We know, for certain, that Isabella Smart (nee Hutson) was a carrier, as at least two of her sons died from haemorrhages. Her eldest child, Henry, was only two when he died; but we have no record of the cause of death. However, we do know about two other sons: John died from a fourteen day intestinal and stomach haemorrhage and Alfred after a twenty hour intestinal haemorrhage. Alfred was twenty-five when he died and his only child was only a few months old, but John was fifty-two. To have lived long enough to have children (or, in John's case into his fifties) suggests that the haemophilia was not the severest type. In fact we know from recent sufferers that it is only a moderate form of the condition, which is good in that those with the condition have been able to leave descendants; but it does mean that the age of death is not always a good clue as to whether someone was a haemophiliac. Alfred's death certificate has 'eight years' next to 'intestinal haemorrhage' , but it has been crossed out and replaced with '20 days'. This could mean that Alfred had been suffering from haemorrhages for eight years before the last one killed him, although it would be surprising if the symptoms had not shown in his childhood.

 

Did Isabella inherit the condition from her father, John, or mother, Harriet (nee Heathorn)? Her father died when he was sixty having worked as a baker all his life, so seems an unlikely candidate and her mother's name was was the much rarer Heathorn, so the search focused on her. Of her three brothers, Brian was a hatter who died of phthisis (tuberculosis) which proves nothing; and, while another brother, Thomas, died of an aneurism (which could have been related to haemophilia), he was a carpenter, which seems an odd occupation for someone trying to avoid cuts! By 1871 he had become a coffee house keeper, but both his daughters died unmarried, so we can learn nothing more. However, the third brother, John, was interesting. In 1841 he was living with an older widow and her children while working as a baker. Six years later he married this landlady and in 1851 he was listed as a 'laundress' (sic), although this may be a mistake as that had been his wife's occupation ten years earlier. Unusually his 15 year-old niece was living with him as a servant. Was she acting as an unpaid nurse? In 1861 he was a baker's ''assistant'', apparently a demotion from his earlier existence and, by 1871, he was living separately from his wife, although both he and his wife were described as married. John was now a shirt dresser and was being looked after by a housekeeper. By 1878 John had moved to the City Road workhouse and, when his wife died in 1880, her will did not refer to John except after it had been proved when there is a sentence saying that she had 'survived her husband John Hutson..' and another referring to 'a certain agreement dated 15th day of August 1870' enabling her to dispose of her assets. John survived her by ten years, dying as a pauper in the workhouse where he had been living for twelve years. The 1881 census had described him as a baker, which he hadn't been for some time and there is no reference to any haemorrhages at any stage; but it is difficult not to believe that he was, given the unusual life he had led.

 

Although not proven, at this stage I had to assume that his mother was a carrier. She, Harriet, was the elder daughter of Thomas and Mary Heathorn. Thomas died when he was only thirty, so very much a possible haemophiliac. In the list of Surrey voters entitled to sit on juries, written on 4th Oct 1785, his entry has 'infirm' next to it; he wrote his will on 22nd Nov 1785; and was buried on the 4th Dec 1785. Apart from one instance where he was described as a yeoman, every other reference to him says he was a gardener. His will and land tax records showed that he owned land, and his father had also been a yeoman, so he was comfortably well off. There are, of course, a number of reasons why a thirty year-old could die, but it is reasonable to assume he might be haemophiliac. The easiest way tp prove it would be to show that two or more of his children had the condition, but he only had two daughters (mentioned in the will), the second one being Mary. The West Clandon burial registers show two Mary Heathorns being buried in 1790 and 1794. The one in 1794 is Thomas' mother and we know Thomas' widow re-married in 1794, so the 1790 entry could refer to Thomas' daughter. She would only have been seven or eight at the time, so normally the entry would refer to her parents; but I can find no other burial or marriage reference, except one in Devon.