Nicholas Hedges

Art, Writing and Research

Mary Holdship

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From reading William Holdship’s Will (1757), we can glean that he had 4 children:

John
Thomas
Mary (married to Thomas King)
Kitty

In Mary’s will, written in 1770, we read that everything was left solely to her daughter Kitty, wife of a farmer in Iffley called John White.

One wonders why everything was left to her, indeed there is no mention at all of John, Thomas or Mary. Had there been a family dispute? We know that Thomas was living abroad at the time William wrote his will in 1757, so it’s possible that he remained so. The other possibility of course is that all the other children were dead by the time Mary wrote her will.

What is particularly interesting about the Mary’s original will is the fact it appears to be written in her own hand.

mary-holdship-nee-borton-1770-o

It’s very strange to see the hand of one of your distant ancestors, a woman (my 7x great-aunt) born in 1697. It’s been written many times how our existences are so incredibly unlikely, and looking at documents such as these, where one can see the passage of a short moment of time through the flow of someone’s writing, one’s very existence seems to hang, literally, on every word.

William Holdship

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In Samuel Borton’s will we read:

and Mr Holdship his heirs or assigns to pay their share according to my father’s will for the house that Mr Robinson lives in which was my sister Mary’s past

I found the will (1757) of a William Holdship, farrier …

william-holdship-02

…in which I read the following:

I give devise and bequeath unto my son John Holdship all that tenement situate on Magdalen Parish in the said City of Oxford now in the occupation of William Robertson to hold unto my said son John Holdship from and immediately after the decease of my loving wife Mary Holdship…

Could William Robertson be the Mr Robinson in Samuel’s will?

In Richard’s will of 1714 we read:

I give my Daughter Mary the House next Mr Phipps house

This doesn’t give us a parish but I can’t help but think that Mary Borton must have married William Holdship.

Samuel Borton’s Last Will and Testament 1769

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samuel-borton_1769-registered-will-1
Transcript of Samuel Borton’s will 1769.

In the name of God Amen I Samuel Borton of the Parish of Saint Mary Magdalen Innkeeper near the city of Oxford being in health of body and of sound and disposing mind and memory do make and ordain this my last Will and Testament in writing in manner and form following that is to say first and principally I bequeath my soul unto the hands of Almighty God my Heavenly Father assuredly hoping through the merits of Death and Passion of my only Saviour and Redeemer Jesus Christ to receive remission and forgiveness of my sins and transgressions My wretched body in hopes of a joyfull[sic] resurrection I commit to the Earth from when it came decently to be buried at the discretion of any Executrix herein after named and as touching the distribution of that worldly estate which it hath pleased almighty God to bless me with after my debts and funeral charges defrayed I dispose thereof as followeth Imprimis I give and bequeath unto my son Samuel Borton my house called the Dolphin Inn in the parish of St. Mary Magdalen with the Brewhouse wash house Stables yards and gardens with the Coach house belonging to it and my son Samuel Borton to pay to my Daughter Fanney the sum of Thirty pounds within one year and a half after he is possessed of his Estate ITEM I give to my son Richard Borton my house in St. Peter in the East and the garding[sic] belonging to it now in the possession of Mr Taylor Cabinet Maker ITEM I give to my son William Borton my house in St. Peter in the East next to the Eagle and Child now in the possession of Mr. Dry and the two rooms over Mr. Dry’s shop now in the possession of Mt Smith the Shoemaker ITEM I give to my daughter Lydia my house in St. Mary Magdalen Parish and the garding belonging to it now in the possession of Mr Chitto and likewise the next tenement with the garding belonging to it and the two acres in St Giles Fields called the Dolphin Acres ITEM I give to my Daughter Margaret Borton my house in St Peter in the East next to the Angel Inn now in the possession of Mr King the mason and the house and yard and Garding joining to it in the possession of Mr Mace the Taylor ITEM I give to my daughter Fanny my house in St Peter in the East next door to Mr Watson’s now in the possession of Mr Baggs the Taylor and the house in the yard with the out House opposite to it both which Mr Bissell rented of me and my son Samuel Borton shall pay to the Beedsman Twenty pounds a year for the Dolphin Inn and when it is to be renewed to the city (illegible): my daughter Lydia her heirs or assigns shall pay their share answerable to the income of her two houses and the two acres in St. Giles Fields and Mr Holdship his heirs or assigns to pay their share according to my father’s will for the house that Mr Robinson lives in which was my sister Mary’s past and the things hereafter mentioned to be left as Standards in the Dolphin Inn (?) and hooks the fixed grates the mantel shelves (?) cupboards and the rest of my children, Richard Margaret William and Fanny to pay their share when my houses in St. Peter in the East are to be renewed(?) and the yearly quit rent according to the income of what I have left each of them ITEM I give to my three daughters twenty pounds a piece and if I have not ready money enough by me to pay them it shall be allowed them out of any goods and chattels when the twenty pounds is paid each of my Daughters Lydia Margaret and Fanny and then what remains in money all the rest of my goods and chattels shall be equally divided amongst all my children and I make all my children joint executors and executrixes of this my last will and testament In (?) whereof I have set my hand and seal the Eighteenth day of January in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and sixty eight Samuel Borton in the presence of us who have signed the same in his presence when he sealed and signed it Thephs Wharton James Slater

