James Dean was born in Banstead, Surrey, England probably within a month prior to his baptism on the 1 November 1795. All Saints was his families parish Church and parish name All Saints. He was the son of William and Elizabeth Dean.
James siblings were William Dean born 1798
John Dean born 1800,
George Dean 1803,
Charles Dean born 1805,
Henry Dean born 1808,
Joseph Dean born 1810,
Sarah Dean born 1813,
Robert Dean born 1815,
Thomas Dean born 1817,
Michael Dean born 1819,
By 1818 James was living 6.5 kilometres away in Walton on the Hill. James married Ann Edser (certificate stated both from Walton on the Hill) on the 24th May 1818 in Headley at St Mary the Virgin in Surrey. (Pallot Marriage Index). He was 22 and she was 19 years.
James Dean of Walton on the Hill (parish) and Ann Edser of the parish of Walton on the HIll were married in this church by banns this 24th day of May 1818 by me William West curate. Headley, St Mary the Virgin (register 1813-1836). Both signed their name in the register. They were married with Maria Edser as a witness who left her ‘mark’. Surrey England, Church of England Marriages and Banns 1754-1937.
Edser and Dean were not uncommon names of the time in this part of Surrey. You could walk from Banstead to Walton on the Hill in an hour. Reigate and Kingswood all nearby. Walton on the Hill was a small agricultural village seated on the high flats of chalk hills in Surrey, England. It still stands today. Surrounding areas also inhabited by our Deans included Banstead, Reigate and Liberty of Kingswood. The water source for the area was predominantly ponds and dug wells. Walkable hills and open downs with long established path and roadways (had been a Roman settlement)made movement in the area relatively easy. In the early years of their marriage Henry VIII gifted the estate land to Queen Katharine of Aragon for her private income.
Their known children were
William Dean 1819, birth registered St Peter’s Walton on the Hill
Harriet Dean 1820, birth registered All Saints Banstead
Mary Ann Dean 1822-1823, registered at St Peter’s Walton on the Hill – Were living at Liberty of Kingswood. Died aged 17 months. Death registered at All Saints Banstead.
Hannah Ann Dean 1823-1908, registered at All Saints Banstead
Henry Dean 1825, registered at St Peter’s Walton on the Hill
George Dean 1828 registered at St Peter’s Walton on the Hill
Maria Dean 1830 registered at St Peter’s Walton on the Hill. Died 1831 (July) aged 1+ years.
The reason some of the children may have been baptised at All Saints Banstead rather than their home church of St Peter’s Walton on the Hill was that St Peter’s was undergoing a renovation and restoration during this period (early 1820’s.) A tower had been constructed and added in 1817. St Peter’s church is believed to have stood in continually evolving versions since the thirteenth century. The most common occupation for the men of Banstead and Walton on the Hill in the parish records during the years I was looking was Labourer. this is indeed the occupation recorded consistently against James name.
In 1823 when he was aged 27 James father, William Dean of Walton on the Hill died. In 1826 when he was aged 30 James mother Elizabeth Howard Dean of Walton on the Hill died.
At the time our Dean’s lived here the Walton on the Hill Surrey area and nearby surrounds featured a high proportion of agricultural workers (labourers). The reason for this was primary industry of the area was agriculture. Farm work had traditionally provided employment and in many cases an affordable home could be rented by the labourer and his family as part of their employment conditions. An ancient settlement the area was well developed. For those trading and traveling to and from London it was in accessible proximity.
A great problem was steadily evolving, the agricultural labourer’s livelihood was at risk on the back of the industrial revolution. Smaller farms were being consolidated into larger farming concerns using more of the newer farming methods and machinery. Wages had not increased to match the rapid growth of a more industrialised farming model. In contrast they were steadily falling. Previously available common land which the farm worker had been able to use to grow their own subsistence crops was now being enclosed into pastures for sheep farming. Animal farming being preferred over grain production. These large farming endeavours were more lucrative than the previous small share cropping model. Likewise this meant the farm labourer now had to purchase supplies that otherwise he might have grown or been supplied by his employer as part of his wages. For many the agricultural worker who did not own any of his own land, the income he made did not match the outgoings he had to expend. He had only his labour to sell. If he managed to keep a few small animals for his own use, he could no longer use common land to feed them and now had to buy in feed at costs he could not sustain. (Hasbach, W., (1894), A History of the English Agricultural Labourer, Duncker & Humblot)
Ann died in 1831. She is recorded on the death register as Anne Dean, Walton on the Hill Jan 27 1831, aged 32 Robert Hawthorne Curate. St Peter, Walton on the Hill. Surrey England Church of England Burials 1813-199. Ann is buried at St Peter’s church graveyard Walton on the Hill.
Within six months of Ann’s death her youngest child Maria aged only a little over one year would also die. Little George was only three, Henry five, Hannah seven, Harriet nine and William twelve.
1851 census James Dean 54, a Lodger. Born Banstead, Surrey living at Kingswood St Andrew in Surrey. Living with Thomas worley 58 and his wife aged 52 and their family.
1861 census James Dean 65, a Lodger. Born Banstead, Surrey living at Banstead in Surrey. Living with Thomas worley 40 and his wife Mary aged 27 and their family.
1871 census James Dean 75, a Lodger. Born Banstead, Surrey living at Banstead in Surrey. (Parish of All Saints). Living with Frederick Blunden 36 and their family.
In 1871 a year before he dies James is living with a family called Blunden as a lodger. Now I’m not sure of this and I’m only surmising. But, James daughter Hannah married William Fowles who had a sister Ellen Fowles who married a Cecil Blunden (all from the same area in Surrey). Ellen and Cecil emigrated to Australia a few years before William and Hannah. I wonder whether this family of Blunden’s in England were family of James son-in-law William Fowles and whether for this reason he lodged with them? It’s highly likely given that these families all would have very likely known of each other.
James was buried on the 15th April 1872 in the parish of All Saints. He was aged 77. He was remarked to have been living at Burgh Heath, Banstead. All Saints was the same parish church his parents had brought him to to be baptised 77 years earlier. He lived his whole life in the area.
Yews to Eucalypts 