Jane Shaw (Blaikley) Thomson (1885 - 1980)

Born 20 Dec 1885 in Hampstead, Middlesex, England, United Kingdom

Ancestors

Wife of Edward Allan Thomson — married 6 May 1913 in Islington, Middlesex, England, United Kingdom

Descendants

Died 3 Dec 1980 at age 94 in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England, United Kingdom

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Trevor Pickup [send private message]

Biography

Jane was born on the 20th December 1885 in Hampstead, Middlesex, England the daughter of David James Blaikley and Rachel (Barnard) Blaikley.^[1][2]

1891 Census on the 5th April 1891 Jane was living at 13 Elsworthy Terrace, Hampstead, Middlesex with her parents David and Rachel and her siblings Alexander, Kate, Arthur, William, Edward, Rachel and Florence.^[3]

1901 Census on the 31st March 1901 Jane was living at 13 Elsworthy Terrace, Hampstead, Middlesex with her parents David and Rachel and her siblings Alexander, Kate, Arthur, William, Edward, Rachel, Florence and Margaret. Henrietta Baxter was visiting there.^[4]

1911 Census on the 2nd April 1911 Jane an art student and teacher, was living at 13 Elsworthy Terrace, Hampstead, Middlesex with her parents David and Rachel and her siblings Kate, William, Edward, Rachel and Florence.^[5]

Jane married Edward Allan Thomson from New Zealand on the 6th May 1913. Edward and Jane were married by the bride's father, David, who was the presiding Elder at the Highbury Church.

1939 National Register on the 29th September 1939 Jane was living at 38 Holly Park, Finchley, Middlesex with her husband Edward and their children Kate and Arthur.^[2]

"A small woman of barely five feet tall, Jane looked even smaller beside her husband's 6ft 2 inches. Although her first ambition was to take up gardening, her parents thought there was little future in it for a woman but her love of gardening stayed with her for the rest of her life. Instead, she took up art and began attending the Royal Female School of Art, a single-sex Victorian establishment, where she gained scholarships and prizes and qualified as a teacher. Two of her large flower paintings in water-colour, were accepted by the Royal Academy. Whilst studying Jane made many friends, including Dorothy Cohen, who painted portraits of Jane's children, including a miniature of William Allan Thomson. Her marriage, in 1913, cut short a brief teaching career but she returned to painting in a serious way following World War II. Her work, from this point onward, was greatly influenced by the French Impressionists and Post-Impressionists. Jane's husband was an engineer for the Blue Star Line and was frequently required to leave his family in order to supervise ship-building or repairs in Britain and abroad. Jane grew to dread the phone call from her husband's secretary telling her that he had been called away and her reaction in reply was less than polite, so much so that the secretary eventually refused to undertake this task. On one occasion, nearing Jane and Edward's wedding anniversary, Jane was so incensed that Blue Star Line arranged for her to join her husband onboard ship in Lisbon where the ship's cook gave them a wonderful anniversary dinner. Her daughter, Edith Mary Thomson, wrote that Jane had “great charm without affectation as well as persistence and energy” but had “a certain lack of confidence in dealing with social occasions.”^[6]

Jane, of Hopehill, Washwell Lane, Wadhurst, East Sussex, died aged 95 on the 3rd December and her death was registered in the 4th quarter 1985 in Tunbridge Wells, Kent.^[7]

Probate of Jane's estate, £40087, was processed in Brighton, Sussex on the 3rd February 1981.^[8]

Residence

(5.4.1891 - 2.4.1911) 13 Elsworthy Terrace, Hampstead, Middlesex
(29.9.1939) 38 Holly Park, Finchley, Middlesex

Occupation

Teacher (2.4.1911)

Research Note

Based originally on a Barnard family bible, and unless otherwise sourced, any precise dates are as shown on hand-written notes (pages 32, 56, 63) compiled about the 11th December 1878 by John Barnard (1797-1880) Barnard-4046, living at 12 Compton Terrace, Canonbury, Middlesex from before 1861 until his death. Also shown, in different handwriting, is one of his children Katherine Barnard (1844-1912) Barnard-4055 living at 12 Highbury Terrace, Islington, Middlesex from before 1911 until her death, and one of his grandchildren Kate Barnard Blaikley (1879-1969) Blaikley-22 living at 5 Canfield Gardens, Hampstead, Middlesex from before 1939 until before her death. These hand-written notes record the Barnard family, and others, commencing with William Barnard (1605-1682) through to a John Barnard, a farmer in 1898, living at Haslingfield, 1¼ miles from Barrington, Cambridgeshire, where Barnard ancestors had lived since 1605. A copy of these notes is in the possession of Trevor Pickup (Pickup-177) and Michael Pickup (Pickup-178).

Sources

1. ↑ * Birth Registration: "England & Wales General Register Office". GRO Online Indexes - Birth (accessed 22 February 2022). Blaikley, Jane Shaw (Mother's maiden name: Barnard). GRO Reference: 1886 Jan-Feb-Mar in Hampstead Volume 01A Page 688.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} 1939 National Register Ancestry
3. ↑ 1891 Census Ancestry
4. ↑ 1901 Census Ancestry
5. ↑ 1911 Census Ancestry
6. ↑ The Blue Gum Tree, the Thompson family history, accessed 14/8/2018 at https://bluegumtree.com/person/PER67.html by Trevor Pickup on the 14th August 2018.
7. ↑ Jane Shaw (Blaikley) Thomson's death, England and Wales Death Registration Index 1837-2007 FamilySearch
8. ↑ Probate of Jane Shaw (Blaikley) Thomson's estate, Ancestry