Hebden Family Genealogy

Family Trees and data for Hebden, Hebdon, Hebdin, Hibden, Hepton, Ebden. Ebdon and Webden, Collectively known as The Hebden Clan

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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.

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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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