Sarah Anne KNIGHTS

1836 -

• Name	Sarah Anne KNIGHTS
  Birth	1836	Carlton-Colville, Suffolk   [1, 2, 3, 4]
  Baptism	21 Feb 1836	Carlton-Colville, Suffolk   [4]
  Gender	Female
  1841 Census	Carlton-Colville, Suffolk   [3]
  	At 1841 Census, she is 5
  1851 Census	4, Ewhurst Place, Newington, Surrey   [2]
  	At 1851 Census, she is 15, occ "At Cotton Factory"
  1871 Census	7, Little Park Place, Walworth, Surrey   [1]
  	At 1871 Census, she is 35, occ "Shoebinder"
  1881 Census	7, Little Park Place, Walworth, Surrey   [5]
  	At 1881 Census, she is 45, occ "Needlewoman" (probable census)
  1891 Census	4, Manchester Buildings, East Street, Newington, Surrey   [6]
  	At 1891 Census, she is 54, occ "Needlewoman", a widower
  Individual Note	best match on death is Jan qtr 1897, Southwark vol 1d, p171, aged 59
  Person ID	I254	Webb
  Last Modified	19 Mar 2026

  
  

  Family	Arthur DESBOROUGH,   b. Abt 1834, Middlesex
  Marriage	31 May 1880	St. John's, Walworth, Surrey   [7]
  Notes	It is not clear if all the details here are right or not, and so the story may change. The only available marriage details for Arthur, are the ones here, and so the implication is that they were living together for more than 25 years before deciding to get married. Tracking back to the 1871 Census, we find Arthur with his wife Sarah Ann, identified as husband and wife, with Sarah's birth location given as Lowestoft. This coupled with the name of Sarah's father suggests that we do have the right Sarah Ann KNIGHTS. Note the witness at the wedding could be, though clearly not for certain, Sarah's mother. However Arthur states he is a widower at his marriage in 1880, and also in the 1861 Census. In addition the baptism of his children gives the mother as "Sarah", though of course this is a common name. It is not clear where Sarah Anne was at the 1861 Census. I have not found any marriage for Arthur around 1851-3 with a Sarah, but there is a Sarah Desborough buried in Camberwell in Oct 1857. The FindAGrave transcript says she was aged 34 (ie born around 1823). My current suspicion is that this "other" Sarah is the children's mother, and that at some point after 1861, Sarah Anne Knights came to live with them, perhaps as some form of home help. But I cannot locate anything that provides more information about this (new) Sarah.
  Children	1. Elizabeth Sophia DESBOROUGH,   b. 1 Nov 1855, Milk St., Camberwell, Surrey d. 1923, Southwark, Surrey (Age 67 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]   2. Adelaide Emily DESBOROUGH,   b. 26 Dec 1853, Chiswell St., Camberwell, Surrey  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]
  Family ID	F197	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	19 Mar 2026

  
  

• Event Map

  Birth - 1836 - Carlton-Colville, Suffolk Baptism - 21 Feb 1836 - Carlton-Colville, Suffolk 1841 Census - At 1841 Census, she is 5 - - Carlton-Colville, Suffolk 1851 Census - At 1851 Census, she is 15, occ "At Cotton Factory" - - 4, Ewhurst Place, Newington, Surrey 1871 Census - At 1871 Census, she is 35, occ "Shoebinder" - - 7, Little Park Place, Walworth, Surrey 1881 Census - At 1881 Census, she is 45, occ "Needlewoman" (probable census) - - 7, Little Park Place, Walworth, Surrey 1891 Census - At 1891 Census, she is 54, occ "Needlewoman", a widower - - 4, Manchester Buildings, East Street, Newington, Surrey Marriage - 31 May 1880 - St. John's, Walworth, Surrey  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Notes

  Sarah's parents were John and Sarah, John's occupation at her baptism given as Innkeeper. At the 1841 Census, there is no John, but Sarah's occupation of "Husband drinks" has been crossed out, presumably because it did not fit the concept of "occupation" even though it is probably correct. Also note that she is given as born out of county which then lines up with what is put down in the 1851 Census. Sarah marries again 14/11/1892 to Thomas Samuel LAWRENCE (a widower) after Arthur dies. At the 1891 Census she was lodging with Thomas, and described herself as Sister in Law. Her mother, Sarah, was a widow, aged 80 at the 1891 census (described as "Mother in Law"), and was born Newington. We therefore conclude that Thomas was previously married to one of her other daughters.

  
  

• Sources

  [S517] 1871 Census :- 7, Little Park Place, Walworth, Surrey. [S554] 1851 Census :- 4, Ewhurst Place, Newington, Surrey. [S555] 1841 Census :- Carlton-Colville, Suffolk. [S3103] Baptism register :- Carlton-Colville, Norfolk (1836). [S553] 1881 Census :- 7, Little Park Place, Walworth, Surrey. [S556] 1891 Census :- 4, Manchester Buildings, East Street, Newington, Surrey. [S1117] Marriage register entry :- Arthur Desborough - Sarah Ann Knights (1880).