martha
and jane beatrice macDonald

Subject Names :  Martha MacDonald              (b 1854 – d 1881)                  
                              Jane Beatrice MacDonald   (b 1880 – d 1881) 

Researcher :        Diann Arnfield

Martha MacDonald and her baby daughter (Mary) Jane Beatrice both succumbed to fatal illnesses in the Guildford Union Workhouse shortly after the 1881 Census.  Martha’s husband John, whom she had married just a year earlier, disappeared off official records until over a quarter century later.

Martha was born in the Hampshire village of Bishop’s Sutton, about eight miles (13km) east of Winchester, on 6th November 1854, the sixth and final child of John and Sarah Chivers née Brazier 1, 2

She spent her childhood with her family in Bishop’s Sutton with her sisters Eliza, Charlotte, Sarah and Mary, brother James, and parents John, a farm labourer, and Sarah, a charwoman 3.

By 1871 Martha was the only one of John and Sarah’s children still living with them in Sutton Road, Bishop’s Sutton 4Rather oddly perhaps, Martha was noted to be a scholar aged 15.  Apart from Martha actually being 16, it was unusual for someone of her age to still be at school as most children of that time had started work by the time they were 13, if not younger.

Both of Martha’s parents died in Bishop’s Sutton in 1878 5, but she may have already moved away by then as on 29th March 1880, at the age of 25, she married Worplesdon labourer John MacDonald at the picturesque church of St Martha on the Hill, Chilworth, Surrey 6.  

Martha was pregnant, giving birth to Mary Jane on 20th June at their home in Whitmoor Common, Worplesdon 7.

But who exactly was Martha’s husband John? 

The marriage certificate gave John’s father as Thomas MacDonald, a ‘horse dealer’.  Thomas had passed away in Epsom Common in 1869, with his will showing that he was married to Ann (also known as Bridget) MacDonald née Collins 8.  From this, John’s birth has been traced back to 24th December 1841 in Sutton, Surrey, making him about ten years older than the age of 28 stated on his marriage certificate 9.

An insight into John’s character came to light in September 1870 at Epsom County Court in a ‘Curious Case’ where he was accused by his mother of selling one of his late father’s horses when it was actually her property 10.  As evidence, John’s mother produced a copy of her husband’s Will which specifically excluded their children from benefitting by any more than 1 shilling each.

John said that he had bought the horse with his father over a year earlier when he had been living with his parents.  However, John’s sister Elizabeth said that she had loaned their father £2 to pay for the horse.

At the time of the hearing, John was no longer living at his mother’s home.  He denied that he had been turned out of the family house for beating his father, although John then said: ‘It was six months before he died that I struck him’.  

The judge ruled in favour of John’s mother.

This may not have been the only time John was in trouble with the authorities, as a ‘John MacDonald’ was regularly mentioned in the local newspapers for drunkenness, abusive language, or begging.  For example, in July 1870, just two months before the ‘Curious Case’, John and his mother, ‘harvest labourers’, were charged with being ‘drunk and riotous’ in Epsom 11. It has not been possible to verify if any or all of the newspaper articles relate to Martha’s future husband, but it would seem feasible.

Whether, some ten years later, Martha had to contend with the darker side of John’s nature is not known, but there was no sign of John in April 1881 when Martha and her daughter were listed on the Census as Guildford Union Workhouse inmates 12.

Martha, 24 (actually 26), recorded as the ‘wife of general labourer’, was with her 9-month-old daughter ‘Jane Beatrice’.  There are no surviving records to show when they were admitted, although a few weeks earlier, the baby had been baptised as Mary Jane Beatrice MacDonald at St John the Evangelist Church, Stoke-Next-Guildford, the church used by inmates of the Workhouse 13.  John was noted as a ‘farm servant’ on the baptism record but it seems unlikely that he was present.

There is a strong possibility that Martha and her daughter went into the Workhouse because of illness, where they could have treatment in its small Infirmary 14.

Whether this was the case, much worse was to follow, as Mary Jane passed away from tuberculosis in the Workhouse on 3rd July 1881, a few days after her first birthday 15.  Her death certificate noted her as the daughter of ‘James (sic) MacDonald, labourer of Worplesdon’

Martha by this time was suffering from ‘pernicious anaemia’ from which she died in the Workhouse a few months later on 9th November, three days after her 27th birthday 16.

