Isaac and Sarah Lord have a special place in our story. They were the couple who, having moved to the area from Essex, founded the Wycombe branch of the Lord family. Although there are records of Lords in the area in earlier years, the first occurrence of the name in a census was not until 1861 following Isaac and Sarah’s arrival in the district. Taking into account the harsh life that people in their social position had to endure at the time, they must have been a hardy couple since both survived into their eighties. Isaac only retired from work when ill-health forced him to do so at the age of 70. Perhaps the harshness of the time is best illustrated by the fact that Sarah bore at least 14 children of whom only 10 survived. This then, is what has been discovered of their story.

William Burrowes, an agricultural labourer.

In 1851 we find the couple living in Maldon with their two children Caroline aged 2 and Edmond Isaac aged 11 months. For the remainder of his short life Edmond appears to have been known as Edwin. At this time Isaac’s occupation was given as “Servant Groom”. It must have been around this time that he started to work for the Reverend Henry Tufnell Young, previously Vicar of Wormingford and now a curate living in Purleigh. In the first half of 1852 both Caroline and Edmond (Edwin) died. Their deaths were followed within a few months by the birth of Sarah Ann.

Isaac Lord (left), the eldest son of John and Anne Lord, was born in 1821 in the village of Hazeleigh which is just south of Maldon in Essex and was baptised in October of that year at nearby Woodham Mortimer. On 19th October 1848 he married Sarah Long (right) at All Saints Church, Mundon, Essex. Sara was the illegitimate daughter of Sarah Anne Long and was born on April 20th 1831 in Maldon and was shown on her Marriage Certificate to be illiterate. At the age of 10 Sarah was living, probably as a servant, with the family of one