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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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Ann’s Mourning of Anne
This blog seeks to show the ways in which Ann Walker explicitly and implicitly mourned her wife after her death in 1840. She would not have been able to grieve in the way we would expect a widow to do so due to the lack of acknowledgment and acceptance of the true nature of their relationship within wider society. These facts are based on primary resources found in the archives. Anne’s Death and Ann’s Return Anne Lister died in September 1840 while travelling with Ann Walker in Kutaisi, Georgia, then part of the Russian Empire. Although it is not known exactly what Anne Lister died of, letters found by a…
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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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Myth Buster: Ann Walker’s Drinking Habits
Was Ann Walker prone to drinking? Short answer: no. There is very little evidence to substantiate this myth. But what do we actually know about Ann Walker’s drinking habits? In her own diary, Ann only sporadically mentions alcohol, mostly when she was travelling in France with Anne Lister. Ann, for example, comments on the good wine they had for dinner: “dinner at 5. excellent red Vin d’Asti – but a very poor dinner” (08 July 1834)1 or the encouraging sip of Noyau she took when they first set off on horseback over the alpine mountain passes: “sat down and cried, got a little Noyau – then mounted and went to…
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Ann Walker’s Humour
The discovery of Ann Walker’s humour is one of the reasons I have enjoyed transcribing her letters and diary so much. Even in Anne Lister’s diary, which purpose was not necessarily to record all the funny things her wife said, there are a few instances described that either made Ann Walker laugh or elicited a snarky comment from her. Humour, of course, is subjective. Even when we are face to face with someone, it can be difficult to know if they are being intentionally funny or not. In written text it is even harder to know for sure, as probably most of us have experienced one time or another in…
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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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A Short History of Heworth Grange
Ann Walker famously stayed at Heworth Grange in 1834 while under Dr Belcombe’s care just before and after sealing her union with Anne Lister. Definitions of grange1: Early History The site of Heworth Grange house lies to the north of a road called Heworth Green, which itself lies to the west of the village of Heworth. Heworth village, now a suburb of York, is about a mile from York Minster: through Monk Bar and over the river Foss at Monk Bridge. Anne Lister could easily walk from the Belcombes’ or the Black Swan to Heworth Green in less than 25 minutes. The village was settled during the Roman period, and…
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Slavery and Shibden Hall
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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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My Dear Miss Walker
Many of us have wondered if Ann Walker maintained contact with any of Anne Lister’s friends after Anne’s death. We have three letters from Mrs Mary Jane (Marsh) Duffin to Ann, written in 1842. Mary Jane Duffin (née Marsh) was baptised in York in 1770. She was Mr William Duffin’s second wife, marrying him in 1826. William Duffin, who died in 1839, was Eliza Raine’s guardian and a friend of Anne Lister’s. Mary Jane Duffin died in 1855.1 Some readers of this blog will recognize Miss Marsh/Mrs Duffin from many of Anne Lister’s early diary entries. Anne, Ann & Mrs Duffin In Anne Lister’s diary entry for 25th April 1839,…
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Elizabeth Mackay Sinclair Wemyss (née Sutherland)
