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Mary Ann Savers 1822-1891 |
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Ancestors of Robert Read
Robert John Read William Charles Read
Lewis Read James Read
Edward Read Mary Jane Read George Read Walter Read Arthur Henry Read
Photograph by |
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Robert & Mary Ann photographed c1867 Robert Symonds Read and Mary Ann Savers were married on 5 February 1845 in St Paul’s Church in Portsea. The witnesses at the wedding were Henry Gayleard and Elizabeth Thomas. It is not known how the couple met; Robert was born in Woodbridge, Suffolk, on 8 August 1822, and Mary Ann is believed to have been born in the same year in Portsea. However, as Robert joined the Royal Navy in 1841 it is probable that they met whilst he was serving at Portsmouth Dockyard. After their marriage Robert continued his career in the Royal Navy while Mary remained in Portsea, bringing up the first four of their children. The area where she lived was in an over crowded, impoverished part of the town. The living conditions were harsh, with poor sanitation and tiny houses crammed into a maze of dark, narrow alleyways. Disease was rife, and it is hardly surprising that two of their sons died in infancy, and a third died before his fourth birthday. At the time of the 1851 census Mary was also caring for her half sister and a young cousin. In 1856 Mary Ann's sister died, and she took on the care of her niece and nephew. It was shortly after this that Robert became a Coastguard and the family moved to Suffolk, where their fifth son was born, and later to Kent. Robert & Mary's only daughter was born in Dover in 1859, where the family lived until the little girl died in 1863. Two further sons were born in this area, and both survived until early adulthood. The couple's eighth son was born in Gravesend in 1867, where he died before his second birthday. Mary remained close to her niece, Rosina, who she regarded as a daughter. From the family headstone in Gravesend cemetery we know that Robert died on 23 October 1885, at San Domingo. It is possible that he returned to the Sea, but we cannot be sure of the circumstances of his death.
Mary Ann then lived with
her son, Edward, and his family in Buxton Road Stratford,
until her death there on
25 January 1889. She is buried in the family grave at Gravesend with two of her sons.
Find the family headstone in
Round the Graveyard. |
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