Ann Marlow (1810 - 1886)

Born 6 Apr 1810 in Ravenstone, Leicestershire, England

Wife of Thomas Stevenson — married [date unknown] in England

Descendants

Died 20 Nov 1886 at age 76 in on her farm, in Rock Creek Township, Hancock Co., Illinois, USA

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Dawn Stevenson [send private message]

Biography

Information from: Stevenson family reunion info that predates the internet; also from Ann's gravestone in the Thornber (also called Powellton) Cemetery, in Hancock Co., Illinois; a photocopy of a page from the Church of England Book of Common Prayer that Ann brought with her from England to America which lists her birth, kindly shared by Mrs. Barbara Keagy; and also info from the archives of the Community of Christ (formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints archives) in Independence, Missouri.

The parish of Ravenstone was partly in Leicestershire and partly in Derbyshire at this time, so some of the records for the parish are listed under each county and may be at different archives in England. Ann was born 6 April 1810 to parents William and Mary Marlow, and baptized in Ravenstone, Leicestershire, England on 29 April 1810. She was baptized in the denomination of the Church of England, and probably in the local church called St. Michael and All Angels.

She married Thomas Stevenson. Her two known sons, William Marlow Stevenson and John Stevenson were probably born in the region around the town of Castle Donnington/Castle Donington, Leicestershire, which is an area where the three counties of Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, and Derbyshire come together. The children might have been baptized in the Church of England church in Castle Donnington, Leicestershire. Information in the archives of the Community of Christ (formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) in Independence, Missouri, in the newspaper The Saints' Herald, now visible online, and from family indicates that Ann and her husband Thomas joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (old spelling) in Ravenstone, England 5 April 1843.

They journeyed from Liverpool, England to New Orleans, Louisiana on the ship Palmyra about 10 Oct. 1845- 25 or 26 Nov. 1845, then traveled up the Mississippi River to Nauvoo, Hancock Co., IL. They stayed a short time, then crossed the river to Clark County, Missouri, where they lived for a few years, returning to Hancock County, IL by 1848. Thomas, Ann, and sons William and John farmed land in Section 8 in Rock Creek Township, Hancock County, Illinois.

Ann joined the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in 1869. Her sons had joined this denomination in 1863; I have not seen a record of when her husband Thomas joined the RLDS denomination. She died in Nov. 1886 (her gravestone may list the day of her death as 20 Nov. 1887, but newspaper notices confirm her death in Nov. 1886, either on the 19th or 20th). Her obituary can be found in the (now online) newspaper The Saints' Herald, 11 Dec. 1886 issue, Vol. 33, Whole No. 708, No. 49, page 783, column 3 and page 784, column 1. There is also a death notice in the Hancock County newspaper The Carthage Gazette, 3 Dec. 1886 issue, Vol. XXII, No. 27, page 8, column 3, listing her death as the previous Friday night (which would have been 19 Nov. 1886, or early Sat. morning, 20 Nov. 1886). I do not think Ann & Thomas Stevenson had a carved gravestone until after Thomas Stevenson's death in 1888. Son John Stevenson settled Thomas Stevenson's estate in 1889. In his will, Thomas specified how much money was to be used to buy a grave monument and a fence to go around the graves of Ann and Thomas. This time lag of a few years might account for any error in Ann's date of death carved on the stone.

Sources

• Ann Stevenson's gravestone is in the Thornber (also called Powellton) Cemetery in Hancock County. "Ann Stevenson Born at Ravenstone Leicestershire England Apr. 6, 1810 Died Nov. 20, 188(7?) Aged 77 Ys 7 Mos 14 Ds" (newspaper death notice confirms she died in 1886). Ann's maiden name of Marlow is listed on her son John's death certificate. Info from Ann's copy of The Book of Common Prayer reads "Ann Marlow Daug(h)ter of Wm (abbreviation for William) & Mary Do (Do. = abbreviation for Ditto, meaning Marlow here) was born April 6th 1810" (no place of birth listed). The Find My Past website has images from a parish book for Ravenstone, Leicestershire showing the entry for Ann's baptism 29 April 1810: "- (dash for another entry for April 1810) 29th--Ann, the daughter of William & Mary Marlow." Ann's baptism is the last baptism record I could find in this Ravenstone parish book for children of William and Mary Marlow. The Church of England/Anglican church in Ravenstone is named St. Michael and All Angels (sometimes called St. Michael's or St. Michael's Ravenstone).