Richard Borton’s Last Will and Testament 1714

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richard-borton_1714-registered-will-1

Transcript of Richard Borton’s will 1714.

In the name of God Amen I Richd Borton of the Parish of Holywell all is (?) St. Cross’s near the City of Oxon yeoman being in health of body and sound and disproving mind and memory do make and ordain this my last Will and Testament in writing in manner and form following (that is to say) first and principally I bequeath my soul unto the Hands of almighty God my Heavenly father assuredly hoping thro’ the merits Death and Passion of my only Saviour and Redeemer, Jesus Xt to receive remission and forgiveness of all my sins and and transgressions My retched[sic] body in hope of a joyful resurrection I commit to the Earth from whence it came decently to be buried at the direction of my Executors herein after named and as touching the distribution of that worldly estate which it hath pleased Almighty God to bless me after my debts and funeral charges are defray’d (illegible) as followeth ITEM I give and bequeath unto my dear and loving wife Mary all my Freehold, Copyhold and Leasehold Estate that I shall die (seized?) wheresoever ye same (illegible) during her life ITEM I give and bequeath to my son Richd Borton my House and Brewhouse Barnes[sic] and Stables and Eleven acres of land in Cowley Parish I bought of Mr Loveday and my Son Richard shall pay my Daughter Ann twenty pounds and my Daughter Elizabeth twenty pounds within the year that he shall be possessed of his estate ITEM I give my son Samuel the Dolphin Inn and the two tenements on the north side and two acres in Saint Giles field called the Dolphin Acres ITEM I give my Daughter Mary the House next Mr Phipps house and my son Samuel shall pay my Daughter Mary twenty pounds within a year after he hath the Inn and my son Samuel shall pay the Beedsman and when they renew to the city Mary on her heirs or assigns shall pay according to that income ITEM I give to my Daughter Ann my house in St. Clement’s with the forest(?) money belonging to it ITEM I give my Daughter Elizabeth my House and Barn and Smiths shop and Garden over against my Brewhouse ITEM I give my daughter Martha my six acres of land in Headington Field with the Cottages Commons belonging to them and a clove(?) at Cowley now called the Hop Yard on (illegible) and if my son Richard will not surrender the six acres and the house as I have directed ye he shall pay my daughter Ann seven score pounds more than I have directed before and my Daughter Martha fourscore pounds if he doth not (illegible) to her. I leave my Ash house which now stands where the dog kennell[sic] formerly stood to my wife to be disposed of either in the payment of debts or otherwise as she shall think convenient and if it shall please God if any one of my children die before they come to possession of what I leave herein by my will allotted to (them?) then shall they share or (illegible) or Estates belonging or by my will so given and bequeathed  to him or her so dying be divided equally to the rest of them that shall be the survivors. And my loving wife shall enjoy all my Estate so bequeathed unto her during the term of her life if she lives a widow but if she marry then each and every one of my children shall enter upon and take possession of what I have herein by my will bequeathed unto them so soon as she shall marry and if my stock that I leave behind me do not prove sufficient to pay and discharge what debts I owe at the time of my Death and my Funeral charges then shall every one of my children bear a proportionable charge according to what I have hereby given to them of the payment and the discharge of the same and so the intent that this may be known to be my last will and testament revoking hereby all former wills whatsoever by me made I have hereunto set my hand and seal this Seventeenth day of December in the year of our Lord One thousand seven hundred and fourteen Richard Borton signed sealed and attested to be the last will and testament of the above named Richd Borton in the presence of us who have signed the same in his presence when he sealed and signed it Mary Gardner, Tom (illegible), Tho. Cave

