Rosa Jackson

Rosa’s mother, Harriet Howland, was born in 1784 and came from a wealthy family in Warehorne, Kent. Family history suggests that Harriet met Captain Anthony Coane while he was serving in Kent and that he was Rosa’s father. However, researchers have found no marriage record, and when Harriet married George Linom in 1821, she was recorded as a spinster named Harriet Howland.

Rosa’s exact birth date is uncertain. The plaque gives 1814, while newspaper reports from her 1841 marriage suggest she was born around 1812. She was recorded as Rosa Howland Coane, daughter of Major Anthony Coane, when she married Henry Jackson in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, in 1841.

Harriet inherited a considerable sum from her father in 1811, enabling her to move to Canterbury with Rosa. Rosa later settled in the Malton area of Yorkshire with her husband and their nine children. Henry died a wealthy man in 1864, leaving Rosa financially comfortable.

Rosa spent her later years at the Prestwick Estate in Surrey with her son Walter and daughter Gertrude. She died in 1906, aged approximately 92–94. Her body was returned to Yorkshire, where she was buried beside Henry in Old Malton churchyard.

The family’s belief that Captain Coane was Rosa’s father is supported by personal papers passed down through the female line, which were discussed in a 2015 article in The Guardian. However, no definitive documentary evidence has been found to confirm the relationship.

Captain Anthony Coane (c. 1787–1819)

Anthony Coane began his army career in 1804 and served during the Napoleonic Wars. He was stationed in Kent between 1809 and 1811, when he may have met Harriet Howland.

In September 1811, he sailed to Australia aboard The Guilford with a military guard accompanying transported convicts. He later served in Australia and Sri Lanka, becoming a major in 1817.

While serving in Sri Lanka, Coane became seriously ill with fever and died on 5 January 1819. His will makes no mention of a wife or daughter, leaving the question of whether he was Rosa’s father unresolved.