My previous article briefly focused on George Hearson, one of the three men hanged in 1832 for allegedly taking part in the Nottingham riots following the rejection of the Reform Bill by the House of Lords. At the time, I found no conclusive evidence for his parentage, but I hate loose ends so I've examined more evidence and want to make a good case for who they were.

I had criticised the few online trees where I had seen George Hearson because they were un-sourced, and because the details looked suspect.

They declared George's parents to be Thomas Hearson and Francis King, and their children to be:

William, 1792/3 (Southwell) –
Mary, 1797 (Arnold) –
Jane, 9 Nov 1802 (Arnold) –
Margaret, Jul 1804 (Arnold) –
Sara, Sep 1807 (Arnold) –
George, 1810 – 1 Feb 1832 (Nottingham)
Francis, Mar 1812 (Radford) –
John, 12 Aug 1814 (Radford) – 1880 (Nottingham)

The problems here include:

• The use of baptism dates as birth dates
• The use of baptism parish names as a places of birth
• Southwell was an outlier, which I will show to be incorrect
• There were more children after John
• There was no Thomas, a name much quoted in my evidence

Let's start by assuming that Thomas Hearson and Frances King really were George's parents. They were married on 12 May 1793 at Arnold St. Mary. Parish Registers Marriage Index database version 3.0 2013 Nottinghamshire Family History Society (NottsFHS) http://www.nottsfhs.org.uk/ Thomas Hearson and Francis King 1793-05-12 Arnold St. Mary Nottinghamshire Family History Society (NottsFHS), Parish Registers Marriage Index, CD-ROM, database (Nottingham, 1 Jan 2013), database version 3.0, entry for Thomas Hearson and Francis King, using quoted details ; CD hereinafter cited as NottsFHS-Marriages. Following the children in the parish records should give a map and timeline for the family's movements, but we have to consider possible name variations, and this was the main reason for the existing trees being incorrect. Frances is sometimes (incorrectly) written as the male Francis, and was often abbreviated at that time to the diminutive Fanny. Thomas may have been abbreviated to Thos. or Tho. (with or without the trailing period), or even to Tom.

The trick to finding all the alternative combinations in a clean sweep is to use wildcards, which in the case of the NottsFHS databases are executed painfully slowly due to software design issues. The following baptisms can all be linked to this couple:

So how do we know these are for the same couple? Well, there is continuity with the date of the wedding, with the parish of the wedding, with the sequencing of the baptisms, with a geographical progression from Arnold to the Nottingham town centre, and with the end of Frances's child-bearing years. Also, where there is an occupation, it is a consistent one; FWK is a Frame Work Knitter. Note that this occupation is also consistent with the hosiery occupations mentioned in the previous article.

Note that we now have an entry consistent with what we know of George's brother, Thomas, but still no George.

Another thing to note is that the name of the last child (Mary Ann) was also used by George and Charlotte for their short-lived and only daughter, and by Thomas and Harriet for their daughter — not proof, but indirect evidence.

The next step is to look at each of those parishes for children who died prematurely. These are typically harder to identify since fewer details are available for the correlation.

This parish had annotated the relevant entries which made them much easier to confirm.

There is no doubt that this is one family, with the exception of the final Thomas entry (George's brother), but without an entry for George (or some reason why one is not present) then we haven't shown that it's George's family.

Note that Stone Court was between Dove Yard and Stanley's Passage, on the north side of Parliament Street, only 250 yards to the west of Mount East Street. Hence, there's a connection between this family and both of the brothers George and Thomas through their geographical proximity.

If we combine these baptisms and burials, and match-up the respective entries, then we can see that there was a high degree of mortality in the family.

Note that William was not born in Southwell (as suggested in online trees), and he was not born before his parents' marriage. He was baptised in the Arnold St. Mary parish, died aged 14, and was buried in the same parish. This may upset the owners of those trees as it probably means that they're not related to George Hearson at all.

We can see that only four children are unaccounted for: Margaret, Sarah, Frances, and Jane — all daughters. Also, although we have no entry for George, his estimated date of birth/baptism fits perfectly into the sequence.