Wills

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Having discovered that my 6 x great-grandfather Samuel Borton owned The Dolphin Inn (which stood on St. Giles, Oxford), I was pleased today to discover his and his father’s wills. Samuel was born in 1706 and died in Oxford in 1769, leaving behind a fair few houses and bits of lands to be divided up amongst his children.

The image below shows his original will:

I was pleased to read the following which confirmed my previous research:

“I bequeath unto my son Samuel Borton my house called ye Dolphin Inn in the parish of St. Mary Magdalen with ye Brewhouse, Washhouse, Stables and Gardings with Coach House belonging to it.”

I was surprised at how many properties he owned in the city including a house in “St. Peters ye East next to ye Eagle and Child”; another house in St. Mary Magdalen which he bequeathed (along with two acres in St. Giles’ fields called Dolphin Acres) to my 5 x great-grandmother Lydia Stevens. He also owned a house next to the Angel Inn on the High Street (pictured below in 1820).

When I examined the will of his father Richard, who died in Oxford in 1714, I found that the same properties were listed in his will and that he had himself owned the Dolphin Inn. The first page of his registered will can found below:

But what I was particularly thrilled to see was an example of Samuel’s handwriting in the form of his signature.

One day in 1845

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The fact that we exist, as the individuals we are, is mind-boggling. Go back 8 generations and you’ll discover that you have 256 great-great-great-great-great-great-grandparents. Go back to the start of the 1600s and you’ll discover that you owe your existence to 1,024 people who were alive at the time; 2,046 including those who came after.

No-one of course lives their lives in isolation. We spend every day interacting with friends, family or strangers, and as such, all those people too have influenced our coming-into-being.

My 9th great-grandfather, Gabriel Baines (born in 1610) was one of 1,024 people alive around the time on whom my existence has depended. Factor into that equation, that everything (and I mean everything) those 1,024 people did in the early 1600s had to be done exactly as it was, then you begin to appreciate how extremely unlikely you are. (Extrapolate this out and one could say that everything that everyone did had to be done as it was for any of us to be born who were are.)

Leaping ahead from the early seventeenth century to the mid 19th century I find my great-great-great-grandparents. Since beginning my research in 2007 I have discovered all 32 of them. Imagine then a day in 1845. All 32 of these individuals were living in England and Wales (their ages and place of residence at the time shown in brackets).

Richard Hedges (37 – Dorchester, Oxfordshire)
Ann Hedges née Jordan (38 – Dorchester, Oxfordshire)
Elijah Noon (27 – Oxford, Oxfordshire)
Charlotte Noon née White (26 – Oxford, Oxfordshire)
William Lafford (21 – Ampney St Peter, Gloucestershire)
Elizabeth Timbrill (18 – Minety, Gloucestershire)
Abel Wilson (27 – Ampney Crucis, Gloucestershire)
Hester Wilson née Pillinger (22- Ampney Crucis, Gloucestershire)

Alexander Jones (44 – Mynyddyslwyn, Monmouthshire)
Martha Jones née Harries (27 – Mynyddyslwyn, Monmouthshire)
Edmund Jones (28 – Trevethin, Monmouthshire)
Sarah Jones née Jones (27 – Trevethin, Monmouthshire)
Enos Rogers (4 – Clutton, Somerset)
Jane Tovey (4 – Llanfoist, Monmouthshire)
Alfred Brooks (7 – Bettws, Monmouthshire)
Ruth Waters (5 – Machen, Monmouthshire)

John Stevens (33 – Reading, Berkshire)
Elizabeth Stevens (28 – Reading, Berkshire)
Charles Shackleford (28 – Reading, Berkshire)
Mary Ann Jones (20 – Reading, Berkshire)
John Thompson (31 – West Walton, Norfolk)
Maria Thompson née Hubbard (33 – West Walton, Norfolk)
William Baines (20 – Gainsborough, Lincolnshire,)
Martha Baines née Moore (20 – Gainsborough, Lincolnshire,)

George Sarjeant (31 – Lewes, Sussex)
Sarah Sarjeant (39 – Lewes, Sussex)
James Barnes (23 – Arlington, Sussex)
Eliza Barnes née Deadman (21 – Arlington, Sussex)
Henry White (46 – Brighton, Sussex)
Mary Ann White née Ellis (29 – Brighton, Sussex)
John Vigar (36 – Worth, Sussex)
Elizabeth Vigar née Simmons (33- Worth, Sussex)

For a bit of background: in 1845 the Prime Minister was Robert Peel. On 15th March the first University Boat Race took place and on 1st May the first cricket match as the Oval was played. The rubber band was patented and the last fatal duel between two Englishmen was fought on English soil. Potato blight in Ireland saw the start of the Great Famine.

The Dolphin Inn

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After my last post about my 6 x great-grandfather, Samuel Borton’s residence, I wanted to see if I could find out the name of the inn he owned, which, I now knew stood at the southern end of St. Giles. In a book of old Oxford photographs, which I bought a few years back, I found the following image:

It shows St. John’s college and a building next door called the Dolphin building, which at the time of this photograph c1870 was part of the college. The text beneath the photograph stated that it had once been an inn, and digging a little deeper, I discovered that it had indeed been the Dolphin Inn.

This then is a photograph of my 6 x great-grandfather’s inn before it was demolished.

The engraving below, is that of the same inn, made in 1779, probably at the time when my ancestor was resident.

More on Samuel Borton in 1772

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Following on from my last post on Samuel Borton’s residence, I’ve found evidence confirming where he lived. The following image shows his name in the survey:

I took the photo below whilst standing in my bus queue this evening. It shows the row of buildings which, I believe, stand on the site of those buildings once occupied by Messrs Morrel, Fidler and my ancestor, Borton.

Looking at a plan from the 1772 survey – which I’d photocopied several years ago – I discovered that this is indeed the site of my ancestors dwelling.

The following is a close up of the top left hand corner.

The name in the ‘box’ next to Balliol College is Mr. Morrell, which when we look at the list at the top of the page is the first name after Balliol College. His property would have stood approximately where the orange-brown neo-classical building stands now. Four yards to the left would have been Mr Fidler’s property and occupying the land next to that would have been my ancestor’s property, which I believe was an inn.

Samuel Borton in 1772

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I have recently written about John Gwynn’s survey of Oxford (1772) in relation to my family tree research (see Lydia Stevens 1734-1822) and have discovered another ancestor in the same survey. Lydia’s father, Samuel Borton was, at the time of her birth, an innkeeper in Mary Magdalen Parish. Lydia married John Stevens in the church of St. Mary Magdalen in 1764, and I wondered therefore whether Samuel Borton would be listed in Gwynn’s survey? Sure enough, in Magdalen parish, close to Balliol College, a Mr. Borton is listed as the owner of a property measuring 15 yards wide.

I need to get a copy of H.E. Salter’s Survey of Oxford in 1772 with Maps and Plans to work out where exactly this is (the above extract is from Google books). However, it might be that as we have [Here Broad St.] and given that the length of Balliol College is given as 140 yards (128 metres), that Mr. Borton’s property is on the north side Broad Street. But then Balliol College, west end would seem to be that part of the college shown in yellow below. In which case Mr. Borton’s property would actually be nearer St. Giles.

Having looked up Broad Street in Google Earth, I decided to use the measuring tool to see if that would help. The yellow lines are both approximately 140 yards long.

Superimposing the 1750 map above onto Google Earth, we get the following:

A closer look:

Samuel Borton (1706 – ?)

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During a quick research session in the library this lunchtime, I tried to discover the birth date of my 6 x great-grandfather, Samuel Borton. Having trawled through the indexes for St. Martin’s parish, St. Mary Magdalen, St. Peter le Bailey and St. Mary the Virgin, I turned to that for Holywell parish. In there I discovered a Samuel Borton born in 1706. His father was listed as Richard and in the time I had, I discovered two siblings called Ann (b.1693) and Mary (b.1703).

