Content Warning, descriptions of domestice violence. It’s time to return to the story of Jane’s sister, Emma, who had been abandoned by her abusive husband John George Herrod, in 1877. In January 1881, Fred writes asking Jane how her trip to London had gone. This date coincides with the records of the High Court of… Continue reading The Sad Story of Emma Warburton part two
Tag: Warburton Family
The sad story of Emma Warburton (Part One)
Content warning: this post mentions domestic violence. At some point in either 1876 or 1877 my great great grandmother, Jane Warburton, at 16 years old would have discovered that marriages were not always happy, in fact they could be ruinous, particularly for a woman. I promised in my Becoming Jane post that Emma, Jane’s older… Continue reading The sad story of Emma Warburton (Part One)
The Vinegar Valentine
The winter of 1878/1879 was one of the coldest on record with snow remaining on the ground for almost 4 months. During the first part of 1879 an unsettling coolness seems to creep in between Fred and Jane. In fact the more I re-read Fred’s diary for the first half of 1879, I’ve retrospectively grown… Continue reading The Vinegar Valentine
Becoming Jane
A visit to Handsworth The landlady of the Cross Keys throws open the back door of the pub for me and I am confronted by a green green view of trees and grass and gravestones – the latter of which are jutting up like a snaggletoothed smile. Behind me I can hear the laughter… Continue reading Becoming Jane
Let’s call the whole thing off (but I’ll see you once a week)
Trying to work out just how much (and why) the early days of Janie and Fred’s relationship were blighted by the disapproval of Janie’s family, the Warburtons, is tricky when the only lens I’ve got for this time are the sporadic entries from Fred’s diary. Fred is feeling that his shortcomings in the eyes of… Continue reading Let’s call the whole thing off (but I’ll see you once a week)
My Darling Janie 