Person:Ann Rickard (1)

Ann Rickard's origins have yet to be established. If her burial is correct she was probably born about 1740. Her first confirmed sighting is on 10th October 1764, when she was married to a John Winters at Nettleden in Hertfordshire.^[2] At the time of their marriage she was living in Nettleden, whilst John was living in the nearby town of Berkhamsted.

After their marriage the couple initially stayed in Nettleden. They had a son named John baptised there in 1765, followed by a son named William in 1767. Their son John then died aged two, being buried at Nettleden in 1768.

The following year, 1769, they had a daughter named Harriet Rickard Winters (having Ann's maiden name as a middle name) baptised at neighbouring Great Gaddesden. By 1772 they had returned to Nettleden, having a daughter Martha baptised there.

They then moved to the nearby town of Berkhamsted, where their daughter Winifred Ann was born in 1776. We know John had been living in Berkhamsted immediately before their marriage; maybe he still had connections there. However, they did not stay long in Berkhamsted as they were back in Nettleden in 1778 for the baptism of their daughter Sarah.

The year 1780 was not a good one for the family. Their daughter Sarah died aged two in March, then their daughter Winifred Ann died aged four in October. Both were buried at Nettleden. Therefore by the end of 1780 Ann had had six children, but only three of them were still living.

In 1783 the couple had an "unbaptised daughter" buried at Nettleden in the March, but then a son John baptised in 1783. Perhaps John was a surviving twin to the girl who had died, or perhaps he had been born some time between 1778 and 1783 but not baptised previously.

The couple's youngest child was a son called Guy, baptised at Nettleden in 1786, but he died in 1787 aged just seven months. Therefore in total Ann and John had nine children, only four of whom appear to have survived childhood.

In 1790, Ann's son William was married at Caddington, a few miles north-east of Nettleden, to an Elizabeth Emley. William and Elizabeth's first daughter (Ann's first known granddaughter) was baptised at Nettleden in 1791. William and Elizabeth then settled in Caddington, having another four children there between 1793 and 1801. William's wife Elizabeth (Ann's daughter in law) died in 1803.

In 1808 Ann's eldest two granddaughters by her son William were married at Caddington. William by this time had moved to Great Gaddesden.

Ann's husband John died in 1809, being buried at Nettleden on 9th February 1809. They had been married for nearly 45 years, so presumably he was in his sixties or older.

Ann's widower son William was married for a second time in 1810 at Great Gaddesden to a widow named Elizabeth How. They had three children between 1810 and 1815. In 1816 William fell foul of the poor laws and was removed from Great Gaddesden back to Caddington.

Ann appears to have died in 1820 at Berkhamsted, being buried there on 20th June 1820, aged 80.

1. ↑ ^1.0 1.1 Church of England. Parish Church of Great Berkhampstead (Hertfordshire). Parish registers, 1538-1936. (Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1980-1988, 1994).
   Two plausible burials:
   The Year 1812 Ann Winter aged 76 of this Parish was buried Jan[ua]ry 22d 1812 Registered by me W.B. Wroth
   or
   

   BURIALS in the Parish of Berkhamstead in the County of Hertford in the Year 1820
   No.	Name	Abode	When buried	Age	By whom the Ceremony was performed
   262	Ann Winter W[id]o[w]	Berkhamstead	June 20	80 [1739/40]	J.R. Buckland

   More likely to be the 1820 burial, as she would have been 46 or 47 when youngest child was born, rather than the 50 or 51 the 1812 burial suggests. Either burial might be slightly out on her age though.

2. ↑ Technically Nettleden was a detached part of the parish of Pitstone in Buckinghamshire at this time, but it was surrounded by Hertfordshire. Nettleden's 13th century church was deemed to be a chapel belonging to Pitstone, but in practice it was looked after by the clergy at neighbouring Great Gaddesden in Hertfordshire, with baptisms, marriages and burials at Nettleden being entered in the Great Gaddesden registers