Some time ago I was skim-reading “Custom and Conflict in a Wealden Village; Pluckley 1550-1700” a 1987 thesis by Neil Davie, and lo and behold, he mentioned one of my ancestors, Benet Butcher.

“He [Richard Yonge] was the only churchwarden serving between 1550 and 1618 to be involved with the courts in this way, though Benet, the wife of Thomas Waterman (a churchwarden in 1591) was accused of having

"lyved incontynently with wyllyam Golding now a jurnyman shomaker at Tenterden in 1575.”

Now I need to find out more about this John Golding because another ancestor Hannah Philpot from Pluckley married a Golding and moved to Lenham 

It’s very cool what tiny genealogical tidbit you can sometimes find in an academic thesis.

Thinking Outside the Genealogy Box

 

When my ancestor John Suckling of Pluckley Kent England died in 1644, accounts from other villagers for their assistance were submitted to the Parish Church for payment.

Starting in April 1643 the Church provided support for the Suckling family for 13 months, with candles and money.

We can also see from the account listings that one of their children had died in this time period.

Finding this wonderful bit of detail about John and his last days came about because I found an obscure Thesis from 1987 called “ Custom and Conflict in a Wealden Village; Pluckley 1550-1700” a 1987 thesis by Neil Davie,

Reading through the 400 plus pages I found it full of names and tiny facts about the villagers. I’m still gleaning information about several of my Pluckley ancestors and about the village in general.

Thinking outside the box and looking for alternate obscure records can provide many happy findings. So don’t  overlook the less obvious sources  of information as you go about your genealogy journey.

Woman of Courage Hannah Philpot Golding

Because February is Women's History Month I wanted to share with my readers the story of strong and courageous women in my life. You will be able to follow along as you wish by choosing the label "Women of Courage" in the right side bar. I encourage my readers to join me in honoring women of courage in your own families.

Hannah Philpot was my 3rd great-grandmother. She was born in what is called "the most haunted" village in England - Pluckley, Kent. 

In 1823 when Hannah was barely 18 years old she married Edward Golden or Golding and moved to Lenham. In the next 12 years, between 1824 and 1836, Hannah bore 6 children. In 1837 Edward, just 37 years old, died. Hannah was left a young widow with 6 children aged 1 to 13 years old. 

To keep her children in food, she became a charwoman. A charwoman was someone who cleaned houses for others. In 1840, three years after her husband's death, Hannah found herself pregnant and she soon gave birth to a baby girl (my 2nd great-grandmother) she named Georgiana. An illegitimate son John followed 3 years after Georgiana. Georgiana's birth certificate does not name her father but when she married, Georgiana stated her father was George Norris. George was an unmarried next-door neighbour. 

At some point in 1873 Hannah was committed to the Kent County insane asylum where she died in April 1881. Poor Hannah lived a life of such hardship and loneliness and to spend the last 8 years of her life in a mental institution imparts a cruelty I cannot imagine.

It has always bothered me that George and Hannah never married and I can't help but wonder if she was taken advantage of by George. That is why I call her another Woman of Courage. She lived in that small village of Lenham her entire life, and presumably held her head high throughout what must have been gossip about her scandalous behaviour and having 2 illegitimate children.

52 Ancestors: Hannah Philpot Golding and George Norris - Friends With Benefits?

Pluckley, Kent England

I'm writing about my 3rd great grandmother Hannah Philpot Golding as part of Amy Crow's Challenge: 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks and also as part of Women's History Month Challenge
 
Hannah was born in 1805 in the little hamlet of Pluckley in Kent England to John & Susanna Philpot. 

Pluckley is said to be the most haunted village in England. At age 18, Hannah left Pluckley for Lenham, a nearby small town. There she married Edward Golding and over the next 14 years the couple had 6 children. When their youngest was 9 months old Edward died and Hannah was left a widow at the age of 28. 

Church in Lenham

Hannah had no family in Lenham but luckily she was able to take in laundry to support her young family. My mother went to Lenham to research my 2nd great grandmother Georgiana Golding who was born there in 1840. To our surprise Georgiana's mother Hannah was noted in the church record as "the widow Hannah Golding". My next find was the fact that Hannah's husband died some 3 years earlier in 1837. So obviously my 2nd great grandmother was an illegitimate birth. 

It took a few years to find out who had fathered Georgiana but eventually I had the proof that it was Hannah's next door neighbour, George  Norris. Hannah went on to have another child after Georgiana, and Georgiana named George as her father at her marriage to Charles Simpson, so obviously this was not a secret in the village. 

Hannah never remarried after Edward's death and George Norris remained single his entire life. I've always wondered what their relationship was. They never lived together so were they an early example of  "friends with benefits"? Was it a casual but consensual relationship? Or was it a long-lasting love that carried on over the years. I suspect I will never know. 

Kent County Insane Asylum

The last record of Hannah is the 1881 census where she is found as an 85 year old widow, an inmate of Kent County Asylum. Often paupers were sent to the Lunatic Asylum but it may also be that Hannah suffered from senility or some other disorder that labelled her as insane. It's very sad that none of her children could support her or take her into their own home. I have never found Hannah's death although she may be the Hannah Golding who died in June 1881 in Maidstone (which is where the Asylum was located).

As for George Norris he disappears after the 1861 census where he is found as a 50 year old single man living with his mother in Lenham.