John Hawkins of the Forest of Dean
George Harrison----------Emma Hawkins----------John Hawkins----------Richard Hawkins & Eleanor Jones
John Hawkins and his young neighbour Jane Fox lived next to one another at the Lonk in the Forest of Dean. They became lovers and eloped to Wales where they married and made a new life. John was at that time a widower, 20 years older than Jane, once and maybe twice having been married to women younger than him. He'd already had children by two woman and must certainly have had much charm to yet again turn the eye of one so young. By the end of his days he is said to have had altogether 21 children.
The Lonk where both John Hawkins and Jane Fox lived was a hamlet leading up from the village of Joyford onto the Berry Hill and was located in the ancient primeval Forest of Dean. Both John and Jane were descended from longtime foresters and there was a tradition of red hair, John being a redhead, and this being the origin of Jane's surname, Fox. For long the forest family had been regarded by the state as squatters and had to suffer frequent evictions. For such reason the dwellings tended not to be permanent, build just as cabins, of turf and wood, mud and rushes, paved floors and no windows. The battle between the foresters and the authorities was a long one, but every time the people were banished they returned. This was their home and since distant times they had lived there.
The Forest of Dean, though English, was more geographically Welsh, being between the tidal Severn River and the tidal Wye, for which it was more isolated than most of England. As a result, this area had its own culture, language and way of living, the forest being full of traditions and ancient customs.
So what do we know of John Hawkins, other than that he had a talent to charm the younger ladies. His life I am looking at in the records. John was a Pisces, born in the village of Joyford on March 4th in 1822, and baptised a month later in the nearby village of Staunton April 7th. John was the first born child of a collier, Richard Hawkins, born at Newland, and Eleanor née Jones, born at Berry Hill. There were two other sons in the family and four daughters, two of whom, Eleanor and Esther, were twins. The family lived at the Lonk, a hill road leading up from Joyford. All these mentioned hamlets and villages were on or around Berry Hill and were part of a bigger area known as West Dean.
Staunton, John's place of baptism, means literally the place of stones or rocks, and these it has curiously shaped large examples of, the most famed being the Buckstone which for as long as could be remembered rocked on its base, and so would do, until 1885 when a group of visiting Londoners, fuelled with alcohol, dislodged it and send it crashing down the hill. The stone was hauled back up and repaired but has never rocked since.
So, John was brought up in a miners family and this was the trade he himself learnt. And his home was the Lonk, known also as Joyford Hill, and generally written in documents as Berry Hill. For which it appears, John and his mother were both born at the Lonk, so this was already a place associated with our family.
There also appears to be a connection with Wales, the Jones surname of John's mother being more associated with Wales, and her own mother, Ann, who lived till a ripe old age, having been born in Raglan in Wales.
As for the Hawkins family, they had long been in the Forest of Dean, as far back as records go. The surname origin derives from the old past time of hawking, ie falconry, and reveals what would have been the medieval skill of the family. In the Forest of Dean, even if anciently associated with falcons, the long profession for the men was one of mining. Johns great great grandfather Richard Hawkins was from a village called Clowerwall (now known as Clearwell) which for as long as 7,000 years had been mining ochre. The ochre mine remains can be seen at the Clearwell Caves (where Dr Who has been filmed). And when the Romans had come they'd got the locals mining iron. Richard Hawkins father, Thomas Hawkins, which is as far back as I yet can go, into the mid 1600's, though he lived in Clowerwall was born two miles from there at Whitecliff, another location known for its mining, as well as for its natural white cliffs, as the name suggests.
There also appears to be a connection with Wales, the Jones surname of John's mother being more associated with Wales, and her own mother, Ann, who lived till a ripe old age, having been born in Raglan in Wales.
As for the Hawkins family, they had long been in the Forest of Dean, as far back as records go. The surname origin derives from the old past time of hawking, ie falconry, and reveals what would have been the medieval skill of the family. In the Forest of Dean, even if anciently associated with falcons, the long profession for the men was one of mining. Johns great great grandfather Richard Hawkins was from a village called Clowerwall (now known as Clearwell) which for as long as 7,000 years had been mining ochre. The ochre mine remains can be seen at the Clearwell Caves (where Dr Who has been filmed). And when the Romans had come they'd got the locals mining iron. Richard Hawkins father, Thomas Hawkins, which is as far back as I yet can go, into the mid 1600's, though he lived in Clowerwall was born two miles from there at Whitecliff, another location known for its mining, as well as for its natural white cliffs, as the name suggests.
John's mother Eleanor had, prior to marrying John's father, been a single mother, having a son Edmund at the age of 25, the father being unknown. Illegitimacy does appear to have been quite common in the forest. Eleanor was at that time living in the scenic St Briavels, away from home, so may have been in service.
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Only when Edmund was four had Eleanor married Richard Hawkins. Edmund was totally accepted as a son by Richard Hawkins. John also got on with his older half brother and by 1841, the earliest census there is, they were living together, not so far from the rest of the family. John was now 19 years old and mining coal. Their address is given as Berry Hill, likely to have been, as always The Lonk.
Plenty of older family members were in the village at that time, and a whole extended bunch of uncles, aunts, and cousins, particularly of Jones's. Grandfather Frederick Hawkins was 70, still working as a collier. Granny Ann Jones was in her 80's.
Plenty of older family members were in the village at that time, and a whole extended bunch of uncles, aunts, and cousins, particularly of Jones's. Grandfather Frederick Hawkins was 70, still working as a collier. Granny Ann Jones was in her 80's.
When John's half brother, Edmund Jones, married in 1838 to Maria Hale, the couple both had gaps for where their fathers names should have been, as both were illegitimate. Edmund's stepfather, Richard Hawkins, was there though as one of the witnesses.
What was it like to live in an ancient forest such as the Forest of Dean?
Looking at old newspapers I have seen this was a wild land, where there dwelt petty criminals with notorious reputations and fearsome sobriquets, in John's area there being two Irish brothers known as The Rough and The Giant, and there being another rogue, The Lion, who in 1842 burgled the house of John's brother Edmund, potentially even while John was still lodging there, the family having been out at church during this time, and for which The Lion was sentenced to seven years transportation.
There were many fatal mining accidents, ususally of huge rocks falling upon the miners as they worked underground and crushing them to death, and one miner surviving such an incident, but with the sharp edge of the rock having scalped him from ear to ear. One catastrophic accident, in 1836, at the coal mine of Mssrs Bennets, happened to sic men ascending from the depths of their mine in a lift known as a skip, only for the rope to break and all to hurtle downwards, two sets of brothers, the Harold's and the Blanche's dying on the spot, their corpses mangled in a dreadful manner. This last incdent had for several years remained a painful episode in the hearts of the people of the Forest.
With the parents busy working for their families, little children home alone too often had fatal accidents, catching fire from the hearths of their homesteads Their were reported several cases even in Joyford itself. As would be expressed in the papers, 'Such frequent repetitions of melancholy accidents of this nature show the necessity of extreme vigilance on the part of those who have the care of children.'
The other dreadful association with the Forest was of girls being raped by gangs of the forest lads, again the papers making comment 'we sincerely trust the rapists will be made an example of and this species of offence, so rife in the Forest, will recieve so wholesome a check that innocent females may once again walk forth on the highways of her majesty in their accustomed saftey and confidence in the proper feeling of the locality and the protection of the laws of our happy constitution and country.'
Looking at old newspapers I have seen this was a wild land, where there dwelt petty criminals with notorious reputations and fearsome sobriquets, in John's area there being two Irish brothers known as The Rough and The Giant, and there being another rogue, The Lion, who in 1842 burgled the house of John's brother Edmund, potentially even while John was still lodging there, the family having been out at church during this time, and for which The Lion was sentenced to seven years transportation.
There were many fatal mining accidents, ususally of huge rocks falling upon the miners as they worked underground and crushing them to death, and one miner surviving such an incident, but with the sharp edge of the rock having scalped him from ear to ear. One catastrophic accident, in 1836, at the coal mine of Mssrs Bennets, happened to sic men ascending from the depths of their mine in a lift known as a skip, only for the rope to break and all to hurtle downwards, two sets of brothers, the Harold's and the Blanche's dying on the spot, their corpses mangled in a dreadful manner. This last incdent had for several years remained a painful episode in the hearts of the people of the Forest.