Both mother and daughter were buried at Worplesdon’s St Mary’s Church 17.

What happened to John?

Other than unverifiable newspaper reports, no record of John has been traced since his marriage in 1880 – not on the 1881 Census nor on the following two in 1891 and 1901.  It was not until January 1907 when John’s body was found on Whitmoor Common that some clue was given as to where he might have been over the previous 26 years or so 18.

An inquest into his death heard that John had last been seen alive by labourer Eli Woods on Whitmoor Common on 6th January 1907.  Eli said that John had been airing a garment by a fire, leaving him there about 6.30 that evening. John told Eli that he would see him in the Jolly Farmer Inn later, but he never appeared. Eli noted that John was ‘perfectly sober’ when he left him.

When Eli passed by the same spot the following morning, he found John dead in a ditch.  A policeman was called, who reported that John was sitting apparently unharmed in about 2 feet (60cm) of water, not wearing a shirt, dressed in an ‘old slop-jacket, a pair of cord trousers and hob-nailed boots’.  John was formally identified by his sister Elizabeth’s husband Arthur Howard, with the coroner recording that John had died from heart disease 19.

Eli said that John would normally have tried try to sleep in a shed if nowhere else was available, so it was clear that John had been sleeping rough on Whitmoor Common, even though it was the middle of Winter. 

There is nothing to show how long John had been there, just a short distance from where he had been living with wife Martha back in 1880.  John’s sister Elizabeth, her husband Arthur and their family, also had their home close to Whitmoor Common but there is no indication John had ever lived with them 20

 

February 2020, updated October 2024

References

Note : the source is Ancestry.co.uk unless otherwise specified.
For consistency, the family surname has been spelt as MacDonald in the biography reflecting the spelling in the 1881 Census, but is spelt variously in records as MacDonald, McDonald, McDonald. 

