Hannah Barnes:

Born 1831 ~ Died ????:

I found Hannah by accident when searching the 1901 census for other members of the Barnes family and I was unable to place her in the family tree for some time. The reason for the difficultly became clear once I had looked at the parish records for St. Michael's, Heckfield.

Hannah was born in 1831 and baptised on the 24th April at the church of St. Michael, her parents were John Barnes and Amelia Strong - so Hannah was in fact illegitimate, although her parents did get married on the 6th August that year.

On the 1841 census, Hannah now aged 10 is living at 'Westend' Heckfield with her mother, father and brothers John (1832), Thomas (1837) and George (1841) as well as sisters Eliza (1834) and Elizabeth (1839).

In the 1851 census, John and Amelia are in the Hartley Wintney Union Workhouse with children, Eliza (aged 16), Elizabeth (aged 12), George (aged 9), Katherine (aged 7), Henry (aged 4), William (aged 2) and Anne (aged 1). Their oldest John is now 18 and working as an agricultural labourer in Heckfield. John and Amelia's son Thomas died in 1841 aged 4.

However, Hannah cannot be found on the 1851 census, nor on the 1861, 1871 and 1881. Hannah reappears in the 1891 where she is now living at Alms House number 2, Church Lane, Heckfield. The alms house were built through the generosity of Lady Eversley and later donated to the village. Some of the alms cottages were converted to form the Heckfield Memorial Hall but a number still remain to this day - including number 2.

Hannah must have had some good fortune as on the 1901 census aged 69, Hannah is now living at Broad Oak, Odiham 'on her own means'.  Hannah never married.     

The Alms Houses