It has been very difficult to pin down the ancestry of Susan Sheppard. Any documents that I can find that I believe to be associated with Susan, is signed with an X, and this is the same for William Crew her husband. So if neither of them could read or write, I’m not sure who determined the spelling of Sheppard as there are documents that could be related where the spelling is Shepherd.
I believe this is Susan and William’s marriage record of July 6, 1817.
Going back further than this has been a challenge. Especially when looking back attempting to link Susan Sheppard with the Marie deFawcett myth. There’s just nothing there.
Census records:
| YEAR | AGE | BORN | NOTES |
| 1841 | 40 | ? | with Wm. a brickmaker |
| 1851 | 52 | Wigginton, Herts | with Wm. a brickmaker |
| 1861 | 60 | Herts | with Richard & Rachel Pennell |
| 1871 | 72 | Tring, Herts | workhouse, occ. brickmaker, census taken in April 1871, Richard and Rachel left for Canada in May 11, 1871. |
From the above I can safely conclude that Susan was born somewhere between 1799 and 1801, give or take a year on either side.
A crucial name in identifying which family is which is Hone.
In the 1851 census, in the household of William Crew is James Hone, son-in-law, is married Eliza and eventually they immigrated to Canada. Also living with the Crew family is Samuel Sheppard and his wife Sarah. Samuel is Susan Crew’s brother while Sarah’s maiden name is Hone. James Hone and Sarah Hone are siblings.
In the 1841 MEOT census, Samuel Sheppard and Sarah are with a Mary (age 21) and James Hone age 11. In the 1841 Lewisham census, Charles Sheppard, age 80, with Ann, age 50, with Daniel “Own” (Hone) who eventually married Mary Ann Swallow Sheppard. Also with the Sheppard family is Benjamin age 14 and an Elizabeth Brock age 10. I have no information on Elizabeth.
All information leads me to the conclusion that Susan Sheppard’s parents were Charles and Ann (Charles first wife). Two years after Susan married William Crew, in 1819, Charles (widower) marries Ann Swallow. Census indicates that Ann Swallows was 20 years younger than Charles.
So Susan’s mother is Ann somebody, I’m just not sure who. And NOT Marie deFawcett.
This seems the best candidate for the marriage of Charles Sheppard to Ann. This is Charles of Lewisham, who signs with an X. And the date of marriage is 2 years before Susan’s birth.
Basically what it comes down to is me “choosing” who I believe to be Susan’s mother: I choose Ann West.
Images of Susan and William Crew’s Children
These are basically the only children who lived to “adulthood” and to a time when pictures could be taken.