Ann’s People
Short biographies on those family, friends and professionals associated with Ann Walker
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Eliza Ainsworth (née Bentley)
Reproduced with permission from Lancashire Archives, Lancashire County CouncilWCW/Supra/C950/7 / Signature on Eliza Ainsworth’s Will The name Mrs Ainsworth will be familiar to those who have seen the television series “Gentleman Jack”, as the wife of Rev Thomas Ainsworth. This blog will fill in some of the blanks surrounding Eliza and her friendship with Ann Walker. Family Eliza was the fifth and youngest child of Michael and Sarah Bentley. She was baptised on 4 August 1786 in Manchester.1 Sarah’s father was a Justice of the Peace in the County of Lancaster. 24 July 1787 Manchester Mercury ©The British Library Board Listed in The Admission Register of the Manchester School Vol…
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Elizabeth Mackay Sinclair Wemyss (née Sutherland)
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Elizabeth Mackay Sinclair Wemyss (née Sutherland)
West Yorkshire Archives, Calderdale WYC: 1150/74/38 Elizabeth Wemyss signature The Middle Child Elizabeth Mackay was the third child of George and Elizabeth Sutherland. She was born on 21 October 1832 in Resolis, Ross and Cromarty, Scotland. (1) Early Life and in Ann’s Letters Elizabeth was christened in November 1832 and there is a sense in a letter to Elizabeth, her sister, that Ann is slighted that she did not know about the christening in time: “I am rather disappointed that I did not hear of the christening in time to send you some lines which I copied some months ago, with the intention of presenting on the baptism of your…
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The Sinking of the Comet
In 1835 Anne Lister made an oblique reference to the “Comet steamer” in her journal:1 “[…] A- had letter from Captain Sutherland this evening – good account of her sister & the little boy (born on the 13th) to be called Ewen Charles after Captain S-‘s 2 brothers one lost at sea one in the Comet steamer & another has probably just experienced the same fate, lost in coming home from the West Indies“ Intrigued, we decided to look into the sinking of the Comet, and in the process came across many fascinating stories, including tales of shipwrecks, slavery, hurricanes and a dodgy baronetcy. The Comet The paddle steamer in…
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Elizabeth Mackay Sinclair Wemyss (née Sutherland)
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George Sackville Sutherland
George Sackville Sutherland was Ann Walker’s eldest nephew and the second child of George Mackay Sutherland and Elizabeth Sutherland (née Walker). He was often known as Sackville, and to avoid confusion with his father, George Mackay Sutherland, I will refer to him as Sackville throughout this blog. Birth and Baptism Sackville was born on 11 March 1831 – the date is mentioned in a letter between Ann and her sister Elizabeth, and twice mentioned in Anne Lister’s journal.1 Sackville was likely born in Crow Nest, Lightcliffe, as the Sutherlands had returned there in January 1831.2 He was later baptised in St Matthew’s Church in Lightcliffe (Now Old St Matthew’s Churchyard)…
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Elizabeth Mackay Sinclair Wemyss (née Sutherland)
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John Walker Sutherland
Shortly before the birth of John, Ann wrote to encourage her sister, with an enthusiastic hope that the birth of Elizabeth’s baby – and future children – would be easier than the last. “I sincerely trust dearest Elizabeth, that you will have quite as good a time as the last, […] you know it is always said that every successive confinement becomes less and less painful and God grant you may find it so” AW to ES September 1st 1834, West Yorkshire Archives, Calderdale, CN:103/4/27. Transcription by Leila Straub John Walker Sutherland was then born on the 16 September 1834, the fourth child of the Sutherland family. He was born…
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Elizabeth Mackay Sinclair Wemyss (née Sutherland)
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Elizabeth Sutherland’s Will
Elizabeth Sunderland, née Walker wrote her will in 1842; it can be found in her son-in-law’s (Stansfeld) family archive in Wakefield.1 Elizabeth Sutherland died on December 28, 1844, leaving husband George Mackay Sutherland and four surviving children: Mary (who would die the following year), Elizabeth (1832-1872), Ann Walker “Annie” (1837-1917), and Evan Charles (1835-1913), the eventual heir to the Walker Estates.She was buried on January 5, 1845 in the churchyard of St Mary’s Church in Wimbledon, then in Surrey, now in the London Borough of Merton. The church at St Mary’s was completed in 1843, and is the fourth to stand on the site; there has been a church there…
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Elizabeth Mackay Sinclair Wemyss (née Sutherland)
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Mary Sutherland
First Child George Mackay Sutherland and Elizabeth Walker welcomed their first born child, Mary, into the world on 27th September 1829. Mary was born in Ardeer, in the parish of Stevenston, Ayrshire, on the south west coast of Scotland. (1) She was the first of Ann Walker’s nieces and nephews. Based on a letter from William Priestley, addressed to George Sutherland at Ardeer House, we know they had recently moved in. “It afforded to myself and to my wife much satisfaction to learn from your kind and Friendly letter, that, you and Elizabeth are comfort-ably settled in your new abode, and that, you both enjoy the greatest of all earthly…
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Elizabeth Mackay Sinclair Wemyss (née Sutherland)
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Ann Walker Stansfeld (née Sutherland)
(Updated 6/7/2023) Ann Walker Stansfeld (née Sutherland) was Ann Walker’s niece, Elizabeth & George’s youngest daughter. She signed her name as Annie in letters and was identified as such in some other documents. So, I will be referring to her as Annie in this blog. Early Years Ann Walker Sutherland was the 6th child of Capt. George M and Elizabeth Sutherland (née Walker), was born on 17 September 1837 and baptized the following month in Scotland.1 Anne Lister first mentioned her in her diary entry of 1st October 1837, when Ann Walker received a letter from her sister Elizabeth announcing her birth: “…dinner at 6 ¾ – coffee read the…
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Elizabeth Mackay Sinclair Wemyss (née Sutherland)
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Robert Parker, Esq
Robert Parker (1798-1856) had a long and successful law practice in Halifax. This is an overview of his life and some of the clients he worked for. Early Years Robert Parker was the second son born in 1798 to Alexander North and Margaret (née Butler) Parker at Houghton Park, Lancashire England.1 His brother Alexr North Parker was born in 17952 and died in 1807.3 On 9th June 1815, at 17 years of age, Robert Parker became an articled clerk (an apprentice) to attorney Richard Nicholson of Ripon for five years. The document reads in part: “And during the same term the said Richard Nicholson is to teach and instruct the…
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Elizabeth Mackay Sinclair Wemyss (née Sutherland)
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Hannah Heap: not just a servant
Hannah Heap – you may have never heard of her, but she was a beloved servant to the Walker family. Mentioned in Anne Lister’s diaries, we explore who Hannah was and where she is referred to in the archives. Birth and early life As with many people without money in the 1800s, her early life and birth are harder to track down. Unfortunately, we don’t yet know exactly when. We can estimate that it was between 1791 and 1796. This is because she is recorded in the 1841 census as 50 years old and in this census they rounded adults’ ages down to the nearest multiple of 5 (1). Working…
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Elizabeth Mackay Sinclair Wemyss (née Sutherland)
