• Ann’s People

    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…

  • Ann’s People

    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…