Francis Hawton and Jane Dingle

Bones in the Belfry home page

Parents   :      James Hawton and Mary Parsons              James Dingle and Elizabeth Mitchell

Francis (Frank) Hawton  (b 1799 Stoke Climsland Cornwall, m Jane Dingle 1820, m Mary Knight 1848)
Jane Dingle (b 1802.Egloshayle Cornwall, d 1841)
    Jane Hawton (b 1822 Stoke Climsland,  m Thomas Brown 1849 East Stonehouse, d 1892 maybe)
    Judith Hawton (b 1824 Stoke Climslandm, m George and Dugie McTaggett 1858 and 1863 Great Yarmouth and Chelsea, d 1895 Greenwich)
    James Hawton (b 1826 Stoke Climsland, m Mary Bowen, d 1903 St German Cornwall)
    Robert Hawton (b 1826 Stoke Climsland, d 1828 Stoke Climsland)            <<< Twin with James
    Margaret Hawton (b 1828 Stoke Climsland, m William Burton Mitchell 1846 Stoke Climsland Cornwall, d 1922 Essendon Vic)
        William Mitchell  (b 1850 Tregorick Cornwall, m Ellen Adelaide Cubit 1880 Sandridge Melb, d 1889 Bethanga, Vic )
               Ernest Harold Mitchell (b 1887 Whiteford, m  Liela Muriel Roach 1914 Kew, d 1960 Wodonga)
    William Hambly Hawton (b 1830 Stoke Climsland, m Mary Grigg 1856 Stoke Dameral, d 1911 Devonport)
    Francis Hawton (b 1833 Stoke Climsland, m 1866 Eliza Charity Lavers Prouse, d 1877 Devonport Dockyard Devon)
    Robert Hawton (b 1835 Stoke Climsland, m Mary Louisa Hosting 1861 Hill End NSW, d 1905 Charters Towers Qld)
    Dionysia Hawton (b 1839 Stoke Climsland, m Robert Lavers Prowse 1861 Totnes Devon, m George Russell 1869 Deptford, d 1910 Lewisham)
    Samuel Hawton (b 1841 Stoke Climsland, m Ann Brooks in Australia (maybe) d 1894 Albury NSW)

I should acknowledge up front Doug Nichols who in 2006 supplied a lot of data that kickstarted us on the Hawtons when information was much harder to come by

Jane Dingle died in September 1841, three months after her son Samuel was born. While Jane came from  Egloshayle, there are large numbers of Dingles in the Stoke Climsland Cemetery. The Dingles ran a major business in Stoke Climsland. And note her father James came from Stoke Climsland

Mary Knight  (b 1806  Plymstock, Devon.) They were married in Stoke Climsland and we know of three children: John Knight Capt Hallelujah b 1849, Joseph 1850 and Mary Ann Williams Hawton b 1850. Would love to know the story of the name John Knight Captain Hallelujah. (Google gives nothing.). The census taker misspelt his name in 1851/61. He was christened John Knight Hawton
Note from Doug Nichols
I have recently been in touch with a lady in Southampton whose grandfather was the brother of John Knight Hawton's second wife. In fact on the 1901 census the 2 families actually shared the same house. She has put me in touch with a cousin of hers who has supplied me with the attached photo from the local paper. You will see from this that John & his family were in the Salvation Army and this is where the "Captain" comes from, and presumably the Hallelujah was a nickname. I am hoping to find some of John's descendants still at Southampton and will keep you posted.

At one stage I had a third marriage for Francis to Elizabeth (maiden name unknown). They had two children: Hester Ann Hawton 1875 and James 1877. (LDS has Hester Ann Hawton b 1875 To Francis and Elizabeth). However this looks like his son Francis. The elder Francis is still married to Mary(ann) in the 1981 Census (below). In fact there is a tree in Ancestry with the younger Francis married to Eliza Charity Lavers Prouse (Edmunds/Ruse Family Tree).

