#43 Jane Cook

Birth
As she was baptized on February 15, 1824, Jane Cook was born before then in West Hoathly, Sussex, England, to Sarah and John Cook, ages unknown. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Marriage
Jane Cook married Richard Botting in Cuckfield, Sussex, England, between September-December 1844, or possibly in 1845. [6] She was 21 years old and he was 26.

Family
They had eleven children, all born in Lindfield, Sussex, England:
Son Richard was born in 1845
Daughter Harriett was born around 1846 [7]
Son William was born in 1848
Son James was born around May 1850
Daughter Ann was born in 1853
Son Peter was born around 1855
Daughter Fanny was born in 1857
Daughter Mary Ann (my great-great-grandmother) was born in 1859 [8]
Son Harry was born around 1863
Son George was born in 1865
Daughter Emily was born around 1868 

In 1851, Richard, Jane, four children, and Richard Sr (a widower and pauper) were living at Stone Cross in Lindfield, Sussex when the worldwide cholera epidemic made deadly passes through England and Wales. 

In 1861 the house might have felt a little crowded as Richard, Jane, and eight children were living at Stones Cross in Lindfield, Sussex in 1861. [2] Richard was still working as an agricultural labourer, an occupation he would hold for at least the next decade. That same year saw Queen Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert, die suddenly. This was also a time when the railroad industry swiftly expanded in England.

Although others may have benefited from the Bank Holiday Act of 1871, I have to wonder if Richard would have since he was an agricultural labourer. Richard (51), Jane, and six children were living at Stone Cross Cottages. Fourteen year old Fanny is listed as working as an occasional nurse.

Richard, Jane, and their youngest daughter Emily lived at 1 Stone Cross Cots in Lindfield, Sussex in 1881 and Richard worked as a gardener.

Progress made by the United States and Germany in manufacturing and agriculture in 1881, affected many in the United Kingdom, including Jane and her family during the Great Depression of 1873 to 1896.

Death of Husband
Richard Botting died in Brighton, Sussex, England in October 1887 when he was 68 years old.

Death
Jane's date of death is unknown but since she appears in the 1881 census we know it's afer that.

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Sources:
1. 1851 England Census
2. 1861 England Census
3. 1871 England Census
4. 1881 England Census
5. England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975
6. "Dec 1844 Vol 7, Page 525" (from pages entitled "History of Mary Botting," found among items bequeathed to me by my grandmother Ruby nee Napper)
7. England, Select Marriages, 1538–1973
8. England & Wales, Christening Index, 1530-1980