Hi Merry
I looked closely at that death, too. Given William's age in 1841 was rounded to 25, I looked at every death, 1845-1851 in Sussex for a William Martin aged 29-40 and there are not that many.
However, it now seems they may have stayed in Kew St from 1845 to 1851, so the Marshall Row abode in the burials seems to rule it out. Also if he was only 29, he would have been only 18-9 when eldest son William was born, so IF William and Elizabeth did marry, there should have been a licence issued ? Unless, like his son Robert, lied about his age.
So maybe William and Elizabeth lied about everything - as well as their ages, that they married, registering their sons with the MARTIN surname and mothers maiden name BERWICK, that she was a widow in 1851. If that is the case, then the only thing they did not lie about was that they lived in the same house for the 1841 census, Roberts birth, James birth and William Juniors death, and the same street for Joseph's death and 1851 census, and William's occupation as carpenter.
The 1848 Brighton Registration for William Martin age 67, could be William's father. There is an 1816 baptism for William Martin, son of William Martin (Carpenter) and Jane, of Pimlico. The 1848 burial record says of Pimlico. I need to see if I can find him in the 1841 census.
Maybe also, William was not actually dead, maybe I should be looking further afield to see if he was a convict.
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