Jane Elizabeth Gothard
(1849-1909)

Jane Elizabeth Gothard (later Jane Elizabeth Crabb) was the fourth of the nine children of William Gothard and his wife Sarah Hawkins of Witcham, Cambridgeshire, England.

Jane married John Crabb of Littleport, Cambridgeshire, England, and together they became parents of seven, maybe eight children. However, their 1 year old daughter Ellen died in 1878, and just months after the deaths of their sons Walter (7 years) and George (11 months), John died just prior to the baptism of their youngest son, Frederick in 1881.

By the time of the 1891 census, Jane is employed as a 'Button Holer - Shirt Factory', and her daughter Hephzibah, is noted as a 'Machinist in Shirt Factory'. It is most likely that they were both employed by Hope Brothers Ltd shirt factory, a major employer and clothing business in Littleport.

Between April 1901 and her death in 1909, Jane moves north to the Macclesfield area in Cheshire, England. Whilst it's not immediately clear what led her there, the distance between Littleport and her older children in Manchester, would have been much shorter.

After Jane's death in 1909, her daughter Hephzibah appears on the 1911 census with a Henry Crabb, who it is noted is her older 'brother'. This is his first appearance amongst the family, and his true identity is unclear.

Was Henry an early illegitimate child of Jane? Was he her step-son, born 4 years before her marriage to John? There's no clear birth entry in the indexes to verify this.

Life Events

Born

• 1849 at Witcham, Cambridgeshire, England.

Baptism

• 28th September 1851 with her sister Elizabeth Gothard, and cousins Joseph Sykes and Edward Sykes at St. Martin's Church, Witcham, Cambridgeshire, England.

Married

• John Crabb (1850-1881) on 1st November 1870 at St. Peter's Church, Wilburton, Cambridgeshire, England.

Children

• Henry Crabb (1867-?)
• Hephzibah Crabb (1871-1951)
• Walter William Crabb (1873-1881)
• Herbert Gothard Crabb (1874-?) married Edith Mason (1877-?)
• Ellen Crabb (1876-1878)
• William Ernest Crabb (1878-?) married Florence Elizabeth Bell (18??-?)
• George Henry Crabb (1880-1881)
• Frederick John Crabb (1881-?)

Census and Residence

• 1851: 2yrs, Slade, Witcham, Cambridgeshire, England.
• 1861: 12yrs, The Three Horseshoes Public House, Little Thetford, Cambridgeshire, England.
• 1871: 22yrs, Ely Road, Littleport, Cambridgeshire, England.
• 1881: 32yrs, Cross Lane, Little Downham, Cambridgeshire, England.
• 1891: 42yrs, Back Row, Littleport, Cambridgeshire, England.
• 1901: 53yrs, Victoria Street, Littleport, Cambridgeshire, England.

Employment

• 1881: Groom's Wife
• 1891: Button Holer at Hope Brothers Ltd
• 1901: Needlewoman

Death

• During January 1909 in Macclesfield, Cheshire, England.

Burial

• January 1909 in Cheshire, England.