Mary Manning was born around 1799 in West Down, Devon to Hugh Manning (about 32), an agricultural labourer, and Elizabeth 'Betty' Manning (nee Menhinnit) (about 26).
Mary was baptised on 9th August 1799 in West Down.
Mary was the third of five children (three daughters and two sons):
- Mary 1795 - 1796 (1 years old)
- John 1797 -
- Mary 1799 -
- Anne 1802 -
- William 1805 -
Mary was the second of her name, being named for her elder sister who had passed away, aged only one years old, in 1796, three years before our Mary was born.
On 31st August 1822, Mary (22), a dressmaker, married Thomas Yeo (26), a farm labourer, in her native West Down. Mary was about five months pregnant when she married.
Mary and Thomas had seven children (four sons and three daughters):
- James 1822 -
- William 1825 -
- Marianne 1827 - 1838 (10 years old)
- Emma 1830 -
- Thomas 1832 -
- George 1834 -
- Anne 1836 -
All seven were born in West Down,
Mary's eldest daughter, Marianne, passed away, aged only ten years old, in 1838, in West Down.
1841 Census:
In 1849, when Mary was about fifty, her father Hugh passed away, aged about eight-four, in West Down. He was buried on 9th September 1849 in West Down.
1851 Census:
It's interesting that Mary and her family's abode in the 1850's was called Manning's House. Manning was Mary's maiden name - perhaps it was her family's home.
The 1851 Census also showed Mary's daughter Emma worked as a dressmaker, like her mother Mary. Did Mary teacher her daughter to sew and dress-make?
In her fifties, Mary began working as a dressmaker for the Huxtable family in Ilfracombe. Her employer, Richard Huxtable, ran a tailors and outfitters.
Mary moved about four miles north from West Down to Ilfracombe in the 1850's to live with and work for the Huxtables. Her husband Thomas and children stayed in West Down.
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| An advertisement placed in the North Devon Journal in May and June 1854 by Richard Huxtable for his tailors and outfitters. It is likely Mary made or helped make the clothes advertised. |
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| Another advertisement placed by Richard Huxtable for his tailors and outfitters. This one was placed in Bright's Intelligencer and Arrival List, a local Ilfracombe newspaper from June to September 1860. |
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| Another advertisement placed by Richard Huxtable for his tailors and outfitters. This one was placed in Bright's Intelligencer and Arrival List, a local Ilfracombe newspaper, from June to September 1860. The picture shows the building where Mary lived and worked. |
1861 Census:
1871 Census:
Mary worked as a dressmaker for Richard Huxtable into her old age.
Interestingly in the 1860's, her husband Thomas, along with their daughter Anne and grandson George (Anne's illegitimate son), moved to Ilfracombe as well. Perhaps to be closer to Mary.
In the 1870's, Mary lived in Montpelier Road only a few streets away from her family in Downs Cottage, Fore Street, Ilfracombe. Mary soon reunited with her husband Thomas and maiden daughter Anne. The couple, in their eighties, settled in Ilfracombe. Yet they still worked - he as a gardener, and she as a laundress. Interestingly, they were able to keep a servant. (Normally my ancestors are the servants)
Meanwhile, in late 1872 and 1873, tragic illness struck Mary and Thomas' son George and his family. First George's daughter Emily Ann passed away, aged only five, around November 1872; followed by George himself in January 1873, and George's wife Ann, around April 1874. Unless relatives or friends took them in, George and Ann's five surviving children (aged 0 to 9) would likely have ended up in the workhouse. Indeed, in the 1881 Census, their youngest daughters Ellen and Harriet can be found at the Okehampton Union Workhouse; whilst the older children were out living and working as servants on local farms. Did Mary know about the tragic fate of her son and grandchildren? Could she not help them?
1881 Census:
In 1884, when Mary was eighty-four, her husband Thomas passed away, aged eighty-eight, in West Down. He was buried on 12th May 1884 in West Down.
Two years later, in 1886, Mary herself passed away. She was buried on 4th November 1886 in Ilfracombe.
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