Ancestors of Cley

Here is an excerpt from Jemima Dew's death certificate. Column 5, Occupation, shows "Wife of Thomas Dew", then a line, and the word "Mariner." Presumably, that was her occupation: wife of Thomas Dew, a mariner. (This didn't narrow things down much, as there was at least one other Thomas Dew, mariner, living in Blakeney at the time.)

Or does it mean "Wife of Thomas Dew" and "Mariner," meaning that she was the wife of Thomas Dew and also a mariner herself?

Excerpt from Jemima Dew's death certificate

I suspect it means her occupation was being Thomas Dew's wife. At the time of her death, Jemima and Thomas had a five-year-old son, Jacob Jary Dew. When she was enumerated in the 1861 census, her occupation had been given as "Mariners Wife."

Still, I wonder why Thomas's occupation was listed in column 5 at all. He was the informant; his occupation could have been given in column 7, as his description.

I think I probably have a soft spot for Jemima. She had, reading between the lines, a rough life; both she and Thomas did, and that will be the subject of a later post. I just think it's a little sad that even on her own death certificate, her husband's occupation was listed rather than her own.

UPDATE! 29 October 2009: While preparing a post about Jemima's life this morning, I took a closer look at their marriage certificate. If ditto marks meant the same thing then as they do now, then Jemima WAS a mariner!

Excerpt from Thomas Dew & Jemima Jary's marriage certificate

I feel better for Jemima now. Maybe her own occupation was, indeed, listed on her death certificate.

(Not only that, this blog is already doing one of the things I had hoped it would do: clarifying our research. We've had this certificate for almost three years, and have looked at it no telling how many times. Neither of us noticed this before. There's always something new. Isn't genealogy fun?)

Sources:

• Death certificate: Jemima Dew. General Register Office, UK. 1869 Dec Walsingham. Vol 4b, Page 197.
• 1861 England Census. District 12, Cley-next-the-Sea. Household 156. RG9; Piece:  1203; Folio:  166; Page:  22; GSU roll:  542774.
• Marriage certificate: Thomas Dew and Jemima Jary. GRO. 1858 Mar Erpingham. Vol 4b, Page 85, Entry no. 127.

Related Posts

1. Jemima Jary Dew: a life’s story in seventeen events
2. Jacob Jary Dew (1864-1947)
3. More on the 1841 Blakeney Census – Susan Starling
4. A look at the 1841 Blakeney Census
5. Stiffkey St John churchyard in the snow