seems implausible too. If he was not with his family on the night of the census then where was he and why was he not recorded in the census at that location? He could, of couurse, be aboard a ship. However, the seperation of the family in the 1871 census is suggestive of an unexpected economic shock. Mary has had to take on work as a charwoman and her daughter has been sent to live with her parents.

e) He was admitted to an asylum. It’s possible that Henry Richard had some kind of breakdown and was committed. His mother died in 1862, his father in 1864 and by 1866 he was supporting his wife and three children. Maltsers often had seasonal lulls so possibly there were economic pressures on him.