Peasants to Puddles
My Family History - By Nicky Rowberry

The Rucks

Sarah Ruck was one of my 3 x great grandmothers. She was born in 1799 in Kilpeck, Herefordshire, the daughter of Edward Ruck & Mary Grindon. Edward & Mary Ruck also had at least 5 other children born in and around Orcop in Herefordshire.

She married her first husband George Rowberry in 1817 in Orcop, with her sister Anne Ruck as her witness. Sarah had several other brothers and sisters, but Anne seems to have been the closest, as she appears again at various points in Sarah's life. George & Sarah had at least 5 children together and today there are many living descendants of their oldest son William.

It seems likely that George Rowberry died sometime in the late 1820's. A George of the right age did die in 1828 in the Infirmary in Hereford, but his surname was recorded as Rowlan - perhaps wrongly recorded for Rowberry. Whatever happened to him, by 1829 Sarah was described as "single-woman", when she had her son James baptised in Much Dewchurch. In 1832, she married William Rowberry, George's younger brother in Hereford St Nicholas church. It was illegal in those days to marry your dead brother's wife, so it seems they went into Hereford, where no-one would know them, to do the deed. William & Sarah went on to have 3 more children, before William died in 1837.

In the 1841 census Sarah is to be found at Kilpeck still, described as aged 40 and a shopkeeper. With her are two children from her first marriage, William & Mary, and three from her second marriage - Hannah, Eliza & Emma. Her son James was living in nearby Kentchurch, working as an agricultural labourer at the age of 12. Another possible child of hers, Elijah Rowberry, was also living in Kilpeck as a child labourer.

In 1846, Sarah married for the third time, to Thomas Nations, almost 20 years her senior. The witnesses at this marriage included Ann Bishop, her eldest surviving daughter from her first marriage to George Rowberry. Thomas Nations was also a widower, his first wife Jane having died some years ago. In 1851 Thomas & Sarah were living in St Devereux, all her children living elsewhere by this time. Two of Sarah's children, James & Hannah, were living with Sarah's sister Ann, now Ann Niblett, and her husband in Orcop.

Thomas Nations died in 1856 in St Devereux. He left a will, in which he split the bulk of his estate between his wife Sarah, his son Thomas and his daughter Ellen. Two months later, his daughter Ellen Nations, married James Rowberry, Sarah Ruck's son ! James's sister Emma Rowberry was one of the witnesses.

So Sarah was widowed again. In 1861, she can be found living with her sister Ann Niblett in Orcop at the Fountain Inn. Sadly by then her son James was also a widow, as his wife Ellen Nations had died in 1858. Sarah married for the fourth time in 1865 in Orcop again. Her husband was Matthew Meredith, a mason. The witness at this wedding was Emma Jones, her youngest daughter.

Sarah died in 1873 in Orcop, having finally found a husband who could outlive her. I like to think Sarah Ruck must have had something about her, not everyone has four husbands !

The family tree below summarises what I know about the above generations of the Ruck family. It is hopefully reasonably accurate, but if you spot any errors, or any relatives, please feel free to E-mail me

Please click on one of the red links on the tree to move to a different page.

If any of the above is of further interest, please feel free to contact me at: n.rowberry@btinternet.com

Peasants to Puddles - My Family History. By Nicky Rowberry