Hi Nicole,
Jane comes from the fenland Cammack family of the Terrington/Tilney area of
Norfolk, which is close to the Lincolnshire borders. The fairly originated
in Coningsby, Lincolnshire and are distantly related to me. Two brothers
Edward Cammack (1735-1808) and James (1733-1802) from that village founded
the branch in Norfolk.
Jane Maria Cammack was born in Walpole St Andrew in about 1848 according to
the 1871 Census and her marriage certificate gives her father as James
CAMMACK, Labourer. However, I have not found the baptism. I went through
the Walpole St. Andrew registers myself from 1813-1853 at the Wisbech Museum
many years ago with the aim of extracting all the Cammack family entries but
did not find this baptism.
There was however a James Cammack and his wife Maria living at Walpole St.
Andrew in 1848. Sadly, James wife Maria is buried there on 14 April 1848
aged only 43 years, the same year as Jane Maria's birth. The 1851 Census of
nearby Islington, Norfolk shows the widower James alone with a young
daughter Sarah (b1842) and his new wife but there is no Jane Cammack.
Instead, Jane "CAMMAC" aged 3 is recorded as living with her Uncle William
READ and agricultural labourer in Terrington St. Clement. A few doors away
was a Kiddle family. She is still living with them in 1861. This seems to me
to leave two main possibilities, Jane was indeed the child of James and
Maria and Maria and her mother died in childbirth or soon after. Perhaps the
tragedy meant the family did not get round to baptising her or the grieving
husband gave her away to their relative, William Read? It could also be
possible therefore that she was the illegitimate daughter of one of James's
female relatives of which there are many and she put her nearest relative
James as her father, knowing it to be false to avoid the stigma of
illegitimacy. This is not uncommon. I tend towards the former. The birth
certificate (which I have not seen) will resolve all this
Civil Birth
1848, CAMMACK, Jane Wisbeach 14/177
Jane had an illegitimate daughter herself before her marriage, Frances
Staines Cammack who was baptised in Terrington St. Clements on 30 Jul 1864.
Presumably her father was a Mr Staines.
Terrington St Clement
16 Apr 1867, George KIDDLE. Full age. Bachelor, Labourer of Terrington St.
Clements. Father Robert KIDDLE, Labourer. to Jane CAMMACK, minor, single of
Terrington St. Clements. Father James CAMMACK, Labourer
The marriage was registered under hte name CAMICK not CAMMACK.
Marriages Jun 1867
CAMICK Jane Wisbeach 3b 1021
KIDDLE George Wisbeach 3b 1021
1871 Terrington St Clement
George H KIDDLE Head M 36 Excavator East Heacham
Jane Fn KIDDLE Wife M 24 Walpole St. Andrews
Frances S CAMMACK Daur U 6 6 Scholar Terrington
Alice M KIDDLE Daur F U 3 3 Scholar Terrington
William KIDDLE Son M U 6m 6m Terrington
Shortly after this (I am told by a realtive Mr Grice in 1873) the family
emigrated to Tasmania, Australia. The birth records for Tasmania, Australia
shows that Jane married her husband George David Kiddle in 1875 at
Launceston, Tasmania but as we have seen the couple had already been married
in England. Six children followed, all born at Launceston, Tasmania: Annie
(b1881), Emily Victoria (b1887), Frederick (b1872), George David (b1874),
Jane Maria (b1878) and Robert (b1883).