New Light on The Mystery ( & Earliest Recorded) Ackworth Sampler

If you remember I had a lovely email from Nigel telling me about a new found Ackworth School sampler. The sampler comes with a slip of paper on which is the following text: I wish this to be given to Jane Kerchiss / MARY MAW BARBER ne BAYLDON / was born 24 December 1818 must have / been very young when she did this SP. The mystery was that there was no Mary Bayldon or Baildon or Mary Maw or Mary Barber at Ackworth School. However many of you have been researching and it looks like we can now flesh out the story, thanks to Janet Littlecott. (Who is a very special person having helped with much of the research into personal histories for the Feller Needlework Collection - many thanks, Janet.) Looking more closely at the sampler, Nigel found initials and a date in a medallion at the edge of the sampler - DJ 1787. So this makes this sampler the earliest known Ackworth School sampler to date. With this information, Janet was able to give us the following narrative: Ann Jones was the daughter of Thomas Jones (died in April 1778 aged 39 years in Gainsborough) and Deborah Jones (died on 4 August 1817 aged 71). Ann Jones, herself, died on 16 November 1789 aged 16. The ceremony was carried out by her uncle John Maw. Deborah Jones was probably not poor - she inherited £450 from her father at the age of 21. She also left a will which bequeathed money to her niece, Ann Maw. The connection between the Maw's and the Jones' families is that two of the Burt(t) sisters married a Maw and a Jones : Deborah Burt(t) married Thomas Jones and Mary Burt(t) married John Maw, a mustard manufacturer. Many thanks to everyone who shared the information they had.