The Old Cherry Tree

William Hobbs died 2 September 1846 in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire County, England. The civil registration of his death provided details that were illuminating about William's life such as his age, occupation, and the cause of his death. However, one detail recorded on the certificate has puzzled many of his descendants.

            The certificate described the location of William's death as "at the Old Cherry Tree."[1]  There have been numerous conjectures about the meaning of this phrase. There are two things to note before moving forward with this question.

            First, the occupation recorded on the death certificate stated William was a "well sinker."[2] This and other occupations were recorded on the parish registers documenting the baptisms of William's children. Policeman, laborer, and beer seller each appeared on the several documents.[3] He was described as a beer seller on the two parish registers of his final children—the last one being recorded just two months before William's death.[4]

            Secondly, every family history written about the William Hobbs and Ann Owen family has included a similar brief biographical sketch, "William ran a 'beer store' which might mean a little grog shop or tavern."[5] This tradition seems to be verified by the baptism records even though the death certificate reported another occupation.

            The question about the meaning of the "Old Cherry Tree" phrase was answered by a search in the local newspaper published during William's lifetime. Two brief entries in the "Cheltenham Public Office" section of the Cheltenham Chronicle provided evidence that solved the problem.[6] The Old Cherry Tree was a beerhouse.

"William Hobbs, landlord of the Old Cherry Tree, was charged with keeping his house open, for the sale of cider, past eleven o'clock, and having five persons drinking on the premises. The defendant said that the persons in the house were plasterers come to whitewash the house after the company had retired."

"Alice Webb, charged with stealing a gown, the property of Mrs. Hobbs, of the 'Cherry Tree' beer house, was remanded till Monday for further examination." 

            Pursuant to the Alehouses Act in 1828 and the Beerhouse Act of 1830, "Landlords had to declare that they would not operate a disorderly pub and enter into certain obligations before the court could issue a license."[7] Alehouses and beerhouses were classified differently from taverns. The former only sold "ale or beer whilst taverns sold additional beverages such as wine and spirits."[8] For a yearly fee of 2 guineas, anyone interested in operating a beerhouse could open their own establishment. Sometimes a landlord would open for business within the confines of his principal occupation's shop so that he could sell beer along with his other services or merchandise. Beer or ale could only be sold for eighteen hours a day from 4am to 10pm.[9] Thus, when the local magistrates found men in the Old Cherry Tree after 11pm they brought charges against William Hobbs. The ensuing newspaper notice became a vital clue in the explanation of "the Old Cherry Tree" phrase on his death certificate.

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[1] England, death registration, entry 209, Cheltenham, Gloucester district, General Registry Office, Southport, William Hobbs, died 2 September 1846.

[2] England, death registration, William Hobbs, 2 Sep 1846.

[3] Church of England, Diocese of Gloucester (Gloucestershire, England),"Bishops Transcripts for the Diocese of Gloucester, 1813-1909," A-Ch, FHL microfilm #394307, Charles William Hobbs baptism, 3 April 1833; Church of England, Diocese of Gloucester (Gloucestershire, England), Bishops Transcripts for the Diocese of Gloucester, 1813-1909, A-Ch 1836, FHL microfilm #394319, Henry Hobbs baptism, 13 December 1836; Church of England, Diocese of Gloucester (Gloucestershire, England), Bishops Transcripts for the Diocese of Gloucester, 1813-1909, A-Ch 1836, FHL microfilm #394326, William Hobbs baptism, 29 August 1838; Church of England, Diocese of Gloucester (Gloucestershire, England), Bishops Transcripts for the Diocese of Gloucester, 1813-1909, Ch-G, no. 308, FHJ microfilm #394334, James Thomas Hobbs baptism, 16 December 1840; Church of England, Diocese of Gloucester (Gloucestershire, England), Bishops Transcripts for the Diocese of Gloucester, 1813-1909, A-Ch, FHL microfilm #394345, Thomas Hobbs baptism, 25 June 1843; Church of England, Diocese of Gloucester (Gloucestershire, England), Bishops Transcripts for the Diocese of Gloucester, 1813-1909, A-Ch 1846, Mary Ann Hobbs, Caroline Hobbs baptism (Cheltenham, 26 July); FHL microfilm #394357.

[4] Church of England, 1843, FHL microfilm #394345; Church of England, 1846,  FHL microfilm #394357, Mary Ann Hobbs, Caroline Hobbs baptism 26 July 1846.

[5] Benson Y. Parkinson, "The Family of William Hobbs (1808-1846) and Ann Owen Hobbs (1809-1894)," self-published, December 2002.

[6] "Cheltenham Public Office," 9 Mar 1843, Cheltenham Chronicle, British Newspaper Archive (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk accessed 29 Oct 2014); "Cheltenham Public Office," 26 Oct 1843, Cheltenham Chronicle, British Newspaper Archive (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk accessed 10 Dec 2014).

[7] "Nature of Source," part of "Publican, Brewery and Licensed Victuallers Records (Occupations)," The GenGuide (www.genguide.co.uk accessed 26 September 2015).

[8] "Nature of Source," The GenGuide.

[9] "What was a beerhouse?," History House (www.historyhouse.co.uk accessed 27 2015).

