Downs and Butler Family Census Returns

The Downs Family in Census Returns

Census returns, maintained by The National Archives, can be viewed at the Ancestry family history website.
Note: In the 1841 census, the age was rounded down to the nearest five for those aged 15 or over.

Name Age Occupation Born in County?

1841 census – Lodge Farm, Odiham, Hampshire Reference: HO107/395/15 (folio 12, p. 18)

Dennis Downs 45 Farmer N

Martha Downs 40 N

Sarah Downs 16 Y

Ann Downs 12 Y

John Downs 5 months Y

John Bird 20 Ag Lab Y

Notes: On 9 August 1817 the parish register for St Michael’s Church, Basingstoke, recorded the marriage of Denis Downs, bachelor, and Martha Hannah Whistler, spinster, both of the parish, by licence with consent of parents, witnessed by Mary Whistler (the younger sister of the bride) and James Curtis.
For Denis and his wife Martha the census return gave the response No for ‘whether born in same county’. Denis and Martha were both from Basingstoke and therefore were born in the county of Hampshire. Possibly, for this census return, the response indicates ‘whether born in the district of Odiham’.
Martha’s sister Sarah, the wife of John Butler, is shown in transcribed census returns for the Butler family.
A local history, compiled in 1932, states: ‘Lodge Farm, in North Warnborough [half-a-mile to the north of Odiham], is a beautiful 15th century house. It was a hunting lodge in Elizabethan times and contains a fine old panelled room’. In 1929 the owner of Lodge Farm discovered fragments of Roman pottery. This led to excavations by archaeologists that revealed the remains of a Roman house (Odiham and its Surroundings, edited by M. Gotelee, 1932, pp. 18, 31 & 33).

1851 census – Chapel Terrace, Odiham, Hampshire Reference: HO107/1680 (folio 112, p. 24)

Martha H Downs Head Widow 52 Farmer 100 acres
4 labourers Basingstoke

Sarah Ann Downs Daughter Unmarried 26 Odiham

Ann Downs Daughter Unm 22 Odiham

John Downs Son 10 Scholar Odiham

1861 census – North Warnborough, Odiham, Hampshire Reference: RG9/706 (folio 39, p. 26)

Martha H Downs Head Widow 62 Farmer of 270 acres
employs 7 labourers and 2 boys Basingstoke

Sarah A Harris Daughter Widow 36 Annuitant Odiham

Ann Downs Daughter Unm 32 Farmer's daughter Odiham

John Downs Son Unm 20 Apprenticed Plumber Odiham

Notes: William Ireland Harris and Sarah Ann Downs were married in 1853 (FreeBMD website).

1871 census – Church St, Basingstoke Reference: RG10/1234 (folio 56, p. 17)

Thomas Harris Head Married 55 Coal Merchant Sherborne St John

Alice A Harris Daughter Unm 18 Dressmaker Basingstoke

Frank W Harris Son Unm 15 Clerk to timber merchant Basingstoke

Bessie Harris Daughter 10 Scholar Basingstoke

Nellie Harris Daughter 7 Scholar Basingstoke

Martha Downs Mother-
in-law Widow 74 Formerly Farmer's wife Basingstoke

Martha Goodyear Servant 14 General domestic servant Nutley

Notes: The same census page recorded the household of Albert Portsmouth and his sister Harriet who were the nephew and niece of Martha Downs (their mother Mary was Martha’s sister).

The Butler Family in Census Returns

Windmills to Railways
Pennsylvania
Census returns, maintained by The National Archives, can be viewed at the Ancestry family history website.
Note: Place names are in Hampshire unless otherwise stated.

Name Age Occupation Born in County?

1841 census – Summers Farm, Long Sutton, Hampshire Reference: HO107/395/1 (folio 4, p. 3)

John Butler 38 Farmer Y

Sarah Butler 37 Y

John Butler 10 N

Sarah Butler 13 N

Ann Butler 12 N

William Butler 9 N

Mary Butler 7 N

Henry Butler 4 N

George Butler 3 Y

Charles Butler 2 Y

Notes: Long Sutton is a village near Odiham.
On 22 February 1827 the parish register of St Michael’s Church, Basingstoke, recorded the marriage of John Butler of Odiham and Sarah Whistler of Basingstoke, by licence, in the presence of the witnesses George Whistler (the brother of Sarah) and his wife Mary.

