Mary Anne Scott c.1814 - 1892

Another of my paternal 3 times great grandmothers was Mary Anne Scott.  According to Mary Anne's baptismal record she was born in a little village called Acol, which is in Thanet, in Kent.  She was baptised on 20th March 1814 at All Saints church in Birchington.  Her parents were John (1784 - 1854) and Sarah Scott (1792 - 1853).  Mary Anne's father was a labourer so they certainly weren't a wealthy family.

184 Baptism of Mary Anne Scott (courtesy Find My Past)

As yet I haven't found many siblings for Mary Anne.  So far all I have found are:

Ann 1819
Thomas 1833

Of course some siblings may have died young.

The next documentary evidence I have for Mary Anne is her marriage to Thomas Woodward in 1835.  The marriage was a couple of years before civil registration started in July 1837.  The couple married at the church of St Lawrence in Ramsgate.  Mary Anne and Thomas married on 14th October.  Both of them signed their mark on the marriage document.  Although, interestingly, one of the witness to the marriage was a James Woodward who could sign his name.  Thomas had a brother called James.  Presumably this is Thomas' brother although James was also a labourer.  Another of the witnesses, who also signed with a mark was Hannah Woodward.  I haven't found out who she was yet but she may have been Thomas' sister.

1835 Marriage of Mary Anne Scott and Thomas Woodward (courtesy Find My Past)

The next document for Mary Anne is the 1841 census.  Mary's age is given as 30 and she is married to Thomas who is an agricultural labourer.  The couple were living in Haine, near the modern Westwood Cross, with their daughter, Sarah Ann whose age is given as 10 years.

1841 Census (courtesy Find My Past)

Mary Anne and Thomas appear to have had 8 children, who were:

Thomas 1836 - 1914
Sarah 1837 - 1902
John 1839 - 1897
Daniel 1843 - 1907
George 1846 - 1904
James 1848 - 1910
Richard 1850 - 1874
Mary Ann 1853 - 1919

Unusually, all of the couple's children lived until adulthood.

The next documentary appearance for Mary Anne is the 1851 census.  The couple had moved to St Lawrence Street and had 6 of their 8 children living with them.  Thomas was a labourer by trade.

1851 Census (courtesy Find My Past)

On the 1861 census Mary Anne and Thomas were still living in St Lawrence Street.  Thomas was a labourer, working at Ramsgate harbour, while Mary Anne was a laundress.  Clearly the family were quite poor.  Their son, George, who was 15 years old, was an agricultural labourer.

1861 Census (courtesy Find My Past)

In 1871 Mary Anne and Thomas were still living at the same address.  Interestingly, it would appear that their son, Daniel and his wife and daughter, were living in the house next door.  Mary Anne and Thomas had 2 lodgers living with them, clearly helping them to make ends meet.

1871 Census (courtesy Find My Past)

In 1881 the couple were living in High Street, St Lawrence.  They had one lodger living with them.  Thomas's occupation was given as road labourer.

1881 Census (courtesy Find My Past)

By 1891, the couple were quite elderly.  Thomas was about 82 and Mary Anne was 79.  They were living in St Lawrence High Street but their widowed daughter, Mary Ann, and her 2 sons and 3 lodgers were all living in the same house.  It must have been quite a crowd!

1891 Census (Find My Past)

Mary Ann Woodward died in 1892.  She was buried in the churchyard of St Lawrence church, in Ramsgate, on 28th May 1892.  Her age was given as 80 years old.