BICKERTON, Ann (Not in Grimwade)

[buckler]

See posting on Henry BICKERTON, her husband .
viewtopic.php?f=74&t=23119

His widow, Ann Bickerton is known to have worked as silversmith after Henry’s death as she was fined for substandard buckles by Goldsmiths Hall on 18th Feb 1766 indicating that she was either using Henry’s old punches or new , unregistered , ones of her own. The existence of an unrecorded AB mark seen on several buckles and sugar nips of the correct period seems to indicate the latter.

An Anne Bickerton who describes herself as a Goldsmith in the trial of her maid for theft in 16 Jan 1766 was almost certainly the same lady although no address given in the Old Bailey trial report.( t17660116-25)

Anne Bickerton remained at 37, Monkwell Street for at least two years after the death of her husband as she appears in the Land Tax Assessments as Widow Bickerton at his old address in 1766/67 and 1767/68. She was replaced in the 1768/69 Land Tax Asseessments by Thomas Wallis. A note on the LTA indicates that he had two houses .
Kent's Directory for the Year 1768 gives Thomas Wallis as silversmith at 37, Monkwell Street London - so she must have left or died by that date — unless she had married Wallis !

[buckler]

4th July 1754
The marriage is recorded in the register of St Alban ,Wood Street of Henry Bickerton, Batchelor of that parish, to Anne Grace, of the parish of St Botolph, Bishopsgate, Widow by licence. Although Henry was in the parish of St Michael , Wood Street in 1750/51 he appears to have moved by 1754 to St Alban parish , which is literally just up the road from St Michael . Her origin in St Botolph, Bishopsgate is significant because she probably had strong links to that parish.

11th October 1765
The burial register of St Botolph, Bishopsgate records the burial of a Henry Bickerton , aged 42. This is the same parish that his presumed wife had come from and he does not appear in the burial registers of St Olave, Silver Street.

A marriage to Thomas Wallis I can be discounted as christening records of St Olave show his wife to be a Mary .

3rd December 1767. Marriage at St Botolph, Bishopsgate , of Ann Bickerton, of St Botolph, Bishopsgate, Widow, to Thomas Hockley of St Leonard , Shoreditch , Widower. This could be her getting married for the third time.

Except that nine years later : -
8th September 1776. Christening of a Thomas Hockley, Son of Thomas and Ann Hockley at St Botolph, Bishopgate.
Henry Bickerton would have been only about twenty one years old when he married Ann Grace, widow - always assuming we've got the right marriage. So Ann would be around fifty by 1767. Hopefully this birth was to the son of her new husband from his prior marrriage , who had married another Ann just to confuse us !