Reclaim Jane - Writing Challenge

I’ve just taken part in the #ReclaimJane writing project devised by the wonderful Natalie Pithers, who is also the brains behind the Curious Descendants Club.  The aim of the project is to encourage people to give voice to their forgotten ancestors, often but not always women, people who may have only shown up fleetingly in the records but who lived very real lives.

I decided to turn my attention to my 2 x Great-grandmother Jane Ladley (1828-1899), which  curiously was also the name of my much loved late mother-in-law, and it felt like she was calling to me across the generations.  I knew there would not be a blood connection to my ex-husband’s, and therefore my children’s family, as this was his mother’s second marriage but nonetheless I was curious to see how the families connected.

What follows is a longer post than my usual ones, if you want to skip past my research process then feel free to jump ahead to Jane's story at the end of the post.

Royalty free signpost image via pxfuel.com

Jane’s parents were George Ladley (1788-1868) and Ann Markham (1785-1873)1. From the records I can find George and Ann married at Horncastle on 2^nd June 1812, and had 7 children: Eliza (1813-?)2 born in Horncastle; Sarah (1815-1829)3 born in Winceby; then Mary Ann (1817)4 who was born Greetham, followed by George (1818)5, Anne (1820)6, Thomas (1823)7, and Jane (1829)8 who were all born in West Ashby.  There may well have been other children, however as this was prior to the implementation of Civil Registrations in 1837, I am reliant on what baptism records I can find.  There is also the additional problem with the various spellings of the surname Ladley.  On first look you may think it is quite a straightforward name, however, as my own children would attest it can so easily be mistranscribed as Laidlow, Hadley, Padley etc and indeed George and Ann’s marriage is under the name Ladlow and their first appearance on the Census records (1841)9 is recorded under the name of Padley although on looking at the image itself I can clearly see it is Ladley.

There is a lot of written history about the turmoils within agriculture during the 19^th Century, and I won’t dwell too deeply on it as part of this blog post, but I do need to bear it in mind when trying to picture the daily lives of my ancestors, the upheavals and uncertainty faced by the introduction of new machinery and new farming practices

In the 1830s there was much disorder amongst the workforce, the following is an extract of a letter dated 1831 and sent to Joseph Stevens of Baumber, Horncastle (less than 5 miles from where my ancestors were based):

Steveson, you may think it a great favour that we write before we fire. If you have a machine in your yard, we will set fire to the stacks the first opportunity, and we can do it if you stand by; and you and all the farmers must give better wages to the labourers, or we will fire; and if fire will not do we will dredge poison on your turnip shells. You may warn all the farmers.

 Penalties were harsh too, for example a young 15-year-old servant, Priscilla Woodford, was found guilty of setting fire to a haystack in another area of Lincolnshire in 1832, and was transported for life.10  

Certainly, times were tough but agriculture remained the principal employment for Lincolnshire up to the 1850s and beyond.  Even now, living in the county, I am surrounded by fields, with both livestock and agricultural uses, although more of them are getting turned over to recreational uses such as for keeping horses.

Returning to the 1841 Census 9, George is recorded as an Agricultural Labourer, living with his wife Ann, daughter Jane and two others: Samuel and Ann Barton, Samuel also being recorded as an Agricultural Labourer.  I have noted that on some other Ancestry.com trees people have recorded Samuel as being the son-in-law to George with Ann Barton being their daughter Anne (born 1820)6; as there is a marriage record for an Ann Ladlow and Samuel Barton recorded in Louth in 184011 this would seem a reasonable suggestion, especially as there are no other shared households on that particular Census entry.

By 185112 the Bartons have moved to Fulletby, around 3 miles away and have 6 children: Sarah aged 19; Francis aged 8; John aged 6; Henry aged 4; Elizabeth listed as 13 but having found a baptism record13, I believe she was 3; and Mary A aged 9 months old.

This leaves Jane living with George and Ann, on the 1851 Census14 still at West Ashby but now with an additional family member Markham Ladley aged 3.  He is listed on the Census as being George and Ann’s grandson and I initially jumped to the conclusion that he was therefore Jane’s son; this is where my rabbit hole and Jane’s story truly begins….

