What happened to Thomas Winter?
QI’m looking for a baptism or death record for Thomas Winter. From the parish of Littlehampton, he was married in Walberton, Sussex, on 11 January 1810 to Ann Farrenden. Their first child, also named Thomas, was baptised there in 1810. Their other four children – Ann, George, Edward and Albert – were all baptised in Arundel, the records stating that Thomas was a mariner. Ann is head of the family in the 1841 census. Family legend says that Thomas was a barge master for the Dukeue oof NoNorfolk whose seat sea s is Arundel.
Paula Winter
AAncestry ( ancestry. co.uk) c has images i of the Sussex S parish records. r After searching s the website, as well as Findmypast ( findmypast.co.uk), FreeREG ( freereg. org.uk), FamilySearch ( familysearch.org) and, for nonconformist records, TheGenealogist ( thegenealogist.co.uk), the closest match I could find was a baptism for a Thomas Winter in Litlington on 10 October 1784, with parents Samuel and Ann.
Litlington is a parish in East Sussex, well away from Arundel, while Littlehampton is a port about four miles south of Arundel (Walberton is about three miles west of Arundel). This does not mean that the Thomas baptised in Litlington isn’t yours, but I think it less likely.
I did find some Winters in the baptism, marriage and burial records for Littlehampton, but no Thomas. There was Jane Winter who married William George Letley on 24 June 1806, George Winter who was buried on 19 December 1802, and Henry (son of John and Jane Winter) who was baptised on 12 August 1810.
Ancestry has a Mate’s Certificate of Service for Henry issued at Arundel in 1851. There are similar certificates for George and Albert, but not for Thomas himself. The 1841 census omits marital status, so Ann may not be a widow – Thomas could have been living elsewhere.
According to Wikipedia ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Arun), there were many barges using the Arun in the early 19th century. If Thomas Winter did work for the Duke of Norfolk, then he may be mentioned in the archives of Arundel Castle. Get in touch with arundelcastle.org/ archives to see if they can assist.
Alan Stewart