ANN Rundle Roberts was born in St Neot on May 6, 1815 and married a ‘Copper Miner’ from Pelynt named John Lander when she was aged 22, John was six years older than her at 28.

Two of their children were born in St Neot: William in 1839 and Jonathan in 1841.

The young Lander family moved to Liskeard in about 1844 and settled in a terraced house designed by local architect Henry Rice. At that time the terrace of four substantial houses was known as Sowden’s Row, but is now called Dean Place, at the end of Dean Street before it becomes New Road. In Liskeard, five more children were born; John in 1845, Mary in 1848, Thomas in 1850, Charles in 1853 and Eliza in 1859. At some point between 1858 and 1861 the breadwinner of the family, John Lander, died in his late 40s.

The 1861 census tells us that the newly widowed Ann Lander, at the age of 43, had left the relative comfort of Sowden’s Row to live in Bowden’s Lane, now known as Westbourne Lane, which Henry Rice, in his role as Inspector of Nuisances, later described as a ‘filthy disgusting place’ where there are ‘fifty three persons without a vestige of privy accommodation, consequently they live in the middle of filth and foul air and the wonder is that they live at all’. Three of Ann’s children were living with her in these awful conditions; William aged 23 and John aged 16 had replaced their father as breadwinners, working as ‘Lead Miners’ in either the Menheniot or Herodsfoot Lead/Silver mines. Their two-year-old sister Eliza Ann would have had very little memory of her father.

The story of Ann’s life had taken a surprising, and hopefully for the better, turn by June 17, 1880; she is listed in the census of that date as living in the home of her son-in-law John Trebilcock, a ‘Miner’, and her daughter Eliza Ann Trebilcock in Ishpenning, Marquette County, Michigan, USA. Also shown in the census are Ann’s twin five months old grandchildren, Bessie and William, both born in Ishpenning. Which is where Ann died eleven years later aged 76.

By Brian Oldham, Liskeard Museum volunteer and Bard of the Gorsedh Kernow

• The town’s museum has a wealth of local knowledge and history on display. It’s website explains: “In the early 1980s, an exhibition of local historical memorabilia and information was staged in the town’s Guildhall...The derelict, 19th century Henry Rice building in Pike Street, known locally as Foresters Hall, was purchased...and converted into the present Liskeard & District museum...In the late 1990s, the Town Council started looking for more spacious premises to enable the museum to continue its growth...On May 2, 2002, the museum was unofficially opened by the town mayor and on June 6, 2002, it was officially opened by HRH Prince Charles, Duke of Cornwall.” To learn more about what is on display visit liskeardmuseum.com