From the index it’s hard to say for sure that this Richard Borton is the father of my Samuel Borton, but the name isn’t common and, in line with what I described yesterday, another piece of evidence could be gleaned from the names of Samuel’s own children.

His first son was called Samuel (1737 – ); his second son, surely named after his grandfather – Richard, born in 1739.

John and Samuel

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The name of a first born son or daughter is a good way of confirming whether or not your research, as regards a particular family line, is on the right track, and this has been the case with my current research into the Stevens line (my mother’s father’s line) of my family tree.

The father of my 3 x great-grandfather, John Stevens (1811-1876) was, I believe, a Samuel Stevens (1776-1841) and his father in turn was another John Stevens (1737-1803).

The name John is clearly important. John (1737-1803) named his first son John. He appears to have died in infancy as John’s fourth son (seventh child) was also named John. Sadly, this child also seems to have died in infancy; the couple’s fifth son (eighth child) was also named John. The couple’s third son (fourth child) was named Samuel (b1769) who again appears to have died in childhood. Another Samuel (my direct ancestor and the couple’s ninth child) was born seven years later in 1776. This shows that the name Samuel was also important.

This Samuel (1776-1841) had several children including a Samuel (first son, born in 1808) and a John (my direct ancestor born in 1811). John also had many children; his first born was John (1837-1888) and his second son was Samuel (1839-1919). My direct ancestor, Jabez (1847-1899) also had children, none of whom were called John or Samuel. Indeed, the name doesn’t appear again in my direct family line. One reason for this falling out of favour might be that John Stevens (1837-1888) spent much of the last part of his life in Moulsford Asylum. With the loss of his income his wife Emma entered a workhouse with two of her children, Martha and Kate, where she died of cancer in 1873.

The important point is that my 3 x great-grandfather’s second son was Samuel; it links him with the Samuel Stevens who I believe to be my 4 x great-grandfather. But where does the name Samuel come from? Why was it so important?

Going through the Oxfordshire parish indexes last week I discovered the following: my 5 x great-grandfather John Stevens (1737-1803) was married to Lydia Borton (1734-1822) in the church of St. Mary Magdalen on 24th March 1764. The witnesses are given as Sam Borton and Mary Stevens. In the records I discovered that Lydia’s father was Samuel Borton, an innkeeper in the parish of St. Mary Magdalen. So, that must be where the name comes from as regards its important in the Stevens line.

The elusive Samuel Stevens (1776 – ?)

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I’ve turned my attention to my 4 x great-grandfather Samuel Stevens who I know was born in Oxford in 1776. I know too that he married a woman called Mary and that they had a child called John (my 3 x great-grandfather) in 1811.

In the library this afternoon I tried to find details of other children they might have had and the date and location of their wedding; however I couldn’t find anything save for details of a daughter, Frances, born in St. Aldate’s Parish in 1809, two years before John. However that was it, which led me to suspect that either one or both had died after John’s birth, or that they had moved away – which seemed the more likely.

Given that John lived in Reading for much of his life, it seemed plausible that it was actually his parents who moved some time after his birth in 1811. Searching through the records online, I eventually found a Samuel Stevens who married a Mary Pecover in St. Lawrence Parish, Reading on May 14th 1807. This I’m sure must be my ancestor; not only does the place fit – along with the name of his wife – but the date of the wedding – two years before the birth of Frances – also fits the wider picture. It seems therefore that having married Mary in Reading, they moved to Oxford but left shortly after to return to Reading.

The (Georgian) Stevens Family

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Having done a bit more research in the library this afternoon, I believe I have discovered the dates of birth and death of Lydia Stevens’ husband John.

I know he died before Lydia (1822) and that he was alive in 1777 when his son William was born. Looking through the parish registers for St. Martin’s (the parish in which Lydia lived at the time of her death) I discovered a John Stevens who died in 1803 at the age of 66. This would put his birth year at 1737: Lydia, his widow, was born in 1734/5 which leads me to think that this is indeed my John.

