The story of Mary Ann Warland and George Rogers of Hampreston

This is the story of Warlands who should probably have been Rogers.

Mary Ann Warland (1799 - 1865) was almost certainly the daughter of John Warland and Mary Dolan, who had other children as well (see link for full list).

Birth of Henry Warland - 1820

Mary Ann Warland gave birth to a Henry Warland in 1820. Henry was baptised at Canford Magna on 21 October 1820, 'the son of Mary Ann Warland' according to the baptismal entry in the Canford Magna Parish Church records. The father was not noted, but may have been George Rogers based on Henry's marriage certificate - see below.

1846 - Henry Warland marries Sarah Hawkins

Henry Warland was a seaman, (click here for more information on his seafaring life) and married Sarah Otter Hawkins (1820 - 1912) in Weymouth on 23 March 1846. Their residence was given as 6 South Parade, Melcombe Regis. Henry's father was shown as George Rogers (occupation - carrier), while the father of bride was James Hawkins (occupation - sailor).

According to David Warren, a descendant of Henry Warland in Australia:

'I am still not sure that George Rogers' occupation was a carrier at least not throughout his life. I have not found “George the Carrier” and there are many GR’s in Dorset at the time but so far only one ‘Carrier' born in 1810 in Sherborne. In the 1851 census his given occupation was 'carter' but unlikely to be our man. (My cousin) Monica Harle was convinced George was a Tanner and in fact wrote to me saying “The mysterious George Rogers parents were James Rogers and Mary”. This part of the tree matches up with the George Rogers born in Somerset and then moved to Canford Magna as a young man where he conducted his Tanning business. He could have been a Carrier and that trade got him to Canford Magna'.

From 1847 to 1863 Henry and Sarah Warland had a number of children:

Sarah and her family appear in the 1871 census in Dorset as follows. Henry does not appear, perhaps he was at sea at the time. There is no obvious match for John Warland (born 1847).

1865 - Death of Mary Ann Warland

Henry's mother, Mary Ann Warland died on 12 April 1865. Her death certificate gives the following details: Date and Place of Death 12 April 1865 West Boro, Wimborne. Age 65 years. Wife of John Warland, a plumber.

The information that she was the 'wife of' John Warland suggests a possible problem with the matching, unless it should have read 'Daughter of John Warland'. Those present at the death (informant) was Anne Mesher of West Boro’ Wimborne. This person may be the wife of William Mesher, possibly a relative of Jane Mesher/Measher, the second wife of Mary Ann's younger brother William Warland (1797 - 1870) It may also be William Warland's older sister Hannah born 1792, who married a William Mesher. The names Hannah, Anna and Ann are often intermixed. For more information about the Meshers see the bottom of this page.

From the late 1870s - The lives of the children of Henry and Sarah Warland

George Henry Rogers Warland (1854 - 1938/9)

George Henry Rogers Warland was known to be a stonemason, possibly in Weymouth. He married one Emily Myrtle Clark (1854 - 1929) possibly in the late 1870s and they had the following children, according to a family chart provided by a grandson, the son of Edmund George Warland, in 1986. As one child, Edmund George, was born in Lewisham, it seems possible the others may have also been born there.

According to his late grandson, Douglas Warland, George Henry Rogers Warland is believed to have taken his entire (and young) family to Australia in 1893 '... at the invitation of his uncle and lived in Bendigo, where he supervised the building of the Town Hall. His uncle apparently staked out a claim during the Gold Rush and, after the boom waned, George Henry Rogers Warland returned home to Brixton, in the UK'. Various searches of records in the Bendigo area from 1893, and the Sands directories, reveal no information about George and his family in Bendigo. The name of the uncle was almost certainly Hawkins (his grandmother Sarah's maiden name), not Warland. A William Hawkins, Grocer, lived in Hamlett Street, Quarry Hill, Bendigo, at around the same time. George's son Edmund George Warland, visited Bendigo in 1962-63 to see where he had visited as a very young child.

George Henry Roger's granddaughter Doreen Strong (see below) stated in a letter in 1994 that 'the whole family seems to have been connected with the Bath and Portland Stone Company. Grandfather was an authority on stone - also his three sons John ('Jack') who lived in Portland, Ernest and George. Grandfather was in charge of the building of many large buildings in London ... very many city banks and indeed many central London streets which were mostly under his control in building - all stone from Portland or Bath'.

Doreen also noted that 'there was a shortage of gold in Bendigo and building had to stop. Grandfather was about to build a large hotel but he had to support his family, so decided to return to England.'

