Anne was born in 1701 in Woodchurch, Kent, south-eastern England.
This village, on the edge of the Weald in Kent, had become firmly established in the 13th century.
It was part of the Woodchurch Parish which was quite large and covered an area of around ten square miles, almost entirely devoted to agriculture.
When Anne was born in 1701 her father George Ramsden was 28, and her mother Mary Tombes was 34.
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| Kent Baptism Register 1675-1812 |
Ramsden was a well-known family name in the village of Woodchurch. The family name can be traced in baptism and death records all the way back to the 1550s; so it seems they had a long history with the little village in Kent.
Many Ramsden would have been baptised at this baptismal font in the All Saints Church, which was situated in the centre of the village.
Anne was baptised here on the 26th of October in 1701.
Anne's older sister Elizabeth had been born and baptised in 1700, but had died not long after.
After Anne's birth, at least three of her other siblings were born to parents George and Mary.
Another Elizabeth was born in 1703. Anne would have been 2 years old.
Sarah was born in 1705.
Richard came along in 1707, when Anne was aged 6.
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| All Saints Church in Woodchurch, Kent, England - etching dated 1882 |
Many Ramsden would have been baptised at this baptismal font in the All Saints Church, which was situated in the centre of the village.
Anne was baptised here on the 26th of October in 1701.
Anne's older sister Elizabeth had been born and baptised in 1700, but had died not long after.
After Anne's birth, at least three of her other siblings were born to parents George and Mary.
Another Elizabeth was born in 1703. Anne would have been 2 years old.
Sarah was born in 1705.
Richard came along in 1707, when Anne was aged 6.
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| Bonny Cravat - still standing |
By that time Anne's father, George, was the innkeeper of the Bonny Cravat Public House (as it was known then) in Woodchurch. He was the innkeeper between the years 1706 until his death in 1719.
Anne and her siblings would have grown up in and around the public house, and would no doubt have helped out on many occasions as they grew older.
Anne and her siblings would have grown up in and around the public house, and would no doubt have helped out on many occasions as they grew older.
When George died in December of 1719, his widow (Anne's mother) Mary took over as innkeeper. She ran the public house for a year.
Just six months before her father's death, Anne got married. She was only 18 years old, and the circumstances of her marriage were very interesting indeed. I've never come across a similar record of marriage with any of my other ancestors or members of my family tree, so it certainly piqued my interest.
It seems that there was a 'clandestine' marriage, a non-conformist service, between Anne Ramsden and Joseph Gilham in 1719. Anne did not have banns posted at her own parish church, nor did she marry at the Church of England place of worship she, and generations of her family, had no doubt attended on a weekly basis.
Anne, aged 18, married Joseph, aged 22, on the 20th of July in the environs of Fleet Prison, known as the 'Rules' of 'Liberties' in London. The streets around Fleet Prison was a place where couples could marry without breaking the law and outside the jurisdiction of the Church.
Just six months before her father's death, Anne got married. She was only 18 years old, and the circumstances of her marriage were very interesting indeed. I've never come across a similar record of marriage with any of my other ancestors or members of my family tree, so it certainly piqued my interest.
It seems that there was a 'clandestine' marriage, a non-conformist service, between Anne Ramsden and Joseph Gilham in 1719. Anne did not have banns posted at her own parish church, nor did she marry at the Church of England place of worship she, and generations of her family, had no doubt attended on a weekly basis.
Anne, aged 18, married Joseph, aged 22, on the 20th of July in the environs of Fleet Prison, known as the 'Rules' of 'Liberties' in London. The streets around Fleet Prison was a place where couples could marry without breaking the law and outside the jurisdiction of the Church.
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| Fleet Prison by the artist Thomas Rowlandson, 1808 |
Their union was recorded in the 1667-1754 London Clandestine Marriage and Baptism Register.
This begs the question ... why? At that time there were ecclesiastic laws that required couples to post banns of their intended union for three weeks before the marriage, and there were age restrictions. Parental consent was needed for anyone younger than 21.
