John Hutchens and Sarah Rowe

Much of the material on this page was originally based on a book entitled The Family History of Thomas Hutchens (henceforth referrred to as [TFHTH]), produced by Grantley Hutchens, using (in part) information provided by a researcher he hired to look up the parish registers. This information has been revised in the light of later research by Grantley Hutchens and myself, using the online resources that are now available.

Most of the people discussed on this page were born in the part of Cornwall near Penzance, notably in the parishes of St Buryan, Paul and St Levan. See Google's map of the area.

John Hutchens and Sarah Rowe were married ar St Levan on 2/10/1824. Before discussing their children we list what is known or conjectured about their ancestors.

Ancestors of John Hutchens

When attempting to piece together a family history based solely on data from old parish registers, one can seldom identify people with absolute certainty. It is always possible that a marriage or baptism record refers not to the person you think it refers to, but to someone else of the same name. The further back one attempts to go, the greater the risk of errors. Hence the following story, while plausible, could well be wrong in places.

A Samson Huchens, son of William Hutchens, was baptized in the parish of Paul on 23/9/1638, and a Samson Huchens, presumably the same one, was married at Paul on 15/6/1663; his wife's forename was Elizabeth. These two events are listed in the IGI. According to [TFHTH] Sampson was buried at St Buryan on 23/11/1713, and Elizabeth was buried on 13/6/1729. The Cornwall Online Parish Clerks burials database does not include Sampson's burial, although it contains data from St Buryan for 1713; moreover, besides the Elizabeth Hutchens buried in 1729, there was also an Elizabeth Hutchens buried in 1720, as well as an Elizabeth Hutchings buried in 1705.

The IGI lists St Buryan baptisms for the following children whose parents were named Sampson and Elizabeth: John Hutchings (8/5/1664), Nicholas Hutchings (20/7/1666), Sampson Hutchings (9/8/1668), William Hutchins (11/8/1672), Elizabeth Hutchins (14/7/1677) and Margarett Hutchins (13/2/1681). The one we are primarily interested in is William, but whether or not the right William has been identified is debatable, since there was a William Hutchins, son of Martin and Elizabeth, baptized at St Buryan on 27/8/1665.

Will Hutchens married Dina at St Buryan on 27/1/1694. Data from the IGI indicates that this couple had the following children: Jane Hutchens (baptized 30/6/1695 at Paul), Sarah Hutchens (11/12/1698, died 9/2/1700), Sarah Hutchens (baptized 6/4/1702), Charles Hutchens (baptized 16/10/1703), William Huchins (baptized 22/10/1708, mother's name not given). The date of the first Sarah's death is taken from the IGI, but [TFHTH] has the burial date as 9/10/1699, while the COPC database has 9/2/1699.

According to [TFHTH] William, son of William and Dina, married Elizabeth (of Borah), and they had children named Sampson, Catherine, Richard and Nicholas.

William and Dinah's other son, Charles, married a woman named Ann, and [TFHTH] lists the following children: William (baptized 28/4/1728), Charles (baptized 15/9/1730), Francis (baptized 15/2/1732), Sampson (baptized 19/5/1734), Ann (baptized 11/10/1736), Joan (baptized 15/10/1738, buried 11/11/1747), John (baptized 1/1/1742, buried 21/11/1747), Elizabeth (baptized 16/5/1744, buried 29/11/1747), Elizabeth (baptized 2/7/1748), John (baptized 12/7/1751). Although the IGI includes St Buryan baptisms from this era, the baptisms of Charles, Francis, Sampson, Joan and the first John do not appear in the IGI, and I have not been able to confirm them.

Apparently there is a headstone commemorating Francis Hutchens in the churchyard at St Buryan, erected by his children (about whom I have no further information). It is not completely legible, but says that Francis Hutchens died on 18/2/1813 aged 81 years, and worked in HM Dockyards at Plymouth for 45 years. He was buried on 21/2/1813.

Ann Hutchens, wife of Charles, was buried on 30/9/1759. A Charles Hutchens was buried on 8/1/1767.

It is believed that William, the eldest son of Charles and Ann, was a grandfather of the John Hutchens who married Sarah Rowe. Some things are also conjectured about the other children of Charles and Ann.

William Hutchens, son of Charles and Ann, married Ruth Lanyon on 29/11/1756. They had the following children:

A Ruth Hutchens was buried on 10/5/1798.