I then looked at their children and found the following, all baptised in the same parish:

  • Lydia Stevens
 (Jan 18 1765)
  • John Stevens
 (Dec 26 1765)
  • Samuel Stevens
 (Jan 29 1767)
  • James Stevens
 (Oct 23 1768) 
  • Frances Stevens
 (May 15 1770)
  • Mary Stevens
 (Sep 28 1771) 
  • John Stevens
 (Aug 20 1773)
  • John Stevens
 (Dec 1 1774) 
  • Samuel Stevens
 (Apr 4 1776) 
  • William Stevens
 (Dec 31 1777) 

Given that there are 3 Johns and 2 Samuels, one can assume that the first John died some time before 1773 and that the second John died before 1774. Clearly the name John was important which leads me to believe that John’s father might have been called John as well.

The first Samuel must have died some time before 1776 when my direct ancestor was born.

Looking again at the wedding of John and Lydia, I found that the witnesses were Sam Borton and Mary Stevens. I’ve no idea of course what their relationship was to the couple; Sam could have been Lydia’s father or brother, but clearly the name Samuel or Sam was important and seems to have come from that side of the family. Mary Stevens might have been John’s mother or sister. The couple’s third daughter was named Mary so I’m no clearer on whether this was John’s mother’s name or not.

Lydia Stevens (1734-1822)

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Almost five years ago, I published a blog entry about my 3 x great-grandfather John Stevens (1811-1876):

Researching John Stevens in the library today, I found what I’m sure must be his parents. Having looked at the Index of Baptisms for the time around his birth (1811) I found only one person matching his dates. John Stevens was born on 7th October 1811 in St. Aldate’s parish. His parents are given as Samuel and Mary Stevens, and looking at John Stevens’ children, I found that his second born son is named Samuel (his first son is called John). I decided to see if I could locate a Samuel Stevens in the Parish Registers. I couldn’t be sure that he was born in the city but it seemed quite likely. Sure enough I found a Samuel Stevens born on the 4th April 1776, baptised in St. Martin’s (now demolished). His parents were given as John and Lydia Stevens and so I looked for a record of their marriage in the city. Again my luck was in and I found that they were married on March 24th 1764 in St. Mary Magdalen. Lydia’s maiden name was Borton and the witnesses at the wedding were Sam Borton and Mary Stevens. John is described as being from St. Martin’s which is where Samuel was baptised.

At the same time I also wrote the following:

A year or so ago, I started work on a piece of work based around John Gwynn’s survey of 1772. The piece was called (as a working title) ‘6 Yards 0 Feet 6 inches’ based on the measurement of John Malchair‘s home in Broad Street. Having discovered an ancestor – John Stevens – born in the city in 1811, I wondered if there was any chance that one of the Mr Stevens’ listed on the survey was an ancestor of mine? It seemed a long shot but after today’s research I’m rather more optimistic. 

If I did have an ancestor in Oxford at the time of the survey and if my research is correct, then that ancestor would be John Steven, the grandfather of the one previously mentioned. I’ve no idea when he was born but I do know that he was married in 1764 and is described as coming from St. Martin’s Parish, where his son Samuel, John Jr’s father was baptised in 1776. One could assume therefore that I did indeed have ancestors living in the parish of St. Martin’s at the time of the survey. 

The images below are taken from the survey and show two Stevens one of which might well be my ancestor.

Gwynn fails to include (at least on the copy I have) first names from the survey but within the parish of St Martin’s two Mr Stevens are recorded along with a Mrs Stevens. One can assume however, that those most likely to be mine are the two Mr Stevens mentioned as living in the parish, one in Butcherrow (now Queen Street), the other in North Gate Street (now Cornmarket). The residence in Butcherrow is 7 yards 0 feet and 6 inches. That in North Gate Street is 4 yards 2 feet 0 inches.

John Gwynn's Survey 1772

John Gwynn's Survey 1772

Of course more work is required to see if one of these is indeed my ancestor, but I must admit to being very inspired by the prospect.

Yesterday, I was looking through Jackson’s Oxford Journal online and decided to search for a number of my ancestors. I’d already done as much with the Hedges side of the family (discovering in the process that they were often in trouble – see ‘The Victorians‘) and decided to check on my maternal side. I searched for Lydia Stevens (my 5 x great-grandmother) and discovered the following from an edition of the newspaper printed on November 2nd 1822:

‘Yesterday se’nnight [a week] died, at her house in the Corn-market, in the 88th year of her age, Mrs. Lydia Stevens, relict [widow] of the late Mr. John. Stevens, of this city.’

