Identifying the correct Anne Sandwick

[hilarykellis]

Hi all,

Hope all is well. I was wondering if I could ask for some help identifying the "correct" Ann/e Sandwick. My ancestor Anne Sandwick married Joseph Woof/eon 25 May 1795 in Penrith, Cumberland by Banns - Ann says she is 23, Joseph says 24. Isaac Gaskin and Elizabeth Wilkinson or Williamson witnessed. (Worth noting that Joseph was actually born in 1765 so he was 30, not 24. No idea why he would have lied. But shows that these ages may both be inaccurate).

They had:

John Woofe
1797–1841

Jane Woofe
1798–

Mary Woofe
1799–

Nanny Woofe
1802–

Julia Woofe
1804–

Jacob Woof
1806–1862


Joseph Woofe
1809–1884

Thomas Woofe
1811–1874

Ann died Jul 1852 and this was the obit in the paper: "At the Cove, Watermillock, on the 18th inst., Ann, widow of Mr. Joseph Woof, yeoman, of that place, in the 82nd year of her age - deeply regretted by all who knew her."

I haven't seen her death cert. But the death notice places her YOB at closer to 1769/70.

A user on another message board checked the PR for me and found this baptism from Oct 1772: "Ann daughter of Henry Sandwick, labourer of Johnby, and Jane his wife".

However, I just recently found on IGI yet another Ann Sandwick, baptised Jan 1769, to John and Margaret in Greystoke!

Census records agree that Ann was born in Greystoke around 1772-1776. So I am leaning to the 1772 baptism. However, I feel I cannot rule out the 1769 baptism, because Ann did not name any children Henry (and had several sons). Additionally, she married a fairly well-off yeoman, so wonder if a labourer's daughter would have done so? Definitely possible, but raises a slight flag. Finally, complicating things, Ann didn't name any children Margaret, either.

Would love assistance in definitively ruling out this 1769 Ann Sandwick!

Thanks,

Hilary

[Lesley Robertson]

Everything depends on who provided the info in her obituary. They were nowhere nearly as obsessed with age as we are, and the person who have the info may not have known exactly. If it was a grandchild, or an in law, they could have guessed. You need the death certificate.

Have you checked her in the 1851 census? Imagine the conversation on the doorstep - “There’s a man at the door wanting to know how old your mother is!I think...”. Inaccuracy is not the same as lying.

Another known problem is that is someone relies on the traditional naming pattern, their family will turn out to have been rebels who didn’t use it.

I’d see if I could trace the other Anns for elimination.

[stepives]

Death cert is really needed, as said.

Place of Baptism is no guarantee of place of birth, nor the year of baptism as year of birth.

Steve.

[hilarykellis]

Thank you both. I can't seem to find out what happened to the other Anne Sandwick. There's an Anne Sandwick marrying a Thomas Mounsey in 1810 nearby, but I think this is a different, third, Anne who was baptised in 1788 in Hutton in the Forest (based on the year of marriage).

I looked for a burial for Anne Sandwick to see if I could rule out one Anne from being "mine" that way, but nothing came up on IGI. It seems that there were two Annes, b. 1769 and 1772 and one simply "vanished."

I found mention in the archives for Cumberland that Ann b. 1769 was daughter of John Sandwick and Margaret Barrow, daughter of Richard Barrow of Hillend, Hutton in the Forest (their marriage settlement is in the archives). I also found a will for Richard, but as he died in 1767, he wouldn't have mentioned his granddaughter Anne in his will, least of all her spouse.

[geneius]

MOUNSEY & WOOF have all been well recorded in the Cumbria FHS magazine, you could try their forum !

Some knowledgeable folk on their who know the county & famillies inside out.....

https:
//cumbriafhs.com/cgi-bin/cumbria/main.pl

[hilarykellis]

MOUNSEY & WOOF have all been well recorded in the Cumbria FHS magazine, you could try their forum !

Some knowledgeable folk on their who know the county & famillies inside out.....

https:
//cumbriafhs.com/cgi-bin/cumbria/main.pl

Thanks Geneius, had a look around and unfortunately old newsletters/resources are closed to me as non-member, but I will definitely post about the Woofs/Sandwicks and see if I can connect with any experts on the families. If they are a Woof descendant they are most probably related to me - unusual name!

[hilarykellis]

Hello all, I did get Ann’s death certificate and she is 81 in July 1852 when she dies according to her daughter in law Mary.

[stepives]

That gives a birth year of 1772 +/- 1 year or so. The age of 23 given at marriage seems to be ok, once the age rounded upwards.

It seems the 1772, Greystoke baptism is nearer the mark. Don't get hung up on naming patterns, as that is not always the case. A Yeoman is a freeholder of land, small or large. Not exactly landed gentry.

Steve.