Person:Mary Tucker (81)

Watchers
Mary Ann Tucker
  • HJohn Harry1778 - 1855
  • WMary Ann TuckerAbt 1786 - 1864
m. 19 Oct 1808
  1. John Harry1812 - 1853
  2. Elizabeth Harry1814 - 1883
  3. Mary Ann Harry1816 - 1817
  4. Mary Ann Harry1818 - 1887
  5. Richard Harry1821 - 1824
  6. William Richard Harry1827 - 1884
Facts and Events
Name Mary Ann Tucker
Gender Female
Birth[2][3] Abt 1786 Saltash, Cornwall, England
Marriage 19 Oct 1808 Saltash, Cornwall, EnglandSt Stephen by Saltash
to John Harry
Census[1] 6 Jun 1841 Saltash, Cornwall, EnglandBack Lane
Census[2] 30 Mar 1851 Saltash, Cornwall, EnglandBack Lane
Census[3] 7 Apr 1861 Saltash, Cornwall, EnglandFore Street
Death[4] 10 Feb 1864 Plymouth, Devon, England11 Claremont Street

Mary Ann Tucker's origins have yet to be established for certain. She claimed in the censuses to have been born about 1786 at Saltash in Cornwall. There appear to be at least two Mary Ann Tuckers baptised in the Saltash area around that time, making it hard to be sure whether either of them is her.

Mary's first confirmed sighting is on 19th October 1808, when she was married to a waterman and labourer named John Harry. They married at St Stephen by Saltash, the parish church which covered Saltash. Mary and John went on to have six children together between 1812 and 1827, although their daughter Mary Ann died as a baby in 1817 and their son Richard died at the age of three in 1824.

Of Mary and John's four children who lived to adulthood, Elizabeth married in 1837 in Plymouth, John married in 1838 in St Budeaux, Mary Ann married in 1840 in Plymouth and William Richard married in 1850 in Plymouth. None of them stayed in Saltash. Mary's first known grandchild, her daughter Elizabeth's son Henry John, was born on 4th March 1839.

The 1841 census finds Mary and John and their youngest son William Richard living at Back Lane (later renamed Culver Road) in Saltash. Also in 1841, a Tithe Apportionment was prepared for the parish of St Stephen by Saltash, which included the town of Saltash. John is listed as one of two tenants of a house and garden on the north side of Culver Road.[5]

John and Mary were still there in 1851, although by this time John was described as a gardener, a common occupation for elderly men at the time.

Over in Devonport, Mary's eldest son John died aged 41 in 1853, leaving a widow and two small children.

Back in Saltash there was much upheaval in 1853 as work began on the Royal Albert Bridge carrying the railway across the Tamar. As the Navy had stipulated that the bridge should be 100 feet above the high tide surface of the river most of the line through Saltash is carried on tall pillars towering over the town below. Construction of the line and bridge took six years. If John and Mary were still at the house they had occupied in 1841 they would have been more directly affected than most, as that house was directly in the way of the railway. The railway passes through the site of that house in a cutting just south of Saltash Railway Station, with Culver Road now crossing the railway on a bridge. Certainly by 1861 Mary was living on Fore Street, the town's main thoroughfare, rather than Back Lane / Culver Road.

John died on 1st November 1855, aged 77. Mary appears in the 1861 census living alone at Fore Street. She later moved in with her daughter Elizabeth Kitt and her family, who lived at 11 Claremont Street in Plymouth. Mary died there on 10th February 1864, aged 77.

References
  1. 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 135; Book 13; Folio 33; Page 60, 6 Jun 1841.

    Address: Back Lane, Saltash, Cornwall
    John Knight, male, 55 [1781-6], Waterman, b. in county
    Betty Knight, female, 50 [1786-91], b. in county
    Samuel Knight, male, 20 [1816-21], Ag lab, b. in county
    ~
    John Harry, male, 60 [1776-81], Waterman, b. in county
    Mary Harry, female, 50 [1786-81], b. in county
    William Harry, male, 14 [1826/7], b. in county

  2. 2.0 2.1 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 1900; Folio 473; Page 79, 30 Mar 1851.

    Address: Back Lane, Saltash, Cornwall
    John Harry, head, married, 73 [1777/8], Gardener, b. St Ives, Cornwall
    Mary Harry, wife, married, 63 [1787/8], wife of Gardener, b. Saltash, Cornwall
    ~
    John Knight, head, widower, male, 74 [1776/7], Waterman, b. St Mellion, Cornwall
    Maria Harris, daughter, widower, female, 42 [1808/9], Pauper, b. Saltash, Cornwall
    Mary J. Harris, granddaughter, unmarried, female, 13 [1837/8], At home, b. Saltash, Cornwall
    William Harris, grandson, unmarried, male, 7 [1843/4], Scholar, b. Saltash, Cornwall
    John Harris, grandson, unmarried, male, 3months [1851], b. Saltash, Cornwall

  3. 3.0 3.1 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 1525; Folio 97; Page 23, 7 Apr 1861.

    Address: Fore Street, Saltash, Cornwall
    Mary Harry, head, widow, 74 [1786/7], b. Saltash, Cornwall

  4. Death certificate, in General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration. (London: General Register Office).
    Registration District Plymouth
    1864 Death in the Sub-district of Saint Andrew in the County of Devon
    No.When and where diedName and surnameSexAgeOccupationCause of deathSignature, description and residence of informantWhen registeredSignature of registrar
    86Tenth February 1864
    11 Claremont Street
    Mary Ann Harryfemale77 years [1786/7]Widow of John Harry
    Farm Labourer
    Paralysis 2 Weeks
    Apoplexy
    Certified
    Annie Kitt
    in attendance
    38 Claremont Street, Plymouth
    Twelfth February 1864James Wyatt
    Registrar
  5. Tithe Apportionment for St Stephen by Saltash, Cornwall, 1841 (IR29 Tithe Commission and successors, The National Archives, accessed 3 Aug 2017 at The Genealogist) John Harry listed as tenant of plot 5c "house and garden" on north side of unnamed road (which corresponds to Culver Road on modern maps) and adjoining plot 4c "garden".