In March this year I reported on the story of Alfie and Jessie Cole who were well-known figures in Basingstoke in the 1960s.
This article follows on from that with a woman who was an ancestor of the Cole family; an aunt to Jesse Cole Senior.
Susan ‘Hawker’ Jones, a Romany Gypsy, was born and lived in North Waltham, the daughter of a rat-destroyer.
She eked out a living hawking between Basingstoke and other towns selling goods and making what she could.
She was a rarity within the Romany community in that she could read and write, especially considering that she only had three months schooling when she was a small child and three weeks at the age of 12, after which Susan made her own living by hawking.
But she was fortunate in that she was taught by her mother, Diana Bull, who was very religious and keen to encourage her family to better themselves.
Her father, although liking his drink, was also careful that his children were honest and pure.
Susan’s sister, Esther Jones, married Job Rawlings and lived in Windover Street, Basingstoke (now at the lower end of the Joice’s Yard car park), and were involved in the Basingstoke Massaginan riots of 1881.
READ MORE: The stories of Gypsies Alfie and Jessie Cole
Unfortunately, Susan’s hawking trade necessitated her to visit ‘publics’ (assumed to be public bars) and mix with undesirables where she could make a good living.
This, though, led her to also take to alcohol on a regular basis, and she was often to be found drunk and disorderly especially following the death of her mother.
However, after three or four years, on a visit to the Basingstoke Fair selling Brummagem (fake) jewellery, she noticed a troupe of Salvation Army songsters as they marched by, singing.
These impressed Susan and reminded her of her mother’s Christian beliefs so she enquired with them where they would be travelling to next and was told that they would be at the Winchester Fair the next day.
Susan hawked her way to Winchester unfortunately stopping at a pub enroute where she was robbed whilst being drunk on beer laced with snuff.
Feeling guilt for the way she was living and falling short of that of her mother, she began to avoid the company of those that would get her into bad habits, and to travel to the downs to pray and study her Bible.
Searching for a chapel to attend, she was encouraged by her niece to try the Salvation Army ‘barracks’, (believed to be the Salvation Army chapel in Norn Hill, Basingstoke) where she immediately felt welcomed and she subsequently joined them.
Susan went on to preach on street corners including outside the place where, not long before, she had been locked up for being drunk and disorderly.
Going on, she took every opportunity to preach to people and tell of her faith.
Eventually she was transferred to Coventry and then Otley by the Army as a Lieutenant, always having a heart and concern for people that were rejected and downtrodden; seeing many converted to Christianity, one being a woman who had sold her daughters for alcohol.
Moving on to Todmorden and Keighley she visited the streets of brothels and gained the respect of prostitutes, influencing them towards her faith, which did not go down well with the keepers.
Whilst in Warrington for seven months she saw in the region of one thousand converts.
Finally, she was posted to Colchester and worked with Mrs Bramwell Booth, the daughter-in-law of William Booth the founder of the Salvation Army.
Following a visit to Canada, Susan retired from active service to her home in Baughurst and, being in much demand throughout the area, held revival services at the Baughurst Primitive Methodist Chapel, (built in 1872, now a private home).
Captain Susan ‘Hawker’ Jones died peacefully in the Spring of 1892 and her burial took place at St Stephen’s Church, Baughurst on April 22, 1892 where she was interred alongside the graves of her parents, the positions not known.
The inscription on her gravestone read ‘Once a hawker, then captain of the Salvation Army, a good soldier of Jesus Christ.’
A message from the editor
Thank you for reading this article - we appreciate your support.
Subscribing means you have unrestricted access to the latest news and reader rewards - all with an advertising-light website.
Don't take my word for it – subscribe here to see for yourself.
Looking to advertise an event? Then check out our free events guide.
Want to keep up with the latest news and join in the debate? You can find and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here