John Sheldon

1843 - 1891

John was born in Ashford on 16th August 1843 ⁽¹⁾, the third child of Joseph and Mary, and was baptised in Holy Trinity, Ashford on Christmas Eve the same year ⁽²⁾. His eldest sister Jane was about 6 years older than him ⁽³⁾, and his brother Robert about 3 years ⁽⁴⁾.

His sister Sarah Ann was born in 1846 ⁽⁵⁾, followed by his brothers James in 1848 ⁽⁶⁾, and George in 1850 ⁽⁷⁾⁽⁸⁾. Hence by the time of the census at the end of March 1851 he was living in Gunners Lane, Ashford with his parents, his sister Sarah, and his brothers Robert, James and George ⁽⁷⁾. (His sister Jane was living nearby with an elderly relative called Mary Heathcote, but I haven't established the exact relationship yet).

His next brother, Joseph, was born in 1853 ⁽⁹⁾. His sister Sarah Ann died the following May ⁽¹⁰⁾. More brothers followed in the shape of Thomas in 1857 ⁽¹³⁾, Henry in 1858 ⁽¹¹⁾ and Francis William in 1861 ⁽¹²⁾, hence by the census of April 1861, John was living with his parents, seven brothers and one sister in Narrow Lane, Ashford, when he was working as a marble polisher ⁽¹³⁾.

His youngest brother Edward was born at about the same time ⁽¹⁴⁾ as John left home upon marriage. He married Nancy Bramwell from Cressbrook on 22nd August 1864, at the Independent Wesleyan Methodist Chapel in Bakewell ⁽¹⁵⁾. Neither his nor Nancy's family had any prior connection to the Methodists, so this was probably something of a rebelious act for the two 20 year olds, and could possibly be the reason that neither of the witnesses at their wedding were relatives.

They presumably set up home in Cressbrook straight after their marriage, as they were certainly living there by the time their first child George was born a year or so later, towards the end of 1865 ⁽¹⁶⁾. Their next two sons, Edward (early 1868 ⁽¹⁷⁾) and William (1870 ⁽¹⁸⁾) were also born in Cressbrook, and John was described as a general labourer ⁽¹⁸⁾. However by the time of the census of April 1871, John was working as a gamekeeper ⁽¹⁹⁾. Sometime fairly soon after this John must have taken his family to live in Ashford, as he was living there by the time his last child, and only daughter, Elizabeth was born in 1874 ⁽²¹⁾.

They didn't stay in Ashford for too long though, as by the census of April 1881 John and his family were back in Cressbrook and he was back to working as a general labourer ⁽²²⁾. His eldest son George was living next door with his grandmother at the time (and may never have moved back in with his parents, as sometime between then and the 1991 census he moved to Cleator in Cumberland). John's next oldest son, Edward, died aged 18 in 1886 ⁽²³⁾. His parents followed soon afterwards, with his father Joseph dying in September 1888 ⁽²⁷⁾, and his mother Mary in August 1889 ⁽²⁸⁾. Hence by the next census in April 1891, John and Nancy are living at Middle Cottage in Cressbrook with just their two youngest children, William and Elizabeth ⁽²⁴⁾.

John died of perforated bowels, just a few months later on 13th Novemeber 1891, aged 48. ⁽²⁴⁾. His wife Nancy survived hm by almost 17 years ⁽²⁵⁾.

• George was born in Cressbrook in the second half of 1865. Sometime in the 1880s he moved to Cleator in Cumberland, where he worked as a gardener at St Mary's Priory. In 1892 he married Margaret Wright, who already had an illegitimate son Frederick. They had a son Edward in 1894 and a daughter Maud in 1896. Nothing more is known of him after the 1901 census, when he was still living in Cleator working as a gardener.
• Edward was born in Cressbrook in 1868. He died in 1886.
• William has his own page
• Elizabeth was born in Ashford in 1874 but moved to Cressbrook as a child. She had an illegitimate daughter, Hannah Mary Carr Sheldon in 1896. She was still in Cressbrook in 1901, but nothing more is known of her.

1. Birth Certificate from Registration District of Bakewell states:

   When and where born	Name	Sex	Name and surname of father	Name, surname and maiden surname of mother	Occupation of father	Signature, description and residence of informant	When registered
   sixteenth of August 1843 at Ashford	John	Boy	Joseph Sheldon	Mary Sheldon, formerly Howard	Framework Knitter	Mary Sheldon, Mother, Ashford	fifth of September 1843

2. Baptism entry in parish register of Holy Trinity, Ashford reads:
   

   When baptized	Child's Christian Name	Parent's Christian Name	Parent's Surname	Abode	Quality, Trade or Profession
   [1843] Dec 24	John Son of born aust 16	Joseph & Mary	Sheldon	Ashford	Framework Knitter

3. Baptism entry in parish register of Holy Trinity, Ashford reads:
   

   When baptized	Child's Christian Name	Parent's Christian Name	Parent's Surname	Abode	Quality, Trade or Profession
   Oct 1st Born June 19 1837	Jane Sheldon daughter of	Mary	Howard	Ashford	Singlewoman

4. Baptism entry in parish register of Holy Trinity, Ashford reads:
   

   When baptized	Child's Christian Name	Parent's Christian Name	Parent's Surname	Abode	Quality, Trade or Profession
   Oct 25 [1840]	Robert son of	Joseph & Mary	Sheldon	Ashford	Frame work knitter

5. Baptism entry in parish register of Holy Trinity, Ashford reads:
   

   When baptized	Child's Christian Name	Parent's Christian Name	Parent's Surname	Abode	Quality, Trade or Profession
   May 24 [1846]	Sarah Ann Daughter of	Joseph & Mary	Sheldon	Ashford	Labourer

6. Baptism entry in parish register of Holy Trinity, Ashford reads:
   

   When baptized	Child's Christian Name	Parent's Christian Name	Parent's Surname	Abode	Quality, Trade or Profession
   November 26 [1848]	James son of	Joseph & Mary	Sheldon	Ashford	Frame work knitter

7. Census of 30th March 1851 reads:
   Place: Gunners Lane, Ashford
   

   Joseph Sheldon	Head	Mar	34	Framework Knitter	[Derbys], [Ashford]
   Mary Sheldon	Wife	Mar	32	.	Hants, Stoke
   Robert do	Son	U	10	At Home	Derbys, Ashford
   John do	do	U	7	do	do, do
   Sarah do	daur	U	4	do	do, do
   James do	Son	U	2	do	do, do
   George do	do	U	1	do	do, do

8. Baptism entry in parish register of Holy Trinity, Ashford reads:
   

   private	When baptized	Child's Christian Name	Parent's Christian Name	Parent's Surname	Abode	Quality, Trade or Profession
   	April 17 [1851]	George	Joseph and Mary	Sheldon	Ashford	Frame work knitter
   	Received into church [......]

9. Baptism entry in parish register of Holy Trinity, Ashford reads:
   

   When baptized	Child's Christian Name	Parent's Christian Name	Parent's Surname	Abode	Quality, Trade or Profession
   July 17 [1853]	Joseph son of	Joseph & Mary	Sheldon	Ashford	Frame - work knitter

10. Burial entry in parish register of Holy Trinity, Ashford reads:
    

    Name	Abode	When buried	Age
    Sarah Ann Sheldon	Ashford	June 1st [1854]	8

11. Baptism entry in parish register of Holy Trinity, Ashford reads:
    

    When baptized	Child's Christian Name	Parent's Christian Name	Parent's Surname	Abode	Quality, Trade or Profession
    Dec 26 [1858]	Henry son of	Joseph & Mary	Sheldon	Ashford	Labourer

12. Baptism entry in parish register of Holy Trinity, Ashford reads:
    

    When baptized	Child's Christian Name	Parent's Christian Name	Parent's Surname	Abode	Quality, Trade or Profession
    April 7 [1861]	Francis William son of	Joseph & Mary	Sheldon	Ashford	Labourer

13. Census of 7th April 1861 reads:
    Place: [Narrow] Lane, Ashford
    

    Joseph Sheldon	Head	Mar	44	Labourer Ag	[Derbys], Ashford
    Mary do	Wife	Mar	41	.	Hampshire, Stoke
    Jane do	daur	un	23	.	Derbys, Ashford
    Robert do	Son	un	20	Labourer M. Masons	do, do
    John do	Son	un	17	Marble Polisher	do, do
    James do	Son	un	12	Marble Polisher	do, do
    George do	Son	un	10	Scholar	do, do
    Joseph do	Son	un	7	.	do, do
    Thomas do	Son	un	4	.	do, do
    Henry do	Son	un	2	.	do, do
    Francis William do	Son	un	1 mo	.	do, do

14. Baptism entry in parish register of Holy Trinity, Ashford reads:
    

    When baptized	Child's Christian Name	Parent's Christian Name	Parent's Surname	Abode	Quality, Trade or Profession
    Sept 25 [1864]	Edward	Joseph & Mary	Sheldon	Ashford	Labourer

15. Marriage Certificate from Registration District of Bakewell states:

    1864 Marriage solemnized in the Independent Chapel, Bakewell in the District of Bakewell

    When married	Name and Surname	Age	Condition	Rank or Profession	Residence at the time of marriage	Father's name and Surname	Rank or Profession of father
    Twenty Second August 1864	John Sheldon	20 years	Bachelor	Labourer	Ashford	Joseph Sheldon	Gardener
    	Nancy Bramwell	20 years	Spinster		Cressbrook Litton	George Bramwell (deceased)	Joiner

