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.

The Mystery of Jane Ann DAWES (1805-1852?)

Following the life of Jane Ann DAWES has been a challenge. I recently received a death registration for a Jane BENNETT whom I believed to be her. However, it is dated 16th January 1851 and since I have found her in the 1851 census which was taken in March I don't believe that this can be her. Of course, to believe that everywhere in the UK was dutifully recorded on the 30th March 1851 is a stretch so it could be. In any event, I wrote out a history of her life as I know it a while ago and thought it was time to make it public.

Previous information on Jane Ann's line can be found here.

Jane begins life in Hadlow, Kent where she is baptised on 14 November 1805 as the second child of Thomas DAWS and Elizabeth WHITEBREAD. I haven't found a record of her actual date of birth.

On 09 August 1809, a Poor Law Removal Order orders Jane Ann (6) along with her older brother William (5) and younger sister Susan (2) and parents Thomas & Elizabeth back to Uckfield, Sussex from Hadlow, Kent.

The Sussex Family History Group Marriage Index CD records the marriage of Jane Ann DAWS and Thomas CHALFIELD on 23 October 1825 at Holy Cross Church, Uckfield. Jane is shown as OTP (Of This Parish) and Thomas is listed as a bachelor from Maresfield. The name CHALFIELD is the first error which has thrown off my research. It should have been CHATFIELD.

There is no sign of Jane and Thomas in the 1841 census although two boys William CHATFIELD (13) and Henry CHATFIELD (11) whom I believe to be their sons turn up living with Johnathan and Naomi STEVENS in Fletching. Also living with this family are Hannah CHATFIELD (78), Mary DRAWBRIDGE (50), and Harriet HEMSLEY (22). Hannah CHATFIELD may be their grandmother.

Further proof of Willam and Henry as the sons of Thomas and Jane Ann is found in the Selected Sussex Baptisms from the Sussex Family History Group which lists William (baptised 26 August 1827), Henery (baptised 09 August 1829), and Alfred (baptised 17 April 1831) all sons born to Thomas and Jane Ann CHATFIELD and baptised in St. Bartholomew's, Maresfield. No record of Alfred can be found in the 1841 census or later censuses so he must have died before 1841.

Thomas senior must have died before 1837 when vital registration began as no death record can be found anywhere.

By the time of the 1851 census, Jane had re-married John BENNETT of Hellingly. She is listed as Jane A., age 45, and born in Hadlow, Kent. Further confirmation of her new identity is made by the additional people listed in their home on census night which was 30th March 1851. There is Henry CHATFIELD (21) born Maresfield, his wife Phillis (25) born Chiddingly and son James (1) born Uckfield. Also visiting were Jane COOK (17) born Maresfield, who is unmarried and shown as a daughter-in-law which was used interchangeably for step-children and Anne BENNETT (19) an unmarried niece born Chiddingly.

Henry and Phyllis' marriage is confirmed by the GRO marriage index which records it in the March Quarter of 1849 in the Lewes Registration District. After James, they went on to have eight more children. Henry's recorded birth location of Maresfield is consistent with his father's parish on Thomas and Jane's marrage record.

The wild card here is Jane Cook shown as a daughter-in-law. Since she is listed as unmarried she isn't likely the married daughter of John BENNETT making her his step-child and the daughter of Jane Ann. This means that Jane Ann must have married a COOK between Thomas CHATFIELD and John BENNETT. Young Jane's age of seventeen places her birth about 1834 and too early for civil registration records. Since there is no LDS batch number for Maresfield there are no IGI baptisms which can be used to find her. There is no record of a marriage between Jane Ann CHATFIELD and a COOK(E) on the Sussex FHG CD so either it happened outside of Sussex or it was missed.

Following Jane COOK(E) into 1861, she is found visiting Henry and Frances HEMSLEY in Uckfield. Also in the household is young James COOKE (6) born Hailsham who is a boarder. I suspect that James is Jane's illigetimate son and has been placed with the HEMSLEY's. Frances HEMSLEY nee DAWES is Jane's mother's younger sister linking the families again. Just to be clear here Jane Ann CHATFIELD/COOKE/BENNETT and Frances HEMSLEYare sisters.

The only Jane COOKE in 1841 of an age to be this Jane is found in Uckfield with the family of William COOKE (70). His wife's name is Jane COOKE (35) who could be Jane Ann, especially since she is shown as not born in Sussex. The children's ages are spread between 15 and 6 with George (15), Charles (11), Tilden (male 8), and Jane (6) all born Sussex. The oldest boys, George and Charles ages conflict with the births of William and Henry CHATFIELD so I don't believe that these are her children. Therefore, only Tilden and Jane are potentially hers although given the age difference of 35 years between Jane (Ann) and William I believe that he married her to provide a mother for his children from a previous marriage. Then again, William is pretty old to have children this young even from a previous marriage. If young Jane was really a step-daughter of Jane Ann then her status is supported as a "daughter-in-law" on the 1851 census. So she could be either the child of William COOKE and a previous wife or William and Jane (Ann).

