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England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => England => Nottinghamshire => Topic started by: Alexander. on Friday 14 August 09 03:59 BST (UK)
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I have a somewhat mysterious ancestor whose name was Ann Richardson. In 1795 in Southwell St. Mary Minster, Notts., she married my ancestor David Fricknall. She was mother of nine children in total. She died in 1846 with an abode "King Street, Southwell" at the age of 76, giving her an approximate birthdate of abt 1769. In 1841 she was 72 (born Notts.) which is exactly consistant with this birthdate. Since her husband, a Caunton man, went to Southwell to marry her I suspected that was where she would be from. However I have not been able to trace her birth anywhere.
The strange part - at least I think it's strange, correct me if I'm wrong - is that in 1842 her youngest daughter Patience "Martha" Leeson left for America and the 73ish year old Ann wrote a very good poem called "A Mother's Wish" which was sent to Martha. It seems Ann was a very devout Christian and she was distressed that she would never see Martha again. However, I would have thought it unusual that a seemingly normal woman could write so well. She married into a normal labourer's family - though it is important to note that her husband became a very successful tailor who was wealthy enough by his death to leave a will (no other know Frecknalls at that time did). I thought perhaps that Ann might have been partly responsible for his success.
So I suppose my query is does any know what could account for her literacy? Were there any Richardsons of wealth/fame in Southwell in the eighteenth century? Also, any help in finding a possible Southwell area baptism for Ann c. 1769 would be very helpful.
Thanks,
Alexander
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Hi Alexander,
The only baptism I can find in 1769 for Ann Richardson is as follows:
Ann Richardson born 16 Aug 1769, baptised 10 Sep 1769, at Clayworth - father Thomas, mother Mary.
As far as I can see there are no baptisms for any Richardsons at Southwell.
However, although I could not find this on my baptism information, I see there is another baptism in 1769, on the IGI:
03 Mar 1769 - Finningley - father William, mother Mary.
And, here is a little bit I found on women's literacy:
http://www.rootschat.com/links/06wr/
Hope this helps.
Paulene :)
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You might find a clue in a2a catalogue. Go to "Advanced Search" and enter in the section: "Search for these words":- "Richardson Southwell" for the period 1500 to 1860 in the Nottinghamshire Repository there's mention of a William Richardson, linen draper, and also there are several wills for "Richardson" (no given names).
Sometimes a landowner had estates in more than one county so it's wise to search through "All Respositories" to see who he collects rentals from. There were several pages using the search term "Richardson Southwell".
There were no results for "Fricknall", the spelling in Notts seems to have been "Fricknell".
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/
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First off, how do you know that Ann wrote the poem herself? She could have copied it from some source. Or, she could have had someone else compose and write it for her.
On the other hand, there are exceptional individuals in any age and in all walks of life. Perhaps she was a person with a strong desire to read who found a way to teach herself or to get instruction.
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Thanks for your comments, they're all very helpful.
Erato - That's a good point that I don't have any proof that Ann wrote the poem herself. I think I'm going to email the distant cousin again who has the poem and ask her more about it. However the poem is quite specific to the situation Ann was in.
Thanks again,
Alexander
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Hi,
It is always possible that Ann Richardson married as they say "beneath her social status"
I know the area around Southwell very well. It is possible that Ann came from a nearby village perhaps Halam or Edingley. Baptisms at these villages would not show on a search of the Nottinghamshire FHS CD of baptisms and some don't show on the IGI either. So if you can be patient I'll have a look for you and see if I can find Ann Richardson in the parish registers.
Janeada
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Have you examined the parish register for her marriage to check whether she signed her name. As she may have learn't to read and write at the Sunday School, although it is a little early for that to be very likely, it could be worth checking how many other local brides at that time also signed the register.
David
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I've got working class ancestors who were literate in the late 1700s/early 1800s. I often wondered who had taught them.
Lizzie
Modified - Well at least they could write their name when they got married, which I suppose is not quite the same as being literate.
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The other possibilty of course is that she learnt to read and write after her husband began to make his money. If the children were to be sent for paid education she may have felt the need to stay ahead.
David
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Also [although this is later on - 1830s-80s - and in the US], I have found in my family that the girls were more likely than the boys to have attended school for more than just a few years. This was apparently because the boys were required to work on the farm and could only attend during the winter months. During this time period, most of the girls in my ancestors' families finished 8 years of schooling, many completed high school, and a few went to college. These were farming families and not wealthy.
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This is really interesting. I know I've checked the marriage register ages ago but can't find the scrap of paper that I wrote it on just at the moment. So I'll have to wait to see if I can check if she signed it or not. Her husband David certainly was not literate, his will dated 1845 had only a very shaky cross on it if that.
Regarding Ann's children's education and marriages, I don't really have much to go on. Some of her children who married:
- Mary married a London watchmaker, though she later died at the Coventry workhouse
- John (sure didn't know how to spell because he changed the surname to Fracknall!), publican
- Elizabeth married James Phillip Be(e)cher, possibly related to the Southwell Bechers, tailor
- Henry became a painter
- Patience married and left for America
So none of them married or became labourers like they did several generations on, but I'm not sure if that's noteworthy or not.
I have a copy of Ann's great grandson's birth certificate, and it shows that his father Henry Frecknall (Ann's grandson, a tailor also who seems to have continued his grandfather's work) was able to sign it also in 1848. Henry seems to have been raised in part by Ann and David because he was an illegitimate child. However on the birth cert it is all in the same handwriting, with just "Henry Frecknall, Father, Norwell" written in the signature of informant box. Does this imply that Henry was able to sign it since it doesn't say "mark of" or anything?
Janeada - it would be fantastic if you would be able to check some of those smaller parishes for me. Whenever you get the chance is fine, no rush - any help is great!
Thanks,
Alexander
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Have you tried doing a Google search for the text of the poem to see if it is a piece of known poetry?
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Yes, I have tried many of the lines with no hits at all.
Alexander
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Hi,
I can also recheck David and Ann's marriage for you too. I usually go to Archives on Fridays if possible as they are often quieter that day of the week. I've been looking at a marriage index I have and there seems to be several marriages for both men and women named Richardson at Thurgarton which is near to Southwell on the road toward Nottingham. Not proof that your Richardsons came from there of course but worth a look.
If one of Ann's daughters did marry into The Becher family then she married quite well. The Bechers were clergy and the like.
The cross David put on his will is not necessarily a sign that he was illiterate. It depends on what David was suffering from and how ill he was at that time. My own grandfather signed his will with a shaky cross he was too ill to do anything else.
Janeada
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Thanks very much for your help Janeada, it's much appreciated. In case you don't have the details Ann's marriage took place on 2 Nov 1795 at the Minster.
I've had a bit of trouble working out who the daughter Elizabeth married. I know his name was James Philip Be(e)cher however the census states he was born in London so not sure if there's a connection. However it's quite coincidental that he just turned up in Southwell where there are many important Bechers.
Regarding David's will, it was written in 1841 and he didn't die until 1845, so I was thinking that he probably wasn't ill enough then to not be able to write properly, though of course it's possible.
Thanks again,
Alexander
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Hi,
I've been searching for the baptism of Ann Richardson today but I wasn't able to complete the search. I found no Richardsons at all in the following parishes - Halloughton 1767-1774, Bleasby 1767-1774, Hockerton 1767-1774, Kirklington 1766-1774, Farnsfield 1766-1771, Edingley 1766-1774, Halam 1767-1774, Upton 1766-1774, there were a couple of burials at Oxton between 1766 and 1772 but no baptisms. At Thurgarton there were several baptisms which I noted and will send to you FreckNeale in a PM but no baptism for Ann. I have at least 4 or 5 more villages on my list which time did not allow me to look at and I didn't look at the wills indexes. I'll go back and do that another day.
Ann was able to sign her name when she married David Fricknall - he made his mark. There were two witnesses Ann Hunt and Charl. Singleton who both also were able to sign their names. I'll put the full text of the marriage entry in the PM.
Ann would have been about 26 years of age in 1795. The marriage entry gives no indication of the marital status of either David or Ann. Have you considered the possibility that she could have been a widow? Some marriages could be tragically short in the 18th and early 19th centuries.
Janeada
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Hi Janeada,
Thanks so much Janeada for all the time you spent searching for me. I wasn't expecting so much - though it is of course appreciated!
It's great that you verified the Ann could sign her name. It is also possible she married first though I don't know how to go about finding if she did.
Thanks again,
Alexander
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My late grandmother b1872 told me as a child that she taught herself to read and write, so it was certainly possible.I suspect too, that as the 1911 census for the family was filled in in her handwriting which I recognized after almost 60 years, that my grandfather shown as unemployed ag lab in 1881 had difficulty writing.