Margaret married John Metheringham on 12 Oct 1822 at Nottingham St. Mary, Parish Registers Marriage Index database version 3.0 2013 Nottinghamshire Family History Society (NottsFHS) http://www.nottsfhs.org.uk/ Margaret Hearson and John Metheringham 1822-10-12 Nottingham St. Mary NottsFHS-Marriages, entry for quoted details. and this is confirmed by her details in the 1851 census at 29 Pipe St, Southwell Rd. 2132 482 28 John Metheringham 49 2016-10-17 "1851 England Census", database, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 17 Oct 2016), household of John Metheringham (age 49); citing HO 107/2132, folio 482, page 28; The National Archives of the UK (TNA). Frances married Charles Wilkinson on 15 Nov 1830 at Nottingham St. Mary, Parish Registers Marriage Index database version 3.0 2013 Nottinghamshire Family History Society (NottsFHS) http://www.nottsfhs.org.uk/ Frances Hearson and Charles Wilkinson 1830-11-15 Nottingham St. Mary NottsFHS-Marriages, entry for quoted details. and this is also confirmed by her details in the 1851 census at Lomas Yd, Bellar Gate. 2131 370 17 Charles Wilkinson 38 2016-10-17 "1851 England Census", database, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 17 Oct 2016), household of Charles Wilkinson (age 38); citing HO 107/2131, folio 370, page 17; TNA.

This leaves just Sarah and Jane, and so we might expect to see them staying with their mother in the 1841 census. Well, they were there, but under the surname "Earson" (Nottingham is renowned for dropping its aitches).

Now we're getting somewhere because Barker Gate was not only the last resting place of George, but it was also the address of Thomas's daughter, Mary Ann, when she died in 1851. In fact, Rice Place was just over the wall from George's burial ground. This provides the link between Frances, George, and the Thomas who was the brother of George.

We can now determine that Frances died aged 73, and was buried on 5 Mar 1848 at Nottingham St. Mary, Parish Registers Burial Transcription database version 3.0 2013 Nottinghamshire Family History Society (NottsFHS) http://www.nottsfhs.org.uk/ Frances Hearson 1848-03-05 Nottingham St. Mary NottsFHS-Burials, entry for quoted details. implying that she was born c1775. A newspaper report gives the date of her death as 2 Mar 1848: "On the 2d instant, in Riste-place, Barker-gate, aged 73 years, Mrs. Frances Hearson, widow". Died Nottingham Review and General Advertiser for the Midland Counties 4 1848-03-10 3 "Died", Nottingham Review and General Advertiser for the Midland Counties (10 Mar 1848): p.4, col.3 ; paper hereinafter cited as Nottm-Review. By coincidence, I had previously shown that Riste Place was a later name for Rice Place. Tony Proctor Cemetery Road, Nottingham RootsWeb NOTTSGEN-L Archives http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/NOTTSGEN/2013-05/1367749329 2016-10-18 2013-05-05 Tony Proctor, "Cemetery Road, Nottingham", RootsWeb, NOTTSGEN-L Archives, 5 May 2013 (http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/NOTTSGEN/2013-05/1367749329 : accessed 18 Oct 2016).

The 1841 census indicates that her husband, Thomas, had died before then (i.e. before 6 Jun 1841). The previous article presented evidence that George's father died almost a year before his own death (i.e. in 1831). The best candidate for this is the Thomas of Nottingham who died aged 65 and was buried at Arnold St. Mary on 10 Apr 1831, Parish Registers Burial Transcriptions database version 3.0 2013 Nottinghamshire Family History Society (NottsFHS) http://www.nottsfhs.org.uk/ Thomas Hearson 1831-04-10 Arnold St. Mary NottsFHS-Burials, entry for quoted details. implying that he was born c1766. This entry is almost certainly the right one for the husband of Frances because he was living in Nottingham, and yet was buried in Arnold (4 miles north of the town) where his family would have been interred.

In the previous article, I had established that George's brother, Thomas, of Charlotte Street, had died aged 36, and was buried on 10 Apr 1836 at St. Mary. There was no obvious record of his widow's burial in that parish, or in any other, and so I wanted to establish why. I had only tracked his widow, Harriet, to the 1851 census, but it wasn't hard to find her in the 1861 census:

There was a suggestion in the GRO index of civil registrations that Harriet had died late in 1861, not long after the above census. The reason why her burial was not in any parish registers was that she was buried in Nottingham's privately-run General Cemetery. The following is a list of people interred in the same plot:

This cemetery was very close to the parish of Lenton, where Harriet was born. The Frank Hearson is currently unidentified, but note the surname Toone. In the previous article, I indicated that one of the sons of Thomas/Harriet, John Thomas Hearson, married a Mary Ann Toone in 1849, thus suggesting a strong family connection with this burial plot.