1841 Census

Parish of Stoke Climsland, all born in Cornwall
Francis HAWTON        40        Ag Labourer  (abt 1800)
Jane HAWTON            35                                    (abt 1805)
Jane HAWTON            18                                     (abt 1822)
Judith HAWTON          16                                     (abt 1824)
Margaret HAWTON    11                                     (abt 1829)
William HAWTON         9                                     (abt 1831)
Francis HAWTON         8                                     (abt 1832)
Robert HAWTON          5                                     (abt 1835)   
Dyonissa HAWTON     2                                      (abt 1838)

1851 Census    

Parish of Stoke Climsland, CON Road :  Stoke Village                   Where Born
Francis HAWTON      Head     Mar                 51         Parish Clarke(sic)     Stoke Climsland (abt 1799)
Maryann HAWTON    Wife      Mar                 45                                         Plymouth, DEV  (abt 1805)
Francis HAWTON       Son                              16(?)     Sailor                       Stoke Climsland (abt 1834)
Robert HAWTON        Son                              15         Miner                       Stoke Climsland (abt 1835)    
Dyonisha HAWTON     Dau                              12        Scholar                     Stoke Climsland (abt 1838)
Samuel HAWTON        Son                                 9        Scholar                     Stoke Climsland (abt 1841)
John Night HAWTON   Son                                 2                                        Stoke Climsland (abt 1848)
Maryann HAWTON      Dau                                 1 mon                                 Stoke Climsland (1851)

1861 Census

Parish of Stoke Climsland, CON  Road :  Stoke Village            Where Born
Francis HAWTON     Head       Mar   61         Labourer at Mines     Stoke Climsland (abt 1799)
Maryann HAWTON    Wife       Mar   55                                          Plymouth, DEV  (abt 1805)
John Night HAWTON  Son                 12         Work at the Mines     Stoke Climsland (abt 1848)
Maryann HAWTON     Dau                 10         Scholar                      Stoke Climsland (abt 1850)
While this is bottom of page, that was the whole family?

1871 Census 

Stoke Village
Frances HAWTON    Head     Mar       71         Labourer Sexton            Stoke Climsland (abt 1799)
Maryann HAWTON    Wife    Mar        66                                              Plymouth, DEV  (abt 1804)
Maryann HAWTON    Dau                    19                                              Stoke Climsland (abt 1851)
Elizabeth Russell         Visitor                    5                                              Plymouth ,
3 houses away in the schedule was:Jjames Mitchell's family
The visitor could be related to Maryann, as they are both from Plymouth

1881 Census

Bulsworthy Cottages, Lawhitton, Launceston
Thomas NEWBURY    Head               Mar   30     Farm  Labourer  St Giles in the Heath, Devon (abt 1860)
Maryann NEWBURY   Wife                Mar   29                               Stoke Climsland (abt 1851)
Phoebe NEWBURY      Dau                            5     Scholar              Stoke Climsland (abt 1851)
Francis HAWTON         Father in law    Mar   82                              Stoke Climsland (abt 1798)
Maryann HAWTON       Mother in law   Mar   72                              Stoke Climsland (abt 1808)
This is Francis Hawton and Mary Knight living with daughter Maryann

Some Notes on Francis and Jane Hawton's children

General Comments

All their children were born in Stoke Climsland. About that time the mining industry in Cornwall was in decline. Stoke Climsland was a mining town. The family all seem to have built their lives around the docks and the navy or migrated to Australia
Some geography: Stoke Climsland is about ten milis north of the Plymouth port complex. Devonport, Saltash, St Germans, Stoke Dameral are all part of that area
Dartmouth is about 30 miles E of Plymouth as is Totnes
Deptford was a major ship building facility of the time, near Greenwich

Mary Ann  1820

About 40 trees in Ancestry have Mary Ann as Francis and Jane's daughter, born 2 July 1820. None give any documentation of this. I have searched Ancestry, Family Search, Genes Reunited and the Cornwall OPC site and can find nothing.
Francis and Mary married 12 Mar 1820, so if this was a shotgun wedding they were cutting it a bit fine. Also Francis called a daughter Mary Ann in 1850. She is by his second wife (Mary Ann Knight). Treat Mary Ann as sus.

Jane 1822

A Jane from Stoke Climsland of exactly the right age married Thomas Brown from Devonport in 1849
In 1871 they are living in Chelsea. The census reports Thomas as having lost one arm, Many Ancestry trees have her dying in 1892 but have found no evidence

Judith Hawton  1824

In 1858 Judith Hawton Spinster marries George McTaggett (Mariner) in Great Yarmouth Norfolk - groom father John Mctaggett (Mariner), brides father Francis Hawton (Miner)
In 1863 Judith Hawton Spinster marries Dugle McTaggett (Coast Guard Service) in Chelsea - groom father John Mctaggett (Deceased Warrant Officer), brides father Francis Hawton (Labourer)
In 1895 Judith McTaggett dies in Greenwich
"Possibly married a Dugald McTaggart and lived in Deptford, London. In 1871 half-brother John Knight staying with her - his wife was still in Stoke Climsland with her parents."  - Doug
I cannot find Doug's 1871 census record.  But Jane living in Chelsea as well is the clincher?

James Hawton 1826

"Not on 1841 census with family - possibly working at nearby farm. A James of this age went into the navy and lived at Devonport." Doug
In 1871 James is a baker in Devonport.
In 1881 James is a widower living in Devonport. He is a Naval Ensioner (seaman). Assuming that census entry is pensioner, he has joined the navy and gone to pensioner in 10 years
In 1891 James is living as a naval pensioner is Saltas. He is living with his father in law who is a Dockyard Writer. Still there im 1901, but died 1903 in St Germans

Robert Hawton 1826

James' twin, died age 2

Margaret 1828

Has her own page (see link above)
She came to Australia in December 1861 on the Prince of Wales
Brother Samuel was also on this ship

William Hambly 1830

1851 Labourer in Stoke Climsland
1856 marries Mary Grigg Stoke Dameral. William is Petty Officer on a ship
By 1871 William is a Warrant Officer in the R N
1874 William marries Mary Baskerville in Stoke Climsland, and is a carpenter, Father Francis is also given as carpenter
1881 William is a boatswain aboard a naval vessel
1891 William is a retired Chief Boatswain in Stoke Dameral  with second wife Mary
1901 William and Mary are still together
1911 William dies in Devonport

Francis 1833

1851 Joined the navy aged 18
1851 Served on the W coast of Africa in the Kafir wars (HMS Styx)
1856 Invalided for Syphilis
1856-64 served on various ships
1866 Francis marries Eliza Charity Lavers Prouse
1867-69 Eliza living in Dartmouth
1871 Francis Lodger in a hotel in Stoke Dameral
1871 Eliza living in Loddiswell Devon with four year old son John . 18 month old son William not present
1873 Eliza lving in Kingsbridge Devon
1873 Francis Pensioned by Navy
1873 Eliza living in Loddiswell Devon
1875 Eliza living in Stoke Climsland
1877 Eliza living in Launceston Cornwall
1877 Francis accidentally killed by the tail of a crane at which he was working (Devonport Dockyard) - see accident description below
1878 Stoke Damerall, one year old son James dies 4 months after Feancis' death
1881 Eliza is in the Devon County Lunatic Asylum, She is a needlewoman
1891 Eliza living in Totnes Devon with 16 year old daughter Hester. Eliza is a dressmaker/upholsterer
1911 Eliza is visitor in a house in Plympton St Mary, Devon
1911 Eliza dies in Plympton St Mary, Devon

Robert 1835

In the 1851 census 15 year old Robert is living at home but is described as a miner
1853 Robert Hayton, farmer, arrives in Victoria Australia on the ship Aitken, He is exactly the right age, and there is no-one else who even looks close.
It has to be our Robert, even though his obituary says he arrived in 1873
1872 Robert goes to Hill End NSW
1873 Robert and Louisa Hosting marry in Hill End
1881 Robert and Louisa (bless them) name a son William Hambly Hawton - Clearly our Robert. William's birth is registered in Hill End
1905 Robert dies and is buried in Charters Tower. Mary dies in 1824 and is buried with him
Hill End is 75 Km NW of Bathurst. It owes its existence to the New South Wales gold rush of the 1850s, and at its peak in the early 1870s it had a population estimated at 8,000 served by two newspapers, five banks, eight churches and twenty-eight pubs. The town's decline when the gold gave out was dramatic: by 1945 the population was 700.
Fred Mitchell has a note that William Mitchell visited Robert Hatton in Hillend. Check of William's diaries should come up with this

Dyonisea Hawton 1839

Unusual name, but she was named after an aunt on the Hawton side. Her birth registration was to the spelling above.
But finding her in Ancestry is a nightmare. She has been indexed under : Dynih. Dionisia, Dyomora Dionysia
In 1861 she marries Robert Lavers Prowse and has three children 1863 Florence, 1864 Amanda and 1865 Frank in Totnes Devon
In 1866 brother Francis married Eliza Charity Lavers Prouse who has to be a sister to Robert Lavers Prowse?
Amanda died 1n 1864 in Totnes and Frank was buried in the City of London and Tower Hamlets in 1866
In 1869 she marries George Russell a Beverley Yorkshireman, in Deptford.
Robert Prowse also remarries in 1871
In the 1871 Census she and George are still in Deptford. They have an 11 month old son Francis, and Florence is living with them
From 1863 sister Judith was in Deptford, and sister Jane was in Chelsea. This explains how she ended up in Deptford. She went to her sisters for help?
Robert Prowse went on to marry Emma Hooppell, and they had eleven children
Dyonisea's daughter Florence survived what must have been a difficult childhood. In 1911 she was single, a Post Office Assistant, living in Kent

Samuel Hawton 1841

Samuel Hawton arrived at Melbourne on the Prince of Wales in Dec 1861 - the same voyage that sister Margaret and her family travelled on.
Prior to that he was a copper miner in Stoke Climsand
Fred Mitchell has a note that William Mitchell visited a Samuel Hawton in Sydney.
Samuel died in Albury in 1894

Francis Hawton's Accident

‘…Fatal Accident in Devonport Dockyard. A sad accident befell two men in Devonport Dockyard on Saturday morning. Two labourers in the employ of Mr. John Pethick, contractor, named Francis Hawton of Princes Street, and John Tonkin of James Street, were engaged at the west side of the ropery stacking blocks of granite taken from the dock which Mr Pethick is enlarging, and a ballast crane was used to hoist up the stones. Hawton, working the handle, and Tonki, steadying the stone. Whilst a stone weighing between two and a half tons and three tons was being hoisted, the chain to which it was attached broke and the stone fell on Tonkins’s feet, severely injuring him. The crane, owing to the sudden jerk, fell back on Hawton injuring him so severely in the lower part of the body that, although he was promptly taken to the surgery and thence to the Royal Albert Hospital, he died in less than an hour. Hawton, who had been in Mr. Pethicks’s employ only a week, was a pensioner and leaves a wife together with six children under ten years of age…’
    The fractured chain link was never found and no compensation was paid.
                    Thanks to Roopuk on Ancestry


Acknowledgements

Jenny Mitchell obtained a lot of Hawton material in England.. There are links from Margaret Hawtons page
Thanks to Doug Nichols for his input. He has a thirty page document on the descendants of James Hawton. Some information has been extracted where it refers to our direct line (Francis)

Research Notes

Checked Local History site for Graveyard Stoke Climsland for deaths of wives but found nothing.
Good candidate for Jane Dingle's birth is on 07 Nov 1802. Egloshayle (20 miles W of Stoke Climsland, but date is spot on), parents James and Elizabeth .Another try is on 21 Apr 1799 at South Petherwin (20 miles N of Stoke Climsland), parents David and Jane (in FHO). Egloshayle looks better, as for South Petherwin, she would have understated her age by six years in the 1841 census. Go with Egloshayle as an 80% chance. Upgrade that, as  the Egloshayle James Dingle was born in  Stoke Climsland. Also Elizabeth was a Mitchell, and their grandaughter married a Mitchell
LDS has a christening for James Dingle in Stoke Climsland (1774) dying in Elgoshayle in 1863
Elizabeth Mitchell is difficult A search of Cornwall  1769-79 gives a list of 102 entries. One of the most promising is from St Agnes in 1775, but it is in the too hard basket
Census records. In 1851 James is a widower living with daughter Rebecca. This census confirms the Elgoshayle/Stoke Climsland tie
At one stage I had Mary Ann Hawton (b Stoke Climsand July 1820) as a child of Francis and Jane, but I believe that was an error.
The Mary Ann Hawton who married Thomas Newbury in Stoke Climsland in 1873 has father Francis. In the 1881 census She is Francis'daughter but only 29
Probably daughter with wife Mary Ann, not Jane Dingle
There is a photo of Jane Hawton in Ancestry with grandson Robert in the Edmunds/Ruse family tree, but I have my doubts as Jane died in 1841 (OPC database)



If you have additions or corrections to this page, please contact us      Bones in the Belfry home page      Page last updated -11 Nov 2008  7 Jul 2010   7 Oct 2012   20 Dec 2012    7 Sep 2020