With the parents busy working for their families, little children home alone too often had fatal accidents, catching fire from the hearths of their homesteads Their were reported several cases even in Joyford itself. As would be expressed in the papers, 'Such frequent repetitions of melancholy accidents of this nature show the necessity of extreme vigilance on the part of those who have the care of children.'
The other dreadful association with the Forest was of girls being raped by gangs of the forest lads, again the papers making comment 'we sincerely trust the rapists will be made an example of and this species of offence, so rife in the Forest, will recieve so wholesome a check that innocent females may once again walk forth on the highways of her majesty in their accustomed saftey and confidence in the proper feeling of the locality and the protection of the laws of our happy constitution and country.'
By the age of 28 John had moved out from his half brothers at Berry Hill and was lodging nearby, at the Mire, also known as Nine Wells Bottom, which was at the base of the Lonk hill. His parents still lived on the Lonk as well as his 95 year old granny Ann.
1851 Census Mire, Forest of Dean.
John was lodging with the Cooper family
John Hawkins, aged 28 unmarried, lodger, coal miner, born West Dean
Richard Cooper, age 63, coal miner, born English Bicknor, also his wife Hannah, age 62, born Ruardean, and their son Henry, age 30, coal miner, born English Bicknor
George Hawkins, lodger, widower, age 65, coal miner, born English Bicknor (likely a relative of Johns, but don't know in what way)
John was lodging with the Cooper family
John Hawkins, aged 28 unmarried, lodger, coal miner, born West Dean
Richard Cooper, age 63, coal miner, born English Bicknor, also his wife Hannah, age 62, born Ruardean, and their son Henry, age 30, coal miner, born English Bicknor
George Hawkins, lodger, widower, age 65, coal miner, born English Bicknor (likely a relative of Johns, but don't know in what way)
John was dating by now, to a 19 year old girl Harriet Rosser, who just like John's half brother Edmund, was another illegitimate. Soon after the 1851 census, only one day after actually, she and John married, so the wedding had already been planned and was ready to go. Harriet was a twin to a sister Charlotte, and they were two of the illegitimate daughters of Sarah Rosser, of which there were four, the others being Jemima and Esther. Like John, Harriet was a local of Joyford and the Lonk, for which they would have known one another for some time. Harriet was ten years younger than John. It does appear that he liked his lovers young and innocent, for when in time he married my ancestress, Jane, she was as much as 20 years younger than him. Harriet and her mother Sarah had up till now lived alone in the Lonk, both working as labourers in the fields.
John and Harriet's marriage took place on March 31st at Christchurch in West Dean. Both gave their residence as Joyford Hill, which is the Lonk, and John's job being a collier. Details were given of both the fathers, which is interesting as no father had been named at Harriet's baptism and she'd always kept the surname of her mother, Rosser. Harriet was always a Rosser, even when her mother Sarah found herself a husband and became a Price. The father of Harriet was known by all, he being a local labourer, William Jones, and actually when one looks back in the 1841 census it can be seen that this William, twenty years older than Sarah, was indeed living illicitly with her, and fathering her children.
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John and Harriet made their home in the Lonk and had two daughters, Esther and Harriet, and no more children than that for at the age of only 28 years Harriet died from birth complications, Harriet being a survivor of her mother's final sufferings. The year before this John Hawkin's father, Richard, had also died and five years later so would John's mother, Eleanor. John's Welsh granny Ann Jones had died back in 1852 and grandad Fred Hawkins in 1851. John was alone in the world.
Luckily for John, Harriet's mother, Sarah Price, who was widowed by now, moved in with him to do his housekeeping, and to care for the young daughters, as is shown in the next census of 1861.
And it was at this time that only next door was living the 19 year old Jane Fox, with her family, she being the same age as Harriet had been when he married her, and an attraction between the two of them was arising. Meanwhile, John got involved with another woman, Maria Price, with whom he a son, Henry, and they don't appear to have married as I can't find a certificate.
