34 Ann Vernon, Great, Great Grandmother of Eliza Hankin: 1 October 2024

Ann Vernon was the twice removed great grandmother of Eliza Hankin, the woman who received the Postcard from Alfred Pearson.  Ann was the daughter of Samuel Vernon and Ann Walker, who had married on 25 November 1781 in Saint Helen Church Tarporley, Chester and who both lived in the Parish of Tarporley when they married.

Ann was baptised on 24 August 1794 in Saint Helen Church Tarporley.  The baptism record states that Ann’s parents lived in Tarporley, but does not record her father’s occupation.

It was a very wet day on 22 September 2024 when I took this photo of Saint Helen Church, Tarporley in Cheshire.

 

The descent from Ann Vernon to Eliza Hankin goes like this.

• Ann Vernon was mother of Mary Vernon.
• Mary Vernon was mother of Eliza Berry.
• Eliza Berry was mother of John Hankin.  
• John Hankin was father of Eliza Hankin.

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James William Thompson and Ann Vernon were parents of Mary Vernon, but they did not marry each other.  Although Ann Vernon had at least four children, she never married and her children were all born “illegitimate”.  Ann Vernon’s recorded children were.

• Samuel Vernon, baptised on 30 May 1815 in Saint Oswald Parish Church, Malpas in Cheshire.  When Samuel married, he said his father was “William Callwood commonly called Caldwell”. 
• Mary Vernon, baptised on 11 September 1817 in All Saints Church, Harthill.  James William Thompson is known to have been Mary Vernon’s father because Mary Verrnon said this when she married Joseph Berry.
• Ellen, baptised on 21 November 1819 in Saint Wilfred Church, Davenham, Cheshire.  The name of Ellen’s father is not known.  Ellen was buried on 27 November 1821 at age 2 in the Chapel at Witton-cum-Twambrooks.  She lived in Leftwich, Cheshire.
• William Vernon, baptised on 16 March 1834 in Saint Bartholomew Church, Church Minshull, Cheshire.  The name of William’s father is not disclosed and is lost.  William Vernon was buried on 7 May 1834 at age 1 year and 5 months in Saint Chad Church, in Over, Cheshire.  His burial record says he lived at “Wayhouse Green”, near Over.

This is a summary of Ann Vernon’s children.

 

Ann Vernon

↓

 

Samuel Vernon   Baptised 30 May 1815   Father William Callwood or Caldwell

Mary Vernon   Baptised 11 September 1817   Father James William Thompson

Ellen Vernon Baptised 21 November 1819 Buried 27 November 1821 Father unknown

William Vernon Probably born in January 1833. Baptised 16 March 1834 Buried 7 May 1834 at age 17 months Father unknown

 

Ann Vernon was buried on 21 August 1836 in Saint Chad Church, Over, Cheshire aged 40.

 

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From the Vernon side of the family, the line of descent to Eliza Hankin looks like this.

 

Daniel Vernon + Mary Hough (Baptised 21 May 1722 and 25 February 1722) ↓ Samuel Vernon Baptised 27 April 1764

Joseph Walker + Elizabeth Minshall (Baptised 8 January 1720 and 24 July 1718) ↓ Ann (Hannah) Walker Baptised 23 October 1763

 

↓

 

Samuel Vernon + Ann (Hannah) Walker

(Baptised 27 April 1764 + 23 October 1763)

↓

Ann Vernon

(Baptised 24 August 1794)

 

The joining of James William Thompson and Ann Vernon to produce Mary Vernon can be summarised like this.

 

James William Thompson + Ann Vernon

(Baptised 27 February 1797 + 24 August 1794)

↓

 

Mary Vernon Baptised 15 September 1817

 

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The pattern disclosed by Ann Vernon’s first three births is that of someone who led an unsettled life.  Ann had four recorded children.  Two were baptised when she lived in Broxton, one was baptised when she lived in Leftwich and one was baptised when she lived in Church Minshull.  Two of her children – Samuel and Mary - had different fathers and it is possible that the fathers of Ellen and William Vernon were also different.

There was a thirteen year gap between the birth of Ellen Vernon in 1819 and the birth of William Vernon in 1833.  This might indicate that Ann’s life was more settled after the birth of Ellen – but this cannot be assumed.

Was Ann Vernon a “sex worker”?   Having multiple children outside of marriage at a time when this was socially condemned is consistent with being a sex worker, but this should not be assumed.  If Ann Vernon was a sex worker, it is unlikely that she would have known the names of the fathers of her children, but Samuel and Mary Vernon both knew the names of their fathers. 

For me, the sex worker theory is not convincing. 

Ann’s death at age 40 might be seen as consistent with the sex worker theory, but death at what we would now think of as a young age was not unusual in that era.

Because John Littlemore is named in the 1841 Census as the father of Ann Littlemore, we can assume Ann had a relationship with him.

John Littlemore, father of Ann Littlemore, married someone called Mary Garner on 11 February 1841.  Any baptismal records after this marriage for children of John Littlemore probably relate to their children.

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There are indications that the extended Vernon family existed at the very bottom of society.

Someone called Richard Vernon was convicted of “larceny” on 27 June 1842 in Cheshire Assizes;  Richard’s recorded alternate surname is unreadable.  Richard was supposedly 13 when he was convicted, giving a birth year of 1829.  Richard was sentenced to four months’ imprisonment, plus a whipping. 

Someone else called Vernon was also convicted on 27 June 1842; Thomas’s crime was “riot and assault” and his alternate surname was “ Caldwell”.  Thomas’ was supposedly 17 when convicted, giving him a notional birth year of 1825.   Thomas was awarded 12 months’ imprisonment. 

Thomas’s “Caldwell” alias implies a close connection between Richard and Thomas Vernon and Ann Vernon because the father of Ann Vernon’s son Samuel Vernon, was “William Callwood or Caldwell”.

Richard and Thomas Vernon were brothers.  They were recorded in the 1841 Census at Eaton, Tarporley, Nantwich, Cheshire.  This is a summary of their 1841 Census record.

 

Name	Stated Age	Calculated Year of Birth	Place of Birth
Thomas Vernon	45	1796	Cheshire
Elizabeth Vernon	20	1821	Cheshire
William Vernon	15	1826	Cheshire
Richard Vernon	15	1826	Cheshire
Ruth Vernon	5	1836	Cheshire
John Vernon	80	1761	Cheshire
Ruth Vernon	80	1761	Cheshire
Thomas Vernon	14	1827	Cheshire

 

My guess is that after their mother died, Richard and Thomas Vernon fell into anti social behaviour and were then treated harshly for their “crimes”.  Although they probably understated their ages to mitigate their sentences, this clearly did not work. 

Based on baptism dates, Thomas was 16 and Richard was 14 when they were convicted on 27 June 1842.

Thomas Vernon, the father of Thomas and Richard Vernon, must have been closely related to Ann Vernon (the great, great grandmother of Eliza Hankin), but I have not traced the exact relationship.

 The Vernon family was at the bottom layer of society and was treated accordingly.  That is the likely reason for Ann having children outside of marriage.

When people are treated as having very little value, they have few reasons to conform to society rules about being married before having children.