Ann and Edward Scott

Ann Scott (formerly Rawlins)
wife of Edward Scott
Born 1787 in Harbury, Warwickshire
Married 05 April 1812 in St James's Church, Westminster
Died 1873 in Epsom, Surrey

Edward Scott
Born 1789 in Epsom Surrey
Died 1874 in Epsom Surrey

In the census records, Ann Scott states her birthplace as Harbury, Warwickshire and there is a baptism record for Ann Rawlins in Harbury in 1788, daughter of William and Mary Rawlins. Her Baptism took place in Harbury Parish Church which is a 13th century church: http://www.allsaintsharbury.org/

The village of Harbury is some four miles south west of Southam. It was at the nearby quarry that a fossil skeleton of a giant ichthyosaurus was found and is now in the South Kensington Natural History Museum. A school was founded in the village by Jane Wagstaff in the reign of Elizabeth I. Jane is buried in the church. Her descendants founded a village school and its Tudor building remains. The vicar from 1746-1771 was Richard Jago, something of a minor poet. The parish is sometimes called Harbersbury.

More about the history of Harbury: http://www.harbury-pc.gov.uk/history.htm

Ann had 6 siblings and tracing her brothers in the census records has revealed that William was a labourer when he was 50 to 60.  This suggests that the family were not wealthy and that Ann probably left Warwickshire to be a servant in London. The likelihood is that she secured a place with a wealthy family who lived in Westminster and that they organised the wedding for her at St James's Church built by Sir Christopher Wren.

The witnesses at the marriage were Charles Manner and Richard Wyatt.  No connection has yet been found to the Rawlins or Scott families.

There are two death records for Rawlins in Harbury, a Sarah 1797 and an Edward 1798 with the Baptism records for the family being from 1784 to 1804. So few records suggest that the family were only in the area for those 20 years and that they then moved on to other parts of Warwickshire.  William moved to Newcastle Under Lyme where his Rawlins family continued to live.  I have not traced Ann's sisters.

Ann and Edward Scott had 9 children with the possibility that a boy named John who died aged 5 days old in 1818 was also their child.  Of their nine daughters, 3 died in their twenties and 2 died in their teens mostly from TB. By 1861, their son in law, Daniel Hursey had died and their daughter, Eliza, and her children went to live with them and remained with them for the rest of their lives.

In the 1851 census, Edward and Ann are living with three children who were Ward of Chancery.  They were Margaret, Ann and Thomas Bradley who were born in Epsom and Christened at St Martin's Church.  Their parents were Thomas and Sarah Bradley. Thomas was a baker and died aged 34 in 1840 and Sarah died aged 28 in 1844. Thomas's brother John Bradley was a gentleman and left a Will that left the care of his nieces and nephew to Edward Scott.  The Will did not state a family connection to Edward but it did mention John's sister Ann Hursey and she may have been a relative of Daniel Hursey, Edward's son-in-law.  Edward was Executor of John's Will and most probably a friend.  John died aged 76 in 1842 at which time the Bradley children went to live with the Scotts aged 7, 8 and 9.

The Scott household must have been quite busy with the many children, grandchildren and Ward of Chancery children that they had to look after over the years. At least Ann had her daughter Louisa just two doors away to help out as she got older.

Ann lived to 86 and is buried in Epsom cemetery Grave No. C71 Register 194 - source Epsom History Explorer website:

http://www.epsomandewellhistoryexplorer.org.uk/EpsomCemeteryBurialsS.shtml

Not sure how he came to be living in St James Westminster Parish, although according to his marriage record, he was a member of the Parish.  He may have lodged there for the required time to qualify for the marriaged, he may have been a soldier based there or he may have been in London as an apprentice.

The Baptism records for Edward and Ann's children all state that Edward was a shopkeeper from 1813 to 1831. By 1839, Edward was a teacher.  My guess is that he found his daughters had little opportunity for education in Epsom and therefore opened his own school. The 1839 Pigot's Directory stated that Edward ran a day school in Epsom  This may well have been from his house or perhaps a church hall.

In his father John's Will, it stated that Edward was a school teacher but his father left his shop to him and by 1841 census, Edward is a grocer running his father's shop in Epsom High Street.

By the 1851 census, Edward was a postman.  It is likely that he became a postman a few years earlier and that that is how his daughter met her husband. the postman. William George and it was whilst Edward was a postman that James Collinson, the Pre-Raphaelite artist came to Epsom and painted Edward sitting in his kitchen with a young granddaughter on his knee and called his paiting 'Too Hot' as Edward had tipped so tea into a saucer to help the little girl drink it.

http://www.exploringsurreyspast.org.uk/GetRecord/EPSBH_10603

By 1861 census, Edward was a land measurer and surveyor. By 1871 census he was 83 and had no occupation.

In between census records, we have this information that was found in a notebook that was owned by Great Uncle Tom Smith and is now held at the Surrey History Centre:

Scott appears in the Epsom Manor court records (ref 31/-) as a grocer and, in 1844, as bailiff of the manor, which would account for the rentals held as -/6-7 below (see H L Lehmann, The Residential Copyholds of Epsom (Epsom 1987)). From the census, parish registers and Pigot's Directory of Surrey it would appear that he was also at various times a schoolteacher, postman and land measurer (information compiled by Mr L K Bond of Cheam). It has not proved possible to confirm his connection with the unsigned highway surveyor's ratebook (-/5).

http://www.exploringsurreyspast.org.uk/GetRecord/SHCOL_6107

He also ran a rental business called Manor Rentals and the record book for the business that ran from 1825 to 1835 are held by Surrey History Centre:

http://www.exploringsurreyspast.org.uk/GetRecord/SHCOL_6107

Edward was also the Town Bailiff according to his burial record. Edward lived only 7 months after Ann's death and died aged 84 in Epsom and was buried in Epsom Cemetery Grave No. C71 Register: 244 - source:

http://www.epsomandewellhistoryexplorer.org.uk/EpsomCemeteryBurialsS.shtml

Ann Scott PDF file

Edward Scott PDF file