And it was at this time that only next door was living the 19 year old Jane Fox, with her family, she being the same age as Harriet had been when he married her, and an attraction between the two of them was arising. Meanwhile, John got involved with another woman, Maria Price, with whom he a son, Henry, and they don't appear to have married as I can't find a certificate.
1861 Census The Lonk, Forest of Dean
John Hawkins, age 39, widower, coal miner, born West Dean
Daughters: Esther, 9, and Harriet, 1 - both born West Dean
Sarah Price, age 59, mother in law, widow, housekeeper, born Newland
Next door:
Jane Fox, age 19, born West Dean (living with her family, her parents Richard and Maria, and younger siblings George, Maria, Richard, Emma and Susan.
John Hawkins, age 39, widower, coal miner, born West Dean
Daughters: Esther, 9, and Harriet, 1 - both born West Dean
Sarah Price, age 59, mother in law, widow, housekeeper, born Newland
Next door:
Jane Fox, age 19, born West Dean (living with her family, her parents Richard and Maria, and younger siblings George, Maria, Richard, Emma and Susan.
Three years before the census, Jane Fox had at the age of 16 chosen to have an adult baptism, in 1858, at Christchurch, and was there noted as living at Joyford Hill, of course that hill being the Lonk. It can be seen from the 1861 census that Jane and her family had lived for a while in Wales, at the mining town of Bleanavon, this being where her brother George is recorded as having been born. In a later census George is said contrarily to have been born in Llanfoist, closer to Abergavenny. Like John, Jane was the first born child of her parents.
Some fun one evening, a few years later, that John Hawkins and his pals were having around a fire nearly got them into big trouble, as had been written of in the 1864 Monmouthshire Beacon of 30th July.
John Hawkins, a collier, was with his mates around a fire at night in Berry Hill and when someone came along complaining about their fire, one of those around the fire threw stones at them. It was not John who had been accused of throwing stones, but he was called to witness, and sticking up for his chums said that they said they had but come across the fire already made and had sat around it, and they'd not added anything to the fire. He said he was there a long time, from half past 8 until 2 in the morning, and no stones were ever thrown.
John Hawkins, a collier, was with his mates around a fire at night in Berry Hill and when someone came along complaining about their fire, one of those around the fire threw stones at them. It was not John who had been accused of throwing stones, but he was called to witness, and sticking up for his chums said that they said they had but come across the fire already made and had sat around it, and they'd not added anything to the fire. He said he was there a long time, from half past 8 until 2 in the morning, and no stones were ever thrown.
John Hawkins, left the Forest for a while to do some mining at Blaenavon in Wales, as his neighbour Richard Fox had done. Richards young daughter Jane, who over time had fallen much in love with John, was also away from home, maybe in service. The couple married over the border, in Wales, in the village of Mamhilad, on the 19th March 1866. Jane's father Richard, who both farmed and mined back in the Forest of Dean, came to witness the marriage, along with John's friend, John Harris.
Mamhilad was said to be Jane's parish, therefore she had been living there for some time. It was such a pretty church that they married in, dedicated to St Illtyd, with an ancient yew in the churchyard. |
The Reverend Christopher Cook who performed the marriage ceremony is remembered for being 'the world's oldest clergyman'.
Having come to Wales, away from the ancient forest, this was where the couple remained, John earning a living coal mining, as always he had done, and other family members soon following, John's children Esther and Henry, and Jane's parents and siblings. Mining in Wales was becoming a big draw to men from all over as it was expanding there so greatly. Varteg, in the Welsh coal valleys, was to be John and Jane's home. The first children they had together were twins, Zachariah and Elizabeth, born in 1867.
They family would remain in varteg for the rest of their days, daughter Emma marrying pit inspector John Harrison, and her son George Harrison, also born in Varteg, being my Welsh grandfather, though never did they forget their forest of Dean connections, often making visits there.
They family would remain in varteg for the rest of their days, daughter Emma marrying pit inspector John Harrison, and her son George Harrison, also born in Varteg, being my Welsh grandfather, though never did they forget their forest of Dean connections, often making visits there.