George Henry Rogers Warland (born 1855, aged 56) and his wife Emily Myrtle Warland and the following children appear in the 1911 UK census in Lambeth, London:

One Millicent Ellinor Warland (born 1862 aged 49) is also recorded in Lambeth at the same time. This is almost certainly the same Millicent recorded here, a Warland from the Oxford line and recorded as a governess in the 1881 census along with her mother and brother Thomas.

George Henry Rogers Warland's wife Myrtle died in 1929; George HR Warland died in the first quarter of 1938.

Stephen Warland (1862 - ) - South Africa connections

Stephen Warland (twin brother of James) was recorded in the 1881 census where he was still living with his parents and sister Laura in Trinity Road, Weymouth, with the occupation of Tailor.

Family folklore suggested that Stephen emigrated to South Africa as a young man. However, he appears in the 1891 census in Cardiff, Wales, a 'lodger'.

A Stephen Warland appears in the record of medical fitness by the 1st South African Infantry in 1917, when all men over the age of 15 were required to sign up; this Stephem was discharged as he was medically unfit. It is believed that Stephen died in South Africa and so it may well be the same person. Family folklore also has it that the death notices for James and Stephen crossed in the post between England and South Africa as they died on the same date, but this is not yet confirmed.

James Warland (1862 - )

James Warland was a seafarer like his father. For more information about the seafaring life of Stephen's twin brother, James Warland see this page.

The lives of the children of George Henry Rogers and Emily Warland

John Warland (1881 - )

John Warland, eldest son of George Henry Rogers and Emily Warland, married Florence (born 1877) and they had three or possibly four children:

John's family was noted in Weymouth, Dorsetshire, in the 1911 census, less Norah who appears to have been with her cousins in Lambeth at the time.

Herbert Ernest Warland (1883 - )

Herbert Ernest Warland, second son of George Henry Rogers and Emily Warland, married Mary Jane Bishop (1884 - ) and they had the following children:

Herbert Ernest's family as shown was recorded in the 1911 UK census living in Wandsworth, London. Another Warland couple, possibly Ernest's brother or cousin, Frank Warland (born 1885) and his wife Mabel (born 1890) were also living in Wandsworth, London, and had a son Reginald Warland (born 1911).

According to his niece, Doreen Strong (see below), writing in 1994, Ernest followed his father's footsteps and together they were Clerk of Works for many London buildings.

Edmund George Warland (1886/87 - 1964)

Edmund George Warland, son of George Henry Rogers and Emily Warland, married Ethel Louisa (surname not known, born Lewisham) probably around 1912 and they had the following children, according to the family chart provided by Douglas Edmund Warland, son of Edmund George:

According to Doreen Strong, writing in 1994, her father Edmund was the Head of a College of Building in Liverpool and an authority on stone in the UK. Edmund Warland was described as follows: 'Edmund George Warland was Chief Lecturer on Masonry and Geometry for Masons at the London County Council School of Building in Brixton (founded in 1904 and now part of London South Bank University). From 1928 onward, he was an active member of the Institution of Structural Engineers, particularly during the 1930s, and was for a time chair of the Institution's Lancashire and Cheshire Branch'. Edmund wrote a key text book published in 1929 on stonemasonary 'Modern Practical Masonry' (see http://www.bookdepository.com/Modern-Practical-Masonry-Edmund-George-Warland/9781873394762) . A recent review was as follows:

One of the classic works in the field of stone masonry, E. G. Warland's book (first published in 1929) remains an essential reference for stone masons and conservation practitioners working with historic buildings. It provides a clear and simple guide to the subject, based on meticulous and beautiful drawings. Organized in three sections, it includes chapters on construction details; methods of working particular structural shapes; both basic and advanced geometry and setting out. It also includes forms and tables omitted from later editions to be used as templates for costing and estimating work. These are as relevant today as they were in the 1920s.

Further information about the family of Douglas and Beatrice, and Ethel and Donald, is available upon request.

Meshers in the Dorset area - 1841 - 1851 - 1861

1841 census

The 1841 census (HO 107/288/3) has the following Meshers recorded:

1851 census

The 1851 census for Hinton Martell (1854/320) has the following Meshers recorded:

Anna Mesher appears to not be in the area at the time of the 1851census, but appears in 1861.

1861 census

The 1861 census has the following Meshers recorded in Woodcotes Lane, Hinton Martell:

The children from this marriage, all born in Wimborne Minster were as follows:

William Mesher (Measher) appears to have died in the March quarter of 1864 in Wimborne (FreeBMD, vol 5a, page 239). Anna Mesher died in the June quarter of 1869 aged 77 (FreeBMD, vol 5a, page 191)


Page created 1985, last updated 13 September 2016. Copyright © 2021 Andrew Warland. (andrewwarland(at)gmail.com)