When I was originally researching this side of the family I had tried in vain to find a birth record for Markham Ladley, on both Ancestry.com and FreeBMD.org despite his birth occurring after Civil Registrations began.  Picking my research back up again as part of this challenge I had now learnt of additional places to search; GRO.gov sadly still turned up a blank but on Find My Past I was able to find a Baptism entry for Markham15.  Dated 17 Dec 1847, the entry records Markham as the illegitimate son of Ann Ladley, Single Woman from West Ashby, his actual birth date is not listed.

This obviously gave me some questions!

Within the Ladley family there were 2 Ann(e)s and one Mary Ann; was one of these actually the mother? Well Ann Markham, Jane’s mother was already 62 and surely if she had put her name to the Baptism record for the sake of decency she would have been recorded as a married woman? I have ruled out Jane’s eldest two sisters as although I found it difficult to trace her eldest sister Eliza, I think I have her in Boston as a servant in 184116, and Sarah sadly passed away in 182917.  Turning to her other sisters, Ann would have been aged around 27, but appears to have already been married and with children of her own; one being born in May 184812; so I feel I can rule her out also.  That would leave Jane’s other sister Mary Ann, who would have been aged around 30 when Markham was born; the few records I can find for Mary Ann though suggest that she was married to a William Anderson in 183518, and by the 1841 Census19 was living with him and 2 children, a daughter, Mary aged 3 and a son, William aged 2, still in West Ashby; at the time of the 1851 Census20, I found William recorded as a Widower with one further child, a son, Robert aged 8, and digging a little further I found a burial record for Mary Ann Anderson dated 184321.

I felt I had now ruled out either of the Ann(e)s and Mary Ann from being Markham’s mother, which brought me back full circle to Jane.

West Ashby itself was a relatively small rural community; in 1841 there were 403 residents listed in the Census rising only slightly to 414 in 185122.  Within such a small neighbourhood I don’t believe that Jane could have concealed her pregnancy and son’s subsequent birth so was struggling to understand why she had given a different name when baptising her son.  Then whilst typing all of this up, I had a brain wave, something so obvious I can’t believe I overlooked it.  Jane will only have been aged around 19 when she gave birth to her son, and despite having lived a hard life, she was quite possibly overwhelmed when arranging to things such as the baptism, perhaps her mother actually dealt with a lot of this for her.  Was the name Ann being recorded as mother simply a mis-understanding? Presumably unable to read in 1847, had Jane thought the question ‘Mother’s name’ related to her mother, rather than her name as Markham’s mother?

I believe that in this case, the simplest explanation is indeed the correct one, but I don’t begrudge being side-tracked into checking.  One of the most important things when establishing our family history is to make sure that our records are as accurate as possible.  Without my exploring who Markham’s mother actually was, I most likely would not have discovered Jane’s sisters or persevered with exploring their lives, or at least not for some years to come.

And so I return to Jane, in 1851, a young unmarried mother living with her son and her parents.  What next for them? 

The following is a piece of creative non-fiction I have written using the available facts, including Parish records, Census returns, and General Registration details; it is written from the perspective of Jane in the final years of her life, looking back over how her life developed.

As Jane pulled the shawl tighter around her shoulders, and leant closer into the fire, she let her eyes flit across to the window, seeing all the snow outside her mind drifted back to a bitterly cold December day, over 40 years ago.

It was 1847; Jane had had to pull her shawl especially tight that day too, trying to keep both her and her young son warm, as she shuffled along the edge of the field trying to keep up with her mother who was striding out ahead of her.  She was grateful when the crunch of the crisp snow underfoot gave way to the crunch of the gravel, so that the cold was no longer seeping up through her well-worn boots, and she could feel herself slowing as they neared the church doorway, willing her feet to warm up.

‘Come along Jane,’ her mother urged her, ‘the Reverend will be waiting for us. Try and at least look grateful. ‘

Jane felt the bite in that remark, but knew this was true, Reverend Pierce had agreed with her mother and father at the Advent service a few weeks ago, that he would do the Baptism today, Friday 17^th December.  There would not be many there of course, she doubted if her father and brother Thomas would have been able to get away from the farm, Ann was busy with her own youngsters over in Fulletby, and as for her brother George he was very clear in his disapproval, even though she knew his wife Hannah had taken pity on her.