Dinah, daughter of William and Ruth, married Richard Jeffery on 10/10/1795.

Nicholas, son of William and Ruth, married Mary Tonkin on 1/1/1793; these were the parents of the John Hutchens who married Sarah Rowe. At the time of his marriage Nicholas was a cordwainer by trade. Mary was a widow when she married Nicholas. Her maiden name was Dobell (or Doble); her first husband was James Tonken, whom she had married on 16/12/1780 (at St Buryan). At the time of the 1841 census Mary was still alive, widowed for the second time, and living in the household of a 35 year old James Tonkin, husband of her youngest daughter Nancy. I have been unable to find any relationship between this James Tonkin and Mary's first husband. Nicholas died at age 72, buried on 20/6/1837. The children of Nicholas and Mary were as follows:

I could not find a baptism record for Phillis.

Grave of James Tonkin
Grave of James Tonkin, son of James Tonkin
and Nancy Hutchens (at Laura).

Four of the children of Nicholas and Mary emigrated to South Australia:

The other two children of Nicholas and Mary to survive infancy were Nicholas, who apparently died unmarried, and John, who we shall discuss shortly. Before doing so, we discuss the ancestry of John's wife, Sarah Rowe.

Ancestors of Sarah Rowe

Sarah Rowe was baptized at St Levan on 5/10/1802; her parents were named Ezekiel and Sarah. She had a sister named Mary Rowe, who was baptized on 22/5/1804, and apparently no other siblings.

Ezekiel Row married Sarah Blewett at St Levan on 5/12/1801. Working on the assumption that most marriages took place in the bride's home town, we can conjecture that Sarah was the daughter of Thomas and Margory Blewett, born at St Levan on 14/10/1774, baptized on 19/10/1774. There is no other recorded St Levan baptism that fits. Similarly, it seems clear that Ezekiel was the son of Thomas and Ann Rowe baptized at St Levan on 20/8/1768.

Sarah, wife of Ezekiel, was buried at St Levan on 12/11/1806; Ezekiel was buried at St Levan on 11/2/1838. Ezekiel's burial record gives his age as 70, which is reasonably consistent with the baptism date, and also gives his residence as Treen. Thus it is quite possible that at the time of his death he was living with his son-in-law John and daughter Sarah, since it is known that Treen was their residence from 1835 (or earlier) onwards.

The IGI includes records of two other Ezekiel Rowes baptized in Cornwall in the 18th century: a son of William and Rebecca Row baptized at Sennen on 5/5/1776 and a son of Thomas Rowe baptized at St Levan on 29/3/1712. (The COPC record for this baptism gives the year as 1713, which I assume is an error.) In addition, there was an Ezekiel Rowe, son of James and Mary, baptized at St Levan on 21/12/1812. It is tempting to believe that these various Ezekiels were related, but the documentary record seems to be too incomplete to permit definite conclusions.

A Thomas Rowe, of St Levan, married Anne Richards at St Buryan on 5/12/1767. No doubt these were the parents of Ezekiel born in 1768, and they also had two other children, baptized at St Levan:

A Thomas Row, son of Thomas, was buried on 25/11/1780, and a John Row, son of Thomas, was buried on 1/12/1780.

An 80 year old Anne Rowe who could easily have been the wife of Thomas and mother of Ezekiel died in 1823 and was buried on 3/11/1823 at St Levan. A 72 year old Thomas Rowe of St Levan was buried on 23/4/1818. However, there was also a Thomas Row of unspecified age buried on 16/7/1788 and another buried in 1808; I am unable to say which (if any) of these was the father of Ezekiel. I cannot find any baptism record that fits with the 72 year old Thomas Row who died in 1818, but the 80 year old Anne who died in 1823 could have been the daughter of John Richards baptized on 27/3/1743.

It is an interesting question whether Sarah Rowe's younger sister Mary was the Mary Ann Rowe who married John Hutchens' elder brother William. Given that the marriage took place in St Levan, whereas William's residence at the time was Ludgvan, it seems reasonable to assume that Mary Ann Rowe was from St Levan. Apart from Sarah's sister, who was baptized in 1804, there was a Mary Ann Rowe, daughter of James and Mary Rowe, who was baptized on 1/4/1806. This Mary Ann had several siblings, including the Ezekiel who was born in 1812. However, she was deinitely not the Mary Ann Rowe who married William Hutchens in 1827, since the 1851 census shows her as unmarried and living with her parents. The wife of William Hutchens emigrated to Australia with her husband and three children. In 1840, when the family applied for free passage to Australia, Mary Ann's age was given as 34, which fits well enough with the baptism date of 1804, bearing in mind that it was quite usual for ages to be understated in such applications. I think it probable that William's wife was indeed Sarah's sister.

Mary died on 27/5/1843, and was buried in Adelaide's West Terrace Cemetery.

Family of John and Sarah

John and Sarah had the following children, all of whom were baptized at St Levan:

John died on 19/6/1845 (buried on 23/6/1845) and Sarah died on 25/6/1876 (buried on 29/6/1876).

In [TFHTH] the baptism date of the son John is given as 16/1/1827, presumably because of a transcription error. It also gives another child: Thomas, baptized 4/6/1825, died in infancy. It seems a remarkable coincidence that the this Thomas was baptized on the 4th of June 1825 and other on the 4th of June 1826. Furthermore, 4/6/1825 is too close to the baptism of John on 16/1/1825. With the Cornwall OPC's failing to find the first Thomas, I am sceptical about his existence.

There was another Sarah Rowe Hutchens born in 1831: she was a daughter of William and Mary Hutchens, baptized on 23 January 1831 in Ludgvan. This Ludgvan Sarah Rowe Hutchens was a cousin, and perhaps a double cousin, of the St Buryan one, since William and John were brothers and Mary and Sarah may have been sisters. However, Sarah Rowe Hutchens of Ludgvan died at seven weeks of age, and was buried on 11/3/1831. William, Mary and family emigrated to South Australia in 1840; I am told that William's death certificate (1871) mentions a deceased child that must have been Sarah Rowe.

At the time of the baptism of his daughter Nanny, the occupation of John (senior) was given as "shopkeeper". The 1841 census record for the household is as follows.

Treen, St Levan, 1841:
NameAgeOccupation
John Hutchins35Publican
Sarah Hutchins35
John Hutchins16
Thomas Hutchins15Shoemaker Apprentice
Sarah Hutchins12
Nancy Hutchins6
Irwin Hutchins10m

At the time of his death John was the keeper of the Logan Rock Inn, at Treen (or Treryn). A report of the inquest into his death was published in the Cornwall Royal Gazette for the parish of St Levan, on 27/6/1845:

Report of Inquest into the death of John Hutchens, Innkeeper, Logan Rock Inn.

He was returning from a trip to Penzance when the horse bolted going down the steep Buryan Hill near his home. He was seen to be pulling hard on the reins and was thrown from the cart and sustained a fractured skull.

John's son Thomas told his (Thomas') grandchildren that John was not as sober as he should have been.

At the marriages of John's children John, Sarah, Nanny and Edwin, their late father's occupation was given on each occasion as "farmer". Thomas also used to say that he worked on his father's farm, and never mentioned the inn. Maybe the inn was also a farmhouse?

In the 1851 census John's widow Sarah is described as an innkeeper and head of the household. The son John, whose age was then 26, is described as a farmer of 16 acres employing one labourer. There is a 23 year old farm servant named William Angove in the household, as well as Sarah's daughters Sarah and Nanny (again listed as "Nancy") and son Edwin.

According to The Family History of Thomas Hutchens Sarah continued as keeper of the Logan Rock Inn until her death (from "natural decay") on Sunday 25th June 1876, after which her daughter Nanny took over the inn. Sarah was buried on 29/6/1876.

Children of John and Sarah

Thomas, the second son and my great great grandfather, emigrated to Australia, sailing on the Santipore in 1848. He later married Elizabeth James, who had grown up in Sancreed parish, which adjoins St Buryan. See the Thomas Hutchens and Elizabeth James page for more information.

John

John Hutchens the younger married Jane Sampson at St Levan on 16/11/1852. Here is the Cornwall Online Census Project's transcription of the 1861 census record of their household.

Chyoon, Paul, 1861:
NameRelStatusAgeOccupationBirthplace
John HutchensHeadM36Farm 36 Acre Emp Inmates OnlySt Levan, Cornwall
Jane HutchensWifeM31St Breage, Cornwall
Mary J HutchensDau7ScholarSt Levan, Cornwall
Susan HutchensDau5St Levan, Cornwall
Agnes HutchensDau3St Levan, Cornwall
John G HutchensSon2St Paul, Cornwall
Thomas HutchensSon9mSt Paul, Cornwall
Alice W PollardServntM21DairymaidMawgan, Cornwall
John RobertsServntM19CarterSt Paul, Cornwall

By 1871 the family has moved to Penzance, and John has become an innkeeper.

38 North Street "Farmers Arms", Penzance, 1871:
NameRelStatusAgeOccupationBirthplace
John HutchensHeadM46InnkeeperSt Levan, Cornwall
Jane HutchensWifeM41St Breage, Cornwall
Mary J HutchensDau17AssistantSt Levan, Cornwall
Sarah HutchensDau15AssistantSt Levan, Cornwall
Agnes HutchensDau13ScholarSt Levan, Cornwall
John G HutchensSon12ScholarSt Paul, Cornwall
Thomas HutchensSon10ScholarSt Paul, Cornwall
William HutchensSon7ScholarSt Paul, Cornwall
Edwin HutchensSon5ScholarSt Paul, Cornwall
Richard J HutchensSon3Penzance, Cornwall
William HayesLodgerM26ComedianManchester, Lancashire
Kate HayesLodgerM26ComedianManchester, Lancashire
James HayesLodgerM28ComedianManchester, Lancashire
Caroline HayesLodgerM30ComedianManchester, Lancashire
Henry HertelliLodgerM28ComedianBradford, Yorkshire
Jessie HertelliLodgerM28ComedianDundee, Scotland
James HayesLodger5Manchester, Lancashire
William HayesLodger3Manchester, Lancashire
Emma CariotLodgerW58ComedianLondon, Middlesex
Mary E CookeLodgerU18ComedianManchester, Lancashire
Alice CookeLodgerU12Manchester, Lancashire
Jane HayesLodgerW25Manchester, Lancashire

It appears that the name of John and Jane's second daughter was incorrectly transcribed in the 1861 record: she was Sarah, not Susan. The birth of a Sarah Hutchens was registered in the Penzance district in the March quarter of 1856, but there is no record of a Susan Hutchens being born at about that time.

The Cornwall Online Parish Clerks' database includes baptism records for the following children of John and Jane: Mary Jane Hutchens (St Levan, 7/8/1853), John Hutchens (St Levan, 23/7/1854), John George Hutchens (St Levan, 5/12/1858), Thomas Hutchens (Paul, 23/9/1860), William Hutchens (Paul, 22/6/1862), Edwin Hutchens (Paul, 22/6/1862) and Richard James Hutchens (Newlyn St Peter, 22/6/1862).

At the 1881 census John is the keeper of the "Duke of Cumberland", still in Penzance, the four youngest children are still living at home, the others have left. In fact Mary Jane Hutchens married William Thomas Reynolds in Paul in June 1875, Sarah Hutchens married Thomas Eddy in the Penzance district in the September quarter of 1876, and Agnes Hutchens married Walter Holman in the Penzance district in the June quarter of1880. I cannot locate John George Hutchens in the 1881 census.

Sarah

Sarah Rowe Hutchens married Henry Jones at St Levan on 31/12/1856; the witnesses were Sarah's brother John and sister Nanny. Henry and his father John Jones are both described as mariners. At the time of the 1861 census Henry and Sarah Jones appear in the household of Sarah Hutchens, innkeeper, at Treen. Henry is described as a fisherman and Sarah as a fisherman's wife.

Treen, St Levan, 1861:
NameRelStatusAgeOccupationBirthplace
Sarah HutchensHeadW59InnkeeperSt Levan, Cornwall
Henry JonesSonlawM37FishermanManaccan, Cornwall
Sarah JonesDauM29Fisherman's wifeSt Levan, Cornwall
Nanny JohnsDauM26Engaged In Domestic DutiesSt Levan, Cornwall
Sarah JonesGrndau2St Levan, Cornwall
Martha OsbornLodgerU48CharwomanSt Buryan, Cornwall

There are St Levan baptism records for six children of Henry and Sarah Jones: John Hutchens Jones (22/11/1857), Thomas Jones (29/9/1861), Harvey Jones (15/4/1864), Catherine Jones (11/8/1867), Mary Jones (7/5/1870) and Catherine Jones (21/1/1872). John Hutchens Jones died aged 3 months buried on 27/1/1858. There was also a three week old Thomas Jones buried on 23/12/1859, and an eleven week old Mary Rowe Jones buried on 11/5/1863. The Harvey Jones baptized on 15/4/1864 was presumably the nine week old Harry Jones buried on 3/6/1863, and the first Catherine also lived only nine weeks, buried on 10/10/1867.