Not only did this notice give me her dates of birth and death (1734 – Friday, 25th October 1822), it also seemed to indicate that the Mr. Stevens recorded in John Gwynn’s survey on 1772 was my 5 x great-grandfather. Of course there is a 50 year gap between the date of the survey and the date of Lydia’s death, but it seems quite probable nonetheless.

Mr Stevens

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A year or so ago, I started work on a piece of work based around John Gwynn’s survey of 1772. The piece was called (as a working title) ‘6 Yards 0 Feet 6 inches’ based on the measurement of John Malchair‘s home in Broad Street. Having discovered an ancestor – John Stevens – born in the city in 1811, I wondered if there was any chance that one of the Mr Stevens’ listed on the survey was an ancestor of mine? It seemed a long shot but after today’s research I’m rather more optimistic.

If I did have an ancestor in Oxford at the time of the survey and if my research is correct, then that ancestor would be John Steven, the grandfather of the one previously mentioned. I’ve no idea when he was born but I do know that he was married in 1764 and is described as coming from St. Martin’s Parish, where his son Samuel, John Jr’s father was baptised in 1776. One could assume therefore that I did indeed have ancestors living in the parish of St. Martin’s at the time of the survey.
The images below are taken from the survey and show two Stevens one of which might well be my ancestor.

Gwynn fails to include (at least on the copy I have) first names from the survey but within the parish of St Martin’s two Mr Stevens are recorded along with a Mrs Stevens. One can assume however, that those most likely to be mine are the two Mr Stevens mentioned as living in the parish, one in Butcherrow (now Queen Street), the other in North Gate Street (now Cornmarket). The residence in Butcherrow is 7 yards 0 feet and 6 inches. That in North Gate Street is 4 yards 2 feet 0 inches.

John Gwynn's Survey 1772

John Gwynn's Survey 1772

Of course more work is required to see if one of these is indeed my ancestor, but I must admit to being very inspired by the prospect.

John Stevens (1811-1876)

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Researching John Stevens in the library today, I found what I’m sure must be his parents. Having looked at the Index of Baptisms for the time around his birth (1811) I found only one person matching his dates. John Stevens was born on 7th October 1811 in St. Aldate’s parish. His parents are given as Samuel and Mary Stevens, and looking at John Stevens’ children, I found that his second born son is named Samuel (his first son is called John). I decided to see if I could locate a Samuel Stevens in the Parish Registers. I couldn’t be sure that he was born in the city but it seemed quite likely. Sure enough I found a Samuel Stevens born on the 4th April 1776, baptised in St. Martin’s (now demolished). His parents were given as John and Lydia Stevens and so I looked for a record of their marriage in the city. Again my luck was in and I found that they were married on March 24th 1764 in St. Mary Magdalen. Lydia’s maiden name was Borton and the witnesses at the wedding were Sam Borton and Mary Stevens. John is described as being from St. Martin’s which is where Samuel was baptised.

John Stevens (1837-1888)

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In my previous post ‘Real People‘ I wrote a little on the life of John Stevens, my great-great-great-uncle (my great-great-grandfather, Jabez’s older brother) who was born in Reading in 1837. Firstly, I must correct something I wrote in that entry; John Stevens was never in Broadmoor . Before entering the Moulsford Asylum, he was first an inmate at the Littlemore Asylum in Oxfordshire to which he was admitted on 24th March 1871. He was suffering from mania caused by epilepsy and had been ill for three months.

He was 34 years of age when admitted to the Moulsford Asylum on 17th May 1871. He was a tailor, married to Emma and had been subject to fits from the age of 17. This was not his first attack of insanity the cause of which was epilepsy. He told the doctor on admission that “he has been all around the world this morning; that he was seen John the Baptist; that he is John the Baptist; that he in a fighting attitude is addressing God.” He had been observed “standing for an hour in one attitude looking at the sky, squaring his fist to fight the Nurse and ill-treating his wife a few days after her confinement.” In the same year he was admitted, his wife Emma gave birth to a daughter, Kate.

As a patient, he still worked in his trade as a tailor as the asylum had its own tailoring shop. However he was still subject to frequent and severe epileptic fits.