‘Pity,’ she thought disparagingly, ‘what else is there for me now?’ It was quite clear that many of the village folk thought she had brought this on herself, and it’s not as if she didn’t understand the way of the world, she had grown up around the Lincolnshire Longwools, watching when the tups got brought into the field. The young man in question had moved away, unaware of her condition. He and many other labourers had worked in the area a short time, moving on when the Mop Fair came Horncastle that May.

As she left the Church following the short service, Jane actually felt a little lighter. Markham had been very good, only giving one short squeal when the cold water from the stone font had been splashed on his forehead, but then turning back to silence as Rev Pierce traced out a cross there. Even Mrs Pierce, who was purportedly there to do the church flowers even though Jane knew she was really being nosey, had smiled at Markham and called him a bonny baby. She had been pleased to see Thomas there, with his young lady Mary-Ann, they were to be married next year, and would soon be thinking about children of their own.

She knew was lucky that her parents hadn’t put her out, she could not begin to contemplate what going on the Parish would mean for her and her young son. It worked both ways she realised, her mother wasn’t getting any younger of course, and relied quite heavily on Jane these days to help with the household duties, especially the washing; and they had all felt a terrible loss to the family when Mary Ann had passed away just a few years earlier and her widower William had moved to the next village with the children to be nearer his sister.

A loud crack from the fire brought Jane back to her Baumber sitting room; ‘Thomas will be home soon,’ she realised, rising to put more wood on the fire, and swing the kettle across.  She allowed wry smile crossed her face, ‘Thomas, her second husband.’ What a different life she had had from the one she’d envisioned leaving the church, all those years ago. 

The first two years with Markham had been especially hard, but then she had met Charles, a simple farm worker like her father and brothers, he had moved to West Ashby to work at the farm and they started walking home after church together, Markham now a toddler delighted in picking up twigs to show him and Charles would pick him up and point out birds in the hedgerow; they were wed in the Spring of 185123 and Markham took Charles’ name, Marshall. 

Absent-mindedly Jane started to prepare the evening meal, ready for when Thomas came in from the yard, and as she pottered around getting the plates out and buttering the bread, she allowed her mind to wander again.

1870, another marriage and another 3 year old guest at their mother’s wedding.  ‘Ah yes,’ she smiled inwardly, ‘sweet Liza.’

Markham had grown into a fine young man and started stepping out with a pretty young carpenter’s daughter, Charlotte Brader who lived in Hemingby near his uncle.  She already had a young daughter, Liza, but having been in the same position herself Jane was unconcerned and allowed the relationship to flourish.  They were married in May 187024 by Reverend Thackeray, before moving to Revesby where Markham had already secured a position.  They had had quite the gathering at the Coach and Horses, she recalled, unlike her own nearly 20 years previously; her youngest two sons Edward and John being around the same age, played happily with little Liza making daisy chains on the green.  They had had a good marriage, after Liza there were 10 more children, and Charlotte was heavy with another even now, and Markham retained his job on the estate at Revesby, it paid him well and gave him a much better living than her poor Charles had had.

‘Yes, poor Charles,’ she thought, he had been a good man.  She still missed him now, despite having re-married Thomas25, himself a widower some 5 years earlier. 

Extract from my TreeView family tree

 

Charles had died in 187526, leaving her with 3 young children aged 11 and under, but a strong woman and never one to shirk her duties she had carried on; and their son, George, by then 14 already working had become the man of the house bringing home his wages as his father before him had.  Time moved on and the children grew older, by 188127 George and Edward had both moved to Sotby near Market Rasen for work and their sister Elizabeth28 had followed them, working as Cook at the Rectory there, young John first moved to Horncastle29 where he had some fancy of becoming a confectioner! ‘That didn’t last long!’ she recalled as he moved again soon afterwards to become a groom30, certainly the outside life suited him much better.

Jane stirred the stew, releasing its aroma to the small room, before setting the lid back on the pot and wiping her gnarled hands on her apron.  She had done well she smiled to herself, remembering again the timid 19 year old scuttling into West Ashby church behind her mother all those years ago.  And now she had Thomas and his companionship with frequent visits from children accompanied by various grandchildren to fill her days.  It had been a hard life, but one well lived. 

