Events
Date of Birth: 26 October 1837.
Place of Birth: Lower Mitton, Worcestershire, England.
The place and date are given on the birth certificate.
Date of Burial: 21 December 1875.
Place of Burial: Kidderminster, Worcestershire (St George’s).
The burial is recorded in the parish register.
Relationships
Father: John Guest (about 1797 - 1871).
Mother: Mary Ann Goode (born about 1812).
See the Commentary section.
Spouse: William Harper (1831 - 1895). Married 6 August 1856 in Old Swinford, Worcestershire.
The date and place are given on the marriage certificate.
Children:
(Complete source citations for facts about the children on this page are currently outside of the scope of this project.)
William Henry Harper (baptized 22 March 1857 in Old Swinford) married Maria Sophia Millard 20 December 1874 in Kidderminster.
Charles Harper (baptized 16 February 1860 in Old Swinford - buried 22 March 1860).
Ann Harper (baptized 2 June 1861 in Old Swinford - buried 16 February 1862).
Sarah Harper (baptized 17 May 1863 in Old Swinford - died 2 January 1933) married Charles John Thomas Ward 7 April 1885 in Kidderminster.
Jane Harper (baptized 27 June 1866 in Old Swinford - buried 10 April 1868 in Old Swinford).
Emma Harper (baptized 22 August 1869 in Old Swinford) married Thomas Barnett in 1888.
John Harper (baptized 19 March 1871 in Old Swinford).
Thomas Harper (baptized 15 August 1873 in Kidderminster).
Samuel Harper (baptized 16 April 1875 in Kidderminster).
Evidence
Certified Copy of Entry of Birth (General Register Office, 1837)
When and where born: 26.th October Lower Mitton
Name, if any: Jane Guest
Sex: Female
Name and surname of father: John Guest
Name, surname and maiden surname of mother: Mary Ann Guest, formerly Goode
Occupation of father: Labourer
Signature, description and residence of informant: The mark of John Guest, Father, Lower Mitton
When registered: 7th November
Signature of registrar: John Parsons, Registrar
1841 census of England (Lower Mitton, Stourport, Worcestershire)
Foundry St.
John Guest, 40, Y [“Y” means born in Worcestershire]
Mary [Guest], 28, Y
Mary [Guest], 19, Y
William [Guest], 16, Boatman, Y
Henry [Guest], 13, Boatman, Y
Joseph [Guest], 6, Y
John [Guest], 1, Y
Jane [Guest], 3, Y
1851 census of England (Stourbridge, Worcestershire)
Angel Street
John Guest, Head, Mar, 51, Mason’s Labourer, [born] Worcestershire, Kidderminster
Mary [Guest], Wife, [Mar], 39, [born Worcestershire] Stourport
Jane [Guest], Daur, 13, Worsted Mill, [born Worcestershire Stourport]
John [Guest], Son, 11, Boat Assistant, [born Worcestershire Stourport]
Elizabeth [Guest], 8, Scholar, [born Worcestershire Stourport]
Alfred [Guest], 2, [born Worcestershire] Stourbridge
Ann Jones, Lodger, U, 21, Brickmaker, [born Worcestershire Stourbridge]
Ann Ward, Lodger, U, 22, Servant, [born Worcestershire Stourbridge]
1861 census of England (Stourbridge, Worcestershire)
33 Birmingham Street
William Harper, Head, Mar, 26, Ware Hawker, [born] Stafford Potteries
Jane [Harper], Wife, 25, [Ware Hawker], [born] Worcester Stourport
William [Harper], Son, 4, Scholar, [born Worcester] Stourbridge
1871 census of England (Stourbridge, Worcestershire)
2 Timm St Yard
William Harper, Head, mar, 38, earthenware Dealer, [born] Staffordshire Potteries
Jane Harper, Wife, Mar, 33, earthenware Dealer's wife, [born] Worcestershire Stourport
William Harper, son, unm, 14, Labourer, [born Worcestershire] Stourbridge
Sarah Harper, Daughr, un, 8, Scholar, [born Worcestershire Stourbridge]
Emma Harper, Daughr, Un, 1, [born Worcestershire Stourbridge]
John Harper, son, 1 mo, [born Worcestershire Stourbridge]
Jane's burial (Kidderminster, St George, 1875)
Name: Jane Harper
Abode: Market St
When buried: Dec 21st
Age: 40 yrs
By whom the Ceremony was performed: G.C. Vecqueray
Commentary
Parentage:
Jane’s marriage record gives her father as John Guest, labourer, and her residence as Stourbridge.
