FAMILY
Mary Wills was the oldest daughter of John Wills and Mary Brown, christened at St Mary Magdelene, Stockbury, on 2 Oct 1757.
She would have been 9 when her aunt Sarah Wells married the recently widowed Stephen Hales. That brought her into closer contact with Stephen's son William Hales, who was 10. The two were married at St Mary Magdelene on April 14, 1782. Mary had a "natural" daughter (Fanny Wells) by then and they christened her the sam day.
William and Mary brought ten children into the world in Stockbury.
SOUTH GREEN FARM
They became tenants on South Green Farm in 1803.
William died on 7 Feb 1822, but Mary continued on as a tenant.
Her oldest son, William probably took over the farm's daily operations by 1832 (at which point he made the transition from labourer to "farmer" in the parish register. (He would take over the tenancy after Mary's death.)
Another son, our ancestor Thomas Hales, moved his family in across the street.
The parish entry for Mary's burial states “5 Mar 1839, Mary Hales, age 81.”