Newsletter of the Haskell Family Society, Vol 4 # 1, Page 6
HENRY AND THE HASKELLS OF WYLYE
by Muriel SmithHenry Haskell, my great-grandfather, was born in Wylye, Wiltshire, in 1845, a son of Thomas and Ann (Keele). His father and grandfather (George) had also been born in Wylye, but his great-grandfather (Thomas) was born in Donhead St Andrew. Henry's earlier ancestors can be traced back to Cann in Dorset. I do not know why the family came to Wylye, but as most 'common' men of those times were agricultural labourers, they probably went there for work.
Henry was also an agricultural labourer, and in June 1867 he married Mary Ann Stone of Zeals. They had five sons and four daughters. One of the sons, William John, was my grandfather. By the time that William married Augusta Gray Of West Knoyle in 1892, Henry had become the Parish Clerk in Wylye. Mary Ann cleaned the church, according to a record book kept by the Rector of Wylye, which I found in the Records Office at Trowbridge. This little book makes very interesting reading as the Rector recorded such trivialities as a list of people who attended Easter Communion. I think the Haskells made up a large part of the congregation! About 10 years ago a very old Wylye resident told me that he remembered Henry Haskell, and that the family had lived in a cottage next to the church (the cottage is still there). Henry died at Wylye in 1908 and Mary Ann in 1919. They are buried together in Wylye churchyard where their memorial stone can still be seen.