William Stables (1803-1852)
William was the second son of William & Ann Stables (nee Pailthorpe) and was born in Barnburgh in 1803. William became a farmer, owning some of his own land and renting more. In 1824, when he was aged 21, he married Ann Roberts, an elderly spinster, 40 year his senior! They lived in Barnburgh for 20 years, until Ann died in 1845 at the age of 82. The following year, William married Mary Thompson, another spinster who was William's own age, but probably because she was in her forties, they had no children. Mary had been born in Northumberland and it seems likely that they met via William's brother John, who had lived there for a number of years. You can read about John here. William died in 1852 aged only 49, followed by Mary seven years later.