Esther Larby was born in Aldershot, Hampshire, and christened there on 1 October 1837. Her parents were Henry Larby (a labourer who had died before she was born) and Esther Fludder - who later remarried to a bricklayer William Fludder and ran a traveller's lodging house in Farnham.
Esther first lived with Ambrose Challis an agricultural labourer. They separated most likely in the late 1860s, and in 1871 Ambrose is in the Workhouse, whilst Esther is working as a laundress and raising her children alone. By the early 1870s, she started a relationship with a mysterious William Wilson - consistently recorded as a farmer. By 1881, she was still working as a laundress, having moved her family to Kingston-upon-Thames. She was recorded as a widow - whether this refers to Ambrose (who had died in 1874) or indicating that William Wilson had died, is unknown.
During the 1890s Esther moved into the Sunbury Lockhouse, as her son George was the lock-keeper there. She remained there until her death aged 63, and she wad buried on 15 February 1901 in Sunbury-on-Thames.
Children: William James Challis (1860-?) Elizabeth Mary Challis (1863-?) Frederick Wilson (1865-1912) Mary Jane Challis (1867-1940) George Wilson (1870-1937) Emily Larby (1872-1943) Fanny Maria Wilson (1875-1899)