1871 Census Varteg, Trevethin, Monmouthshire, Wales
John Hawkins, age 49, collier, born Gloucestershire
Jane Hawkins, wife, age 29, born Gloucestershire
Henry Hawkins, age 9, son from a different mother, born Gloucestershire
Other children are Zachariah, age 4, Elizabeth, age 4, Maria, age 2 and Amelia, age 1 month, all born in Trevethin
John's 19 year old daughter, Esther, by his first marriage, was lodging two doors away with the Herbert family, and as for Jane's parents, in that same year of 1871 they were living at 12 Gladstone Terrace, Richard Fox age 57 and Maria Fox age 48 (note that Jane's mother was even younger than her husband, by one year). Five of Jane's siblings lived at home still, including sister Elizabeth, who had emigrated to Australia, only to then return with a young son, three year old William Evans, born in Australia.
John Hawkins, age 49, collier, born Gloucestershire
Jane Hawkins, wife, age 29, born Gloucestershire
Henry Hawkins, age 9, son from a different mother, born Gloucestershire
Other children are Zachariah, age 4, Elizabeth, age 4, Maria, age 2 and Amelia, age 1 month, all born in Trevethin
John's 19 year old daughter, Esther, by his first marriage, was lodging two doors away with the Herbert family, and as for Jane's parents, in that same year of 1871 they were living at 12 Gladstone Terrace, Richard Fox age 57 and Maria Fox age 48 (note that Jane's mother was even younger than her husband, by one year). Five of Jane's siblings lived at home still, including sister Elizabeth, who had emigrated to Australia, only to then return with a young son, three year old William Evans, born in Australia.
During the Industrial Revolution it was Welsh coal that became the fuel of choice for boilers everywhere, and new techniques had enabled the use of coal, as coke, in iron smelting. Smoking chimneys dominated the rows of terraced housing built in the Welsh valleys for immigrant workers, like the Hawkins and the Foxes, who from different parts of Britain. Monmouthshire had abundant seams of both coal and iron ore. Mining conditions were generally unsafe, sad to say. Roofs fell in and explosions blasted. John was aware of the dangers, having had years of experience already as a miner back in the Forest of Dean
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The wife of a coal miner was also dominated by the coal mine, for as a miners wife Jane would be busy from dawn, tackling all the challenges this created. John and the elder boys would daily come home tramping dust through the house, hot baths would have to be prepared, clothes washed and meals served. As well as this, the house had to be kept clean and younger children needed caring for. Every couple of years Jane would gave birth to another baby.
During sickness, disputes and strikes, Jane, being also the housekeeper would have to manage on less money than the already basic pay.
During sickness, disputes and strikes, Jane, being also the housekeeper would have to manage on less money than the already basic pay.
In 1877 21st October my ancestress red haired Emma Hawkins was born to John and Jane in Varteg.
The family lived at Priddles, as locals called it, that is on the hill above Varteg, towards the mines.
The family lived at Priddles, as locals called it, that is on the hill above Varteg, towards the mines.
In 1879 Jane's father Richard died, as announced in the Pontypool Free Press:
Deaths - June 21st at Varteg, aged 66 years. Mr Richard Fox, coal miner.
A year later, in 1880, Jane's mother Hannah died too, aged 58.
Deaths - June 21st at Varteg, aged 66 years. Mr Richard Fox, coal miner.
A year later, in 1880, Jane's mother Hannah died too, aged 58.
1881 Census Varteg, Monmouthshire, Wales
No.5 Varteg Hill Colliery John Hawkins, age 59, coalminer, born Coleford, Gloucestershire Jane Hawkins, wife, age 39, born Coleford Henry Hawkins, son, age 18, coal miner, born Coleford Thomas Hawkins, son, age 14, coal miner, born Trevethin Other children, all born in Trevethin: Elizabeth, 14, Margaret, 12, Amelia, 10, Richard, 8, George, 6 and Emma (my ancestress), 4 |
John's daughter Esther (by his first wife Harriet) had moved from the Forest of Dean to Wales to stay close to her father and she married in 1872 to a man who was almost as old as her dad, Charles Vaughan, a coal miner from Pwlldu, settling and raising a family with him in Varteg.