Name and relation to
Head of household Marital
Status Age Occupation Birth Place

1851 census – Rotherwick, Hampshire Reference: HO107/1680 (folio 384, p. 10)

John Butler Head Married 48 Farmer of 300 acres
employing 4 labourers Basing

Sarah Butler Wife Married 47 Basingstoke

Sarah Butler Daughter Unm 23 Peppard, Oxfordshire

John Butler Son Unm 20 Peppard, Oxfordshire

Mary Butler Daughter Unm 17 Peppard, Oxfordshire

Henry Butler Son 14 Peppard, Oxfordshire

George Butler Son 13 Long Sutton

Charles Butler Son 11 Long Sutton

Elizabeth Butler Daughter 9 Long Sutton

Alfred Butler Son 7 Long Sutton

Frederick Butler Son 3 Long Sutton

Note: Rotherfield Peppard is near Henley-on-Thames.

1861 census – Rotherwick St., Rotherwick, Hampshire Reference: RG9/707 (folio 96, p. 12)

John Butler Head Married 56 Baker & Grocer Cowfield, Hampshire

Sarah Butler Wife Married 56 Basingstoke

Henry Butler Son Unm 22 Butcher Peppard, Oxfordshire

George Butler Son 20 Ag Labourer Sutton, Hampshire

1881 census – Blounce Farm, South Warnborough, Hampshire Reference: RG11/1249 (folio 88, p. 8)

Alfred Butler Head Married 37 Farming 600 Acres and
Employs 10 Labourers, 2 Boys Long Sutton

Ethel M Butler Daughter 2 Grazeley, Berkshire

Mary J Plater Servant Unm 21 Nursery Governess Bishopstone

Frank Trimmer Servant Unm 23 Agricultural Labourer Holybourne, Hampshire

Note: On census day in 1881 Alfred’s wife Emma was staying with her parents as shown in the next transcribed census record.

1881 census – Culford Villa on Home Farm, Culford, Suffolk Reference: RG11/1838 (folio 41, p. 20)

Benjamin Hunt Head Married 64 Agent Laindon, Essex

Maria Hunt Wife Married 62 Writtle, Essex

Alice Hunt Daughter Unm 26 Sherborne, Hampshire

Emma Butler Daughter Married 36 Sherborne, Hampshire

Thomas Jeffries Nephew Unm 16 Laindon, Essex

Reggie Butler Grandson 4 Grazeley, Berkshire

Georgina Butler Granddaughter 5 months Blounce, Hampshire
[South Warnborough]

Elizabeth Bradley Servant Unm 18 General Servant Domestic Cockfield, Suffolk

1891 census – 68 & 69 Cowley Rd., Cowley St John, Oxford Reference: RG12/1165 (folio 19, p. 31)

Alfred Butler Head Married 48 Miller & Corn Merchant [Sutton], Hampshire

Reginald A Butler Son 16 Draper’s Assistant Slough, Bucks.

Ethel M Butler Daughter 12 Scholar [Grazeley], Berkshire

Florence Butler Daughter 8 Scholar South Warnborough

Note: Slough, now in Berkshire, is near Eton and Windsor.
The next transcribed census return shows Alfred’s wife Emma staying with family in Basingstoke.

1891 census – Bury Farm, Basingstoke Reference: RG12/958 (folio 6, pp. 4–5)

John Butler Head Married 60 Farmer

Alice Butler Wife Married 35 Sherborne St John

Emma Butler Sister-in-
law Married 44 Sherborne St John

Maurice Butler Nephew 5 Scholar South Warnborough

Frank Butler Nephew 3 Scholar South Warnborough

Gertrude Butler Niece 10 Scholar South Warnborough

Jane Hayward Servant Single 16 General domestic servant Basing

1901 census – 167 Cowley Rd., Cowley St John, Oxford Reference: RG13/1380 (folio 6, p. 4)

Alfred Butler Head Married 57 Grain, Baker &
Boot Shopkeeper Sutton near Odiham

Emma M Butler Wife Married 54 Sherborne, Hampshire

Ethel M Butler Daughter Single 22 Assistant - Boot dealer Grazeley, Berkshire

Gertrude Butler Daughter Single 20 Assistant - Baker dealer South Warnborough

Florence Butler Daughter Single 18 Assistant - Corn dealer South Warnborough

Frank Butler Son 13 Scholar South Warnborough

Alice Dunsdon Servant Single 21 Servant Domestic West Hanney, Berkshire

Notes: South Warnborough and Long Sutton are both near Odiham in Hampshire.