The censuses given this evidence about Jane’s date and place of birth:
1841 (taken 6 June): age 3, born in Worcestershire.
1851 (taken 30 March): age 13, born in Stourport, Worcestershire.
1861 (taken 7 April): age 25, born “Worcester Stourport”
1871 (taken 2 April): age 33, born “Worcestershire Stourport”
The informants were probably Jane’s father John (1841, 1851) and Jane’s husband William (1861, 1871). John was married to Mary in 1841 and 1851.
Jane’s 21 December 1875 burial record states that she was aged 40 years.
The evidence is thus consistent that Jane was born in Stourport, probably between 1835 and 1838, and that her father was named John and her mother probably named Mary. Given this information, we can be confident that 26 October 1837 birth certificate for Jane Guest is correct. This Jane was born in Lower Mitton (part of Stourport). Her parents were John and Mary Ann Guest, formerly Goode. The informant for the certificate was John Guest, the father.
There is also DNA evidence that Jane is the daughter of John Guest and Mary Ann Goode. I am a paper-trail descendant of Jane, and I share DNA with two paper-trail descendants of Jane’s half-brother Henry (18 cM over 1 segment and 15 cM over 1 segment) and four paper-trail descendants of Jane’s brother John (11 cM over 2 segments, 12 cM over 1 segment, 32 cM over 2 segments, and 11 cM over 1 segment).
The evidence for Jane’s parentage is satisfactory.
References
“AncestryDNA ThruLines for John Guest database report”, AncestryDNA. Accessed 25 February 2025.
Birth Certificate of Jane Guest (official copy). General Register Office. England and Wales. Civil Registration Certificates. (London, United Kingdom: General Register Office).
Marriage Certificate of William Harper and Jane Guest (official copy). General Register Office. England and Wales. Civil Registration Certificates. (London, United Kingdom: General Register Office).
John Guest household, 1841 census of England. Worcestershire, Kidderminster, Lower Mitton, Kidderminster; HO107, piece 1197, book 14, folio 34, page 15, in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1841. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives of the UK (TNA): Public Record Office (PRO), 1841; digital image Ancestry.com (accessed 12 April 2014).
John Guest household, 1851 census of England. Worcestershire, Stourbridge, Stourbridge, ED 1e, piece 2035, folio 93, page 2, in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1851. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives of the UK (TNA): Public Record Office (PRO), 1851; digital image Ancestry.com (accessed 12 April 2014).
William Harper household, 1861 census of England. Worcestershire, Stourbridge, Stourbridge, ED 3, piece 2065, folio 46, page 10, in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1861. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives of the UK (TNA): Public Record Office (PRO), 1861; digital image Ancestry.com (accessed 12 April 2014).
William Harper household, 1871 census of England. Worcestershire, Stourbridge, Stourbridge, ED 2, piece 3021, folio 108, page 33, in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1871. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives of the UK (TNA): Public Record Office (PRO), 1871; digital image Ancestry.com (accessed 11 April 2014).
GRO index, Deaths Dec 1875, Kidderminster, Volume 6c, page 140. General Register Office. England and Wales. Civil Registration Certificates. (London, United Kingdom: General Register Office).
"England Deaths and Burials, 1538-1991," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/J83Q-9JQ : accessed 12 Apr 2014), Jane Harper, 21 Dec 1875; citing , reference 925; FHL microfilm 1040277.
Kidderminster St George parish registers. Digital images on FamilySearch, accessed 16 January 2018.