According to the details provided by Ancestry.com about this register:
The Clandestine Marriage Register record shows that Anne's husband was from the Boughton-Aluph (spelt Borton) Parish in Kent, and his occupation was 'husbandman'. In the medieval and early modern period, a 'husbandman' was the term used for a free tenant farmer or small landowner, but in terms of rank, the social status for a husbandman was below that of even a yeoman. Basically Anne's husband was a farmer who cultivated a very small plot of land in the Boughton-Aluph Parish.
It appears that Joseph was not able to make a living out of his plot of land though, because in November of 1719, a mere four months after the marriage, he signed a 'settlement certificate' in the parish of Woodchurch.
The married couple had left Joseph's parish and returned to Anne's parish to live. Basically, upon signing the settlement certificate, Joseph and Anne agreed that they (and their future children) would not become a burden on the Woodchurch Parish. So, if Anne's husband could not support his wife and family and was in need of poor relief, they would not be allowed to remain in his wife's parish!
At this point in my 6x great grandmother Anne's story, I have so many questions that have remained unanswered ...
How did she meet Joseph? He lived in a parish that was approximately 12 miles away from where Anne was born and lived. How did they come to know each other?
Why was Joseph unable to make a living out of his plot of land? Where was his family? Were they not able to help out the young couple?
So many questions! I can surmise the answer to my original question though. Why did Anne and Joseph feel the need to travel all the way to London to get married?
Anne was the daughter of a fairly well-known, possibly highly respected member of a family that had a long-standing association with the village of Woodchurch. Anne's father had been the innkeeper in the village for a period of nearly 13 years by this point. Perhaps Anne's father would have considered Anne capable of a far better match, given that it seems Joseph was rather poor.
Anne was also pregnant at the time of her marriage. Anne and Joseph's first child was born at the beginning of March in 1720, in the village of Woodchurch, so that means Anne would have been about a month into her pregnancy when she and Joseph trekked all the way to London to be married.
So I'm surmising that Anne fell in love with a young man who would have been considered beneath her; fell pregnant; ran away with him to London for a clandestine wedding ceremony, as she believed her parents would not give the necessary consent for the union given her young age. Then, once the deed was done, both of them realised they would need the support of family to establish a life together.
Were they received with love by Anne's father and mother upon returning to Woodchurch around November of 1719, when Anne would have been heavily pregnant with their first child? Was Anne taken back into the fold?
Sadly, Anne's father (innkeeper of the Bonny Cravat Public House) died the following month, when Anne was still only 18 years old. George Ramsden died in December of 1719, and it fell upon his widow Mary, to run the Bonny Cravat. Unfortunately Anne's mother was only able to remain the innkeeper for a year, and it was sold.
What did that mean for Anne and her husband? Had they been expecting to work alongside her parents in the public house? Did they help out Anne's mother for that following year, until it became necessary to sell?
More tragedy was to follow for my 6x great grandmother, Anne.
Sadly, just over two months after the death of her father George, Anne gave birth to her son Richard, but he died a mere 10 days later. Anne would have been 19 years old.
Anne and her husband Joseph went on to have another two children.
Joseph was born in April of 1721, when Anne was aged 20.
Sarah (my 5th great grandmother) was born in June of 1723, when Anne was 22.
Tragically, Anne's husband Joseph then died the following year, in 1724.
"Most couples were married at the family church, but a significant portion of the population, for various reasons, chose to skirt these regulations and get married outside the church. Here, requirements were much looser. Grooms could be as young as 14, and brides 12. The bride and groom needed only to give their consent to the union for it to be recognized. Clergy and witnesses were not necessary, though they were often present to provide proof that the marriage had taken place. These marriages are commonly referred to as “irregular” or “clandestine.”
The demand for clandestine marriages was met by institutions that considered themselves exempt from church canon and in some cases, by a cleric who simply flouted the regulations.
Prisons like the Fleet became popular destinations for couples interested in quick, no-questions-asked nuptials because of the number of clerics imprisoned for debt who had nothing to lose and welcomed the income. Many of them lived in the “Rules” or “Liberties,” which were areas around the prison where prisoners could pay for the privilege of living outside the gates."
