Mary Shaw Hellier was born on 27 February 1801, the third daughter of James Shaw-Hellier of Wombourne. She was baptized at St Thomas’s Dudley on 21 April 1801.
Portrait of Mary Shaw Hellier
She spent some of her early childhood on the estate at Barnhurst, as well as her grandfather’s house, the Wodehouse Wombourne. Her parents had been enriched by the legacy of Sir Samuel Hellier in 1786 and she herself was left a considerable amount of money by her Grandfather, Rev Thomas Shaw-Hellier by his will of 1812.
On 2 March 1824 she married Richard Evans, whose family were important owners of Inn Keeping and Coaching businesses in Wolverhampton. Probably at the time of the marriage the family together with her father-in-law moved to Pendeford Hall, a neighbouring estate to Barnhurst owned by the Fowler family. In 1837 she is cited in a law suit brought about to decide upon the interpretation of her grandfather’s will (Evans v Hellier, Shaw v Rhodes). The case was basically between her brother Thomas Shaw-Hellier of Rodbaston Hall and the other eight surviving grandchildren of Rev Thomas Shaw-Hellier.
The fortunes of the Evans family seem to have taken a turn for the worse after the death of her father-in-law, Richard Evans (Snr) in 1841. The advent of the railways meant that the family abandoned the coaching business but despite Mary Evans credentials as a member of the local landed gentry making money from farming alone was not a viable option. By 1852 her brother Thomas moved back to Staffordshire to nearby Rodbaston Hall. Nonetheless, the family left Pendeford Hall at about the time of her husband’s death in 1859 and she continued to live in nearby Tettenhall with a number of her unmarried sons until her death on 6 Dec 1878. Her will and what it says about her relationships with each of her sons is available here.
We have two likenesses of her – the attached daguerreotype and the other portrait which is one of a pair of her and her husband Richard Evans by an unknown artist.
Family of Richard EVANS and Mary SHAW-HELLIER
| Husband: | Richard EVANS (1797-1859) |
| Wife: | Mary SHAW-HELLIER (1801-1878) |
| Children: | Richard EVANS (1825-c. 1879) |
| Thomas EVANS (1826-aft1910) |
| James EVANS (1827-1872) |
| Sarah EVANS (1828-1890) |
| Charles EVANS (1830-1916) |
| John EVANS (1832-1833) |
| Edward EVANS (1834-1835) |
| George EVANS (1836-aft1911 ) |
| William EVANS (1838-1927) |
| Henry EVANS (1840-1923) |
| Marriage | 2 Mar 1824 | Wombourne |
| Witnesses Thomas Evans, Elizabeth Meredith, Elizabeth Evans |
Husband: Richard EVANS
| Name: | Richard EVANS |
| Sex: | Male |
| Father: | Richard EVANS (1768-1841) |
| Mother: | Sarah STYLES (bap.1775, d.1812) |
| Birth | 26 Aug 1797 | Wolverhampton, Staffordshire |
| Red Lion Inn |
| Baptism | 27 Sep 1800 (age 3) | St Peter’s Collegiate Church, Wolverhampton |
| Occupation | 1820 (age 22-23) | Proprietor of Carriage Business buying out the business from his father; Bew Hotel, Wolverhampton |
| Portrait | 1840 (age 42-43) | Pair of Portraits (DJM) |
| Occupation | 1851 (age 53-54) | Landowner 950 acres and 44 Labourers |
| Death | 17 Mar 1859 (age 61) | Pendeford Hall, Staffordshire |
Wife: Mary SHAW-HELLIER
| Name: | Mary SHAW-HELLIER |
| Sex: | Female |
| Father: | James SHAW-HELLIER (1759-1827) |
| Mother: | Elizabeth BADDELEY (bap.1766, d.1835) |
| Birth | 27 Feb 1801 | Dudley, Staffordshire |
| Baptism | 21 Apr 1801 (age 0) | St Thomas, Dudley |
| Death | 6 Dec 1878 (age 77) | Tettenhall Road, Wolverhampton |
