John Pollard (1795-1860)

Birth
John Pollard was born in 1795 in Cornwall, England to parents John and Jennifer Pollard (need Hand). He was their first child and eldest son.

John was baptised on the 10th October 1795 at Sancreed, Cornwall. This was where his father had been baptised. John would go on to be the eldest of 14 siblings and he was the only one of them baptised in Sancreed.

John’s father was a miner and John was named after him.

Move to Gwinear
John’s parents decided to move to the Gwinear area of Cornwall not long after his birth. His parents would go on to have 13 more children, and all of them were baptised at Gwinear.

As the eldest of 14 siblings, and the eldest son, it is likely that John shouldered a lot of responsibility for assisting his parents when he was young.

Death of brother
John’s youngest brother and youngest sibling Henry was born in 1816, when John was 21 years old. Henry died in May 1817, aged only 11 months of age.

Marriage
John married in the year 1827. He was not the first of the children in the family to marry – 4 other siblings made it down the aisle before he did.

John married Ann Hosking (under the name of Hoskin) on the 22nd December 1827 at Gwinear, Cornwall. She was the daughter of James and Ann Hoskin (also recorded as Hosking).

John (aged 32) was recorded of the parish while Ann (aged 23) was listed as a resident of Gwithian. Witnesses to the marriage were a John Pearce and John Penhale and the couple were married by Banns. John was able to sign the marriage record, wife Ann used her mark.

Children
John and Ann had two known children – son John, baptised at Gwinear on 1st February 1829 and son James baptised at Gwinear on the 17th October 1830.

Death of sister
John’s sister Mary died on was buried on the 30th April 1835 at Gwinear. John was aged 40 at the time and Mary had been aged 35. Mary had not married and her cause of death is unknown.

1841 census
In the 1841 census for Cornwall, John and Ann are listed at Connor Down in the district of Gwithian, aged 45 & 35, with their two boys John and James aged 12 and 10. John is recorded as a copper miner. They are living next door to Ann’s mother, Ann Hosking (age 60), and two of her brothers – John (aged 35 and a copper miner) and William (aged 30, no occupation recorded).

Death of father
John’s father John died on the 1st May 1844 in the parish of Gwinear. John was aged 49 at the time and was witness and informant to the death, which was recorded as ‘decay of nature’ (old age). John was recorded of Connor Downs, Gwithian on the death certificate.

Death of Son
John’s eldest son, John, died and was buried at Gwinear on the 6th February 1846, aged 17 years. His residence was recorded as Gwithian. His cause of death is currently unknown.

Death of mother
John’s mother Jennifer was buried at Gwinear on 21st of March 1848. John was 53 years old when she died.

1851 census
In the 1851 census, they are again recorded at Connor Down, Gwithian, in the village of Prazeloare, aged 55, 47, and son James aged 20. John is now recorded as an engine worker, and so is son James. Ann and son James are recorded as born in Gwinear, Cornwall, while John was recorded as born in Sancreed.

Death
John died at Connor Down on 26th November 1860, aged 65 years. He was buried in the grounds of the Gwinear parish Church on 29th November 1860. Wife Ann would outlive him by 21 years.

Children
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 * colspan="3" bgcolor="#FFfce0" style="color: #000000;" |Children of John & Ann Pollard
 * colspan="3" bgcolor="#FFfce0" style="color: #000000;" |Children of John & Ann Pollard