Jane Austen - No NOT that one!

It is always amusing to discover an ancestor that shares a famous name. This one is even sweeter as she has been very elusive for a long time. Jane Austen is my 9 x great grandmother and it was only through a series of fortuitous wills and the appearance of the name Austen as a first name that I have been able to definitely identify her. 

Jane was born in Tadmarton in Oxfordshire in about 1605 to John Austen and Susannah. I have her as the eldest of six children. In about 1625 she married a chap called John Goodwin who had been born in the nearby village of either Epwell or Alkerton. I have not yet found a marriage record but it is quite clear from the wills of her father, mother and brother that this is indeed what happened. 

Jane and her husband John had their first two children, Susannah and William, while they were still living in Oxfordshire. They were baptised at Tadmarton in 1628 and 1629 respectively. Some time in the early 1630s the young family moved to Combe, a hamlet close to the market town of Chipping Campden in Gloucestershire, where John was eventually employed as a steward on the estates of Sir Baptist Noel, 3rd Viscount Campden. Between 1633 and 1642 the Chipping Campden parish registers show baptisms for another seven of John and Jane's children - Elizabeth, Mary, Hopestil, Constance, Nathaniel, Martha and James. I have also identified another three children from wills, burials and marriages - Hannah, John and Thomas - but have not yet discovered baptism records for them. Our ancestor is Martha, who married Thomas Bridges in 1664.

The Goodwin family were peripherally involved in an intriguing incident in English history, an enigma which has remained unsolved for nearly 350 years. Known as "The Campden Wonder", it is considered one of the most baffling "murder" cases of all time.

The steward of the Noel estates, William Harrison, disappeared and was feared murdered for the rent money he was collecting. His servant confessed to having robbed and killed his master and also implicated his own mother and brother in the crime. Despite the fact that no body was found, the three were tried, convicted and hanged and John Goodwin was employed to manage the Noel estates. Two years later the supposed victim returned home, safe and well. He claimed he was kidnapped by three unknown horsemen and, aged 70, sold into slavery in Turkey, where he eventually escaped and made his way home. For a more thorough account of The Campden Wonder and the people and places involved I can recommend some time spent browsing here.

There is a much smaller mystery of when did Jane Austen die. Clearly it was on or after about 1642 and the last recorded baptism of her children. John Goodwin, her husband, died in April 1669 and was buried at Chipping Campden. 

High Street, Chipping Campden 2017. Elizabeth Viney.

#7 Edward and Ann Sheaf - 'Til Death Us Do Part.

Edward Sheaf of Chipping Campden is still a relatively shadowy figure in our family story. By that, I mean that I only have sparse information about his life and I am not even 100% sure of his place in the tree. However for now, let us just assume that Edward Sheaf, the son of Edward Sheaf and Catherine was born in the Buckland area of Gloucestershire in about 1725 and is a first cousin 7 times removed.

In September of 1747 he married Hannah Webb at Chipping Campden. They were both described as being "of this parish", meaning that they lived within the parish boundaries. Together they had 5 children, Edward, John, Samuel, Mary and Hannah - all born between 1748 and 1755. What happened to these children I have not yet been able to discover; that will be a job for another day.

Some time after 1755, Hannah died and in 1788 widower Edward remarried. His new wife, Ann Fletcher, had also been widowed, her husband John dying sometime after their 1784 marriage. I suspect Ann may also have had another marriage prior to that, as she would have been about 58 when she married John. Her name at the time of her marriage to John Fletcher was Ann Stephens. Ann and Edward married in the parish church at Offenham, and being described as both "of this parish" I am assuming that this is where they were now living.

Years passed and in 1803 their story takes an interesting turn.
According to the London Morning Post "A few days since, at age 83, Mr Edward Sheaf of Offenham in the county of Worcester died; and just as the hearse came to fetch the deceased, died his wife Mrs Ann Sheaf also aged 83." Another document, compiled by Peter Stewart of the registers for St Mary and St Milburgh Offenham, says  "Anne Sheaf. Died within half an hour of the time appointed for her husband’s funeral at Sawford 1st October 1803, aged 77 "

Although there are some discrepancies with ages, this is not unusual as newspapers then were about as accurate as newspapers are now! However both sources agree on the fact that Ann died very close to the time of her husband's funeral.

In terms of our family genealogy, the facts that Ann had been married to a John Fletcher and Edward had been married to a Hannah Webb are both interesting, as these are names that regularly crop up in the family tree.

Offenham Church SS Mary and Milburgh 1903

Mary Fletcher married John Pool

Today I discovered that Mary Fletcher, mentioned in the previous post, married a chap called John Pool in Chipping Campden in 1724. They went on to have at least six children baptized in Chipping Campden - Charles (who was mentioned in Richard Fletcher's 1779 will) as well as John, Thomas, Mary, Elizabeth and Joseph. I wonder if the other children were not legatees because they had died before the will was written or whether they had been provided for in other ways? Hopefully some further investigation of Chipping Campden registers may go some way to answering that question. And while Mary Fletcher is not a direct ancestor of mine, but is a many times great aunt, I find that it is often useful to sort out the sidelines to narrow down the candidates for the direct line! Well....that is my theory. Oh dear, I am starting to sound like Ann Elk! For a little Friday Funny, here is Ann Elk herself!