B. about 1790 in Tickenham, Somerset, England1
M. (1) 2 Jan 1811 in Bristol, England2
Husband: Thomas Hughes
M. (2) 12 Nov 1836 in Bristol, England3
Husband: Jonathan Horler
D. Jul 1868 in Almondsbury, Gloucestershire, England4
Hester Keen was caught in an endless cycle of poverty, a fact made worse when she was widowed twice. But she seems to have stayed out of the workhouse, a death sentence for many in her circumstances.
Little is known about Hester’s beginnings — her parents and family are unknown. She was born in about 1790 in the village of Tickenham, Somerset, England.1 On January 2, 1811, she married Thomas Hughes of Almondsbury, Gloucestershire.2 Hester gave birth to eight children between 1813 and 1831, with two known to have died young.
During the first couple decades of the 19th century, the Hughes family appeared several times in the Almondsbury vestry order books, a record of church handouts to the poor. In November 1814, Hester’s husband received 3 1/2 yards of cloth,5 which presumably was used by Hester to make clothing (at that time, there were no children in her household). A couple of years later, the family got a small amount of money to build a house,5 something that was likely little more than a shack given their consistent poverty.
In the years of Hester’s early adulthood, the economic situation of lower class English people got much worse. With the end of the Napoleonic wars, many disabled veterans overwhelmed the system of charity, and so in 1834, a law was passed in England saying that in order to receive assistance, you had to live in a workhouse. The English workhouse was a dormitory-style facility that separated men and women, and required them to do menial labor in return for food. It also meant living in disease-ridden conditions with little ability to get out.
Hester’s husband Thomas passed away on June 15, 1835,6 and she remarried to a man named Jonathan Horler on November 12, 1836.3 Little is known about Jonathan, but with Hester in her mid-40s, they had no children together. He seems to have died by the 1841 census, which showed Hester as being a widow with two daughters.7 Her occupation was listed as “charwoman” — a designation which meant she cleaned houses for other people. As a poor, uneducated woman, she likely had few other options to survive.
The whereabouts of Hester in the 1851 census are unknown, but she was listed in 1861 living with a family who was unrelated to her, described as a border and a “pauper.”1 Perhaps the family was someone she had worked for who kept her in their household out of generosity when she became too old (this is my own speculation).
Hester was in her late 70s when she died in July 1868.4 She was buried in the graveyard of St. Mary’s Parish Church in Almondsbury.
Children (all by Thomas Hughes):
1. George Hughes — B. before 31 Oct 1813, Almondsbury, Gloucestershire, England;8 D. 6 Feb 1814, Almondsbury, Gloucestershire, England9
2. George Hughes — B. before 11 Apr 1815, Almondsbury, Gloucestershire, England;10 D. after 1891, (probably) England;11 M. (1) Mary, before 1861;1 (2) Elizabeth, before 188112
3. James Hughes — B. before 10 Aug 1817, Almondsbury, Gloucestershire, England;13 D. before 4 Jan 1829, Almondsbury, Gloucestershire, England14
4. Charles W. Hughes — B. about 1819, Almondsbury, Gloucestershire, England;15 D. before 1864;16 M. Maria Bevan (1820-1888), 15 Jun 1842, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island17
5. Thomas Hughes — B. about 1823, Almondsbury, Gloucestershire, England;15 D. after 1861;1 M. Mary Ann Wither (~1823-?), 7 Sep 1845, Almondsbury, Gloucestershire, England18
6. Rachel Hughes — B. before 31 Dec 1826, Almondsbury, Gloucestershire, England15
7. James Hughes — B. before 4 Jan 1829, Almondsbury, Gloucestershire, England;14 D. before 1841, (probably) Almondsbury, England1
8. Selina Hughes — B. before 31 Jan 1831, Almondsbury, Gloucestershire, England;19 M. William Cardin (1831-?)1
Sources:
1 1861 U.K. Census, Almondsbury, Gloucestershire
2 Marriage record of Thomas Hughes and Hester Keen, England, Marriages, 1538-1973, FamilySearch.org
3 Marriage record of Jonathan Horler and Hester Hughes, England & Wales Marriages, 1538-1988, Ancestry.com
4 Death record of Hester Horler, England, Bristol, Parish Registers, 1538-1900, FamilySearch.org
5 Overseers order books, 1797-1817, England, Almondsbury, Gloucestershire, FamilySearch.org
6 Death record of Thomas Hughes, E., B., P. R.
7 1841 U.K. Census, Almondsbury, Gloucestershire
8 Baptismal record of George Hughes (older), E., B., P. R.
9 Death record of George Hughes (older), E., B., P. R.
10 Baptismal record of George Hughes (younger), E., B., P. R.
11 1891 U. K. census, Almondsbury, Gloucestershire
12 1881 U. K. census, Almondsbury, Gloucestershire
13 Baptismal record of James Hughes (older), E., B., P. R.
14 Baptismal record of James Hughes (younger), E., B., P. R.
15 Baptismal record of Charles, Thomas and Rachel Hughes, E., B., P. R.
16 Hutchinson’s Prince Edward Island City Directory, 1864, which shows Maria Hughes as a widow
17 Marriage record of Charles Hughes and Maria Baird, Canada, Prince Edward Island Marriage Registers, 1832-1888, FamilySearch.org
18 Marriage record of Thomas Hughes and Mary Ann Wither, Bristol, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1935, Ancestry.com
19 Baptismal record of Selina Hughes, E., B., P. R.
