William Pickering (1743 - 1810)

Born 1743 in Preston, Yorkshire, England

Ancestors

Husband of Mary Bateman — married 3 Jun 1773 in Preston in Holderness, Yorkshire East Riding, England

Descendants

Died Dec 1810 at about age 67 in Sledmere, Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Fred Nix [send private message]

Biography

There is an assumption made in writing this biography: William Pickering who is born in Preston, East Riding of Yorkshire in 1743 is the same person as the William Pickering who dies in 1810 in Sledmere, East Riding of Yorkshire. The author is 99% sure that this is a correct assumption [1].

Given this assumption, here is the story:

William Pickering is born in 1743 in Preston, East Riding of Yorkshire. This is only 10 kilometres from the centre of Hull (Kingston Upon Hull). William is baptized in the All Saints church on April 17, 1743 [2]. His parents are William Pickering (1714-1770) and Hannah Howson (?-1753). William grows up in Preston and becomes a bricklayer.

On June 2, 1773 at the age of 30 William marries Mary Bateman (1747-1781) in Preston [3]. They have three children:

• William Pickering 1774-1774

• Ann Pickering 1775-1834 = (1794) John Woodill 1770-1834

• Hannah Pickering 1778-1861 = (1796) John Goodrick

In 1779 William sells off, or otherwise gives up, some land in Preston [4] and then moves to Sledmere. He is still a bricklayer but, in addition to laying bricks, in 1780 he opens (or manages) a pub [5] in Sledmere.

Mary Batemen dies in 1781 and is buried on May 29 in Sledmere [6]. William then marries Mary Rogerson (c1754-1810) in Sledmere on November 23, 1784 [7]. They have four children [8]:

• William Pickering 1786-1865 = Christiana Dry c1789-1864

• Mary Pickering 1788-?

• Abraham Rogerson Pickering 1791-1845 = (1)(1818) Mary Simpson ?<1832 = (2)(1832) Rachel Fletcher 1808-?

• John Pickering 1793-c1834

Mary Rogerson dies in November, 1810 and William dies shortly after. He is buried on December 26, 1810. His will is probated on January 12, 1811 [9]. In the will he leaves his two daughters from his first marriage --- Ann Woodill and Hannah Goodrick -- £1 each. This would be equivalent to just under $100 CDN in 2020 [10]. He leaves everything else to his wife and the children he had with her.

This profile is a collaborative work-in-progress. Can you contribute information or sources?

Sources

[1] The assumption is that William Pickering who was buried on Dec 26, 1810 in Sledmere is one and the same as the William Pickering who was baptized in Preston on April 17, 1843. To sort this out, we will refer to William Pickering of Sledmere as William (1) and the William of Preston as William (2).

We know from baptism, marriage, burial records, wills and other evidence that William (1) had a wife named Mary who was buried in Sledmere on May 28, 1781 and, at the time, he had two children named Ann and Hannah. We know that he then re-married Nov 23, 1784 a woman by the name of Mary Rogerson. They had four children: William, Mary, Abraham Rogerson and John.

Church burial records show that William (1) was buried in Sledmere on Dec. 26, 1810 and that probate of his will took place on Jan. 12, 1811. The following is an exact transcription of the will in terms of punctuation and spelling. “This is the last Will and Testament of me William Pickring of Sledmere in the parish of Sledmere in the East Riding of the County of York Bricklayer made this first day of December one thousand eight hundred an ten First I will that all my just debts legacies and funeral expences be fully satisfied and paid by my executrix hereinafter named Also I give and bequeath unto my daughter Ann Wooddil wife of John Wooddil of Hunmanby Labourer the sum of one pound of lawful money of Great Brittain Also I give and bequeath unto my daughter Hannah Goodrick wife of John Goodrick of East Heslerton the sum of one pound of lawful money of Great Brittain to be paid to them by my executrix at my decease and Lastly as to all the rest residue and remainder of all my personal estates goods and chattles of what nature soever I give to my beloved wife Mary Pickering of Sledmere the interest that shall arise therefrom for her natural life and the principal to be equlally divide among my four children William Abraham John and Mary Pickring or their heirs at her decease I hereby appoint my beloved wife Mary Pickring the sole Executrix of this my last Will and Testament hereby revoked all former Wills by me made In Witness whereof I said William Pickring the testator have hereunto set my hand and seal the day and year first above written Willm Pickering [seal] Signed sealed delivered and declared by the said William Pickring as and for his last Will and Testament in the presents of us who signed in his presents at his request and in the presents of one another - Witnesses William Lowe – William Arnat”

So to sum up what we know about William (1): we know the names of 6 children, we know that four of those children were born (baptized) in Sledmere but we don’t know where Ann and Hannah were born (baptized) and we know the surnames of Ann and Hannah who were married at the time of his death (one surname spelt incorrectly in the will). We also know that his second wife’s name was Mary Rogerson. We also know that he was a bricklayer.

