Mary Ann Whiting 1809-1875

Parents:     Joseph Whiting and Sarah Farecloth (1)
Born:          16th December 1809 in Haverhill.(1)
Baptised:   4th February 1810 at St Mary's Parish Church, Haverhill (1)                    
Married:      Edward Jobson of Haverhill, on 25th December 1826 at St Mary's Church, Haverhill.(2)
Children:    George Jobson b.1829, Thomas Jobson b.1827 died in infancy, Thomas Jobson b.1832, Henry Jobson b.1835, Sarah Jobson b.1838, Caleb Jobson b.1841, Walter Jobson b.1844 and Alfred Jobson b.1853
Died:            Jan 1875 in Haverhill. Buried at Haverhill Cemetery on 18th January 1875.(3,4)

Bio:              Mary Ann was born in Haverhill in 1809, daughter of Joseph and Sarah Whiting and baptised at St Mary's Parish Church. On Christmas day 1826, Edward Jobson, 23, marries Mary Whiting at the same church. He was the son of John Jobson and Sarah Beavis, and was born on 5th February 1803.(7)

Although she was referred to here as 'Mary' and not 'Mary Ann', the reason I think they are the same person is that on subsequent censuses when we find Edward Jobson and Mary living together, her place of birth is Haverhill and her birth date is pretty much the same as Mary Ann's. Also when she is buried, her birth date is exactly correct. I can find no other Mary Whitings born in Haverhill around this time. I feel there is enough circumstantial evidence to to take a view that Mary Jobson was the daughter of Joseph and Sarah.

We find the Jobsons on the 1841 census in Haverhill living several doors down from Mary Ann's parents. Edward is a silk weaver, and they have four children; George, Thomas, Henry and Sarah.

On the next census in 1851, we find the Jobsons, or Jopsons as they are alternatively known, in the Risbridge Union Workhouse. Edward's occupation is listed as weaver, and the children they have with them are Sarah, Caleb and Walter. We know that Caleb was born in the Union house on 4th December 1841, so for the next ten years it looks like they fell on hard times and were, at best, in-and-out of the Workhouse.

The 1861 census sees them back in Burton End, and Edward is now working as an agricultural labourer. Living with them are Caleb, Walter and Alfred. They are living nextdoor to David and Elizabeth Whiting.

For the 1871 census Mary and Edward are still in Burton End, Edward's occupation is given as 'formerly a labourer (farm)'; there is an implication he may no longer have been fit for work. His sons Caleb and Alfred are labourers and they have a lodger, Caroline Kimmons, of Withersfield, who is a scholar.

Next year in March, Edward died and was buried at Haverhill Cemetery on 23rd March 1872.(5,6) His age given here is about 5 years out from what is taken from his baptism entry and also from the censuses. Mary died a few years later in 1875, and was buried on 18th January.

Sources:      

(1) Suffolk Records Office, Bury St Edmunds, Parish Registers of St Mary's Church, Haverhill. Fiche 578
(2) Familysearch.org, Bishops Transcripts for the Archdeaconry of Sudbury, 1826-1828, Batch No.M132381, Source Call No.0989541
(3) Haverhill Cemetery, Ref. 523. http://www.haverhill-uk.com/pages/burial-records-137.htm
(4) Death Register. 1st Quarter 1875, Risbridge District, Volume 4a Page 327
(5) Haverhill Cemetery, Ref. 314. http://www.haverhill-uk.com/pages/burial-records-137.htm
(6) Death Register. 1st Quarter 1872, Risbridge District, Volume 4a Page 282
(7) SFHS, Suffolk Baptism Index, Clare Deanery 1754-1812