Until last year the parents of my 4th great-grandmother Mary Anne Callow (1789-1837) were a mystery. All I knew was that Mary Anne’s mother was named Sarah and that both Mary Anne and Sarah died in Huntingdon, England. I could not find an infant baptism record for Mary Anne nor could I find any probable siblings for her or a marriage record for her parents. I have only a transcribed adult baptism record for Mary Anne under her married name of Beresford; the record is dated 1816 and gives her birth year as 1789. (Ancestry.com: England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975).
Last year while searching on the surname Callow in British newspapers in Newspapers.com, I found the following mention in the Friday, April 25th, 1817 edition of the Cambridge Chronicle and Journal and Huntingdonshire Gazette, which reads “At Huntingdon, on the 23rd inst. suddenly, Mrs. Callow of the Rose and Crown public-house, at an advanced age.”
Death notice from the Cambridge Chronicle and Journal and Huntingdonshire Gazette, 25 April, 1817
I knew this notice referred to my 5th great-grandmother Sarah Callow because the date aligned with the burial record I had for her, which described her as a 66-year-old widow, buried on the 27th of April 1817 in Huntingdon (Ancestry.com: England, Select Deaths and Burials, 1538-1991). But I had never before seen mention of the Rose & Crown pub and had not previously seen Sarah listed as a publican.
Sarah of the Rose and Crown
A Google search revealed that the Rose & Crown pub of Huntingdon is no longer in operation, but the building still stands as a private residence at 76 Ermine Street. It is a Grade II building listed on the National Heritage List for England.
76 Ermine St, Huntingdon, England (photo taken September 2022 by me)
I tried to find a list of pub licenses in the area from this time period, but was not successful. However, with my subscription to Findmypast, I was able to search additional British newspapers beyond what is available on Newspapers.com, and there I found an earlier reference to the Callows and the Rose & Crown public house in the Northampton Mercury, dated 21 August 1802. It reads “On Wednesday se’nnight, Mr. Tho Callow, master of the Rose-and-Crown public-house, Huntingdon, and contractor for the bye mails between Huntingdon and Cambridge, and Huntingdon and Kimbolton.” (sennight = seven nights; in this case, a week before Wednesday)
Death notice in the Northampton Mercury, 21 August 1802
I was absolutely thrilled to find this notice, because it offered more proof that my Callows had indeed operated the pub. The notice also verified that Mr. Callow’s first name was Thomas, and he was quite a busy man. Not only did he run a pub, he delivered mail all over the county!
Next I searched for Thomas and Sarah Callow in the catalog of the National Archives. There I found an 1802 probate record for Thomas and an 1817 probate record for Sarah. These records are not digitized, so to see them I had to either visit the Huntingdonshire Archives in person or hire a local genealogist to copy the records for me. My family has used the services of professional genealogists in the past with great success, but in this case I wanted to visit the archives in person so I could see the town of Huntingdon and better understand one of the places I have spent so many hours researching.
To Huntingdon we go
Huntingdon, England welcome sign, September 2022
Huntingdon (population 25,000) is not on the usual tourist track for international travelers, but it’s only 1 hour via direct train from London and is situated in a pleasant area along the River Great Ouse (I believe this is pronounced ooze). My husband and I stayed at the Gothic Cottage in the center of town, only a 10-minute walk from the train station. While in the area we walked and took public transportation everywhere we needed to go. Renting/hiring a car was not necessary. There was a Wetherspoons pub very close to our accommodation and we ate there multiple times.
Fish and Chips at Sandford House - JD Wetherspoon, Huntingdon (I had the mushy peas, my husband took his peas unmushed)
Historically, Huntingdon was a market town and the county seat of Huntingdonshire, but in 1974 Huntingdonshire was absorbed into Cambridgeshire. Huntingdon was previously known as a “coaching center” meaning that it was a place to stop while traveling along the Roman Road (also known as Ermine St) that runs from London to Lincoln. Huntingdon was also the birthplace of Oliver Cromwell. Here is my husband hamming it up at the Oliver Cromwell museum:
My husband at the Oliver Cromwell Museum
Thomas and Sarah Callow, Victuallers
At the Huntingdonshire Archives I was able to view the will of Thomas Callow, my 5th great-grandfather (dated 1793) as well as the probate documents for Thomas and Sarah. In Thomas’s will he is referred to as a victualler (pronounced vitt-ler and meaning someone licensed to sell alcohol). He left his estate, worth less than £20 in 1802, to his wife Sarah.
Cover page for the will of Thomas Callow of Huntingdon, proved 1802 (Huntingdonshire Archives)
Sarah died 15 years later and left an estate worth £138 (equal to £15,000 or $19,000 in today’s money). This estate passed to her daughter Mary Anne. The inventory included
Cash in the house
Household goods and furniture
Plates, linens, and china
Books and prints
Wearing apparel
Ale and spirituous liquors
Book debts [debts owed to her]
Probate inventory for the estate of Sarah Callow, 1817 (Huntingdonshire Archives)
Sarah successfully ran the Rose and Crown pub for 15 years after her husband’s death. As the pub was located on a busy road, I can’t help but wonder who came in on a regular basis or while just passing through. What were her Georgian and Regency-era customers like? How did they dress? What ales and food (i.e., vittles) did Sarah serve them? What conversation topics did they discuss?
And how interesting it must have been for Mary Anne to grow up in (and above) the pub! Surely she helped her mother with the day-to-day operations. Perhaps this is where she met her future husband, bricklayer William Beresford. (Mary Anne and William Beresford did not take over the pub after Sarah died. It seems that another family took it over.)
Sarah née Andrew?
If you’re wondering what Sarah’s maiden name was, you’re not alone. I did find an indexed entry of their likely marriage record, stating that Thomas Calow and Sarah Andrew were married in 1788 in nearby Stilton, which is to the north, closer to Peterborough. I have only found this record in Findmypast, as part of the Huntingdonshire Marriages 1754-1837 Index. It doesn’t seem to be in Ancestry.
In the transcribed marriage record (the transcription is all I have to go on), Thomas is marked as widowed, while Sarah is not marked as widowed. I found that Thomas was previously married to Isabella Edmondson and they raised children in Chesterton, near Peterborough. I have not found baptism records for Sarah or Thomas, but it seems that Sarah’s age at marriage was 37. If she was not widowed, what was her life like before marrying Thomas? Was Mary Anne really her first and only child? Was Stilton her hometown or was she born elsewhere?
The research is never complete. Answers lead to many more questions. But for now, this concludes the story of my Callow ancestors. Stay tuned for posts on my other Huntingdon lines.