Mary Hodgkinson

1876 - 1949

Mary was born at Hubberdale in Flagg, Derbyshire on 11th September 1876 ⁽¹⁾, the 4th child of Matthew and Mary Ellen. She had an older brother Matthew, and two older sisters, Ellen and Hannah. Her younger brother William was born a couple of years later, followed by Thomas in March 1881 ⁽²⁾. On the 3rd April that year, the family appears in the census ⁽³⁾, living at Hubberdale in Flagg, along with a Rosie Mellor, described as niece (to Mary's father) which would presumably make her Mary's cousin. However I have yet to find the exact relationship.Her youngest sister Jane was born about 3 years later ⁽⁴⁾.

Her mother died in June 1886 ⁽⁵⁾, when Mary was just 9 years old. By the time of the 1891 census ⁽⁶⁾, Mary had left home and was a live in domestic servant on William Needham's farm (Torr Farm) in Middleton, near Youlgreave.

She married George Allen on 19th October 1898 at St John the Baptist's in Chelmorton ⁽⁷⁾. She was about 4 months pregnant at the time, so this may have been something of a "shotgun wedding". George, six years her senior, also came from Flagg, so she had undoubtably known him all her life. The marriage certificate ⁽⁷⁾ states that she was resident in Flagg, which indicates that she had moved back there prior to her marriage.

Their first child Fred was born 5 months later on 14th March 1899, at which time the family were living at Back O'th' Hill in Flagg ⁽⁸⁾, almost certainly with Mary's father, as in March 1901 (3 months after the birth of their second child, George), the census shows that Mary's father Matt also lived at Back O'th' Hill Farm, though in a seperate family group ⁽⁹⁾. It seems likely that she and George lived there, with her father, from when they were married. It was said that she and George had "started out" with £100, which was believed to have come from her family ⁽¹⁰⁾.

In 1902 Mary's uncle, Thomas Kirkham, bought Highfield House Farm in Flagg, and rented it to George and her ⁽¹⁰⁾. Her father died in 1909 ⁽¹⁴⁾.

Between the birth of George, and 1920, she had another 9 children, namely Edith Mary, Martha, Joseph, Ernest, Ann, Matthew William, John Thomas, Doris May and Norman. After this she is said to have been the local midwife in the late 1920s and early 1930s, although its unclear whether this was in any sort of official capacity or not ⁽¹⁰⁾. Strangely George and Mary are said not to have gone to any of their children's weddings ⁽¹⁰⁾ but the reason isn't known!

George died on 25th September 1939 ⁽¹¹⁾. Mary continued to live at Highfield House Farm until sons Tom and Joe married and left home, and Norman went to work at Brushfield. She then went to live at 1 Moor View, Flagg. When son Joe left Chelmorton and went to work in the quarry he took over Moor View and Mary went to live at Box Tree Cottage, just below Moor View ⁽¹⁰⁾.

Mary died on 21st March 1949 ⁽¹²⁾, and was buried in Taddington three days later ⁽¹³⁾. When the estate was settled, she and George were seen to have been 'reasonably' well off with each of the eleven children's shares being equal to £479 7s 1d. Part of this was raised from the sale of Kidd Barn Farm and land at "Cro'shi" ⁽¹⁰⁾.

Brief details of her children:

• Fred was born in 1899 in Flagg. In Jun 1918 he joined the Signal Section of the 4th Leicester Reserves, but as the war ended soon afterwards, he only served until the following February, before returning to the family farm in Flagg. He joined the police in 1924, and was posted to South Normanton for training. The following year he married May Flint at Taddington Church, and not too long afterwards was posted to Repton. Whilst stationed there, he and May had three children, Joyce, Fred and Dorothy, before he died aged just 30, in 1929. May survived him by 50 years.
• George was born around the end of 1900 or the beginning of 1901 ⁽¹²⁾. He never married. He lived in Sheldon. He died on 23rd April 1992, and was buried there on 30th April. ⁽¹³⁾
• Edith Mary was born on 1st July 1902. In about 1922 she married Ben Gregory. At some point in life they lived in Miller's Dale. They had (at least) 4 children, Annie, Mary, Harold and Doris< ⁽¹³⁾
• Martha married Herbert Furness, and they lived on Riley Farm at Eyam. They later lived in Wheston, and had children Peter, Elsie, George and Stanley. ⁽¹³⁾
• Joseph married Elizabeth Wheldon. They lived on a farm at Lea near Matlock and had children Ralph and Betty ⁽¹³⁾
• Ernest was born about 1906. He married May Palfreyman and they lived at Brushfield. They had children Geoff, George and Jean. Ernest died on 9th July 1986 ⁽¹³⁾
• Ann was born about 1907. She married John Frost, the brother of her sister Doris' husband. When first married the two couples lived together on a farm in Sheldon. They had children Ethel, John, Phylis and Margery. ⁽¹³⁾
• Matthew William was born on 23rd February 1909. He married Harriet Elizabeth Riley. At one time they lived on the only farm in Cressbrook. Later they moved to a farm in Brampton, Chesterfield. They had children George William, Elizabeth Maureen, Sheila, Brian, David and Ken. He died on 17th March 1988 ⁽¹³⁾
• John Thomas was born about 1912. His wife was called Elsie, and they lived at Brushfield. Their children were called Fred, Norman and Peter. He died on 5th March 1989. ⁽¹³⁾
• Doris May was born about 1917. She married Henry Frost, brother of her sister Ann's husband. When first married the two couples lived together in Sheldon. Her children were Kath, Joan, Eileen, Henry, Bernard, Elsie and David. She died on 26th September 1992. ⁽¹³⁾
• Norman was born about 1920. He married later in life. His wife was a nurse called Audrey, with whom he had 5 sons, Paul, Mark, Graham, Garth and another. He died on 5th November 1987. ⁽¹³⁾

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
   Eleventh September 1876, Upperdale, Flagg	Mary	Girl	Matthew Hodgkinson	Mary Ellen Hodgkinson, formerly Kirkham	Farmer	Matthew Hodgkinson, Father, Upperdale, Flagg	Sixteenth October 1876

   Note that "Upperdale" is undoubtably a mistake by the registrar for "Hubberdale".
2. See her parents' pages for details
3. Census of 3rd April 1881 reads: (Note that Mary Ellen appears to have been mis-entered as May Eliz^th)
   Place: Hubberdale, Flagg
   

   Matthew Hodgkinson	Head	Mar	50	Farmer of 64 Acres	Derbyshire, Flagg
   May Elizth do	Wife	Mar	38	Farmer's wife	Staffordshire, Longnor
   Matthew do	Son	.	11	Scholar	Derbyshire, Flagg
   Ellen do	Dau	.	9	do	do do
   Hannah do	do	.	7	do	do do
   Mary do	do	.	4	do	do do
   William do	Son	.	2	.	do do
   Thomas do	do	.	1m	.	do do
   Rosie Mellor	Niece	Unm	18	Visitor	do, Taddington

4. According to her age in the 1891 and 1901 ⁽⁹⁾ censuses.
5. Mary Ellen Hodgkinson's 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
   Sisteenth June 1886, Hubberdale, Flagg, Bakewell	Mary Ellen Hodgkinson	Female	43 years	Wife of Matthew Hodgkinson, Farmer	Disease of organs of Circulation, Certified by Philip S [??????]	Matthew Hodgkinson, Widower of deseased, In Attendance, Hubberdale, Flagg	Seventeenth June 1886

6. Census of 5th April 1891 reads:
   Place: Torr Farm, Middleton, Youlegreave
   

   William Needham	Head	M	39	Farmer	Derbyshire, Sterndale
   - various other -	-	-	-	- people in -	- the household -
   Mary Hodgkinson	Serv	S	14	General Servant (Domestic)	Derby, Hubberdale

7. Marriage Certificate from Registration District of Bakewell states:

   1898 Marriage solemnized at Chelmorton in the parish of Bakewell in the County of Derby

   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
   Oct 19 1898	George Allen	27	Bachelor	Labourer	Flagg	William Allen	Labourer
   	Mary Hodgkinson	21	Spinster	-	Flagg	Matthew Hodgkinson	Farmer

   Married in the Church of Chelmorton according to the Rites and Ceremonies of the Church of England after banns

   in the presence of Matthew Hodgkinson, Jane Hodgkinson

8. Son Fred's 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
   Fourteenth March 1899, Back-oth-Hill, Flagg, RD	Fred	Boy	George Allen	Mary Allen, formerly Hodgkinson	Farm Labourer	Mary Allen, Mother, Back-oth-Hill, Flagg	Third May 1899

9. Census of 31st March 1901 reads:
   Place: Back O'th Hill, Flagg
   

   Matt Hodgkinson	Head	Widr	70	Farmer	Employer, Own Acc	at home	Greensides
   Matt Hodgkinson	Son	S	31	Farmer's Son	Worker	.	Hubberdale, Flagg, Derby
   William Hodgkinson	Son	S	22	do do	Worker	.	do do do
   Thomas Hodgkinson	Son	S	20	do do	Worker	.	do do do
   Jane do	Daug	S	16	Farmer's Daughter	Worker	.	do do do
   .	.	.	Different	household at the same	address	.	.
   George Allen	Head	M	30	W. Farmer	Own Acc	.	Flagg, Derbyshire
   Mary do	Wife	M	24	.	.	.	do do
   Fred do	Son	S	2	.	.	.	do do
   George do	Son	S	3 months	.	.	.	do do

10. Information from living relatives.
11. Husband George's 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-fifth September 1939, Highfield Farm, Flagg, Bakewell, RD	George Allen	Male	68 years	Farmer	(a) Cerebral haemourhage Certified by Walter J Bagot MB	E Allen, Son, Present at the death, Brushfield Farm, Taddington	Twenty-seventh September 1939

12. 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-first March 1949, Back o'th'Hill Farm, Flagg, Bakewell, RD	Mary ALLEN	Female	72 years	of Moor View Flagg, RD. Widow of George Allen, a farmer	I (a) Myoconditis (b) Influenza Certified by Hugh S Watson MB	E M Gregory, Daughter, Present at the death, Back o'th'Hill Farm, Flagg	Twenty third March 1949

13. Burial entry from parish register of St Michael's, Taddington reads:
    

    Name	Abode	When buried	Age
    Mary Allen	Flagg	March 24 1949	72 years

14. Her father's 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 first October 1909, Flagg RD	Mathew Hodgkinson	Male	78 years	Farmer	Old age, Certified by Philip S [Hulme?] MD	M Hodgkinson, Son, present at the death, Flagg	Twenty Second October 1909

15. Census of 2rd April 1911 reads:
    

    George Allen

    Head

    40

    Married

    Farmer

    own account

    at Home

    Derbyshire, Flagg

    Mary Allen

    Head

    34

    Married

    12

    7

    7

    none

    Derbyshire, Flagg

    Fred Allen

    Son

    12

    School

    Derbyshire, Flagg

    George Allen

    Son

    10

    "

    Derbyshire, Flagg

    Edith Mary Allen

    Daughter

    8

    Derbyshire, Flagg

    Martha Anne Allen

    Daughter

    7

    Derbyshire, Flagg

    Ernest Allen

    Son

    5

    Derbyshire, Flagg

    Annie Ellen Allen

    Daughter

    3

    Derbyshire, Flagg

    Matthew William Allen

    Son

    2

    Derbyshire, Flagg

    Ann Ellen Dicken

    Lodger

    63

    Single

    Dressmaker

    own a/c

    at Home

    Derbyshire, Flagg

    Number of Rooms: 8
    Postal Address: Highfield Farm, Flagg, Buxton

Find details of her children's baptisms - none were baptised in Chelmorton. (or Monyash or Taddington)