1911 census – Southfield House, Cowley, Oxford Reference: RG14/8128 (schedule 211)

Alfred Butler Head Married 67 Miller Corn Merchant Sutton, Hampshire

Emma Maria Butler Wife Married 65 Sherborne, Hampshire

Maurice Butler Son Single 25 Ironmonger South Warnborough

Frank Butler Son Single 23 Corn trade South Warnborough

Henry Stedham Stanley
Pether Son-in-law Married 32 Farmer Bartlemas, Oxford

Florence Pether Daughter Married 28 South Warnborough

Marjorie Florence
Pether Grandchild 6 Bartlemas, Oxford

Alfred Henry Pether Grandchild 2 Bartlemas, Oxford

Edith Newitt Governess Single 36 Liverpool

Vera Nicholls Servant Single 25 Wootten, Oxford

Hilda Stroud Housemaid Single 18 Littlemore, Oxford

Notes: In Kelly’s Directory of Oxfordshire, 1911, the business listings for
‘Corn & Flour Merchants’ included:
Alfred Butler, 153 & 155 Cowley Rd.; 5 Castle St. & 5 St. Ebbe’s St. Oxford
(UK, City and County Directories, Ancestry online database).

Copyright © WhistlerHistory
All Rights Reserved. Disclaimer
Revision date: 2024

Name			Age	Occupation	Born in County?
Census returns, maintained by The National Archives, can be viewed at the Ancestry family history website. Note: In the 1841 census, the age was rounded down to the nearest five for those aged 15 or over.
1841 census – Lodge Farm, Odiham, Hampshire Reference: HO107/395/15 (folio 12, p. 18)
Dennis Downs			45	Farmer	N
Martha Downs			40		N
Sarah Downs			16		Y
Ann Downs			12		Y
John Downs			5 months		Y
John Bird			20	Ag Lab	Y
Notes: On 9 August 1817 the parish register for St Michael’s Church, Basingstoke, recorded the marriage of Denis Downs, bachelor, and Martha Hannah Whistler, spinster, both of the parish, by licence with consent of parents, witnessed by Mary Whistler (the younger sister of the bride) and James Curtis. For Denis and his wife Martha the census return gave the response No for ‘whether born in same county’. Denis and Martha were both from Basingstoke and therefore were born in the county of Hampshire. Possibly, for this census return, the response indicates ‘whether born in the district of Odiham’. Martha’s sister Sarah, the wife of John Butler, is shown in transcribed census returns for the Butler family. A local history, compiled in 1932, states: ‘Lodge Farm, in North Warnborough [half-a-mile to the north of Odiham], is a beautiful 15th century house. It was a hunting lodge in Elizabethan times and contains a fine old panelled room’. In 1929 the owner of Lodge Farm discovered fragments of Roman pottery. This led to excavations by archaeologists that revealed the remains of a Roman house (Odiham and its Surroundings, edited by M. Gotelee, 1932, pp. 18, 31 & 33).
1851 census – Chapel Terrace, Odiham, Hampshire Reference: HO107/1680 (folio 112, p. 24)
Martha H Downs	Head	Widow	52	Farmer 100 acres 4 labourers	Basingstoke
Sarah Ann Downs	Daughter	Unmarried	26		Odiham
Ann Downs	Daughter	Unm	22		Odiham
John Downs	Son		10	Scholar	Odiham