On July 28th 1877 he was attacked by another patient, Harry Mulford, who knocked him down and kicked him breaking one of his ribs. Two years later in 1879 he stopped working as his condition began deteriorating.

In December 1886 he suffered with pneumonia and in March 1887 records state that John “is a wretched epileptic, frequently getting wounds in the head.” A year later in December 1887, he was so weak he was spending the entire day in bed, still suffering frequent fits. The next and last entry in the records of Moulsford Asylum regarding John is dated 10th February 1888. It states that he had:

“…been constantly in bed, at times noisy but thoroughly exhausted. He quietly passed away today at 2.30pm.” His cause of death was “exhaustion from epilepsy.”

Real People

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For about seven months now I have been researching my family tree through Ancestry.com and in that time I have been quite successful, tracing four lines (Hedges, Stevens, Jones and Sarjeant) back to the beginning of the nineteenth century and in some cases well beyond. I have exchanged emails with a second cousin in Canada (to whom I owe a great deal as regards his efforts with the Sarjeant tree), visited the graves of ancestors I never knew I had in Wales and, having visited the Menin Gate in Ypres a year ago, discovered that my great-great-uncle is commemorated upon it having been killed in the second battle of Ypres in 1915 (there may be a second great-great-uncle who died at the Somme, but until I receive his death certificate I cannot be certain). Having done all this and talked with both my 95 year old grandmothers about their respective childhoods, and having looked at various photographs, these people I have drawn from the past have come alive, but it was only at the end of last week, that the fact these were once real people became truly apparent.

The furthest I’ve gone back with the Stevens family is to a certain John Stevens, a tailor, who was born in Oxford around 1812. The Stevens side of the family (my maternal grandfather) came to Oxford in 1952 from Reading, so it was strange therefore to find that they’d originated in the twon where I was born. He had six children by his wife Charlotte; John (1837), Samuel (1839), Elizabeth (1843), Rosetta (1844), Henry (1846) and finally, my great-great-grandfather, Jabez (1848). Having turned my attention recently to those to whom I am not directly descended, i.e. the siblings of great-grandparents and so on, I decided to look at the eldest sibling in this family, John.

Born in 1837, I traced him through the censuses and discovered that in 1857 he married Emma Fisher and with her had seven children; Emma (1859), William (1861), Henry (1863), Mary (1865), John (1867), Martha (1869) and Kate (1871). All of these I found listed on the 1871 census along with their mother, but, there was no mention of the father John. I looked ahead to 1881 and while I couldn’t find Emma, I found her children and her husband, and it was here in this document that the whole tree assumed a much more tangible dimension. In 1881 John was listed as a Pauper Patient in the Berkshire County Moulsford Asylum (now Fair Mile Hospital). Why he was in there I couldn’t say, but next to his name was his trade ‘Tailor’ (the same as his father) and the word ‘lunatic’.

Suddenly, this man seemed more real than any of those I’d previously discovered; so for that matter did his wife and their children, after all, if he was in an asylum, what had become of them? I couldn’t find any mention of Emma, but some of his children had been separated; Henry and John were living with their Uncle Samuel, also a Tailor; Mary was living with her Aunt Rosetta, and sadly, Martha and Kate, the two youngest sisters, were inmates at the Reading and Wokingham District School (workhouse).
Turning back to the fate of their father, John, I tried to find him in the 1871 census, and eventually I discovered him; it seemed his misfortune had come much earlier for he was at this time an inmate at ‘Broadmoor Asylum for the criminally insane.’ I’ve no idea yet what he did but clearly it was serious. Reading about the asylum I read that those found ‘not guilty’ of serious crimes through their insanity were at the end of their sentences assessed, and if found to be unfit for release were sent to county asylums which seems to have been the case with John.

As regards his wife Emma, I have yet to find any trace of her in the 1881 census. It might be of course that she died in the 1870s but a search for the record of her death yields a more likely date of 1885; this will of course require more research. As regards John, I found reference to a John Stevens, born in 1837 who died in the district of Wallingford (in which Cholsey – the location of the Moulsford Asylum would fall) in 1885. No doubt he never recovered his sanity or his freedom.
As to the fate of their children, that will of course need further research.

© Nicholas Hedges 2006-20

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