  1. John Chivers & Sarah Brazier 1 Nov 1841 Hampshire Archives and Local Studies, Winchester; Church of England Marriages and Banns; Bishop’s Sutton, 1837-1980; Ref. 78042/1/7
  2. Eliza Chivers Jul-Aug-Sep 1842 England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index (1837-1915); Alresford, Hampshire; Vol. 7; Page 6
    Charlotte Chivers Jan-Feb-Mar 1844 England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index (1837-1915); Alresford, Hampshire; Vol. 7; Page 6
    Sarah Chivers Jan-Feb-Mar 1846 England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index (1837-1915); Alresford, Hampshire; Vol. 7; Page 8
    Mary Chivers Jan-Feb-Mar 1849 England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index (1837-1915); Alresford, Hampshire; Vol. 7; Page 8
    James Chivers Jul-Aug-Sep 1851 England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index (1837-1915); Alresford, Hampshire; Vol. 7; Page 8
    Martha Chivers 6 Nov 1854 England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index (1837-1915); Oct-Nov-Dec 1854; Alresford, Hampshire; Vol. 2c; Page 103  Digital copy from General Register Office GRO.gov.uk
  3. John, Sarah, Eliza, Charlotte, Sarah, Mary Chivers 1851 England Census Return for Bishops Sutton, Hampshire; Public Record Office; Class HO107; Piece 1678; Folio 123; Page 16
    John, Sarah, Eliza, Sarah, Mary, James, Martha Chivers 1861 England Census Return for Bishops Sutton, Hampshire; Public Record Office; Class RG9; Piece 702; Folio 91; Page 11
    Charlotte Chivers (housemaid) 1861 England Census Return for Bishops Sutton, Hampshire; Public Record Office; Class RG9; Piece 702; Folio 88; Page 6
  4. John, Sarah, Martha Chivers 1871 England Census Return for Sutton Road, Bishops Sutton, Hampshire; Public Record Office; Class RG10; Piece 1223; Folio 100; Page 14
  5. Sarah Chivers 13 Mar 1878 Hampshire, England, Church of England Burials; Bishop’s Sutton, 1813-1912; Page 73
    John Chivers 6 Oct 1878 Hampshire, England, Church of England Burials; Bishop’s Sutton, 1813-1912; Page 74
  6. Martha Chivers & John McDonald 29 Mar 1880 Marriage Surrey History Centre, Woking; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Chilworth, St Martha on the Hill, 1839-1933; Ref. 7224/1/2
    StMarthaParishCouncil.co.uk
  7. Mary Jane McDonald 20 Jun 1880 England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index (1837-1915); Jul-Aug-Sep 1880; Guildford, Surrey; Vol. 2a; Page 56
    Digital copy from General Register Office GRO.gov.uk
  8. Thomas McDonald 25 May 1870 (died 16 Nov 1869) England & Wales National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations) (1858-1995); Wills 1870 Maber-Mytton; Pages 136-137    Digital copy of Grant and Will from ProbateSearchService.Gov.uk
  9. John McDonald 24 Dec 1841 England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index (1837-1915); Jan-Feb-Mar 1842; Epsom, Surrey; Vol. 4; Page 117  Digital copy from General Register Office GRO.gov.uk
  10. Curious Case 1 Oct 1870 Surrey Advertiser and County Times, Page 8
    FindMyPast.co.uk / British Newspaper Archive
  11. Epsom Petty Sessions Ann and John MacDonald drunk and disorderly 30 Jul 1870 Surrey Advertiser and County Times, Page 3
    County Bench John MacDonald begging 20 Sep 1873 Surrey Advertiser and County Times, Page 3
    A Pugilistic Character John Macdonald drunk and disorderly 30 Jun 1883 West Surrey Times and Guildford Gazette, Page 8
    Sleeping Out John Macdonald sleeping under a shrub, drunk and abusive language 25 Sep 1886 West Surrey Times and Guildford Gazette, Page 6 
    (a small selection of articles sourced from FindMyPast.co.uk/ British Newspaper Archive)
  12. Martha, Jane Beatrice MacDonald 1881 England Census Return for Guildford Union Workhouse, Union Lane, Stoke Next Guildford, Surrey; Public Record Office; Class RG11; Piece 778; Folio 95; Page 11
  13. Mary Jane Beatrice McDonald 9 Mar 1881 Baptism Surrey History Centre, Woking; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Stoke Next Guildford, St John the Evangelist, 1877-1888; Ref. STK/4/4 
  14. A Short History of St Luke’s Hospital – ‘From Workhouse to Hospital’ HospitalProject.co.uk
  15. Mary Jane MacDonald 3 Jul 1881 England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index (1837–1915); Jul-Aug-Sep 1881; Guildford, Surrey; Vol. 2a; Page 43.
    Digital copy from General Register Office GRO.gov.uk
  16. Martha MacDonald 9 Nov 1881 England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index (1837–1915); Oct-Nov-Dec 1881; Guildford, Surrey; Vol. 2a; Page 45.
    Digital copy from General Register Office GRO.gov.uk
  17. Mary Jane Beatrice MacDonald 5 Jul 1881 Burial Surrey History Centre, Woking; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Worplesdon, St Mary, 1879-1946; Ref. WOR/5/2; Entry 61
    Martha MacDonald 12 Nov 1881 Burial Surrey History Centre, Woking; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Worplesdon, St Mary, 1879-1946; Ref. WOR/5/2; Entry 68
  18. Found Dead in a Ditch, Heart Failure whilst Washing 11 Jan 1907 Woking News and Mail Page 4
    Died in a Ditch, The Simple Life 12 Jan 1907 Surrey Advertiser and County Times Page 8
    FindMyPast. co.uk / British Newspaper Archive
  19. Elizabeth McDonald & Alfred Howard 13 Aug 1873 Marriage Surrey History Centre, Woking; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Epsom, St Martin, 1837-1874; Ref. 3013/5
  20. Alfred, Elizabeth, Charlotte, Alice Howard 1881 England Census Return for New Buildings, Whitmoor, Woking, Surrey; Public Record Office; Class RG11; Piece 772; Folio 87; Page 5
    Alfred, Elizabeth, Alice Howard 1891 England Census Return for New Buildings, Whitmore Common, Woking, Surrey; Public Record Office; Class RG12; Piece 555; Folio 105; Page 5
    Alfred, Elizabeth, Alice Howard 1901 England Census Return for Gunner’s Bridge, Woking, Surrey; Public Record Office; Class RG13; Piece 597; Folio 61; Page 16