William Jacklin (3rd-great-grandfather, 1797).
Agricultural Laborer; Not a Gardener.
 
We don’t know much about William Jacklin, the father of John Jacklin (2
nd-great-father, 1819). A biographical sketch written by Ellen Tracy of John Jacklin states, “His father [William Jacklin] spent the greater portion of his life working for the parson of the Whaddon
Parish of the Episcopal Church. He did gardening, cleaning, and assisting the parson with his church duties.”
 
This statement is inconsistent with the Whaddon census data from 1841
though 1871. On the 1841, 1851, and 1861 censuses, William Jacklin is listed as an agricultural laborer. On the 1871 census he is listed as a former agricultural laborer. If he worked for the parson
(rector or vicar) with the duties stated, he would be listed as a servant or gardener. William’s younger brother, John Jacklin, is listed as a gardener and church clerk on the 1851 through 1881 cen
suses. It appears as though comments about William’s brother, John, have been confused with him.
 
When William was a young man, the war with Napoleon was just ending. There was a de
pression in England after the Napoleonic Wars. It was particularly bad in 1816 for farmers and their laborers ( Mingay 49).
 
Pauper.
 
On the 1881census,
William Jacklin is listed as a pauper, a person who is receiving financial support from the Church of England. Being a pauper was viewed as a disgrace, both by the person and society. This diary exce
rpt of Kilvert illustrates how much of a disgrace at least this one poor man considered it. “1870 18 December. I could not get out of my head a horrible story Wall was telling me this evening of a s
uicide committed by an old man named William Jones in the old barn, now pulled down, which stood close by Chapel Dingle cottage. The old man used to work for Dyke at Llwyn Gwillim, but becoming helple
ss and infirm he was put upon the parish. It is supposed that this preyed upon his mind. He was a very good faithful servant and a man of a sturdy independent character who could not bear the idea of
not being able any longer to maintain himself and hated to be supported by the parish… And he went into the barn and cut his throat from ear to ear – ‘Heaven send that I never see such a sight a
gain’ said Wall.” ‘The Parish’ means applying to the Board of the local Poor Law Union for help. Note that William Jacklin is listed as a pauper on the 1881 census. This means that the whole v
illage knew it too. It tore very deeply at a man’s pride at the time ( Le Quesne 220).
 
Long Life.
 
Most rural poor just walked to get around. This un
doubtedly helped William Jacklin stay healthy. He died just four days before his 87th birthday. Considering the prevalent diseases in rural England, the lack of sanitation, the lack of modern medicine
, and how poor he was this is an amazingly long life. To put it in perspective, in 1839, the average age at death was 26.5 years in rural communities and just 19 years in cities ( Pool 234).
 
In the fall of 1884, the bell at St Mary’s Church in Whaddon would have rung a lot when William died. They rang a passing bell at the parish church after the person died. The bell was r
ung six times for a women at death and nine times for a man. Then there was a “peal” for each year of their life. At a funeral, everyone wore black (except at the funeral for children or young unm
arried girls where they wore white) ( Pool 252). A man wore a black armband after the death for a mourning period. A woman wore black for two years after the death. Some women would remain in t
heir mourning clothes for the rest of their lives ( Pool 254).
1797 - 1884 (86 år)