We know William (2) was born in Preston and baptized on April 17, 1843 and that he married Mary Bateman on June 3, 1773. He was a bricklayer. William and Mary Bateman had 3 children: William, Ann and Hannah. William dies as a child which is why he doesn’t show up in later records. Importantly, we know the baptism dates for Ann and Hannah – September 24, 1775 and June 14, 1778. These dates are important because we have found the gravestones of both Ann Woodill and Hannah Goodrick – Ann is buried in Ontario, Canada and Hannah is buried in Minnesota, USA --- and these baptism dates (and the surnames of Woodill and Goodrick) confirm the baptism dates of Ann and Hannah in Preston, East Riding of Yorkshire.

To summarize to this point: two of William (2)’s children – Ann and Hannah – are the same two individuals mentioned in the will of William (1). To add further proof, there is the 1834 letter written by Ann and John Woodill in Upper Canada and sent to Abraham Rogerson Pickering in Yorkshire that further ties together 4 names of the children of William (1) and Willian (2) (Ann Woodill, Hannah Goodrick, John Pickering who drowned in the St. Lawrence, and Abraham Rogerson Pickering).

In December 1779 there is a court record in Preston that shows that William (2) sold some land. What follows are 2 lines from it: “William Pickering of Preston bricklayer and Mary his wife and Ann Bateman of Preston widow came otherwise without the court 20 May 1779 did surrender all their est” and (almost the same thing) “Wm Picking of Preston bricklayer and Mary his wife and Ann Bateman of Preston widow came otherwise without the court 20 May 1779 did surrender 2 new allts. or pieces amp lately incl. South Field purchased of Richard Pickering and Wm Billany . . . . “

From an East Riding of Yorkshire document entitled “Quarter Session Papers related to tradesmen” there is in 1780 a William Pickering who is licensed to sell ale in Sledmere. And this is (presumably) the one and the same William Pickering as William(1).

[2] familysearch: England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975 William Pickering is Christened on 17 April 1743 in Preston in Holderness, Yorkshire, England. His father is William Pickering.

[3] familysearch: England Marriages, 1538–1973 William Pickering (30) marries Mary Batemen (25) on 2 June 1773 in York, England.

[4] Court record in Preston December 1779 (thanks to Hazel Pickering): “William Pickering of Preston bricklayer and Mary his wife and Ann Bateman of Preston widow came otherwise without the court 20 May 1779 did surrender all their est” and (almost the same thing) “Wm Picking of Preston bricklayer and Mary his wife and Ann Bateman of Preston widow came otherwise without the court 20 May 1779 did surrender 2 new allts. or pieces amp lately incl. South Field purchased of Richard Pickering and Wm Billany . . . . “

[5] From an East Riding of Yorkshire document entitled “Quarter Session Papers related to tradesmen.” In 1780 a William Pickering who is licensed to sell ale in Sledmere.

[6] Information from Hazel Pickering.

[7] Hazel Pickering’s web site: http://www.pickeringsofyorkshire.com/families/1780-1799/william-pickering-married-1784-sledmere

[8] All information on the 4 children of William Pickering and Mary Rogerson is from Hazel Pickering’s website.

[9] A transcription of the will is contained in source note [1].

[10] See Source Note [5] in the biography of Ann Pickering (1775-1834).’

Acknowledgements

This biography was written by Fred Nix, the 5th great grandson of William Pickering and Mary Bateman. Most of the research of baptism, marriage, burial, court and other original records was done by Hazel Pickering. Hazel and Fred are distant cousins; they are both descendants of William Pickering (1714-1770) and Hannah Howson (1715-1753). Hazel, who lives in France. maintains a web site on the Pickering families --- http://www.pickeringsofyorkshire.com/ Hazel is the person who put together, and did the research to “prove” the theory that William Pickering of Preston was one and the same person as William Pickering of Sledmere.