Ann Bailey Bowers
(1843-1889)

Ann Bailey Bowers (later Ann Bishop) was the seventh of the eight known children of Henry Bowers and his wife Ann Bailey of Wicken, Cambridgeshire, England.

When she was about 17 years old, Ann married agricultural labourer James Simpson Bishop of nearby Wicken. The couple settled down in Wicken and went on to become parents at least eighteen times.

In between pregnancies, Ann is noted on the 1871 census as working as a Coprolite Labourer. Due to her large family, it was probably a short-lived career.

Ann died in March 1889, after having a fever and double pneumonia. This left Ann's large, young family in the care of her widower James, who would have been working tirelessly out in the fields to provide an income for his family.

Thankfully, her childless sister, Sarah Bowers (by then Sarah Farby), who was present at Ann's death, helped care for the children in Ann's place. This earned Sarah and her husband George Farby the affectionate name of 'Granny and Grandad Farby'.

Her Will values her estate at £60, which she left entirely to her oldest daughter Ann Elizabeth Bishop.

Life Events

Born:

• 21st May 1843 in Wicken, Cambridgeshire, England.

Baptised

• 1843 at The Primitive Methodist Chapel, Wicken, Cambridgeshire, England, and again on 8th July 1855, aged 12, at St. Laurence's Church, Wicken, Cambridgeshire, England.

Married

• James Simpson Bishop (1842-1901) on 14th May 1860 at St. Laurence's Church, Wicken, Cambridgeshire, England.

Children:

• Ann Elizabeth Bishop (1860-?)
• Henry Bishop (1862-1940) married Elizabeth Rebecca Fuller (1862-?)
• Emily Bishop (1863-?)
• Louisa Bishop (1864-?)
• James Simpson Bishop (1866)
• James Simpson Bishop (1868-1954) married Elizabeth Delph (1876-1955)
• Ann Bishop (1868-1931) married John Canham (1869-)
• Eliza Bishop (1871-1872)
• Kezia Bishop (1872-1965) married Howarth Ellis (1868-1947)
• Harriet Bishop (1873-1900) married Horace Gateson (1873-1949)
• Eliza Bishop (1873-?)
• Sarah Ann Bishop (1875-?)
• Mary Ann Bishop (1875-1959) married John Rayment (1878-19??)
• Adelaide Bishop (1877-1965) married James Yarrow (1875-1946)
• William Joseph Bishop (1878-?)
• Robert Maurice Bishop (1880-1971) married Dorcas Hawes (1882-1949)
• George Bishop (1885)
• George Juble Bishop (1887-1965) married Amy Smyth (18??-19??)

Census and Residence

• 1851: 8yrs, Bedlham Yard, Wicken, Cambridgeshire, England.
• 1861: 18yrs, The Black Cottage, Fordham, Cambridgeshire, England.
• 1871: 27yrs, Beerway, Wicken, Cambridgeshire, England.
• 1881: 37yrs, High Street, Wicken, Cambridgeshire, England.

Employment

• 1861: Field Labourer
• 1871: Coprolite Digger

Death

• 5th March 1889 at Little Thetford, Cambridgeshire, England, aged 45 years. Cause of death: 'Enteric Fever, Pneumonia (double)' - certified: S. C. Harris, Surgeon.

Burial

• 8th March 1889 at Little Thetford, Cambridgeshire, England.