The Saga of Jane Ann DAWES Continued

When I updated the information on Jane Ann DAWES, which can be viewed here , I pointed out that the death certificate I received for Jane BENNETT was dated 16 January 1851. Since that was before the 1851 census was taken it couldn't be for Jane Ann as she was recorded on the census in March of 1851. I also mentioned that several of her children by different husbands were with her in 1851 so I assumed that she was ill and died shortly afterwards because I couldn't find her in the 1861 census. Well, I was WRONG because I just used an old genealogy trick and jumped to the next census in 1871 where I found her and John Bennett still living in Hellingly. I don't know why several of her children were visiting (maybe she had finally married John) or why she and John are missing in 1861 but she is still living in 1871.

As you can see in the above image from 1871 Jane is alive and well and her birth location is recorded as Hadlow, Kent further adding to her continued existence. I then decided to look in later years for a death and found a likely entry in FreeBMD for 1872. Unlike the census, her full name is shown and the age at death matches with her birth year of 1805 so I suspect that this is her. I also found a death for John in 1878. I have ordered the certificate for this Jane Ann and will update this posting when it arrives. I hope that it doesn't take more than a month like the ones for her sisters Susannah and Mary did. They arrived last week having been ordered on April 5th just before the GRO price increase but I am still waiting for Harriett's and will update all of their death dates after I have all the facts.

I still can't find a marriage for Jane Ann and John Bennett. Maybe she was "once burned and twice shy" since she appears to have started living with him before her second husband, William COOKE, died and we now know that her first husband, Thomas CHATFIELD, didn't die in 1832 but was transported to VanDiemen's land in 1831 for 14 years. And, I am not sure that she ever actually married William COOKE although her first child with him is listed as illegitimate while the second child isn't but there is no record of a marriage between them and given this new information about Thomas CHATFIELD I suspect that she didn't marry either William COOKE or John BENNETT.

This blog is starting to pay off because I was contacted by a CHATFIELD descendant with the information on Thomas and his legal problems.