All Saints Church, West Ashby

via en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Ashby

 

Jane passed away in 189931 the 189132 Census shows her living with Thomas, with his daughter, and her daughter in law recorded as visiting together with 2 young grandchildren. She was right that her son Markham had turned into a fine young man, and her belief that the job at Revesby had been a good choice.  In July1923, at the Lincolnshire County Show, Markham was awarded a prize for his long service, 54 years working for the same family; Markham also came second in the category for agricultural labourers who had brought up and placed out the greatest number of children, with 12 children born, 11 brought up and placed out. (The winner in that class had 17 children born, 14 brought up and 13 placed out). These achievements were shared widely in the press of the time, both national and local papers reaching as far afield as Cornwall shared articles about the County Show and awards33,34.  Sadly Markham's wife Charlotte also passed away in July 192335 and so I am sure his achievements will not have held much meaning for him at that time, save to mark their long and successful relationship.

I have not still fully connected these Ladleys with my own extended family, but from the information I have found so far I believe that George Ladley (1788-1868) is a distant cousin to my ex-Father-in-Law's family.

1.       George Ladlow and Ann Markham, (1812) England Select Marriages 1538-1973, 2^nd Jun 1812, FHL Film Number 504249 via Ancestry.com accessed 15/06/2021

2.       Eliza Ladly (1813) England Select Births and Christenings 1538-1975, 16^th May 1813, Father Geroge Ladly Mother Ann FHL Film Number 507835, via Ancestry.com accessed 10/02/2022

3.       Sarah Ladlow (1815) England Select Births and Christenings 1538-1975, 07 May 1815, Father George Ladlow Mother Anne, FHL Film Number 508073,508092, via Ancestry.com accessed 10/02/2022

4.       Mary Ann Ladley (1817) England Select Births and Christenings 1538-1975, 23^rd Mar 1817, Father George Ladley, Mother Ann, FHL Film Number 432513, via Ancestry.com accessed 10/02/2022

5.       Geroge Ladley (1818) England Select Births and Christenings 1538-1975, 11^th Dec 1818, Father George Ladley, Mother Anne, FHL Film Number 421896, via Ancestry.com accessed 10/02/2022

6.       Anne Ladley (1820) England Select Births and Christenings 1538-1975, 20^th Oct 1820, Father George Ladley, Mother Anne, FHL Film Number 1541956 Ref ID p.10, via Ancestry.com accessed 10/02/2022

7.       Thomas Ladley (1823) England Select Births and Christenings 1538-1975, 18^th Sep 1823, Father George Ladley, Mother Anne, FHL Film Number 1541956 Ref ID p.14, via Ancestry.com accessed 10/02/2022

8.       Jane Ladley (1828) England Select Births and Christenings 1538-1975, 25^th Apr 1828, Father George Ladley, Mother Ann, FHL Film Number 421896, via Ancestry.com accessed 15/06/2021

9.       George Padley (Ladley) (1841) Census return for West Ashby, Lincolnshire, Enumeration district 12, Folio 8, Page 9 Line 2, GSU Roll 438760, via Ancestry.com accessed 15/06/2021

10.   Wilcuma (2020) X Agriculture and Society 1750-1850,  available at  https://www.wilcuma.org.uk/the-history-of-lincolnshire-after-1066-2/agriculture-and-society-1750-1850/ accessed 08/02/2022

11.   Ann Ladlow (1840) England & Wales Civil Registration Marriage Index 183-1915, Oct-Nov-Dec 1840, Ann Ladlow and Samuel Barton, Louth, Lincolnshire Volume 14 Page 892

12.   Samuel Barton (1851) Census return for Fulletby, Horncastle, Lincolnshire, Class HO107, Piece 2108, Folio 62, GSU roll 87737, via Ancestry.com accessed 08/02/2022

13.   Elizabeth Barton (1848) England & Wales Non-conformist and Non-Parochial Registers 1567-1936, 18^th Jun 1848 Father Samuel Barton Mother Ann Barton, Class Number RG4, Piece Number 1316, via Ancestry.com accessed 10/02/2022

14.   Jane Ladley (1851) Census return for West Ashby, Lincolnshire, Class HO107, Piece 2107, Folio 415, Page 9, GSU roll 87736, via Ancestry.com accessed 15/06/2021

