#On This Day 14th December

Today, I am reflecting on Ann Weston, my 4x great-aunt and sister to my 3x great-grandfather, Zachariah Weston. Ann was baptized on December 14, 1764, in Etchingham, Sussex, England.  

The year Ann was born saw several significant developments in England:

• House Numbering Introduced in London: Although house numbering was introduced in London in 1764, this urban innovation would not have reached the rural areas like Etchingham for many years. The agricultural landscape of Ann's home meant that identifying houses relied more on local knowledge and cottage names than formal numbering systems.
• James Hargreaves and the Spinning Jenny: James Hargreaves perfected the Spinning Jenny in 1764, revolutionizing the textile industry. While it's possible that Ann might have encountered spinning in her daily life, it's unlikely that the advanced technology of the Spinning Jenny made its way into her rural community during her lifetime. 

Her parents William Weston (circa 1739, buried 1825) and Elizabeth Skinner (circa 1740, buried 1834), she was part of a small family of five children. Ann's siblings included Nathaniel (born in 1759), Samuel (born in 1762), Susannah (born in 1768), and Zachariah (born in 1770). Records from the 1700s and early 1800s can be sparse and it makes it more difficult to  piece together aspects of her life and the world she lived in.

Several notable events happened on December 14th but unfortunately after the time in which Ann lived:

1861: Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, died at Windsor Castle. This event marked a period of mourning for the nation and had profound effects on Queen Victoria's reign.

1895: King George VI was born. He succeeded to the throne when his brother, Edward VIII, abdicated.

These events highlight the continuity and changes within the British monarchy.

Ann's life in Etchingham, a rural parish in Sussex, was tied to the land and the changing seasons. Her father, William, likely worked as an agricultural laborer, a common occupation in rural England at the time. The community would have been small, with close ties between neighbors and family members.

Despite the challenges of limited records, it is possible to form a picture of her world through events that happened in the country she lived or even better from events of the county that she lived.

The Weston family have lived in Etchingham and surrounding area right back to the late 1600s/early 1700s and maybe even further back.

Etchingham Parish Church. 
Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons