Person:Francis Mason (9)

Francis Mason was born in July 1801 and baptised the following month at Barnack in Northamptonshire, son of Elizabeth Mason, formerly Gamble, and her husband William Mason, a cottager.

Francis's next sighting is on 11th October 1837, aged 36, when he married Ann Willford at Peterborough. Their marriage was reported in the local newspaper as being slightly unusual; Francis went dressed as a stone mason whilst Ann dressed as a milk maid, and after the ceremony "the parties separated in different directions, no-one but themselves knowing that a wedding had taken place".

Ann was originally from Cottingham in Northamptonshire, but had been living in Barnack in the early 1830s, having a daughter called Mary at Barnack in 1833. When Mary married in 1863 she gave her name as "Mary Willford Mason" and reported that her father was Francis, but whether this indicates that Francis was actually her father or merely that she had adopted her stepfather's surname is unclear.

They had a son called Henry shortly afterwards, who said he was born in Peterborough, although no birth or baptism record for him has yet been found.

The 1841 census finds Ann and Francis living on North Street in Stamford in Lincolnshire (the nearest town to Barnack), with their son Henry and Ann's daughter Mary. There was also an adult Mary Mason and her daughter Elizabeth living with them, who appear to have been Francis's sister-in-law and niece, being the wife and daughter of his brother Joseph.

Back in Barnack, Francis's mother died in April 1842. The following month, Francis and Ann had a daughter, Catherine, in Stamford, but she died as a baby when about five months old. They then returned to Barnack, where they had another daughter, Elizabeth, in 1845, but she also died as a baby, early in 1846. Francis's father died in Barnack in 1850.

By 1851 Francis and Ann had settled in the village of Bisbrooke in Rutland. They appear there in the 1851 census with Francis described as a "grocer, baker and stone mason", and Ann described as "superintends grocer's shop and bakings". The family was still at Bisbrooke in 1861, when Francis was described as a master stone mason.

Francis died at Bisbrooke on 7th September 1870, aged 69. Ann survived him by over 26 years.

1. ↑ ^1.0 1.1 Church of England. Parish Church of Barnack (Northamptonshire). Parish registers, 1695–1974. (Northampton, England: Northamptonshire Record Office).

   Baptisms / 1801 / Francis Son of William & Elizabeth Mason - aged 5 Weeks - Aug[us]t 16th

   To be five weeks old on 16th August implies born between 6th July and 12th July.

2. ↑ England. 1841 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class HO107; Piece 625; Book 9; Folio 6; Page 5, 6 Jun 1841.

   Address: North Street, Stamford, Lincolnshire
   Francis Mason, male, 35 [1801-6], Stonemason, not born in county
   Ann Mason, female, 35 [1801-6], not born in county
   Mary Mason, female, 8 [1832/3], not born in county
   Henry Mason, male, 2 [1838/9], not born in county
   ~ [second household in same house]
   Mary Mason, female, 40 [1796-1801], not born in county
   Elizabeth Mason, female, 1 [1839/40], born in county

3. ↑ England. 1851 Census Returns for England and Wales. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class HO107; Piece 2093; Folio 120; Page 10, 30 Mar 1851.

   Address: Bisbrooke, Rutland
   Francis Mason, head, married, male, 49 [1801/2], Grocer, Baker & Stone Mason, b. Barnack, Northamptonshire
   Ann Mason, wife, married, female, 47 [1803/4], Superintends Grocers Shop & Bakings, b. Cottingham, Northamptonshire
   Henry Mason, son, unmarried, male, 11 [1839/40], None, b. Peterborough, Northamptonshire

4. ↑ England. 1861 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class RG9; Piece 2308; Folio 98; Page 8, 7 Apr 1861.

   Address: Bisbrooke, Rutland
   Francis Mason, head, married, male, 60 [1800/1], Stone Mason (Master), b. Barnack, Northamptonshire
   Ann Mason, wife, married, female, 58 [1802/3], b. Cottingham, Northamptonshire
   Mary Mason, daughter, unmarried, female, 28 [1832/3], House Servant, b. Barnack, Northamptonshire
   Henry Mason, son, unmarried, male, 22 [1838/9], Stone Mason, b. Peterborough, Northamptonshire

5. ↑ Deaths index, in General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration. (London: General Register Office).

   d. Francis MASON, September Quarter 1870, Uppingham Registration District, Volume 7a, page 207, aged 70 [1800/1]

6. ↑ Stamford Mercury, in United Kingdom. The British Newspaper Archive
   Page 4, 16 Sep 1870.

   DIED. At Bisbrooke, on the 7th inst., Francis Mason, aged 70.

7.   Stamford Mercury, in United Kingdom. The British Newspaper Archive
   Page 3, 13 Oct 1837.

   MARRIED.
   At Peterboro', on the 11th inst., (by the Rev.-Cape,) Fras. Mason, stone-mason, of Barnack, to Ann daughter of John Wilford, of the former place. The father of the bride attended in a slop-frock, and the bridegroom in the attire of a mason (fustian jacket and trowsers): the bride was dressed in the style of a milk maid: no bridesmaid attended.-After the ceremony, the parties separated in different directions, no one but themselves knowing that a wedding had taken place.