George Dewey
(1771-1846)

George Dewey was the second of at least four children of Thomas Dewey and his wife Elizabeth Covell of the village of Witchford in Cambridgeshire, England.

George married Mary Long in 1790 and together they settled down to raise five children, although there final two children, both named Thomas, died in their infancy.

Shortly after the death of the second Thomas, Mary died too, leaving George as a widower with a family of young children to look after. Just 9 months later though, George re-trod the aisle, this time in nearby Wentworth, when he married the already pregnant Mary Peyton.

George and his new wife Mary went on to have six children, moving to the nearby parish of Witcham by July 1815.

By the 1820s, when George would have been in his 50s, he is noted as working as a Shepherd, and he continues this work until at least 1838.

George then seems to disappear for a while - by the time of the 1841 census takes place - his second wife Mary is listed alongside their son Henry, with no mention of George. She is not noted as a widow, but is noted as 'Ind', or 'of independent means'. This might suggest that George had died, but equally it may suggest that she kept the home running whilst her husband was away working as a shepherd or elsewhere.

Death records for George pitch him as 'of Wentworth' and dying close to the beginning of April in 1846, well into his 70s. Where was he in 1841?

Mary lived into her 80s, dying some time after the 1861 census.

Life Events

Born

• Circa 1771 in Witchford, Cambridgeshire, England.

Baptised

• 24th February 1771 at St. Andrew's Church, Witchford, Cambridgeshire, England.

Married

• Mary Long (1764-1807) on 12th October 1790 at St. Martin's Church, Witcham, Cambridgeshire, England.
• Mary Peyton (1782-18??) on 2nd August 1808 at St. Peter's Church, Wentworth, Cambridgeshire, England.

Children

• William Dewey (1791-1865) married Ellen Markham (1791-1856)
• Sarah Dewey (1794-?)
• Elizabeth Dewey (1796-18??) married Robert Tabraham (1795-18??)
• Thomas Dewey (1799)
• Thomas Dewey (1800-1807)
• Rebecca Dewey (1808-1855) married Mr Neal (18??-c.1832), and later to Henry Hawes (1798-1880)
• John Dewey (1815-?) married Elizabeth Handley (1813-1841), and then Elizabeth Carter (18??-?)
• Aaron Dewey (1818-1857) married to Ann Venny (1821-1843), and later to Elizabeth Taylor (1824-18??)
• Mariann Dewey )(1817-?)
• Richard Dewey (1820-?)
• Henry Dewey (1822-1902) married Mahala Young (1824-1917)

Census and Residence

• 1815: Witcham, Cambridgeshire, England.
• 1841: Not yet found.
• 1846: 76yrs, Wentworth, Cambridgeshire, England.

Employment

• 1815: Labourer
• 1822, 1838: Shepherd

Death

• During April 1846 at Wentworth, Cambridgeshire, England, aged 76 years.

Burial

• 6th April 1846 at St. Peter's Church, Wentworth, Cambridgeshire, England.