1861 census – North Warnborough, Odiham, Hampshire Reference: RG9/706 (folio 39, p. 26)
Martha H Downs	Head	Widow	62	Farmer of 270 acres employs 7 labourers and 2 boys	Basingstoke
Sarah A Harris	Daughter	Widow	36	Annuitant	Odiham
Ann Downs	Daughter	Unm	32	Farmer's daughter	Odiham
John Downs	Son	Unm	20	Apprenticed Plumber	Odiham
Notes: William Ireland Harris and Sarah Ann Downs were married in 1853 (FreeBMD website).
1871 census – Church St, Basingstoke Reference: RG10/1234 (folio 56, p. 17)
Thomas Harris	Head	Married	55	Coal Merchant	Sherborne St John
Alice A Harris	Daughter	Unm	18	Dressmaker	Basingstoke
Frank W Harris	Son	Unm	15	Clerk to timber merchant	Basingstoke
Bessie Harris	Daughter		10	Scholar	Basingstoke
Nellie Harris	Daughter		7	Scholar	Basingstoke
Martha Downs	Mother- in-law	Widow	74	Formerly Farmer's wife	Basingstoke
Martha Goodyear	Servant		14	General domestic servant	Nutley
Notes: The same census page recorded the household of Albert Portsmouth and his sister Harriet who were the nephew and niece of Martha Downs (their mother Mary was Martha’s sister).
The Butler Family in Census Returns Windmills to Railways Pennsylvania Census returns, maintained by The National Archives, can be viewed at the Ancestry family history website. Note: Place names are in Hampshire unless otherwise stated.
Name			Age	Occupation	Born in County?
1841 census – Summers Farm, Long Sutton, Hampshire Reference: HO107/395/1 (folio 4, p. 3)
John Butler			38	Farmer	Y
Sarah Butler			37		Y
John Butler			10		N
Sarah Butler			13		N
Ann Butler			12		N
William Butler			9		N
Mary Butler			7		N
Henry Butler			4		N
George Butler			3		Y
Charles Butler			2		Y
Notes: Long Sutton is a village near Odiham. On 22 February 1827 the parish register of St Michael’s Church, Basingstoke, recorded the marriage of John Butler of Odiham and Sarah Whistler of Basingstoke, by licence, in the presence of the witnesses George Whistler (the brother of Sarah) and his wife Mary.
Name and relation to Head of household		Marital Status	Age	Occupation	Birth Place
1851 census – Rotherwick, Hampshire Reference: HO107/1680 (folio 384, p. 10)
John Butler	Head	Married	48	Farmer of 300 acres employing 4 labourers	Basing
Sarah Butler	Wife	Married	47		Basingstoke
Sarah Butler	Daughter	Unm	23		Peppard, Oxfordshire
John Butler	Son	Unm	20		Peppard, Oxfordshire
Mary Butler	Daughter	Unm	17		Peppard, Oxfordshire
Henry Butler	Son		14		Peppard, Oxfordshire
George Butler	Son		13		Long Sutton
Charles Butler	Son		11		Long Sutton
Elizabeth Butler	Daughter		9		Long Sutton
Alfred Butler	Son		7		Long Sutton
Frederick Butler	Son		3		Long Sutton
Note: Rotherfield Peppard is near Henley-on-Thames.
1861 census – Rotherwick St., Rotherwick, Hampshire Reference: RG9/707 (folio 96, p. 12)
John Butler	Head	Married	56	Baker & Grocer	Cowfield, Hampshire
Sarah Butler	Wife	Married	56		Basingstoke
Henry Butler	Son	Unm	22	Butcher	Peppard, Oxfordshire
George Butler	Son		20	Ag Labourer	Sutton, Hampshire

