52 Ancestors 52 Weeks: Week 14. Great. ANN DEANEY nee DEAN

 Having already written about both pairs of my paternal blood GREAT-GRANDPARENTS. I decided to look at my ancestors who reached a 'great age'.  Although there is no-one who has reached 100, there are several who have reached their 90's. My adoptive Grandmother died aged 96. I am eternally grateful to her doctor who identified 'old age' as the cause of death, with heart failure as a secondary cause. For me, there is something reassurring when you see 'old age' as it implies a life lived rather than disease endured.

My Great Grandfather's second wife reached the age of 98, but I am focusing on my 2x Great Grandmother ANN DEANEY nee DEAN, who reached the age of 99.

* Note the surname Deaney is often interchanged with the name Daney and documents may be found under either spelling. For the purpose of this blog and ease of reading all sunames are identified as Deaney.

ANN DEAN 1855-1954  

Ann was the 2nd of 10 children and eldest daughter of William & Ann Dean nee Hinson of Little Missenden, Buckinghamshire. William was working as an Agricultural Labourer, whilst her mother was a straw plaiter, an occupation that Ann and fellow siblings probably learnt and worked with alongside their mother as identified in the 1871 census.

Straw Plaiting.

from turveyhistory.org.uk

The chalky hills of the Chiltern Hills were ideal growing conditions for the type of straw used for plaiting. Pieceworkers were employed to make the plait lengths which would then be sent to Luton, Dunstable and St Albans, the hub of hat making. Straw bonnets once the choice for country folk were now worn by many more of the general population.
In the early 19th century, due to the embargo on foreign imports during the Napoleonic wars, British straw plaiters were able to make more money than farm workers, sometimes up to £1 a week, however by mid century, cheaper imports from Italy and mechanisation resulted in poorer wages for the home workers. By the 1870's it was probable that Ann and her daughters as a team could earn 3 to 4 shillings a week. World trade and imports from China and Japan eventually saw the end of this employment for the country women of the area, however by the 1890's some were still 'plaiting' to make a few extra pennies to keep starvation at bay or the need to knock on the workhouse door.

Despite the illustration depicting the domesticity art of straw plaiting above, the actual work was hard. In 1895 Viscount Peel, politician, on visiting a straw plaiter at work observed.

'That the trade is disagreeable no one can gainsway. The continual passing of the straw through the mouth scratches the lips, and leaves a nasty taste in the palate. Moreover the action of the sulphur fumes with which the straws are cleansed, and the friction of the sharp-edged straw on the enamel of the teeth, hasten decay. Few straw-plaiters have sound front teeth, except of course the little children, and in the case of adults they are usually worn right away.'

On 4th September 1875 Ann Dean married local lad and agricultural labourer FRANK DEANEY 1851-1929 at Little Missenden Church, Buckinghamshire. However they already had a child Charles Deaney who was born on 18th July 1875.
It is likely that shortly after their marriage the family moved to Bagthorpe in the Basford area of Nottinghamshire, certainly their next two children, both girls were born there. LOUISA JANE in 1877 and ELIZA 1878. It is possible that Frank may have moved there in the hope of obtaining better paid work, Both he and Ann had other family members living in the area.
However by 1880, the family were back in Holmer Green where their 4th child, ALBERT was born.
In the 1881 census are living in Red Lion Lane, Holmer Green, Frank is back working on the land.
Four more children are born between the 1881 & 1891 census, KATE SOPHIA in 1882, MARY ANN 1884, ARTHUR 1886 and FRANK 1889.
By the 1891 census Frank senior has changed his job and is now working on the railway as a 'Navvy'.

The Navvy 

 image from The Victorian Web

The word 'Navvy' is often associated with Irish migrants but the reality is that these men only made up a small percentage of the men working on the construction of the railways. Some men would move around the country to where they were needed, whilst others like Frank worked locally to their village town on the construction site. In the 1890's work was being undertaken on the London extension.
The Navvies work was labour intensive digging and forming the cuttings, embankments, tunnels, bridges and viaducts etc. As most of the work was undertaken using picks and shovels, the work was labour intensive and suited those with a background of agricultural labouring. Many of the children of these men would assist their fathers although possibly involving lighter duties as a 'Navvy' with  a years experience could dig around 20 tons of earth a day!
information from www.railwayarchive.org.uk

The 1891 census indicates that Frank and Ann's 15 year old son, Charles was also working as a Navvy on the railways.

Between the 1891 & 1901 census another 4 children were born HENRY aka HARRY in 1893, ERNEST in 1896, John 1897 and finally their 12th child FLORENCE ESTHER was born in 1900.

By the 1901 census Frank has returned to work on the land, Ann is undertaking piecework making braid and the eldest child, remaining at home, Arthur is working in the local chair making trade. High Wycombe the local town being a well know furniture producing town.

On the 1911 census a 60 year old Frank is working as a labourer on the roads, Arthur continues to live with his parents and working as a chair maker, whilst Ernest is working as a cow man on a farm but living at home. There are 7 people living in a 4 roomed cottage in Hazlemere near High Wycombe. Interestingly, on this document it indicates that Ann had 14 children and one had died. Following through the census there are 12 recurring children, a little further research shows the birth of a daughter ALICE in 1891 who died in 1892, buried at Little Missenden church on 22nd Oct 1892 aged 14 months. As yet I have been unable to identify the fourteenth child. 

On 23rd May 1929 Frank and Ann were parted when Frank died aged 77 from stomach cancer. His death certificate indicates that he was staying with his son, Arthur and his wife Minnie Catherine nee Palmer at Rose Villas, Holmer Green. 

The 1939 register shows Ann living or staying with their son Harry and family in a council house in Amersham. 

An article in the Uxbridge & W.Drayton Gazette of 26th Oct 1951, indicates that Ann was a patient in Amersham Hospital. The article cites the 5 centenatians in Buckinghamshire and the General Election, Ann is identified with another 100 year old in hospital and the newspaper states that Ann voted in the election using a postal vote. It is difficult to know in which constituency Ann was living in 1951, but her death certificate in 1954 shows her home address as Rose Villas, Holmer Green, like her husband. Interestingly is she was living there in 1951 the elected Conservative MP in 1951 was William Waldolf Astor, later the 3rd Viscount Astor, most famously remembered for his role within the Profumo affair in 1963. But of course Ann did not live to see that scandal.

On 5th September 1954, aged 99 years, Ann died at Amersham District Hospital having contracted pneumonia after having slipped and fallen, fracturing her left hip. At the age of 99 she had outlived at least 4 of her children and seen many changes in country life.

.