1841 Census:

John was forty-five years old at the time of the 1841 census. The enumerator had poor handwriting, and the name Mortlock has been transcribed as 'Matlock' on Ancestry. The Mortlocks lived at Swavesey, Cambridgeshire.

John is shown as a farmer. His wife Mary was 35.

John had six children at the time of the 1841 census. Phebe was 11, Sarah was 8, Elizabeth was 6, John was 5, Mary was 3 and Hephzibah was 1. There was also another girl, aged 15, transcribed on Ancestry as Phebe Piza. It may well be Phebe Daye.

Everyone in the household was born in Cambridgeshire. The transcript for their entry is here.

1851 Census:

John was fifty-eight years old at the time of the 1851 census. The Mortlocks lived at Church Street, Swavesey, Cambridgeshire.

John is shown as a mealsman, a dealer in cereals and grain. His wife Mary was 47.

John had seven children at the time of the 1851 census. Phebe was 21, Sarah was 18, John was 14, Mary Ann was 13, Hephzibah was 11, Thomas was 9 and Jane was 7. There was also Joseph Fear, shown as a nephew of John Mortlock, who was 12 years old.

John was born at Swavesey in Cambridgeshire, as were the rest of the family. The transcript for their entry is here.

1861 Census:

John was sixty-eight years old at the time of the 1861 census. The Mortlocks lived at High Street, Swavesey, Cambridgeshire.

John is shown as a baker and flour dealer. His wife Mary was 57 years old.

John had three children at home at the time of the 1861 census. Phebe was 31, Hephzibah was 21 and Thomas was 19. Phebe is shown as an idiot, Hephzibah as a baker's assistant. Thomas was married to Eliza, aged 21. Thomas and Eliza had a child of their own, Samuel, who was a month old. Thomas is shown as a bricklayer's assistant.

John was born at Swavesey in Cambridgeshire, as were the rest of the family, except for Thomas's wife Eliza who was born at Needingworth, Huntingdonshire. Despite being in different counties, Swavesey and Needingworth are adjacent villages. The transcript for their entry is here.

1871 Census:

John was seventy eight years old at the time of the 1871 census. The family still lived at High Street, Swavesey, Cambridgeshire.

John is shown, curiously, as a retired famer (see 1841). His wife Mary, aged 67, is shown as a farmer's wife. They still had Phebe at home, aged 41. She is shown as an idiot from birth. Also living with them was John H William Mortlock, aged 8.

John was born at Swavesey in Cambridgeshire, as were the rest of the family, except for John H William who was born at Aldershot.The transcript for their entry is here.

John's son Thomas, my great-great-grandfather, had moved out. Thomas was twenty-eight years old at the time of the 1871 census. He lived with his wife and children at High Street, Holywell with Needingworth, Huntingdonshire.

Thomas is shown as a bricklayer. His wife Eliza was 29.

Thomas had five children at the time of the 1871 census: Samuel was 10, Emma was 8, Hepzibah was 7, Lizzie (Eliza, my great-grandmother) was 5 and Thomas was 3.

Thomas was born at Swavesey in Cambridgeshire, as was Samuel. The rest of the family were born at Needingworth in Huntingdonshire. Despite being in different counties, Swavesey and Needingworth are adjacent villages. The transcript for their entry is here.

1881 Census:

By the time of the 1881 census, his widow Mary was seventy-six years old. She lived at 3 Church End, Swavesey, Cambridgeshire. She is shown as a widower.

She was living on her own. Her daughter Phoebe had died at the age of 42 in the 4th quarter of 1871 at St Ives, Huntingdonshire.

Mary's place of birth is shown as Swavesey, Cambridgeshire. The transcript for the entry is here.

1885: Mary Mortlock's death is recorded in the second quarter at St Ives, Huntingdonshire.