John Gray & Ann Cannon

[Asa]

John Gray or Grey was baptised 12th Feb 1756 at Bisham in Berkshire, on of the four children baptised there of William and Elizabeth Gray. He obtained a settlement by renting at Cookham in Berkshire in 1774 and married Ann Cannon at Cookham 15th Feb 1774.

Between baptisms at Cookham and the notebook of the vicar there, it appears there were 11 children. John died in 1804 and was buried at Cookham on 2nd April 1804.

In his notebook, the vicar recorded that Ann "keeps the gate at Pinkneys Green", a hamlet in Cookham - she was living in North Town, Cookham when she died in 1838 and was buried at Cookham 29th Jul 1838 aged 89, giving a rough birth date of 1749. Her youngest child was baptised in 1797, so she may have been a little younger. There aren't any obvious candidates for a baptism but Cannon was a fairly common name around.

[Shona]

Lots of fascinating info about the area here:

http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=43192

[Asa]

Thanks Shona - I know the area well but didn't know all that!

[Shona]

This bit caught my eye:

'The parish has been in possession since 1830 of a house at Butler's Gate, Pinkney's Green, formerly used as a gate-house; the rent of £9 a year is carried to the account of the charity next mentioned.

The Widbrook apprenticing charity consists of the net residue of tolls taken for the admission of cattle, &c., to Whitebrook Common after deducting expenses of marking the cattle, &c., and a quit-rent of £2 5s. a year to the lord of the manor; such residue with the rent of a cottage at Whitebrook Gate amounts to about £11 a year, which with £9 a year received from the parish house above mentioned is applied in apprenticing. These two charities are managed by the trustees of the parochial charities.'

Have you discovered any more about the gate Ann kept?

[Asa]

No I haven't - I've had a look around because it does say in the vicar's notebook *the* gate