Child 1: Richard EVANS
| Name: | Richard EVANS |
| Sex: | Male |
| Spouse: | Louisa WATSON (1832-1898) |
| Birth | 24 Mar 1825 | Wolverhampton |
| Baptism | 25 Mar 1825 (age 0) | St Peters Collegiate Church, Wolverhampton |
| Occupation | 1851 (age 25-26) | Attorney |
| Occupation | 1853 (age 27-28) | bankrupt |
| Src London Gazette (4167) |
| Death | c. 1879 (age 53-54)2 | |
| Mentionned in mothers will |
Child 2: Thomas EVANS
| Name: | Thomas EVANS |
| Sex: | Male |
| Spouse: | Sarah Amelia AGARD (1828-1893) |
| Birth | 5 Apr 1826 | Wolverhampton |
| Baptism | 9 Apr 1826 (age 0) | St Peters Collegiate Church, Wolverhampton |
| Occupation | 1861 (age 34-35) | Maltster and Farmer; Gunstone |
| Occupation | 1871 (age 44-45) | Retired Farmer |
| Emigration | c. 1875 (age 48-49) | from Leaves family and goes to Australia |
| Death | aft 1910 (age 83-84) | Australia |
Child 3: James EVANS
| Name: | James EVANS |
| Sex: | Male |
| Birth | 20 Jun 1827 | Wolverhampton |
| Baptism | 26 Jun 1827 (age 0) | St Peters Collegiate Church, Wolverhampton |
| Occupation | 1861 (age 33-34) | Auctioneer |
| Occupation | 1871 (age 43-44) | No occupation aged 43 years |
| Death | 6 Apr 1872 (age 44) | Wolverhampton |
Child 4: Sarah EVANS
| Name: | Sarah EVANS |
| Sex: | Female |
| Spouse: | Charles Richard Ogden EVANS (1824-1890) |
| Birth | 23 Sep 1828 | Wolverhampton3 |
| Baptism | 30 Sep 1828 (age 0) | St Peters Collegiate Church, Wolverhampton |
| Will | 1880 (age 51-52) | Executor of Henry’s will – prior to Henry’s marriage |
| Artefact | 1880 (age 51-52) | Sewing Box – Wood/Mother of Pearl |
| Residence | 1881 (age 52-53) | With Brother Henry – Tettenhall, Staffordshire |
| Death | 28 Sep 1890 (age 62) | Monkstown, Co Cork |
Child 5: Charles EVANS
| Name: | Charles EVANS |
| Sex: | Male |
| Spouse: | Eleanor DAVIS (1846-1909) |
| Birth | 6 Nov 1830 | Wolverhampton |
| Baptism | 11 Nov 1830 (age 0) | St Peters Collegiate Church, Wolverhampton |
| Emigration | 1852 (age 21-22) | from Went to Australia |
| Death | 24 Aug 1916 (age 85) | Gisborne, New Zealand |
Child 6: John EVANS
| Name: | John EVANS |
| Sex: | Male |
| Birth | 23 Oct 1832 | Wolverhampton |
| Death | 20 Nov 1833 (age 1) | |
Child 7: Edward EVANS
| Name: | Edward EVANS |
| Sex: | Male |
| Birth | 20 Jul 1834 | Wolverhampton |
| Death | 6 May 1835 (age 0) | |
Child 8: George EVANS
| Name: | George EVANS |
| Sex: | Male |
| Spouse 1: | Alice DAY (1838-c. 1881) |
| Spouse 2: | Emily CORBETT (1840-aft1901) |
| Birth | 14 May 1836 | Tettenhall, Staffordshire |
| Occupation | 1861 (age 24-25) | Ironmasters Clerk |
| Residence | 1881 (age 44-45) | Seals, Derbyshire (1881 census) |
| Occupation | 1881 (age 44-45) | Commercial Traveller Coal |
| Death | | |
Child 9: William EVANS
| Name: | William EVANS |
| Sex: | Male |
| Spouse: | Elizabeth EDWARDS (1842-aft1911) |
| Birth | 22 Jan 1838 | Tettenhall, Staffordshire |
| Occupation | 1861 (age 22-23) | Wine, Beer and Spirit Merchant; Merchants Clerk |
| Death | aft 1911 (age 72-73) | |
| Correspondence in 1911 from Roby Liverpool trying to establish if Thomas (85) is still alive in Australia |
Child 10: Henry EVANS
| Name: | Henry EVANS |
| Sex: | Male |
| Spouse: | Florence Eliza (Floss) MARTEN (1858-1922) |
| Birth | 2 Jun 1840 | Pendeford Hall, Staffordshire4 |
| Education | 1854 (age 13-14) | Bridgnorth School, Shropshire |
| Occupation | 1881 (age 40-41) | Bank Cashier |
| Occupation | 1901 (age 60-61) | Bank Manager |
| Death | 1 Jul 1923 (age 83) | Hagley |