The Selected Sussex Baptisms from the SFHG help to clear up this mystery. An illegitamate son is baptised at St. Bartholomew's, Maresfield on 14 Apr 1833 to William COOKE - Carpenter and Jane CHATFIELD. The given name is Fidler although I believe that the census entry of Tilden is more likely correct. The way Fidler is written certainly could be mis-transcribed as Fidler. Later in the same record, a legitimate birth is found for Jane Ann COOK who was baptised 01 February 1835 and again on 01 December 1835. This means that Jane Ann and William were married sometime between 1833 and 1835. There is a William COOKE listed as an inmate of the Uckfield Union Workhouse in the 1851 census which may explain why no marriage between Jane Ann and John BENNETT can be found. Although there are a number of William COOKE deaths in Sussex between 1841 and 1861, there is only one in Uckfield which is registered in the March Quarter of 1852. According to the 1851 census, William COOKE was born in Heathfield about 1767 which is consistent which his age of 70 in the 1841 census since the rounded down 70 represents any age between 74 and 70.

There is no record of Jane Ann after the 1851 census. The GRO death index has a Jane BENNETT listed as dying in the March Quarter of 1851 in Registration District Hailsham. I like to believe that Jane Ann was dying and that's why her family had gathered around her on census night in 1851.

The only marriage of a John BENNETT to a Jane COOK is found in the September Quarter of 1838 in West London. I don't believe that this is theirs.

Therefore, I believe that in 1825, in Uckfield, Jane Ann DAWS married Thomas CHATFIELD of Marefield. They had three children William (born 1827), Henry (born 1829) and Alfred (born 1831), all in Maresfield. Sometime after Alfred's birth in 1831, Thomas died and Jane Ann remarried William COOKE but not before she had baseborn Tilden in 1833. Then in 1835, Jane Ann COOKE was born in Maresfield. William COOKE was committed to the workhouse between 1841 and 1851 and Jane Ann went to live John BENNETT of Hellingly where she died and John disappears after 1851 although there are a couple of GRO deaths that could be him between 1851 and 1861.

The CHATFIELD Family (original post 29 July 2009)

Jane Ann DAWES (1805-1851) married three times, the first to Thomas CHATFIELD (1797-1832). They had three children, William b. 1827, Henry b. 1829 and Alfred b. 1831. Of these, only Henry appears to have married and had a family, quite a large one which continues into the twenty-first century.

Henry was baptised in St. Bartholomew's Church, Maresfield on 09 August 1829 although his actual date of birth is unknown. In 1949 he married Phyllis Ann KENWARD (aka KENNARD) in Lewes and they had nine children as shown in the following charts.

The first chart displays the families of James, Alfred, Harriett and Warden. The second chart displays the family of only Eli who had fifteen children. The third chart covers the families of Harry, Agnes, William and Minnie.

James died young and all the rest married and had families except Agnes who has no children that I have found so far.

Alfred CHATFIELD married Mary Jane STUTOR in Hailsham 1873 and they had seven children.

Harriett CHATFIELD married Robert LANCASTER in Hailsham 1872 and they had six children.

Warden CHATFIELD married Charlotte SMITH in Uckfield 1877 and they had three children.

Eli CHATFIELD married Mary Ann STYLES in Ticehurst 1883 and they had fifteen children all with three letter given names.

Harry CHATFIELD married Elizabeth PLACE in Uckfield 1885 and they had one child.

Agnes CHATFIELD married Thomas STARTUP in Malling, Kent 1891 but I haven't found any children for them.

William CHATFIELD married Mercy SKINNER in Ticehurst 1891 and they had five children.

Minnie CHATFIELD married Albert PALMER in Uckfield 1893 and they had four children.

The photo below is of Leo Styles CHATFIELD and his wife Grace POTTER (Seated) with family members Leo and Ena standing directly behind. I have not identified the young ladies on either side.

View original post 29 July 2009

The Jane Ann (DAWES) CHATFIELD Line

Jane Ann Dawes (1805-1851) married three times to Thomas CHATFIELD (sometimes recorded as CHALFIELD) then William COOKE and finally John BENNETT. There is no marriage record for her and William COOKE although she appears as his wife in the 1841 census. She had two children with William whose names are COOKE while her children with Thomas retained their CHATFIELD surname. In 1851, Jane A. BENNETT is listed as the wife of John BENNETT although I don't believe that she had married him because William COOKE had been committed to the Uckfield Union Workhouse. In the same census her son Henry CHATFIELD (21) and daughter Jane COOKE (17) are visiting because I believe she was dying as she disappears from future censuses and there is a death registration for Jane BENNETT in the March quarter of 1851 Hailsham. Her son Henry CHATFIELD (1829-1912) had nine children who carried the name through into the twentieth century.