Hezeltine, Mrs

Singer

Collection date: May 1913

Area: Cornwall

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Mrs (Mary) Hezeltine at Camborne, Cornwall (1839-1924): age 73, 7 songs (FT2823ff) between 9/12 May 1913: Mrs Hezeltine sang 3 carols, 1 religious hymn and 3 folksongs. In the 1911 Camborne census a Mary Hezeltine of the right age was living in Victoria Street as a domestic servant in the house of Mary Jane Care. Victoria St is in the centre of the town very near to William St, where Sharp began his collecting with Jim Thomas.

Mary was a widow aged 71. In 1901 she was in Bucks Head Lane in Camborne (RG13/2243 f104 p14) aged 60 a washerwoman, with her son John, 20 a newspaper seller (born in Lindale Yorks). It seems that she was born Mary Murley at Phillack village nr Hayle in west Cornwall. She was the 6th child of William Murley, a pattern maker and his wife Grace. Mary left Cornwall and married William Burton, a pattern maker in Chelsea on 4/11/1865. William must have died soon after, because she then married a younger man Francis Heseltine in Guisborough, Yorks in October qr 1872. They had 4 children but Francis also died, so Mary retreated south to the Camborne area. She probably died July qr 1924 (5c 195).