Hebden Family Genealogy
Family Trees and data for Hebden, Hebdon, Hebdin,
Hibden, Hepton, Ebden. Ebdon and Webden,
Collectively known as The Hebden Clan
Copyright 2018 Hebdens.com
The Sad End of Mary Ann Hebden
Details of Mary Ann Anderson and her family can be found on Tree Chart 27 Brighton and Burnley at F6/27
Odds n’ Ends:
Mary Ann was born in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire in 1821. She
was the daughter of Stephen Anderson, A shoemaker. Around 1830
the Anderson family moved north to Ashton-under-Lyme on the
eastern outskirts of Manchester. In 1838 at the age of 17, Mary Ann
married John Jones a showmaker in her father’s shop, and in 1841
gave birth to their daughter, Ann Jones. Their happiness was not to
last, and in 1843 Jones was arrested and convicted at Salford General
Sessions (crime not known) and sentenced to 7 years transportation
in Van Dieman’s Land (modern Tasmania, now a state of Australia).
He never made it however, and drowned in a fatal escape attempt or
washed overboard.
Now a widow, Mary Ann Jones and her child returned to the family
business which had now moved to Copperas Hill, Liverpool, close to
Lime Street Station. Here she met Wiliam Hebden, a shoemaker
employed by Stephen Anderson. William was on the run after a fight
in Brighton, during which his assailant was stabbed with a
shoemaker’s knife. William and Mary Ann Jones were married at
Liverpool Parish Church on the 23rd of July 1847. The first of eight
children, Henry, was born in Liverpool in 1848 and the other seven in
Burnley Lancashire, where william set up his own shoe making
business. Their last child, Walter was born in 1865.
Towards the end of her life Mary Ann may have suffered a stroke,
which resulted in the paralysis mentioned in the newspsper report
(right). Rejected by her family, her hopeless situation led to a
desperate solution…..
SUICIDE OF AN OLD WOMAN AT
BURNLEY
Mr. H. J. Robinson held an enquiry on Monday morning,
at the Garrison Hotel, touching on the death of Mary Ann
Hebden, aged 66. Considerable interest was evinced in
the proceedings in consequence of some rumours which
turned out to be groundless, having been alleged against
the Receiving Officer for the district, Mr. Roger Moorhouse
who it was stated had refused to grant the deceased ad-
mission into the Workhouse a short time prior to her comm-
itting the rash act. A large crowd of people assembled
in the vicinity of the house where the inquest was held -
The first witness was William Hebden, shoemaker, who
stated that he married the deceased in 1847. He could not
say whether he was her lawful husband or not, as she had
been previously married to a man who had been transported
four years prior to his marriage with her. She had been very
restless with him, and had left him three times, the last time
being six years ago, and she did not return to him until three
months prior to her decease. On Thursday last she came to
the house where he was lodging and stayed there all night.
Two or three months ago the deceased went to Mr. Moor-
house, Relieving Officer at the Burnley Workhouse, from
whom the witness received a note respecting her. In reply
to the communication, witness proceeded to Mr. Moorhouse
and told him he could not provide the deceased with a home
and also stated to the Relieving Officer that he was living
in lodgings at the time. In answer to the Coroner, witness
said he offered to pay for her if she was admitted to the
workhouse. She had at various times lived with her children
They allowed her to stay with the as long as she was able to
work, but since she had been afflicted with paralysis, and
had been renderd incapable of work they had turned her out
of doors. In reply to further questions, witness said he had
never turned the deceased out of doors. Whenever she left
him she did so on her own accord - James Clark, a weaver
living at 19 Allerton Street, gave evidence to the effect that
on the previous Friday evening he saw the deceased on the
Canal bank walking backwards and forwards - she knelt
down on the towing path with her legs in direction of the
water. Putting her shawl over her head, she threw herself
into the water. He raised an alarm, and two men on the opp-
osite bank pulled her out of the water. She had been then
about eight or nine minutes in the water, and was quite dead
when brought out. He had known the deceased for some
time, and did not think she was in full posession of her
senses. The Coroner: It is quite evident Mrs. Hebden had
some idea that her relatives should do something towards
supporting her and had taken up her case in that respect -
A juror remarked that there was some reluctance on the part
of the family to support her because the old man, according
to his own statement was not in a position to take her back
home. As far as I can see, the straightened circumstances
and the illness to which reference has been made, brought
her to such a state of mind that she had committed suicide.
The jury returned a verdict of “Suicide while in an unsound
state of mind”.
From the “Burnley News” Wednesday 24th June 1885
(Above) The Leeds and Liverpool Canal towpath, looking east towards Sandygate Bridge (5 on the map below). Mary Ann Hebden
entered the water somewhere along this stretch (1). The men on the opposite bank who attempted the rescue would have had to
use one of the bridges at Sandygate (5) or West Gate (4) to get onto the towpath. The image above was taken from position (2) as
storm clouds gathered on a june evening in 2007.
The Leeds Liverpool Canal, Whittlefield, Burnley
Map redrawn by the author from the 1/2500 Ordnance Survey map,
Sheet Lancashire LXIV.2 surveyed in 1890-1891. Tramway tracks on
West Gate, Padiham Rd and Accrington Rd are omitted for clarity.
3
2
1
4
5
Somewhere along this stretch of the canal, between the
bridges at Sandygate and Westgate, Mary Ann Hebden threw
herself into the water. The exact spot was not recorded at
the inquest.
The image of the canal and towpath was taken at this point.
The inquest into the death was held at the “Garrison Hotel”,
66 Padiham Road. The hotel was closed in 1976, and together
with its neighbour “The Barracks” public house it was
demolished to make way for road access to the M66.
West Gate Bridge over the Leeds & Liverpool Canal
Sandygate Bridge over the Canal
Key to map
(Right)RR
(Right
(Right) When Mary Ann Hebden and her husband William arrived in Burnley in
the early 1850’s, they rented a shop in Bridge Street in the town centre and next
to the Sun Inn, a popular pub close to the market place. The shop in the Sun
premises was a Tobacconist, and next to that was William Hebden’s shoe-
making business (arrowed). Over the shop window at first-floor level is a large
sign - a (ladies?) boot hanging from a bracket - a gentleman is just passing
underneath it. There is another shop beyond it. Where the boy is standing is a
narrow street leading up to the Market Place. The whole area was swept away
in the late 60’s and early 70’s when the town centre was redeveloped.
The Pioneers
HMS Fidelity
Sad End of Mary Hebden
Joseph Hebden’s Story
Hebden Village
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