Hannah (Barber) West (1705 - aft. 1745)

Born 26 Aug 1705 in Tortington, Arundel, Sussex, England

Ancestors

Wife of William Westt — married 12 Apr 1730 in Chichester, Sussex, England

Descendants

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Hannah (Barber) West was born in Sussex, England.

Biography

Hannah was born on 28 Aug 1705 in the village of Tortington near Arundel, Sussex, England. She was the daughter of Edward Barber and Elizabeth Beard, both members of prominent Quaker families. Her father's address at the time of his marriage to Elizabeth was Tortington 'Priory', probably one of a collection of buildings remaining on the site of the old priory after the dissolution. Hannah's grandfather, Nicholas Beard, became a Quaker in 1655 at the time of founder George Fox's visit to Sussex. In the following decades, the Beard family suffered persecution, imprisonment and significant losses of goods and property. It seems odd that the only record of Hannah's birth appears in the Parish Register for Tortington; a Quaker one hasn't been located yet. However, Quaker birth records for her elder siblings have been found (Mary born 14 Sep 1698, Nathaniel born 1 Sep 1701, Sarah born 10 Sep 1703) and seem to have been recorded by the small Quaker community based in Steyning.

Hannah married William Westt on 12 Apr 1730 in Chichester, Sussex. The couple had six children, the first of whom, William West, died in infancy aged 11 months on 17 Feb 1731. He was laid to rest in the Quaker burial ground at Arundel. The birth records of their last two children, Hannah and Samuel, have not yet been located. Unusually the Quakers responsible for the monthly meetings of the Lewes and Chichester meeting house did not disclose William and Hannahs' place of residence on the birth records of any of their children.

Hannah's place and date of death are presently unknown. Samuel West, her last known child, was born around 1745 so her death must be after this time.

Sources

• Sussex : Tortington : St Mary Magdalene : Parish Register : "Parish Register" database, FreeREG (https://www.freereg.org.uk/search_records/5818042be93790eca3554be3 : viewed 21 Nov 2021) baptism Hannah Barber [Note this record gives only a birth date].

• "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N5SH-S44 : 10 April 2021), Hannah Barber, 1705.

• "England, Sussex, Parish Registers, 1538-1910", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2Q3-TRQY : 11 March 2018), Hannah Barber, 1705.

• "England and Wales Non-Conformist Record Indexes (RG4-8), 1588-1977," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FQV6-GT1 : 11 December 2014), Hannah Barber, 26 Aug 1705, Birth; citing p. 110, Arundel, Sussex, record group RG6, Public Record Office, London.

• "England and Wales Non-Conformist Record Indexes (RG4-8), 1588-1977," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F73Y-R62 : 11 December 2014), Hannah Barber, 12 Apr 1730, Marriage; citing p. 50, Chichester, Sussex, record group RG6, Public Record Office, London.

• "England Marriages, 1538–1973 ", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NJD4-T6Z : 13 March 2020), Hannah Barber in entry for William West, 1830.

• A History of the County of Sussex: Volume 5 Part 1, Arundel Rape: South-Western Part, Including Arundel. Originally published by Victoria County History, London, 1997. Tortington, pages 214-224, available at: https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/sussex/vol5/pt1/pp214-224 (accessed 21 Nov 2021).

• Penney, Norman. My Ancestors. Printed for private circulation by Headley Brothers Bishopsgate, EC., and Ashford, Kent, 1920. The Beard Family, pages 47-55 and the Barber Family, pages 57-58.