As for Esthers sister, John's daughter Harriet, she never did join the others in Wales. By the age of 11, that is in 1871, she was living instead with her aunt Elizabeth Hawkins, who by marriage was a Mrs Butcher, back in West Dean, and it is sad to observe that by 1881 Harriet was in the workhouse on Hereford Road, Monmouth, with a ten month old illegitimate baby son Albert. The father of Harriet's baby was Albert Cox, hence the name Albert being chosen for her son. The situation was written of in the newspaper, the Gloucester Journal, of 2nd October 1880, on the matter of her naming the father to try to get support money from him.
"Albert Cox, a youth of Rodley, Westbury on Seven, was summoned by Harriet Hawkins of Lane End, near Coleford, to show cause why he should not contribute to the maintenance of her illegitimate child, of which she alleged him to be the father. Defendant admitted parentage and an order of 6s 2d per week was made.''
It is a sorry state of affairs that Harriet continued to not survive well, and that with her mother dead and her family not being in the Forest of Dean anymore to support her, she'd had no choice but to take her child with her into the workhouse.
As for Esthers sister, John's daughter Harriet, she never did join the others in Wales. By the age of 11, that is in 1871, she was living instead with her aunt Elizabeth Hawkins, who by marriage was a Mrs Butcher, back in West Dean, and it is sad to observe that by 1881 Harriet was in the workhouse on Hereford Road, Monmouth, with a ten month old illegitimate baby son Albert. The father of Harriet's baby was Albert Cox, hence the name Albert being chosen for her son. The situation was written of in the newspaper, the Gloucester Journal, of 2nd October 1880, on the matter of her naming the father to try to get support money from him.
"Albert Cox, a youth of Rodley, Westbury on Seven, was summoned by Harriet Hawkins of Lane End, near Coleford, to show cause why he should not contribute to the maintenance of her illegitimate child, of which she alleged him to be the father. Defendant admitted parentage and an order of 6s 2d per week was made.''
It is a sorry state of affairs that Harriet continued to not survive well, and that with her mother dead and her family not being in the Forest of Dean anymore to support her, she'd had no choice but to take her child with her into the workhouse.
Jane died in 1885 at the age of 43, another of John's ladies not to make it into old age, and possibly another death in childbirth. So it is that by the census of 1891 John was yet again a widower. Losing her mother so young, was not good for little daughter Emma, only seven years old, and likely led to her breakdown in adult life. She would one day be Varteg's village eccentric.
1891 Census Varteg, Trevethin, Monmouthshire
41 The Square
John Hawkins, age 69, widower, coal miner, born Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire
Children:
Richard, 17, coal miner; George, 15, coal miner, Emma, 13 (my ancestress); John A, 11; and Sarah J, 8 - all born Varteg
Amelia (married daughter), age 20, born Varteg, is also living in the house with her husband John Morgan, a 28 year old coal miner, born in the Forest of Dean.
In old age John had his own donkey and would take it around people's homes selling coal. I have seen a photo of him and his donkey that my grandparents had, but unfortunately don't know where it has got to now.
John died in 1895 at the age of 73. There is a line on this in the Pontypool Free Press of 5th April:
March 26th, at 41 Square Row, Varteg Hill, aged 73 year, Mr John Hawkins, coal miner.
41 The Square
John Hawkins, age 69, widower, coal miner, born Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire
Children:
Richard, 17, coal miner; George, 15, coal miner, Emma, 13 (my ancestress); John A, 11; and Sarah J, 8 - all born Varteg
Amelia (married daughter), age 20, born Varteg, is also living in the house with her husband John Morgan, a 28 year old coal miner, born in the Forest of Dean.
In old age John had his own donkey and would take it around people's homes selling coal. I have seen a photo of him and his donkey that my grandparents had, but unfortunately don't know where it has got to now.
John died in 1895 at the age of 73. There is a line on this in the Pontypool Free Press of 5th April:
March 26th, at 41 Square Row, Varteg Hill, aged 73 year, Mr John Hawkins, coal miner.