    Married in the Independent Chapel Bakewell according to the Rites and Ceremonies of the Wesleyan Methodists

    in the presence of William Harrison, Ann Jackson

16. No baptism for George has been found yet, but his age on future censuses indicate that the birth of a George Sheldon registered in Bakewell in the 4th quarter of 1865 was probably him.
17. No baptism for Edward has been found yet, but his age on future censuses indicate that the birth of an Edward Sheldon registered in Bakewell in the 1st quarter of 1868 was probably him.
18. Birth Certificate from Registration District of Bakewell states:

    When and where born	Name	Sex	Name and surname of father	Name, surname and maiden surname of mother	Occupation of father	Signature, description and residence of informant	When registered
    Fifth July 1870, Cressbrook, Litton	William	Boy	John Sheldon	Nancy Sheldon, formerly Bramwell	General Labourer	Nancy Sheldon, Mother, Cressbrook, Litton	Twentieth July 1870

19. Census of 2nd April 1871 reads:
    Place: Bottom Row, Cressbrook
    

    John Sheldon	Head	Mar	27	Game Keeper	[Derbyshire], Ashford
    Nancy do	Wife	Mar	27	Cotton Power Loom Weaver	do, Cressbrook
    George do	Son	.	5	Scholar	do, do
    Edward do	Son	.	3	.	do, do
    William do	Son	.	9 mo	.	do, do

20. N/A
21. Baptism entry in parish register of Holy Trinity, Ashford reads:
    

    When baptized	Child's Christian Name	Parent's Christian Name	Parent's Surname	Abode	Quality, Trade or Profession
    August 12 [1874]	Elizabeth	John & Nancy	Sheldon	Ashford	Game keeper

22. Census of 3rd April 1881 reads:
    Place: Cressbrook
    

    John Sheldon	Head	Mar	37	General Labourer	Ashford, Derbyshire
    Nancy do	Wife	do	37	Cotton Weaver	Cressbrook, do
    Edward do	Son	-	13	Errand Boy	do, do
    William do	Son	-	10	Scholar	do, do
    Elizabeth do	Daughter	-	6	do	Ashford, do

23. Edward doesn't appear in any later censuses, so he is probably the Edward Sheldon whose death at age 18 was registered in Bakewell in the 2nd quarter of 1886.
24. Census of 5th April 1891 reads:
    Place: Middle Cottages, Cressbrook, Litton
    

    John Sheldon	Head	M	47	General Labourer	Derbyshire, Ashford	Employed
    Nancy Do	Wife	M	47	Powerloom Calico Worker	Do, Litton	Employed
    William Do	Son	S	20	Masons Labourer	Do, Do	Employed
    Elizabeth Do	Daur	S	16	Powerloom Calico Worker	Do, Ashford Do	Employed

25. Death Certificate from Registration District of Bakewell states:

    When and where died	Name	Sex	Age	Occupation	Cause of death	Signature, description and residence of informant	When registered
    Thirteenth November 1891, Cressbrook, Litton	John Sheldon	Male	48 years	Gardener, Domestic	Abcess leading to Perforation of bowels Certified by Fentern	Nancy Sheldon, Widow of deceased, present at the death, Cressbrook, Litton	Fourteenth November 1891

26. Death Certificate from Registration District of Bakewell states:

    When and where died	Name	Sex	Age	Occupation	Cause of death	Signature, description and residence of informant	When registered
    Thirteenth July 1908, Cressbrook, Litton	Nancy Sheldon	Female	65 years	Widow of John Sheldon a Gamekeeper	Valvular disease of Heart. General Anasanca. Certified by J H Parke MRCS	William Sheldon, Son, in attendance, Cressbrook, Litton	Thirteenth July 1908

27. Death Certificate from Registration District of Bakewell states:

    When and where died	Name	Sex	Age	Occupation	Cause of death	Signature, description and residence of informant	When registered
    Eighth September 1888, Ashford	Joseph Sheldon	Male	72 years	Garden Labourer	Old age. Certified by Philip S Fentern	Joseph Sheldon, Son, Present at the death, Ashford	Twelfth September 1888

28. Death Certificate from Registration District of Bakewell states:

    When and where died	Name	Sex	Age	Occupation	Cause of death	Signature, description and residence of informant	When registered
    Twenty ninth August 1889, Ashford	Mary Sheldon	Female	69 years	Widow of Joseph Sheldon a General labourer	Old age. Certified by Philip S Fentern MD	Jane Grant; Daughter; Present at the death; Stoke, 'near Tideswell	Twenty ninth August 1889