1881 census – Blounce Farm, South Warnborough, Hampshire Reference: RG11/1249 (folio 88, p. 8)
Alfred Butler	Head	Married	37	Farming 600 Acres and Employs 10 Labourers, 2 Boys	Long Sutton
Ethel M Butler	Daughter		2		Grazeley, Berkshire
Mary J Plater	Servant	Unm	21	Nursery Governess	Bishopstone
Frank Trimmer	Servant	Unm	23	Agricultural Labourer	Holybourne, Hampshire
Note: On census day in 1881 Alfred’s wife Emma was staying with her parents as shown in the next transcribed census record.
1881 census – Culford Villa on Home Farm, Culford, Suffolk Reference: RG11/1838 (folio 41, p. 20)
Benjamin Hunt	Head	Married	64	Agent	Laindon, Essex
Maria Hunt	Wife	Married	62		Writtle, Essex
Alice Hunt	Daughter	Unm	26		Sherborne, Hampshire
Emma Butler	Daughter	Married	36		Sherborne, Hampshire
Thomas Jeffries	Nephew	Unm	16		Laindon, Essex
Reggie Butler	Grandson		4		Grazeley, Berkshire
Georgina Butler	Granddaughter		5 months		Blounce, Hampshire [South Warnborough]
Elizabeth Bradley	Servant	Unm	18	General Servant Domestic	Cockfield, Suffolk

1891 census – 68 & 69 Cowley Rd., Cowley St John, Oxford Reference: RG12/1165 (folio 19, p. 31)
Alfred Butler	Head	Married	48	Miller & Corn Merchant	[Sutton], Hampshire
Reginald A Butler	Son		16	Draper’s Assistant	Slough, Bucks.
Ethel M Butler	Daughter		12	Scholar	[Grazeley], Berkshire
Florence Butler	Daughter		8	Scholar	South Warnborough
Note: Slough, now in Berkshire, is near Eton and Windsor. The next transcribed census return shows Alfred’s wife Emma staying with family in Basingstoke.
1891 census – Bury Farm, Basingstoke Reference: RG12/958 (folio 6, pp. 4–5)
John Butler	Head	Married	60	Farmer
Alice Butler	Wife	Married	35		Sherborne St John
Emma Butler	Sister-in- law	Married	44		Sherborne St John
Maurice Butler	Nephew		5	Scholar	South Warnborough
Frank Butler	Nephew		3	Scholar	South Warnborough
Gertrude Butler	Niece		10	Scholar	South Warnborough
Jane Hayward	Servant	Single	16	General domestic servant	Basing

1901 census – 167 Cowley Rd., Cowley St John, Oxford Reference: RG13/1380 (folio 6, p. 4)
Alfred Butler	Head	Married	57	Grain, Baker & Boot Shopkeeper	Sutton near Odiham
Emma M Butler	Wife	Married	54		Sherborne, Hampshire
Ethel M Butler	Daughter	Single	22	Assistant - Boot dealer	Grazeley, Berkshire
Gertrude Butler	Daughter	Single	20	Assistant - Baker dealer	South Warnborough
Florence Butler	Daughter	Single	18	Assistant - Corn dealer	South Warnborough
Frank Butler	Son		13	Scholar	South Warnborough
Alice Dunsdon	Servant	Single	21	Servant Domestic	West Hanney, Berkshire
Notes: South Warnborough and Long Sutton are both near Odiham in Hampshire.
1911 census – Southfield House, Cowley, Oxford Reference: RG14/8128 (schedule 211)
Alfred Butler	Head	Married	67	Miller Corn Merchant	Sutton, Hampshire
Emma Maria Butler	Wife	Married	65		Sherborne, Hampshire
Maurice Butler	Son	Single	25	Ironmonger	South Warnborough
Frank Butler	Son	Single	23	Corn trade	South Warnborough
Henry Stedham Stanley Pether	Son-in-law	Married	32	Farmer	Bartlemas, Oxford
Florence Pether	Daughter	Married	28		South Warnborough
Marjorie Florence Pether	Grandchild		6		Bartlemas, Oxford
Alfred Henry Pether	Grandchild		2		Bartlemas, Oxford
Edith Newitt	Governess	Single	36		Liverpool
Vera Nicholls	Servant	Single	25		Wootten, Oxford
Hilda Stroud	Housemaid	Single	18		Littlemore, Oxford
Notes: In Kelly’s Directory of Oxfordshire, 1911, the business listings for ‘Corn & Flour Merchants’ included: Alfred Butler, 153 & 155 Cowley Rd.; 5 Castle St. & 5 St. Ebbe’s St. Oxford (UK, City and County Directories, Ancestry online database).

Copyright © WhistlerHistory All Rights Reserved.				Disclaimer Revision date: 2024