Almswoman Jane Gibbons

This is the latest of a series of posts featuring the widows elected to the (now demolished) almshouses in Oxford Road, or Oxford Lane as it was then known.

Jane Gibbons

Jane Gibbons appears on the 1881 census of Great Marlow in the Oxford Road almshouses for elderly widows. 

Ten years previously on the 1871 census she was also at the almshouses but just as a visitor to resident Mary Keats. She was then a needlewoman but most of her widowhood she was a resident nurse in boys' boarding schools.

She was born according to her census entries circa 1794 in either Bisham or Sonning Berkshire. Her husband was James Gibbons but sadly I haven't found their marriage so I can't say what Jane's maiden name was. Their early married life was spent first in Cookham and Bray and then Eton. James died while still in his prime in 1846. On the 1851 census Jane was a widow working as a school nurse in Eton Wick. She lived on site at the halls of residence of the private school for boys Eton College. Her children Margaret and Josiah lived in with her. In 1860 Josiah died at the age of 19. Ann had previously suffered the loss of her 4 year old daughter Miriam in 1847. Within a year of Josiah's death Jane moved to Marlow to take up a job as live in nurse at Marlow Place boarding school for boys. I have a post on the history of Marlow Place already up on the blog if you want to read more about this school or see a picture of the premises. Though not of the status of Eton the school was a big fish locally and was sited in an attractive Georgian house. Jane is one of those minority of people who appear on the same census twice in different places. Her son John put her as living in his household off Chesham High Street in 1861 and her employer at Marlow Place also censused her as living on his premises. It may be she had not yet arrived to take up her post but the head teacher thought he ought to include her anyway or perhaps she was on a temporary visit with John. 

Either way by 1871 as already said Jane was working as a needlewoman instead. This was a low paid but common occupation for elderly widows.

By then she had outlived two more of her children as son John passed away aged just 46 in Bow, London while son Leonard died aged 42 also in London.

Jane herself died in 1885.

For other Marlow almswomen see Biographies Of Individuals on the menu. All mentions of someone on this blog can be found on the Person Index.

Post © Marlow Ancestors.

Census information are from my own microfilm transcriptions but remain Crown Copyright.