15.   Markham Ladley (1847) Parish Baptisms, Lincolnshire Baptisms, West Ashby, 17 Dec 1847, Page 48, Archive held Lincolnshire Archives, via findmypast.co.uk accessed 09/02/2022

16.   Eliza Ladlow (Ladley) (1841) Census return for Boston, Lincolnshire, Class HO107, Piece 613, Book 1, Folio 14, Page 21, Line 20, GSU roll 438755, via Ancestry.com accessed 10/02/2022

17.   Sarah Ladley (1829) England Select Deaths and Burials 1538-1991, Burial Date 1 Dec 1829, Father George Ladley Mother Ann, FHL Film Number 1541956, Ref ID P.9, via Ancestry.com accessed 10/02/2022

18.   Mary Ann Ladley and William Anderson (1835) England Select Marriages 1538-1973, 18^th May 1835, West Ashby, Lincolnshire, FHL Film Number 1541956 Ref P18, via Ancestry.com accessed 10/02/2022

19.   Mary Ann Anderson (1841) Census return for West Ashby, Lincolnshire, Class HO107, Piece 626, Book 22, Folio 10, Page 15, Line 2, GSU roll 438760

20.   William Anderson (1851) Census return for West Ashby, Lincolnshire, Class HO107, Piece 2107, Folio 419, Page17, GSU roll 87736, via Ancestry.com accessed 10/02/2022

21.   Mary Ann Anderson (1843) England Deaths and Burials 1538-1991, Parish Burials, Lincolnshire, 31^st May 1843, via findmypast.co.uk accessed 10/02/2022

22.   Genuki (2021) West Ashby, available at https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/LIN/WestAshby) accessed 10/02/2022

23.   Jane Ladley (1851) Census return for West Ashby, Lincolnshire, Class HO107, Piece 2107, Folio 415, Page 9, GSU roll 87736, via Ancestry.com accessed 15/06/2021

24.   Markham Marshall and Charlotte Brader (1870) England Select Marriages 1538-1973, Hemingby, Lincolnshire, Father Charles Marshall, FHL Film Number 1541961, Ref ID 2:3V4KM14, via Ancestry.com accessed 15/06/2021

25.   Jane Marshall (1884) England & Wales Civil Registration Marriage Index 1837-1915, Jul-Aug-Sep Horncastle, Volume 7a, Page 805, via Ancestry.com accessed 15/06/2021

26.   Charles Marshall (1875) Lincolnshire Burials, Parish Burials, 26^th Jul 1875, via findmypast.co.uk accessed 10/02/2022

27.   George Marshall (1881) Census return for Sotby, Lincolnshire, Class RG11, Piece 3247, Folio 86, Page 1, GSU roll 1347741 via Ancestry.com accessed 10/02/2022

28.   Elizabeth Marshall (1881) Census return for Sotby, Lincolnshire, Class RG11, Piece 3247, Folio 87, Page 4, GSU roll 1341774 via Ancestry.com accessed 10/02/2022

29.   John Marshall (1881) Census return for Horncastle, Lincolnshire, Class RG11, Piece 3248, Folio 43, Page 11, GSU roll 1341774 via Ancestry.com accessed 15/06/2021

30.   John Marshall (1891) Census return for Bourn, Lincolnshire, ClassRG12, Piece 2557, Folio 75, Page 18, GSU roll 6097667 via Ancestry.com accessed 15/06/2021

31.   Jane Curtis (1899) England Select Deaths and Burials 1538-1991, Burial date 22 Aug 1899, Baumber, Lincolnshire FHL Film Number 1541957, via Ancestry.com accessed 15/06/2021

32.   Jame (Jane) Curtis (1891) Census return for Baumber, Lincolnshire Class RG12, Piece 2597, Folio 107, Page 4, GSU roll 6097707, via Ancestry.com accessed 10/02/2022

33.   Cornish Post and Mining News (1923) Farm and Garden, Prizes for Big Family, via britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk accessed 10/02/2022

34.   Westminster Gazette (1923) Servants Who Stay, Three Divide an 88 Years Record, Two-Figure Families, via britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk accessed 10/02/2022

35.   Lincolnshire Standard and Boston Guardian (1923) Deaths, Charlotte Marshall, 20^th July 1923, via britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk accessed 10/02/2022