A Lost Genealogical Opportunity

In 1753, Mr. Thomas Potter from Cornwall made a noble suggestion to Parliament that a Bill be advanced to require the "taking and registering...of the total number of people, and of the total number of marriages, births, and deaths, and also of the total number of the poor receiving alms from every Parish and Extra-parochial Place in Great Britain."[1] Unfortunately for genealogists, the members of Parliament were overwhelmingly against any such procedure because they deemed it too "costly and impracticable, and that it might even be used as a basis for new taxation."[2] In fact, Parliament viewed the Bill as absurd. Mr. Thornton from the City of York, "did not believe that there was any set of men...so presumptuous and so abandoned as to make the proposal we have just heard," and gave several reasons why it would not be advantageous including his final concern that "an annual register of our people will acquaint our enemies abroad with our weakness"—nothing could be further from their aspirations.[3]

It took almost another half century before Parliament considered another proposal to make an accounting of Great Britain's population. Industrialization and a rapidly increasing population forced the issue to proceed because the ability of the country to sustain unprecedented growth became a serious problem.[4] The first census of Great Britain was taken in 1801 and thereafter every ten years to the present time. For a number of reasons, the information from the 1801-1831 censuses is not useful nor available for most genealogical research. Therefore, it is not until 1841—nearly one hundred years since Mr. Potter's first proposal—that census information from Great Britain can begin to be used to locate and track families and individuals. Genealogists can only rue the day that Parliament so violently argued against gathering such valuable information.

For the Hobbs Cheltenham research, the history of the census has dealt a difficult blow. The parentage of William Hobbs remains undocumented and questionable on FamilySearch's "Family Tree." Four historical documents provide the only reliable evidence for William Hobbs himself: the Cheltenham Parish record of his marriage to Ann Owen in 1832, the 1841 England and Wales Census, and the 1846 civil and parish registrations of his death.[5]

There are some important things to note about the 1841 census. To avoid the problems of duplication or absence of people that plagued the previous censuses, Parliament ordered that the census was to be taken on the same day, or at the most two days, all over England and Wales. Census schedules were delivered to households days before the enumeration day. Householders were instructed to fill out the information beforehand according to who would be sleeping in the house on the night of the enumeration date. This procedure accelerated the time spent by the enumerators collecting the data and allowed it to be completed on the specified date.[6] Although the information came directly from householders there are precautions for genealogists to be aware of. Ages of persons over the age of 15 were often rounded up to the nearest five years so birth year ranges need to be compared with subsequent censuses to be accurately assessed. The census provides only limited information about birth origins. Individuals were marked as born in the same county as the enumeration county or that they were born in Scotland, Ireland, or Foreign Parts.

The 1841 census that enumerated the William Hobbs family was difficult to locate. No accurate results appeared when databases were queried with information pertaining to any of the family members. The family surname had been indexed as Halls instead of Hobbs. The correct record was located after browsing the enumeration district that included Rutland Street where son James Thomas Hobbs was recorded to be living at the time of his baptism in 1840.[7] Because of the practice of rounding ages in the 1841 census, William Hobbses enumerated age of 35 places his birthdate in the range of 7 June 1801-6 June 1805.

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[1] "PART 2 Significant Developments in the Scope and Organization of the Census," part of "History of the Census," Office of Population Censuses and Surveys/General Register Office, Guide to Census Reports: Great Britain 1801-1966 (London: HMSO, 1977), Vision of Britain Through Time,  (www.visionofbritain.org.uk accessed 18 September 2015).

[2] "PART 2, History of the Census," Vision of Britain Through Time.

[3] "PART 2, History of the Census," Vision of Britain Through Time.

[4] "PART 2, History of the Census," Vision of Britain Through Time.

[5] Church of England, Diocese of Gloucester (Gloucestershire, England), "Bishops Transcripts for the Diocese of Gloucester, 1813-1909," A-Ch, 1832, William Hobbs-Ann Owen marriage (Cheltenham, 6 Mar); FHL microfilm 394303; 1841 England Census, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, Civil Parish Cheltenham, ED 15, p. 26, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com accessed 18 October 2013), William Hobbs household (indexed as Halls); William Hobbs death 2 September 1846, England, death certificate #209, 1846, September Quarter, Cheltenham, General Registry Office, Southport; Church of England, Diocese of Gloucester (Gloucestershire, England), "Bishops Transcripts for the Diocese of Gloucester, 1813-1909," A-Ch 1846,  FHL microfilm 394357, William Hobbs burial.

[6] "2.4 Changes from 1841 to 1891," part of "History of the Census," Office of Population Censuses and Surveys/General Register Office, Guide to Census Reports: Great Britain 1801-1966 (London: HMSO, 1977), Vision of Britain Through Time, (www.visionofbritain.org.uk accessed 18 September 2015).

[7] 1841 England Census, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, Civil Parish Cheltenham, ED 15, p. 26, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com accessed 18 October 2013), William Hobbs household (indexed as Halls); Church of England, Diocese of Gloucester (Gloucestershire, England), "Bishops Transcripts for the Diocese of Gloucester, 1813-1909," Ch-G, no. 308, FHL microfilm 394334, James Thomas Hobbs baptism, 16 December 1840.