Priscilla Bacon or Onions was born on 12 May 1782 in Kingswinford, Staffordshire. The date of birth is recorded in the Cheshire bible. There is also an IGI baptismal entry on the same date for Priscilla Croft Bacon. It seems unlikely though that she was baptized on her day of birth. Her mother was Anna Maria Bacon. If her father was John Onions, he did not in fact marry her mother until 12 July 1785, when Priscilla would have been three years of age. It is a strong possibility that her father was therefore a Mr Croft.
Priscilla though must have received a proper education and was literate, signing documents throughout her life. She married John Cheshire on 1 May 1797 (St Mary’s Kingswinford) at the age of 15. John Cheshire became a wealthy farmer and maltster in Smethwick and they had eight surviving children. As a farmer’s wife she was probably strongly involved in the building of her husband’s business.
Her father (or step father) John Onions died in 1814 and her mother Anna Maria Onions died in 1817.
A sign of her presence is perhaps best borne out by the fact that the name ‘Priscilla’ ripples through subsequent generations. The name ‘Priscilla Cheshire’ in 1848 is the last recorded death in the Cheshire bible and clearly marked the end of an era in the family’s history. In her husband’s will she is named as a joint executor. He seems particularly concerned that she might remarry at the age of 62.
Priscilla Cheshire died on 28 April 1848. Her own will was proved on 20 Feb 1849.
Family Register from the Cheshire Bible