Mary Symes Plowman (1840-1854) daughter of a saddler
Mary was born into a family of skilled tradesmen and shopkeepers. She spent her first ten years in Bridgwater, but then her family had the means to send her to secondary school in London.
Her grandfather Richard Smith also has a biography on this website.
The Smith and Plowman families.
Mary’s maternal grandfather was Richard Smith (c1784-1856), grocer, pawnbroker and property owner, who married Mary nee Ralls. Richard was later an alderman on the Bridgwater Town Council and died a wealthy man. Richard’s eldest daughter Mary Ralls Smith (1809-1882) married Thomas Plowman (1809-1882) in 1836. Thomas, a saddler and harness-maker, was born in Yeovil, Somerset.
By 1841, Thomas and Mary had lost their first baby and they had a new daughter. Mary was born at 3pm on 18 September 1840 at Bridgwater. However in June 1841, according to the census, the family was not together. Thomas and Mary were living in Pig Cross in the household of a young man named Thomas Symes. He was the son of an attorney and either a friend or a relative, which explains Mary’s middle name.
Meanwhile, baby Mary was living in a house in West Street with the Owens family. The most likely explanation was that Jane Owens was a wet nurse. Her own child was already old enough to be weaned. If for some reason a mother could not or chose not to breastfeed, the parents would pay for another woman, called a wet nurse, to breastfeed the baby. It was a common practice nationally, not just in Somerset. Infant mortality was so high that it was not hard to find a mother from a poor family who had just lost her baby and who would welcome the extra income.
The Plowman children who survived infancy were Mary, Richard, Emmeline and Elizabeth. When Mary was old enough to go to school, her parents had the choice of the Bridgwater National School for Girls or one of several private day schools for girls.
In 1851, they lived in High Street where Thomas was a saddler employing eight men. Mary was only ten years old and still at school in Bridgwater. Next door was Mary’s Uncle Joseph R. Smith (1821-1877) in his pawnbroker’s shop. He was a future three-term mayor of Bridgwater.
Northampton House, Islington
Mary must have been a good student, because she was sent to a high school for girls. Her parents chose the very grand-looking Northampton House at 6 Canonbury Place, Islington, London.
No. 6 Canonbury Place was a girls’ school from 1838 to 1911 and by the time Mary was a pupil, the building was called Northampton House. The headmistress was Miss Caroline Byfield and her younger sisters Harriet and Mary were housekeeper and a teacher respectively. There were five other teachers and two pupil teachers for about thirty girls aged between eleven and eighteen. There was also a cook and a maid. There were likely day girls not listed in the census to swell the number of pupils. There was no obvious connection with Bridgwater, but someone must have recommended the school to the Plowmans. It was a long train journey to and from Bridgwater at the beginning and end of term and Mary would always have been escorted by one of her parents or a female relative.
Every school was a little different, but generally girls were taught English, French, enough arithmetic for household account-keeping, music, drawing and needlework. Outdoors the girls might walk sedately around the grounds, but it is unlikely that any other physical activity was encouraged.
It was nearly the end of term, but instead of welcoming Mary home again for the summer holidays, her family received the worst possible news. Mary was ill with a fever and chest infection. After only seven days she died of pneumonia on 17 June 1854. Caroline Byfield registered her death so it is unknown if Mary’s parents reached her in time.
Thomas and Mary announced the sad news in the Bridgwater Times, 22 June 1854:
“June 17 at Northampton House, Canonbury Place, London, of inflammation of the lungs, Mary, the beloved daughter of Mr Thomas Plowman, of Bridgwater, aged 14 years.”
They brought Mary’s body home to Bridgwater and she was buried in the Wembdon Road Cemetery.
There is no record of her younger sisters Emmeline and Elizabeth attending Northampton House, which, after losing Mary, is understandable.