|
From: Helen Oram, on 13th June, 2013
I was very interested to follow the quest for the Rev. John Vane on [these] pages. In my family there is a story that someone married a Lord, possibly of Raby who died after a riding accident and his wife was cut off without any money.There were no children, so I was very interested to see the information about John W. Tempest on page 9.
"Sir Henry Vane-Tempest Bt was the son of the Rev. Henry Vane Bt. (1729-1794) of Long Newton Co.Durham and Frances Tempest of Wynyard mar.
3/3/1768 St Mary's South Bailey , Durham . Frances was the sister of John Tempest of Wynyard (1739-1794). John Tempest had only one child, a son John Wharton Tempest(1772-1793) with his wife Ann Townsend of Hertfordshire . The son was badly injured in a riding accident and despite the attention of the eminent surgeon Hunter died intestate at 21 in Brighton. He is the subject of a painting by George Romney. His devastated father survived him by only one year and devised the Tempest properties including Wynyard upon his nephew Henry Vane stipulating that he should adopt the name and arms of Tempest in addition to his own."
His demise fits exactly with the family tale, and subsequent events may explain how the Vane element got entangled within it!
Unfortunately I do not know the name of the lady involved (if there was one!) She would have been from a humble background and the story has been passed down through the descendants of Ralph RICHARDSON/Jane BLACKETT who married at Lamesley in Co. Durham in 1785.
I just wondered if you or any of your correspondents had come across a similar tale during the course of your researches into the Tempests and Vanes?
|
From: John Gowar, 13th March, 2014 [delay caused by my gross incompetence - Ed]
I haven't heard from Neil for sometime. His interest was centred on the Bath connection of the Duke of Cleveland and I'm not aware of any early demises in that branch of the family through a riding accident.
So, Helen's message opens the possibility that the unfortunate John Wharton Tempest had a wife or mistress who was cut off from the family after his accident. How interesting, but I've no idea how it might be possible to uncover a clandestine marriage!
I managed to visit Wynyard a few weeks ago. That was the estate inherited by John Vane's father from the Tempest family after John Wharton's death and where John was brought up. It was rebuilt in the 1840s by John's half-sister and her husband, the 3rd Marquess of Londonderry, and has been restored to its former glory and is now a hotel. If you find yourself in the area of Stockton-On-Tees and fancy an expensive afternoon tea, I can recommend it!
Thanks for getting in touch!
|
From: Helen Oram, on 18th March, 2014
Thank you for replying. I cannot find a link in my family to Jane LAWSON., but I think my family rumor refers to a different lady.
From what I can see on familysearch.org, Jane, bapt 1770 Stockton, was most likely the daughter of John LAWSON & Alice DIXON who married at Stockton on 23 Nov 1768. If so, then Jane had siblings John 1769, Elizabeth 1771, Rachel 1772, and William 1774. An Elizabeth LAWSON married William PROUDFOOT by license at Stockton 30 May 1797 and they moved to the Sunderland area and had a family there. Unfortunately the marriage license is not available to view as 1797 is missing on familysearch. Perhaps Durham University archives have a copy.
Rachel LAWSON married John FAWCETT of Richmond YKS by banns at Stockton on 13 Nov 1797. I think they probably moved to Yorkshire .
I do not know what became of John & William.
Jane seems to disappear after the baptism at Wolsingham of John VANE/LAWSON.
There are burials at Stockton of an Alice LAWSON of Skinner Street 1829 and John LAWSON of Stockton 1831 who may be the parents of Jane.
|
From: John Gowar, 18th March, 2014
Yes, I'm sure that John & Alice Lawson are Jane's parents and John Vane's maternal grandparents. Did you notice that John and Alice were both in their nineties when they died?
I don't recall following through the marriages of Elizabeth and Rachel but it seems they both moved away from Stockton. That still leaves the mystery of what happened to Jane, William and John jr. I think I looked for the family in the Land Tax and Overseer's records without success but that is something I'll have to check. I'm grateful for your interest.
|
|
|
