Return to My GANDER Line

Return to CONTENTS

Previous Page

Next Page

William, Ann Susan and their son John were buried in All Hallows the Great churchyard. Their abode given in the burial register was Brewers Lane whereas their daughter Eleanor's baptism entry during the same period states 82 Upper Thames Street. It may have been a matter of interpretation, as the building was on the corner of both streets, but perhaps a separate room had been set aside for them if their disease was contagious.

There is no evidence of a major epidemic such as mass burials in the parish of All Hallows in 1825, but diseases such as typhoid, typhus, diphtheria, scarlet fever and tuberculosis were common. With the growth of population the Thames became more polluted and brought the danger of cholera. Although there were recurring epidemics, the big outbreak in the City did not occur until 1849 when 854 people died.

With the deaths of William and Ann Susan, James aged 13, Ann Susan 10, Caroline 6 and the baby Eleanor 3 months, were now orphans. Presumably, James was old enough to fend for himself (see Part 2).

As there are no surviving Poor Law records for the parish it is not known what became of Eleanor, although with Ann Susan and Caroline there are further records many years later.

On 27th May 1845 as a single woman then aged 30 Ann Susan gave birth to a son Edwin James at the Battersea Union Workhouse. He was baptised at St. Mary's Battersea on 18 June 1845 but died aged 2 on 11th January 1848, again at the Workhouse with his mother present.

Perhaps the significance of this is to find Ann Susan near Clapham, one of the two areas of possible origin of her father. At this time it was still the Law of Settlement for any poor relief applicants to be passed back, wherever possible, to their parish of origin or perceived rightful place of settlement to receive subsidence. As Ann Susan was baptised, and quite probably born, in Wandsworth, a parish along with Clapham, covered by the Battersea Union Workhouse, it seems quite likely that she was passed back to the parish of Wandsworth to take care of her.

However if she was taken in by neither Wandsworth parish nor All Hallows parish at the time of her parents death but cared for by a relative, say an uncle or aunt on her mother's side (and who were perhaps still in the Wandsworth/Clapham area?) this theory too would fit very nicely. It could then have been that later in life, pregnant, single and perhaps with these relatives now deceased, Ann Susan may have entered the Workhouse as the only means of support just prior to her confinement.
There is probably one other record of Ann Susan Gander after this: in the 1881 Census she is back in Clapham as an 65 year old unmarried servant in the household of a French professor.

It's possible too that Ann Susan might have been the mysterious 'Ann Gander' who appears as a witness at a marriage in 1875 (see Part 3.1).

By strange co-incidence, Ann Susan's younger sister, Caroline, was in the same Battersea Union Workhouse* about the same time. Caroline Gander, aged 25, and also a single woman, died on 23rd September 1845, just 2 months after giving birth and her baby son Charles Gander only lived 5 days.

Previous Page

Next Page