Ann Bunn / Reeder / Fernsby (1819 to 1860)

It took me a while to "find" Ann Bunn.  And it was partly her fault. She couldn't write very well and so when she registered the birth of her youngest son, her spelling of their surname was totally incorrect! In some ways she led an interesting life, but it had a number of hardships and wasn't a "long" life.

Ann Bunn was born in Damgate Street, Wymondham, Norfolk in late 1819 and was baptised in the Parish Church on 26 December 1819.  Wymondham is about 15 kilometres south-west of Norwich, on the road to London (although it is by-passed now!).  Just over 5,000 people lived in the town when Ann was born.  She was a daughter of Mary (née Bowhill) and Thomas Bunn.  Both of her parents had also been born in Wymondham and had married there in 1817, but some time before 1838 the family moved to Bethnal Green in London.  Potentially her family moved because her father, Thomas, was no longer able to work as a weaver in Wymondham: the number of looms operating in the village went from 600 to 60 during the 1830s.  I can't find any evidence of siblings other than a sister born in 1838!

Ann married William Henry Reeder on Sunday 25 December 1842 at Saint Dunstan, Stepney in London.  The couple had four sons:

·      John Thomas born 1844;

·      William Henry born 1846;

·      Edmund born 1849; and

·      Richardson born 1851.

Unfortunately for Ann, her husband died at the same time of their youngest son's birth. Ann’s options at this time were probably extremely limited. Fortunately for Ann, she remarried relatively quickly. Her second husband was Richard Fernsby who was 15 years older than her, and was in the Army.  They married on Tuesday 3 May 1853 at St James the Less in Bethnal Green.  The Church was built in the 1840′s, one of ten churches which were built in Bethnal Green around that time.  The then Bishop, James Blomfield, had a vision that Bethnal Green should have a church named after each apostle in the Bible!  The Church suffered significant bomb damage during World War II and did not reopen until 1960 (the Gatehouse School was used for worship).

Ann and Richard’s only child was George, born on Friday 15 February 1856 when the family was living at 8 Northampton Street, Bethnal Green.  I believe that another child, also named George was born but died in 1854.

Ann died in 1860 when she was about 40.  Her five sons were aged between 16 and four years. Perhaps her dying wish was that her sons were adequately cared for.  Certainly that is what her second husband tried to do (but I'll put that information into Richard’s story).  

Ann Fernsby - a short, difficult life...

[Relationship to SNR = Great-great-great-great grandmother]