Martinews - Ancestors: #FearlessFemales - Day 26

March 26 — What education did your mother receive? Your grandmothers? Great-grandmothers? Note any advanced degrees or special achievements.

My Fearless Females ancestors, as with most of their era, didn't have many years of school. Most of them would have finished school by age 14 if not earlier. It is only in recent years that females in my family have completed high school with some even going on to higher education.

But there is one Fearless Female in my family, who probably didn't have much more education than other females in my family, ended up as her area's "school mistress".

Today I'd like to introduce you to Jane Corney my great-great-great-great-grandmother.

Jane was born about 1795 in Sussex England.

According to FamilySearch.org, she married Charles Farley on Aug 2, 1819. For the era they were both quite old to be getting married - Jane was about 24 and Charles 28. The International Genealogical Index suggests they had 11 children. Their youngest child, Jack, was born in 1838 when Jane was about 43. (Jack was my g-g-g-grandfather)

We meet some of the family in the 1841 census in East Preston Sussex: Charles and Jane and 5 of their children. Charles is a farmer and at this stage, Jane is not listed with an occupation:

Source FindmyPast.co.uk

Sadly Charles died in 1844. Jane, left with a young family to bring up, would have had to find a source of income and it is in the 1851 census we find her on the East Preston census listed as a School Mistress

Source FindmyPast.co.uk

According to the website sussexhistory.com Jane started working at the school around 1849:

No assistant is noted in the accounts until 1849 when Mrs Farley was evidently engaged, and she retired in January 1860. Jane Farley was the widow of Charles, who had farmed the manor house lands until his decease in 1844 at only 53 years of age. His wife was left with five children at Wisteria Cottage (Farley's Cottage), and as a lady below gentry class she was no doubt eminently qualified to assist at the school. By 1860 she was 64 and her children all grown, at which time she left the village for Shoreham where she died in 1874, being brought back to Preston for burial.

Note - the location where Jane went when she retired in the story above doesn't seem to be accurate, but it is very close:

I think Jane "retired" from teaching at the school due to the fact that her son William, who married Sophia West in 1855, lost his wife in 1860 and had no-one to assist him raise his son William who was only about 2 when his mother died (William and Sophia had already lost their eldest child, Mary Ann in 1857). Jane is found with son and grandson living at Stoatsnest Station, Coulsdon, Surrey where William worked as a Railway Labourer.