As a final note, I came across an 1829 report in the London Gazette that Thomas's work as a commission agent ran into trouble, and that he became insolvent: "Thomas Hearson, formerly of Nile-Street, Bobbin and Carriage-Maker, and Commission-Agent, and late George-Street, all in the Town of Nottingham, Commission-Agent". The Court for Relief of Insolvent Debtors: ... appointed to be heard ... at the Court-House ... 9th day of October 1829 ... London Gazette 1747 1829-09-18 18612 "The Court for Relief of Insolvent Debtors: ... appointed to be heard ... at the Court-House ... 9th day of October 1829 ...", London Gazette, issue 18612 (18 Sep 1829): p.1747. In 1831, a few months before the riots, a partnership was also dissolved: "Sneath William, Sneath Walter, and Hearson Thomas, Nottingham, twist net lace and thread commission agents". Partnerships Dissolved Nottingham Review and General Advertiser for the Midland Counties 2 1831-07-22 5 from Tuesday's London Gazette" "Partnerships Dissolved", Nottm-Review (22 Jul 1831): p.2, col.5; citing "from Tuesday's London Gazette".

The Nottingham Castle Museum currently has a Riot Gallery that exhibits details and artefacts associated with the 1831 riots and the 1832 executions. One of these is a handbill or pamphlet that was published shortly after the executions, selling for twopence (two pence, pronounced tuppence), and which included a copy of Hearson's final letter to his wife and mother. The handbill is undated but it is likely that the newspaper versions of his letter were derivatives of this copy, and that would place its publication before 10 Feb 1832. Both the museum and Richard Gaunt — Associate Professor in the history department of Nottingham University — have been kind enough to share images of this with me, and allow me to present it in this article.

At the bottom of the image of the burning castle, there's a barely-legible inscription of "E. WILD, DEL. &SC. NOTTM". E. Wild was a local printer and a self-taught artist in wood engraving. The final letters are associated with printmaking: "del." meaning "drawn by" and "sc." meaning "engraved by".

The previous article mentioned that George was involved in bare-knuckle boxing using the name "Curley Hearson", and a number of newspaper reports were found that placed these bouts between 1828 and 1831. The Fancy Nottingham Review and General Advertiser for the Midland Counties 3 1828-12-19 3 (bottom) "The Fancy", Nottm-Review (19 Dec 1828): p.3, col.3 (bottom) . Nottingham Fancy Bell's Life in London and Sporting Chronicle 3 1830-05-09 2 "Nottingham Fancy", Bell's Life in London and Sporting Chronicle (9 May 1830): p.3, col.2 . Nottingham Fancy Bell's Life in London and Sporting Chronicle 3 1831-05-29 2 "Nottingham Fancy", Bell's Life in London and Sporting Chronicle (29 May 1831): p.3, col.2. .

There are undeniable links that indicate George was the son of Thomas and Frances Hearson, and no conflicting evidence, but what we do not have is either a baptism or a burial record.

We know that the family moved from the parish of Arnold St. Mary to Radford St. Peter between March 1809 and March 1812, and then to Nottingham St. Mary around 1820; however, Radford St. Peter was demolished in 1811 and rebuilt in 1812. Radford St. Peter: History Southwell & Nottingham Church History Project http://southwellchurches.nottingham.ac.uk/radford-st-peter/hhistory.php 2016-10-19 "Radford St. Peter: History", Southwell & Nottingham Church History Project (http://southwellchurches.nottingham.ac.uk/radford-st-peter/hhistory.php : accessed 19 Oct 2016). Although some events were still being recorded during that time, they might have been just for existing parishioners. In other words, it may be that George fell between the chairs as far as being baptised.

Although Hearson was born in Nottingham, Beck was from Wollaton, and Armstrong from Pleasely, near Mansfield. Beck's funeral was recorded on 2 Feb 1832 at Wollaton St. Leonard (in a coffin was provided by Lord Middleton of Wollaton Hall EXECUTION of Beck, Hearson, and Armstrong Nottingham Review and General Advertiser for the Midland Counties 3 1832-02-03 7 "EXECUTION of Beck, Hearson, and Armstrong", Nottm-Review (3 Feb 1832): p.3, col.7. , but no burial is recorded in a parish register for Hearson or Armstrong. Armstrong was actually buried in the "old burial ground, Barker Gate" of St. Mary in the afternoon of the execution, EXECUTION of Beck, Hearson, and Armstrong Nottingham Review and General Advertiser for the Midland Counties 3 1832-02-03 7 Ibid. and we have already established that Hearson was buried in burial ground no. 2 of St. Mary on 6 Feb 1832. Does this mean that they were abandoned by their parish?

A check of the original registers confirmed that there were no misspellings, erasures, or missing entries (as when a page is torn out).

Not all of Hearson's funeral requests, as expressed in his letter, were complied with: