Mary [Jacobs] Scott (1834 - 1873)
Mary Jacobs was born on 5 April 1834 in Westbourne, Sussex, about 7 miles northeast of
Portsmouth. She was one of at least six children, born of Joseph and Hannah [White]
Jacobs. We know little of her childhood. She was christened on 1 June 1834, at
the parish church in Westbourne. The next information we have on her is twenty two years
later when she married William Scott on 3 Aug, 1856. They were married at the parish
church in Westbourne, where Mary had been christened. At that time and for many years
later, William was a warder at Portsmouth Prison and they lived in different houses in the
vicinity of the Prison.
They enjoyed seventeen years of marriage, until her death on February 7th, 1873 on the
Isle of Wight. During that period they had seven children, four of whom lived beyond
infancy. During this period of her life most of the information we have, that relates to
her personally, occurs on the various birth and death certificates of her children. In
addition we have census information from 1861 and 1871. We can also deduce some
information from from her husband's career moves which indicate that they probably moved
to the Isle of Wight in the fall of 1869.
Within the family we have an anecdotal piece of information relating to Mary's death
and William's subsequent marriage to Sarah Langrish. Sarah, also born in Westbourne, was a
childhood friend of Mary. In 1873 Sarah was a spinster (i.e., had never married). Mary,
aware that she was about to die, made arrangements for Sarah to marry William -- which was
done a couple of years later on 20 April 1875 at St. Mary's Church in Portsmouth.
Mary's funeral service was at the Carisbrooke Church on the Isle of Wight and is
recorded in the church record book there. She is interred in the Carisbrooke Cemetery in
plot number 1493, "a common grave in the consecrated ground" according to the
entry in the cemetery records. The costs charged by the cemetery, as recorded in their
records, were "to Jno. Chiverton, burial fee, 2/-, Sexton, 3/-, Moving(?) Up, 1/-,
Knells, 3/-, Clerk, 1/- for a total of 10/- (ten shillings)" and the burial was
presided over by 'the Vicar'.
In June of 1998, William and Mary's great granddaughter, Evelyn (Cobby) Selby, and her
husband Peter visited Carisbrooke church and Mary's grave -- perhaps the first family
members to do so in a century. They took several photographs and obtained photocopies of
cemetery documents related to the funeral -- these, and other documents and photographs
relating to Mary's life, are reproduced below.
Documents and Photographs Related to Mary's Life
Christ Church in Westbourne: This is the church in which Mary was Christened and in which
she and William Scott were married. Westbourne is where the Jacobs family lived through
most of the 19th century. Mary's mother was born just north of Westbourne in Harting,
Sussex in 1803 and is reputed to have lived to be one hundred. She is listed in the 1881
census (at close to 80 years!) as a labourer!
|
 A family register (presumably from a
Bible) listing the births of William and Mary and also of their children. The page is
completed in two hands. I conclude that the entry for Mary Ann Scott is in William's
handwriting, while the rest is in Mary's. Note the twins Walter and Charles. Only Walter,
Elizabeth Marion, Sydney George and William Joseph lived beyond infancy. |
An Interior view of Carisbrooke Church; Mary's funeral service was held here |
Mary's gravestone -- unfortunately the inscription was not
legible |
An exterior view of Carisbrooke Church where Mary's funeral service was held and likely
where the family attended church
|
 Mary's funeral notice: The original is on a
hard paper and heavily embossed. The image has been highlighted a little to improve
readability. Cards like these, often with photographs of the deceased were given to family
and friends. The verse reads:
A loving wife, and mother dear,
And faithful friend, while living here;
In love we lived, in peace she died --
We craved her life, but God denied.
|
Mary's Death Certificate |
Photo 1: Estimated to have been taken between 1855 and
1860 at about the time of her marriage and perhaps after she had her first child. It is a
less formal portrait than the other three and, in that perhaps reflects a younger spirit
-- it may even have been taken before her marriage in 1856 at the age of 22. |
Photo 2:This photograph also reflects a younger woman, though the pose
and dress are somewhat more formal. I place this as later than photo 1 but still early in
her married life
|
Photo 3: Here we see a somewhat older woman. There is some thickening
of the waist. Interestingly the photograph was taken in Brighton -- perhaps she and
William were on a vacation at the time. To me the photograph may show the early signs of
illness
|
Photo 4: I place this as the latest of the four photographs, perhaps
taken within a year of her death. Her waist seems to be thicker and she does not appear to
be all that well. |
Four Photographs of Mary (Jacobs) Scott
We are fortunate in having the above four photographs of Mary. I have
arranged them in chronological order as I guess it to be
Mary's Cause of Death -- Genetic Weakness?
Mary's cause of death is listed as "Hepatitis, Dropsy,
Certified". Dropsy is an old term for edema, a swelling of the body and is usually
related to kidney failure. Hepatitis is a failure of the liver. The term
"Certified" would indicate that the cause of death had been determined by a
doctor.
Mary's cause of death may be a sign of a problem in the genetic makeup of
the family. We have not yet determined what happened to her son Sydney George Scott (no
trace of him yet found after the 1881). However it is interesting that two of her other
children, Walter and Elizabeth named children Sydney George. Walter's son was born
in 1887. Elizabeth's son was born in 1901. It may well be that Mary's son had died during
the period 1881 - 1887.
In the next generation Walter's wife Julia bore about twelve children.
Only four of these lived beyond infancy; we do not know the causes of the infant deaths at
this time.
In the next generation Mary's great granddaughter Hilda Emily Fry died in
1921, at the age of 12, from Pyelitis and Cystitis. Pyelitis is an infection of the lining
surrounding the kidney, while Cystitis is an inflammation of the skin. Another member of
this generation, a great grandson had a kidney transplant in his 50's.
In the next generation a great great granddaughter had a kidney transplant
while in her 20's. (These latter two are still living and so not named on this page).
That these various conditions were related to kidney failures may be
coincidental, or it may relate to a genetic tendency to failure of the kidneys. It will be
useful obtain further information on Sydney George Scott as well as other deaths in the
family.
Acknowledgements:
The following have helped in preparing this page through sharing knowledge
or materials
- Iris (Simmons) Groutage
- Jennifer (Groutage) Hart
- Sally (Reynolds) Scott
- Eveline (Cobby) Selby
This document is 'in progress'. Any errors are mine. Contributions to this account of
Mary's life would be much appreciated.
ŠKenneth Scott and others
last modified 30 September 2001