Mary Ann Johncey (1810-1864)

[pandk2]

Mary Ann Johncey (abt 1810-1864) and William Povey, married at St Mary, Lambeth, Surrey on 4th March, 1833. She was a widow and he was a bachelor. Her name was given as Johncey. I am trying to work out who her parents were.

Census information

The 1841 census gives her age as 30, suggesting a birth in 1806-1811. The 1851 census gives her age as 41 and her birthplace as Hereford City. The 1861 census gives her age as 59 (or perhaps 50, but it looks more like 59) and birth place as Hereford. She died in 1864.

Possible children

There is a baptism of Sarah Amelia Johncey and George Anthony Johncey in St Martin, Hereford, both on 31 August 1828, mother Mary Johncey, father not given. They might be Sarah Povey, age 15 (looks more like 16) and George Povey (13), who are shown with William Povey and Mary Ann Povey [nee Johncey] on the 1841 census in Church Street West, South Chelsea.

A Sarah Amelia Johncey married Walter Buchanan at St George Hannover Square in 1850. However, subsequent censuses give her birth pace as Sevenoaks, Kent, so she seems to be a different person.

Possible explanations

1. Mary Ann was a widow. Her previous husband’s surname was Johncey. These facts are consistent with the marriage register.
2. Mary Ann was an unmarried mother, whose birth name was Johncey. This may be consistent with the fact that the extract from the baptism record does not mention the father. Maybe the marriage record lists her as married to conceal the fact that she had children. Johncey or its variant, Jauncey, appears to be a common name in Hereford.
3. Sarah Amelia and George Anthony Johncey might or might not have been her children.
4. Sarah Povey and George Povey were on the census with Mary Ann and William in 1841. They might have been Mary Ann’s children, possibly Sarah Amelia Johncey and George Anthony Johncey, but now called (or assumed by the census enumerator to be called) Povey.
This seems plausible: the ages are about right and it seems unlikely that Sarah and George were teenage siblings or children of the unmarried William. The 1841 census does not show their middle names but I have rarely found middle names in the 1841 census, even for people known to have them.

Other possibilities, not yet investigated

1. Mary Ann Eliza Dillon married Henry Jauncey, St Luke’s Middx, 11 September 1829
2. Mary Ann Talbot married Thomas Johnson St. Johns Parish, Bedwardine, Worcester 23 Sep 1821
Mary Ann Criswick married Thomas Jones or Jonce 27 July 1829 Whitchurch, Hampshire
3. Mary Ann Johncey married William Taylor 5 Feb 1827 Newcastle
4. Sarah Ann Pavey [sic] born 13 Oct 1825, daughter of William Pavey and Ann, his profession boot closer, address Johnson’s Court, Fleet Street; baptised at St Andrew Holborn 23 April, 1826, with sister Ann, born 15 jun 1823.

More information

https://birdsofcressingham.wordpress.com/2020/09/13/who-was-mary-ann-johncey/

[heywood]

GRO https://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/

All children shown with mother Johncey variation

Frederick b 1847 mmn Joncey
Charles b 1846 mmn Johncey
Thomas b 1844 mmn Johncey
John b 1842 mmn Johncey
Mary Ann b 1841 mmn Johncey
William Henry b 1839 mmn Johncey

[tazzie]

   Marriage


 Sarah Amelia Johncey fullage spinster address Pimlico father George a boat builder
 Walter Buchanan bach a tailor of Pimlico father Robert.


 Tazzie

[Spidermonkey]

There is a marriage between a George Anthony Jauncey and Esther Preece in Hempstead, Gloucestershire on August 30th 1853.  George gives his father's name and profession as George, a mariner.  Rather similar to this:

   Marriage


 Sarah Amelia Johncey fullage spinster address Pimlico father George a boat builder
 Walter Buchanan bach a tailor of Pimlico father Robert.


 Tazzie

George junior was a policeman in the City of London - so there might be some admission/employment records that you could trace?

[Spidermonkey]

By the time of the 1861 census, it seems that George Anthony Jauncey and his family have adopted the surname of Johnson.  George is still in the police, and is now a Police Superintendent  living in the Police Station of Swydd and Graig (Llandegley, Radnorshire).

In his household is his wife Esther, and children George (born London), Mary Ann (born London), Elizabeth Ann (born Hereford) and Alfred Henry (born Hereford).  The baptism records for George and Mary Ann in London give their surnames as Jauncey.

Tragically, it looks like 3 Johnson/Johncey/Jauncey children died in early 1870:
Johnson    Alfred Henry    9    Leominster    6a   479    
Johnson    Elizabeth Ann    11    Leominster    6a   478    
Johnson    Thomas Henry    6    Leominster    6a   478   

[pandk2]

Thanks Heywood.  The births you list are all children of Mary Ann Johncey /Jauncey and William Povey.

 

[pandk2]

Thanks Tazzie.  I had rejected the marriage between Sarah Amelia Jauncey and [Walter] Buchanan because the censuses all give her birthplace as Sevenoaks (Kent), rather than Hereford.  But looking more closely, I see that in 1871, Sarah and Walter have living with them a 1 year old Sarah Lander, born Q1 1870 in Eastleigh (Hampshire).  I haven’t found Sarah in subsequent censuses, nor have I found her death.

It looks highly likely that Sarah Lander is the daughter of Mary Ann Povey and Joseph Seth Lander, and hence the granddaughter of Mary Ann Johncey and William Povey. Mary Ann Povey died in Eastleigh in November 1870 and the 1871 census shows Joseph Seth Lander living in Southampton with a new wife, Sarah Catherine, though I haven’t yet found their marriage. 

[pandk2]

Thanks Spidermonkey, this George Anthony Jauncey definitely seems to be the one who was baptised in Hereford.

[pandk2]

Putting all the above together, the following seems the most likely explanation:

1. The Sarah Amelia Jauncey and George Anthony Jauncey who were baptised in Hereford were children of Mary Ann Johncey / Jauncey and George Johncey.
2. Sarah Amelia and George Anthony were recorded on the 1841 census as Sarah Povey and George Povey, living with Mary Ann Povey (nee Jauncey) and William Povey in Church Street West, Chelsea.
3. Sarah Amelia married Walter Buchanan.
4. George Anthony married Esther Preece.

Things not yet explained:

1. Why does every census from 1851-1891 give Sarah Amelia’s birthplace as Sevenoaks rather than Hereford?
2. Why do the marriage certificates say that George Anthony’s father was a master mariner but Sarah Amelia’s father was a boat builder?  Is this one George Jauncey with two different occupations, or inconsistent or inconsistent memories? Or were they two different men both called George Jauncey (seems unlikely)?
3. Where and when did George Jauncey die? And what then took Mary Ann and the children to London?
4. Was Mary Ann married to George Jauncey?  Or was she an unmarried mother called Mary Ann Jauncey with children fathered by George something else? I’ve found a couple of marriages near Hereford between men called George Jauncey and women called Mary, but need to look in more detail.
5. Who were Mary Ann’s parents?
 
I should have said before that I’ve found Mary Ann’s surname spelled as both Johncey and Jauncey.