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| A drawing mocking the practice of elicit marriages. Taken from the 1864 publication The Book of Days by Robert Chambers. |
The Clandestine Marriage Register record shows that Anne's husband was from the Boughton-Aluph (spelt Borton) Parish in Kent, and his occupation was 'husbandman'. In the medieval and early modern period, a 'husbandman' was the term used for a free tenant farmer or small landowner, but in terms of rank, the social status for a husbandman was below that of even a yeoman. Basically Anne's husband was a farmer who cultivated a very small plot of land in the Boughton-Aluph Parish.
It appears that Joseph was not able to make a living out of his plot of land though, because in November of 1719, a mere four months after the marriage, he signed a 'settlement certificate' in the parish of Woodchurch.
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| Map showing the distance between the Parish of Boughton Aluph and the Parish of Woodchurch |
The married couple had left Joseph's parish and returned to Anne's parish to live. Basically, upon signing the settlement certificate, Joseph and Anne agreed that they (and their future children) would not become a burden on the Woodchurch Parish. So, if Anne's husband could not support his wife and family and was in need of poor relief, they would not be allowed to remain in his wife's parish!
At this point in my 6x great grandmother Anne's story, I have so many questions that have remained unanswered ...
How did she meet Joseph? He lived in a parish that was approximately 12 miles away from where Anne was born and lived. How did they come to know each other?
Why was Joseph unable to make a living out of his plot of land? Where was his family? Were they not able to help out the young couple?
So many questions! I can surmise the answer to my original question though. Why did Anne and Joseph feel the need to travel all the way to London to get married?
Anne was the daughter of a fairly well-known, possibly highly respected member of a family that had a long-standing association with the village of Woodchurch. Anne's father had been the innkeeper in the village for a period of nearly 13 years by this point. Perhaps Anne's father would have considered Anne capable of a far better match, given that it seems Joseph was rather poor.
Anne was also pregnant at the time of her marriage. Anne and Joseph's first child was born at the beginning of March in 1720, in the village of Woodchurch, so that means Anne would have been about a month into her pregnancy when she and Joseph trekked all the way to London to be married.
So I'm surmising that Anne fell in love with a young man who would have been considered beneath her; fell pregnant; ran away with him to London for a clandestine wedding ceremony, as she believed her parents would not give the necessary consent for the union given her young age. Then, once the deed was done, both of them realised they would need the support of family to establish a life together.
Were they received with love by Anne's father and mother upon returning to Woodchurch around November of 1719, when Anne would have been heavily pregnant with their first child? Was Anne taken back into the fold?
Sadly, Anne's father (innkeeper of the Bonny Cravat Public House) died the following month, when Anne was still only 18 years old. George Ramsden died in December of 1719, and it fell upon his widow Mary, to run the Bonny Cravat. Unfortunately Anne's mother was only able to remain the innkeeper for a year, and it was sold.
What did that mean for Anne and her husband? Had they been expecting to work alongside her parents in the public house? Did they help out Anne's mother for that following year, until it became necessary to sell?
More tragedy was to follow for my 6x great grandmother, Anne.
Sadly, just over two months after the death of her father George, Anne gave birth to her son Richard, but he died a mere 10 days later. Anne would have been 19 years old.
Anne and her husband Joseph went on to have another two children.
Joseph was born in April of 1721, when Anne was aged 20.
Sarah (my 5th great grandmother) was born in June of 1723, when Anne was 22.
Tragically, Anne's husband Joseph then died the following year, in 1724.
He was only 27 years old, and they had only been married for 4 years! Anne was left a widow at the age of 23, with a two very young children. Her son Joseph was only 3 years old and Sarah (my 5x great grandmother) was 11 months old.
I have no information about Anne's life after this event, as I have not been able to track down any record of her death or burial. It seems I may eternally wonder what happened to poor Anne after she became a widow at such a young age and left with two very young children to care for. Did she and her mother end up living together, or did she re-marry and start a new life elsewhere?
Although she may have been pregnant before marriage, it is also possible this was a premature birth.
ReplyDeleteA very touching story and well documented! Great research!
ReplyDelete