Person:Elizabeth Gray (89)

Elizabeth Gray was baptised on 12th February 1734 at Heckington in Lincolnshire, daughter of Mary Gray, formerly Whitehead, and her husband John Gray, a shoemaker and later a farmer. They had married just over nine months before Elizabeth's baptism.

On 1st April 1755, when she was 21 years old, she married a farmer named Philip Turner. They had a daughter, Mary, in 1757, followed by a daughter Elizabeth in 1758 and another daughter Ann in 1760. Sadly, Ann died as a baby of about nine months old in 1761. In 1762 the couple had their first son, Philip, named after his father. In 1764 their second child, Elizabeth, died aged about six years old, leaving them with just two surviving children. In 1765 they had a son named John, followed by a son named Edward in 1767. In 1770 they had another daughter, who they named Elizabeth, using again the name of one of the daughters they had lost. Similarly, in 1772, their next daughter was named Ann, using again the name of the other daughter they had lost. In 1774 they had a daughter named Lucy and finally in 1776 they had a son named William.

In 1780 Elizabeth's daughter Mary was married to a John Clarricoats, and Elizabeth's first known grandchild was born later that year.

Elizabeth's mother died in 1788, and her father died in 1790.

In 1797 Elizabeth's daughter Lucy married a John Creasey. In 1802 her daughter Ann married a Thomas Pocklington.

Elizabeth's husband Philip died in 1803, aged 76. He left a will, describing him as a farmer of Heckington. He left his land to his sons John and Edward, but stipulated that Elizabeth was to be allowed to continue living in the westernmost room of their house at Heckington rent free for her lifetime. He also left sums of money for their other children.

In 1811, Elizabeth's son John married a Sarah Allen. Elizabeth's daughter Elizabeth never married, and she died aged 45 in 1815, having been working as a mantua-maker (a type of dressmaker). Elizabeth's son Edward moved to Bicker and became a farmer too. Elizabeth's son Philip has yet to be traced after his baptism, whilst her son William was mentioned in his father's will in 1803 but has not been traced after that. Elizabeth had at least fourteen grandchildren born in her lifetime.

Elizabeth died at Heckington on 28th November 1818, aged 84. She was buried two days later at Heckington, where she appears to have lived her whole life.

1. ↑ Church of England. Parish Church of Heckington (Lincolnshire). Parish registers, 1559-1968. (Lincoln, England: Lincoln Archives Office, 1993).

   Anno 1733
   Elizabeth Daughter of John Gray Shomaker & Mary his Wife bap[tize]d Feb[ruary] 12 [i.e. 12 Feb 1733/4]

   This baptism has been linked to the Elizabeth Gray who married Philip Turner on the basis that it is at the time suggested by the age on her burial record, and one of the witnesses to Elizabeth and Philip's marriage was a John Gray, and the Elizabeth baptised in 1734 had both a brother and father named John Gray. No evidence has been found to suggest that the Elizabeth baptised in 1734 died young or married anyone else.

2. ↑ Burials register, in Church of England. Parish Church of Heckington (Lincolnshire). Parish registers, 1559-1968. (Lincoln, England: Lincoln Archives Office, 1993).

   BURIALS in the Parish of Heckington in the County of Lincoln in the Year 1818
   No.	Name	Abode	When buried	Age	By whom the Ceremony was performed
   157	Elizabeth Turner, Widow	Heckington	November 30th	84 years [1733/4]	By Tho[ma]s Mitchinson, Vicar of Helpringham

3. ↑ Stamford Mercury, in United Kingdom. The British Newspaper Archive
   Page 3, Friday 4 Dec 1818.

   DIED.
   On Saturday last, at Heckington, Mrs. Turner, widow, aged 84.