Ann Colby 1823
Ann Colby was born on May 31st 1823 in Harleston and died on February 16th 1893 also in Harleston.
Ann was the 11th child of William and Hannah Colby. At the age of 20 she married Edward Denny in Wortwell Meeting House on December 8th 1843.
Respectably they had their first child nine months later - Mary Ann who was born on September 9th 1844 in Harleston. She married Walter Mayes and had 3 children - William, Walter and Charlotte.
James William was born July 28th 1846. He married Mary Ann Charlish and had 4 children, William, Ernest, Edward and Maud.
Harriet Euphemia was born November 19th 1848. She married Henry John Fisk and had 6 children, Isabell, Emily, Rhoda, Loombe, Owen and Olive.
Edward James (whose name changed in Edward Thomas by the time he married!) was born December 9th 1852. He moved to London and married Sophia Amelia Ely and had 6 known children, Hannah, Edward, Kate, William, Amelia and Rose.
George was born April 8 1860. He married Mary Elizabeth Everson and had 4 children. Hedley, Sydney William, Violet and Grace.
More details of the above children can be found on the following web site http://indigo.ie/~stevenso/story. It is strange that we have found no details of their christenings.
We think that the Colbys thought Ann had married beneath her as her brother James gave her the ironmonger's business of Brown and Colby in Harleston as a gift of love.
On the 1871 census Edward is a Journeyman Tailor and Ann is a Strawbonnet Maker. Edward's tailoring shop was next door to the ironmongery shop. The story of the ironmongery shop will be told on another web site.
Edward Denny's brother George married Ann's sister Hannah in 1840 in London. Their son came to help run the ironmongery business.
Ann died on February 16th 1893 and was buried in her parents grave in Wortwell Meeting House. Edward is buried on his own beside them..
Wortwell
Meeting House
Edward Denny
The grave in Wortwell of William and Hannah Colby and their daughter Ann
Denny
The grave of Edward Denny in Wortwell