Life History

1769	Born
14th May 1769	Christened in London
22 Oct 1795	Married George Williamson at Duffield, nr. Derby
1st Apr 1846	Died in Derby

"The IGI shows that George Williamson married Jane Stokell in October 1794 at Duffield (between Derby and Wirksworth). ... Records show that a George Williamson, butcher and bachelor married Jane Stokell, spinster. The licence was for 22 October 1795 and the witnesses were Fanny Plant and John Drewry. (See below)

Notes

From "Who Was Mrs Williamson? An 18th and 19th Century Genealogical Detective Story"

A talk by John Titford at a Chesterfield And District Family History Society meeting in October 2008 [source

"Some six or seven years ago John purchased a hand written book ... which contained thousands of names of servants for the period 1833-1840. ... The only clue as to the author was a slip of paper in the book addressed to “Dear Mrs Williamson”.

"... in Pigot’s directory he found a Jane Williamson of 22 King Street, Derby who ran a register of servants.

"... [in ] the 1841 census ... Jane Williamson was duly found at 22, King Street, age 60, occupation given as Registered Office for Servants and place of birth “N” for not born in the county. Also present at the same address were Elizabeth Lee (20) and Ann and Elizabeth Colbean, female servants.

"... Bagshaw’s directory shows that Jane was at no. 22 [King Street] from 1846 but gone by 1850. However the directories for 1851 then show a Sarah Massey with the same occupation at no 28. King Street. ...(under an Act of Parliament of 1847 councils were allowed to renumber houses and ... no. 28 was actually the same premises as Jane’s no. 22.)

"...in the Derby Mercury index ... '1st April 1846, Monday, Mrs. Williamson, deservedly respected'. ... she had died on 30 March 1846.

"From the death certificate John found ... Jane’s age as 76, her marital status as 'spinster', cause of death “cancer of the vagina”, and informant of death as W. Williamson of 8 Friarsgate, Derby. These facts threw up more questions. If she was 60 in the 1841 census then the age on the death certificate is older and why was she described as a “spinster” but called Mrs. Williamson?

" John consulted ... www.wirksworth.org.uk and the work of Thomas Norris Ince 1824- 1860 at the Society of Genealogists. ... Here John found a pedigree for the Williamsons. This showed that John William father of the Haberdasher (William Williamson) had been married twice. By the first marriage he had two sons Samuel a yeoman and George a tanner. By the second marriage he had two more sons, John and William. He then concluded that Jane Williamson was related to this family by marriage not by birth. She was not a spinster as stated on the death certificate but a widow.

"The IGI shows that George Williamson married Jane Stokell in October 1794 at Duffield (between Derby and Wirksworth). ... Records show that a George Williamson, butcher and bachelor married Jane Stokell, spinster. The licence was for 22 October 1795 and the witnesses were Fanny Plant and John Drewry.

" ... John consulted the card index at the Society of Genealogists ... and found a marriage licence for ... 23 November 1769, Holborn (London), J Stokell, bachelor 38 to marry Hannah Drury, spinster 30, by marriage licence.

" Then on the IGI he found a birth for Jane daughter of John Stokell, 14 May 1769, St. Andrew, Holborn (London).

" The great card index revealed a baptism of Jane on 17 May 1769, daughter of John and Hannah, therefore she was illegitimate! The IGI also shows another birth of Mary 1772 to John and Hannah and in addition an Ann Stockeild born at Holborn on 25 May 1761, 8 years before the marriage allegation! The original parish records show that Jane was born in 1769 at Purple Lane in London.

" Records at Salt Lake City show another allegation that John Stokell was to marry one Elizabeth Sprat some 6 years before.

" In 1769 there were so many marriages at Holborn that the banns and licences are in two registers. However, the marriage is not in either. John Stokell married neither Elizabeth Sprat nor Hannah Drury!

" To summarise the hypothesis: Jane was born in London as the illegitimate daughter of Stokell and Drury. The Drurys were a Lincoln family. Sam Drury came to Derby and founded the Derby Mercury newspaper. Samuel Drury died on 1st August 1769. His will proved 19th August 1769 shows that he left £100 to his niece Hannah Stokell.

" John Stokell died in the workhouse and Hannah was left to bring up Ann and Jane so they all went to Belper to live. Jane married George Williamson, a coal merchant but he died age 54 in 1828. As a widow she set up the register of servants and when she died in 1846 Sarah Massey took over the agency.

" It is interesting to note that in 2004 there was still an employment agency in business (Massey’s Agency) named after Sarah Massey.

" John ... found a will left by Jane a 'widow'. She left everything to her brother-in-law, William Williamson and asked that she be 'decently interred' at Belper vaults near her 'late dear husband'.

" The register of persons buried at Field Row Belper show entries for Jane’s mother Hannah Stokell, who died in 1835, Jane’s sister Ann born 1761, died 1833 and Jane’s husband 1774-1848. There is also a gravestone at the chapel to Hannah Stokell 'late of London', though sadly no trace of where Jane Williamson is buried."