At the 1871 and 1881 censuses the households at the Logan Rock Inn were as follows.

Treen, St Levan, 1871:
NameRelStatusAgeOccupationBirthplace
Sarah HutchensHeadW68InnkeeperSt Levan, Cornwall
Sarah JonesDauM40St Levan, Cornwall
Nanny JohnsDauM36St Levan, Cornwall
Henry JonesSonlawM47FishermanManaccan, Cornwall
Sarah JonesGrndau11ScholarSt Levan, Cornwall
Tom JonesGrnson9ScholarSt Levan, Cornwall
Mary JonesGrndau1St Levan, Cornwall
Treen (Logan Rock Inn), St Levan, 1881:
NameRelStatusAgeOccupationBirthplace
Henry JonesHeadM57Inn Keeper
Sarah R. JonesWifeM50St Levan, Cornwall
Thomas JonesSon20FishermanSt Levan, Cornwall
Mary JonesDau11ScholarSt Levan, Cornwall
Kate JonesDau9ScholarSt Levan, Cornwall
Nanny JohnsSislawM46NurseSt Levan, Cornwall
Edwin HutchensBoarderM26Stone MasonSevington, Somerset
Sarah HutchensBoarderM21St Levan, Cornwall
Hutchens (unnamed male infant)Boarder1mSt Levan, Cornwall

The unnamed male infant must have been be the Nicholas Thomas Hutchens whose birth was registered in Penzance in the December quarter of 1880.

Nanny

Nanny Hutchens married William Johns at St Levan on 6/4/1859. The marriage record states that William and his father Richard Johns were both farmers, and that William's residence was in St Just. William and Nanny had one daughter, Sarah Hutchens Johns, who was baptized on 17/7/1859. The census records above show Nanny Johns and her daughter Sarah living at the Logan Rock Inn in 1871 and 1881, but I have been unable to identify William in any census records, before or after his marriage to Nanny. Note that in the 1861, 1871 and 1881 census records Nanny's marital status is given as "married" rather than "widowed", suggesting that William was still alive. I am forced to conjecture that the marriage broke down very early on.

As we shall see below, Nanny's brother Edwin Hutchens had a son named Edwin, and as we have seen above her brother John also had a son named Edwin. In view of this it is a somewhat remarkable coincidence that Nanny's daughter Sally married another (unrelated) Edwin Hutchens.

Edwin

Edwin Hutchens married Grace Gilbert in St Buryan on 25/12/1860. His occupation is given as carpenter, his age was 20, hers 25. Her father was Samuel Gilbert, a labourer. At the time of the 1861 census Thomas and Grace were in St Buryan; Thomas is the head of the household, and described as a Carpenter Journeyman. There were two others in the household: Grace's mother (a 62 year old charwoman and widow) whose name is given as Jane Gelbart, and a six year old girl whose name is given as Ellen Gilbart, a niece of Thomas and Grace. At the 1871 census Edwin and Grace are living in Penzance at 49 Chapel Street, a beer shop. Edwin's occupation is givens as "carpenter, keeps beer shop". There are two sons: Edwin J., aged 9, and Thomas, aged 3. Jane Gilbert is still living with them. In 1861 Jane's birthplace was given as "Cornwall - Gulval", but in 1871 it is given as "Lancashire - Manchester". The household also has two lodgers, equestrians travelling with a circus, whose birthplaces are given as "Lancashire - Preston" and "unknown"; I suspect that it was actually one of lodgers who was born in Manchester. At the 1881 census Edwin and Grace are living at 46 Adelaide Street, the son Edwin has disappeared, the son Thomas is a telegraph messenger, there is a 9 year old son named Harry and 7 year old daughter named Sarah Jane, and Jane Gilbert is still there, now aged 81 and with her birthplace returned to Cornwall - Gulval.

If you have any corrections, complaints, criticisms, suggestions or additional information, please email bobhow@tpg.com.au.