Horner – Joan Fenton 1985

My great-great grandparents, Noah Horner and his wife Hannah, were passengers on the ‘Fairlie in 1848.As readers of this journal are aware, the ‘Fairlie was one of the three ships carrying the Calaise Lacemakers refugees to their new homes in Australia. When the article appeared in Descent detailing the Lacemaker story and calling for descendants of the passengers on the three ships concerned. I was delighted to “discover” that I was related to this group of people.It seems that all of the Horner family came to Australia at the same time – most were on the ‘Fairlie’ and Noah’s father and two of his sisters were on the ‘Charlotte Jane’, a ship that also arrived 1848.However, they were NOT from Nottinghamshire – they were from Northamptonshire. Their home town was spelt in various ways – usually Yardley Gubbins or Yardley Gubin – but I have since established that the correct name name is Yardley Gobion (Parish of Potterspury and Yardley Gobion). To compound the mystery, the men were not lacemakers, they were mostly brickmakers! (more details of the Brickworks in Anthony Horners article.) But there were lacemakers in the group – they were the womenfolk.
Why were they on the ‘Fairlie’? Were they in Calais? Or is their presence on the ship purely coincidental?The following is what I know about the family:-
NOAH HORNER – Born c1822,Yardley Gobion, C. Of E. Brickmaker, could read and write, came on the ‘Fairlie’. (Noah died at Kelso, NSW, in 1854.)
HANNAH HORNER (Noah’s wife) – daughter of Daniel and Susan Kirk, born c1819, lacemaker, could read and write, came on the ‘Fairlie’.Noah and Hannah’s children, who also arrived on the ‘Fairlie’ were :-
SARAH ELLEN HORNER aged 8 years, could read.
EDWIN HORNER, aged 4 years, could read.
GEORGE HORNER, aged 2 years.
WILLIAM HORNER, infant, born on the voyage.
GEORGE HORNER – Born c1827, Yardley Gobion, C of E., Farm Labourer, came on the ‘Fairlie’, was single in 1848.WILLIAM HORNER – Born c1785 (although he dropped his age 10 years on the shipping list!), Yardley Gobion, C. of E. , Brickmaker, illiterate, came on the ‘Charlotte Jane’, was a widower in 1848.
WILLIAM’s other children, who also arrived on ‘Charlotte Jane’, were:-
MARY ANNE HORNER, aged 19 years, house servant, could read.
ELLEN HORNER, aged 11 years, could read.
SARAH BLISS (widow), daughter of WILLIAM HORNER, born Yardley Gobion, Dressmaker, came on ‘Fairlie’.SARAH’s child, who also arrived on ‘Fairlie’ was:-
JOHN BLISS, aged 2years, from Yardley Gobion.
LOUISA BLISS, Born c1818, lacemaker, daughter of Thomas and Catherine SHARON.
THOMAS BLISS, husband of Louisa.

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The town of Yardley Gobion is very well represented on the ‘Fairlie’, and many other families came there. The following is a list of the other ‘Fairlie’ passenger from Yardley Gobion of which I am aware:-

Amy BROWN, Henry BROWN, James BROWN.
William YORK, Sarah YORK, (nee WESTON).
Alfred TEBBOTT, Harriet TEBBOTT, (nee BROWN), Thomas TEBBOTT.
Eli BONHAM, George Thomas BRYANT, Thomas BRYANT, Emma BRYANT, Sarah BRYANT.
Joseph ELMS, Susannah ELMS, William ELMS, (Infant), ELMS, (born on journey.)

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I have no evidence that either the Horner or Bliss families were ever in Calais. Are there other members of our organisation who are researching other Yardley Gobion families?
As was stated above, HANNAH HORNER’s parents were DANIEL, and SUSANNAH KIRK, who were both alive and living in Yardley Gobion in 1848. There is evidence of KIRKs in Calais, as follows:-
George KIRK, children of Thomas Kirk and Elizabeth Bushett, were born in 1826 and 1829 in Calais, and Mary Ann Kirk was also a witness to two events in Calais.
The following birth entries from the International Genealogiscal Index relate to KIRKs in the Parish of Potterspury and Yardley Gobion:-
KIRK, George Barnett (Samuel Kirk and Mary Ann) -4/7/1830
KIRK, Samuel (Thomas and Priscilla) -17’6’1761
KIRK, Samuel (Samuel and Mary Ann) – 22/5/1836
KIRK, Samuel (Samuel and Mary Ann) – 3/2/1833
KIRK, Thomas (Thomas and Priscilla) – 31/3/1763
My research has not yet extended to Britain. Perhaps the answer lies there. In the meantime, I would be very interested to hear from other Yardley Gobion descendants.

These are the details from the marriage from Potterspury (OTP, Of this parish, means Potterspury or Yardley Gobion)

26/10/1826 Joseph Horner bachelor OTP to Lucy Hillyar spinster OTP
4/4/1831 Joseph Horner widower OTP to Mary Ratledge Bland spinster OTP
2/1/1834 Joseph Horner bachelor OTP to Mary Ann Lewis spinster OTP
4/7/1822 John Kirk bachelor OTP to Christiana Bliss OTP
3/5/1818 Priscilla Kirk OTP to Thomas Bland OTP
30/8/1818 Frances Kirk spinster OTP to Henry Rogers bachelor OTP
24/11/1818 Ann Kirk widow OTP to Thomas Clark widower OTP
12/3/1826 Jane Horner spinster OTP to James Atkins bachelor OTP
3/7/1810 Thomas Kirk bachelor Lillingstone Dayrell to Ann Harris spinster OTP
19/11/1810 Daniel Kirk bachelor OTP to Susannah Bignell spinster OTP
5/10/1806 Elizabeth Kirk widow OTP to Joseph Boneham (Bonham) widower OTP
2/6/1811 Charlotte Kirk spinster OTP to John Goodman bachelor 24th Regiment of Foot
24/12/1810 Sarah Horner spinster OTP to Joseph Woodward bachelor OTP
17/6/1784 Thomas Kirk to Susannah James
14/6/1787 Saml. Kirk to Eliz. Weston
1/5/1788 William Kirk to Elizabeth Webster

The answer to the question of the lacemakers is that most of the women and young girls in Yardley Gobion and all nearby villages made lace to help bring income into the very poor families.  Each village had patterns particular to that village, I have been told that when a girl was to be married and moved to a nearby village they were not allowed to make lace for 6 weeks before moving to the new village as she would be required to learn the new designs of her husband’s village. 

Looking through the census returns from 1851 to 1901 shows how many women were lacemakers- most of them.  After this time there was a decrease in the popularity of hand made lace as lace made by machine was made in large quantities and was less expensive.  There were a many lace dealers who had made a great deal of money buying cheap at cottage doors and selling expensively to the nobility, they were to be by hit hard times.