0
0
b.1844–d.1913
Trace document:
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/invite-ui/accept?token=5QgOJTyptipiK446Ltq1ADpEnmZ3GVeHj7eT_it6-QA=
Mary’s family
Mary Peters MOODY was born in Innpark, Cattistock, Dorset in May 1844 to John Austin & Amelia Moody (née Pope). Mary’s parents had married on 5th April 1836 at St. Mary, Corscombe, Dorset, the groom giving his parish as St. Sepulchre, Middx.
Parent’s marriage – Sherborne Mercury, Monday, 11th April 1836
Mary’s mother had been born in 1811 in Over Kingcombe (near Toller Porcorum, approx. 10 miles from Dorchester). Her father was also born circa 1811, possibly in London.
Prior to Mary’s birth, at the time of the 1841 Census, her parents John and Amelia were living in Innpark, Cattistock with daughter Caroline aged 1. Her father is described as a ‘Yeoman’.
I couldn’t find much information on Mary’s father except a tithe map dated 1839, showing that he farmed 13 acres of land (Plot 247) in Cattistock; he is listed as the ‘occupier’ and the ‘landowner’ is Thomas Pope (possibly a relation to Amelia).
A yeoman farmer represented a prosperous tier of the rural middle class, ranking below the landed gentry but above tenant farmers and labourers. Unlike peasant labourers, they typically owned their land (freehold or long leasehold) and operated it as a commercial enterprise. It also gave them civic privileges like voting in county elections and serving on juries.
Cattistock Jury Return showing Mary’s father (1843)
As the daughter of a yeoman farmer, Mary would have had a relatively comfortable life; her family probably employed farm servants and/or labourers to plant, harvest or tend livestock.
Siblings
Caroline Amelia bapt. 31 Oct 1839 at Cattistock; m. George Hooper Mead
Elizabeth bapt. 4.8.1841 at Cattistock, Dorset
Emma Jane b. Q2 1843; m. ?John Turner
Mary Peters b. Q2 1844
Kate Sophia b. Q4 1853
Edmund b. Q4 1852; m. ?Sarah Davies
Death of Mary’s Father
Mary’s father, John died on 8th February 1856 aged 41 from a “diseased brain (2yrs) and epilepsy (4mths)”; his death was reported in the Salisbury and Winchester Journal. This must have been devastating for Mary’s mother, as she would have been left with six children, the youngest only 2 years old.
Salisbury and Winchester Journal – Saturday, 16th February 1856
Unfortunately, I have been unable to locate the family on the 1851 Census, so our next piece of information comes from the 1861 Census. A widowed Amelia Moody and her children Elizabeth (19), Mary (16), Kate (12) and Edmund (8) are living 60 miles away in Boreham House, Boreham, Warminster, Wiltshire. Amelia lists herself as an ‘annuitant’. The family has one domestic servant and a lodger.
Another Family Death
Sadly, Mary’s mother was to die in 1863 aged 51 – her death mentioned below. I wonder if the Thomas Pope who placed the advert is the same man who was the ‘landowner’ on the tithe map?
The Warminster Miscellany – Wednesday 1 July 1863
Censuses – 1871, 1881, 1891
By the time of the next census (1871), our subject, Mary, is 26 years old and living in Bonehayne, Colyton, Devon and working as a ‘governess’ to Samuel and Fanny White who have 5 children. Bonehayne is a rural, historic farming area in East Devon, located near Colyton and Southleigh within the Blackdown Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Possible history of health problems in the family?
On the 1871 census, Mary’s sister, Elizabeth, is a patient in the Somerset County Lunatic Asylum in Wells. A search of the UK lunacy records confirmed that she was admitted on 12 February 1870 and died there on 6 April 1893. Initially she was a ‘private’ patient but on 19 May 1887 became a ‘pauper’ patient but it looks as though she became ‘private’ again on 21 July 1887. Her probate entry grants administration to her brother Edmund.
By the 1881 Census, Mary, now aged 36, has moved to Somerset and is living as a ‘lodger’ at 3 Redland Terrace in Frome. She describes herself as an ‘annuitant’. This indicates that her father had been wealthy enough to have provided an income for his family after his death.
In 1881, Mary’s brother Edmund is lodging in Marshall Place, Cheetham, Manchester and his occupation is ‘corn broker’.
1891 Census
By 1891, Mary had moved to London and is listed as a lodger at 59 Northcote Road, Battersea and living ‘on independent means’. I can find no trace of family in London at this stage, so I wonder why she made the move there.
Admission to Hanwell and then Manor Asylum
On 9th December 1897 a Reception Order was signed, and Mary was admitted to Hanwell Asylum. It’s not clear how long she stayed there but she was admitted to Manor Asylum a few years later on 21st July 1901 from Wandsworth & Clapham Infirmary. The records describe her as “a dark woman with grey hair and wild expression” and state that she’s suffering from ‘mania’.
According to her landlord, George Daniels of 49 Lavender Sweep, Lavender Hill, Mary has been “peculiar in the mind ever since she has been his tenant, but during the last month she has become considerably worse; she hears imaginary voices, whispering to her, telling her to do certain things which she (is) bound to obey. At times she becomes violent and uses threatening language.”
Despite an extensive search, I couldn’t find Mary on the 1901 census returns – although she was possibly in Hanwell. When looking for her siblings I had a similar problem although eventually I found sister Caroline in Bristol and her brother Edmund in Ireland.
Notes from 1901 state that she is ‘delusional’; she is also ‘rambling and irrational’. On 13th February 1908 she was “transferred from the private to the pauper list”. I wonder why – did her ‘annuity’ run out?
In the Horton records, Mary’s next of kin is listed as Edwin Moody of 30 Corn Exchange, Manchester; this is probably her brother, Edmund.
Mary died at Manor Asylum on 23rd April 1913 aged 69 and is buried in Plot 551b.
Copyright
If you use the published stories, partly or completely, written by volunteers of the Friends of Horton Cemetery charity (Reg. No. 1190518), please acknowledge the volunteer who wrote the story by name, acknowledge the Friends of Horton Cemetery expressly and its registration number, and include this link to the STORIES section of the website https://hortoncemetery.org/the…/horton-cemetery-stories/
Donate
Occasionally, people ask how they might financially contribute to our charity. There is a Donate link at the foot of each page of the website. All donations will be directed towards continuing efforts to restore and ultimately maintain Horton Cemetery. We thank you for your support.
