Asleep in Jesus
Jane Hannah's Story
Day 4
In 1861, my great grandmother, Jane Hannah is nine years old and is in school with her younger brother Adam who is six, and her older siblings, Robert who is fourteen and Margaret who is twelve.
Little Janet (or Jannett) is only 4 and is at home with her mother. Robert Hannah, the father, is 46 and is a ploughman. Being a ploughman is back breaking work. It means he ploughs the fields to prepare the land for crops. With a sheep and cattle farm, this means food for the herds of cattle and sheep plus food for the family.
It doesn't say if he still works at Merkland Farm but it is probable that he travels to there to work. Jane Smith, Jane's mother is 42. They live at Nether Locharwoods Cottage in Ruthwell. They have two rooms with one or more windows.
In 1865, Jane Smith, my third great grandmother dies on 23 March. Her youngest son, James, born on 12 April 1861 doesn't appear on the 1861 census even though he was born by that day. He was a toddler when his mother died of a tumor in her abdomen that obstructed her intestines. She was only 45 years old.
In 1871, Jane Hannah is running the household for her father, age 45 and they live at Merkland at "Merkland cottage". Her sister Janet (Jannett) is 14 and no longer listed as a scholar. Little James is in school at age 9.
The farm is being managed by Robert Smith and his wife and their children. Because Robert is the farmer, it tells us the farm has 110 arable acres and 200 acres moss. He employs 2 men and 2 women. One man is a shepherd and one woman is a field laborer and are listed in Robert Smith's household.
Robert's brother, Adam Smith is listed with his wife and children. These men inherit Merkland Farm. I am glad this was all on one page of this census. It is always fun for genealogist to find one page of the census that tells us so much.
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