Category: Cumberland

William Miller, (fl. 1826-1841), Besom Maker

By NMDEA

William Miller at one time had a connection to Greystoke Parish but moved to the Durham area with his wife Isabella. No direct narrative is available from the Miller family from 1826 to 1834. The events in their life are told through some of the letters between those involved in the administration of the Old Poor Law in Greystoke, Cumberland, and Wolsingham and Lanchester, both County Durham. William Miller appears to have become so poor that even if he were capable of writing a letter, the cost of postage may have prevented him from doing so.

On 26 June 1826 an epistolary advocate made the case for the Miller family when there was a downturn in the family’s circumstances. Curate Joseph Thompson, writing from The Parsonage, Lanchester, gave an account of what he believed to be the truth of their predicament. He explained that while camping on the roadside for two to three days for the purpose of selling besoms to help pay the rent, a fire not only destroyed their belongings but also burned to death their youngest son John (1825- 1826).

An old man in ragged clothes walks with the aid of a broom in his right hand and begs with a hat in his left hand. Etching by J.T. Smith, 1816. Wellcome Library
An old man in ragged clothes walks with the aid of a broom in his right hand and begs with a hat in his left hand. Etching by J.T. Smith, 1816. Wellcome Library

‘As far as I can learn I verify believe it to be correct he had no more than one shilling and sixpence on the morning of the misfortune and since then has been unable to earn anything.’ [1]

Isabella, his wife, although burned, survived as did two other sons Jacob (1821-1830) and James (b.1823). When John was born William Miller was described as a Potter. Thompson went on to explain the misfortune was no fault of their own. Referring to the same incident, Thomas White (1764-1836) of Woodlands, Lanchester, wrote to Thomas Burn. While appearing to illicit some sympathy for the family, he sought a response as they said that they belonged to Greystoke Parish.


‘

‘The poor woman [Isabella Miller] was very much burnt in endeavouring to save the child and the Overseers have of course been at a considerable expense. I therefore write this to state things in order that you may know what to do with these miserable people who say they belong to your parish.’[2]


By 1829 the Millers had another two sons, William (1827-1830) and John George (known as George) (b.1829). William, the father, was described as a besom maker in the parish register. In October the same year they were once again in difficulties. Robert Moses (1774-1841) Overseer of Wolsingham wrote to Thomas Burn attesting that William Miller had no employment, no means to help himself, and the children were much distressed.

‘He has neither Galloway [pony] or Ass to carry them to other markets. The rent due at Martinmass will be £1.12.6’ .[3]

Matters were even worse by 1830. Sons William died on 4 April and Jacob aged 9 died and was buried on 20 July. Another son James (who had been born 24 August 1823) was baptised. A further letter from Joseph Wooler (1776-1865) of Whitfield House, Wolsingham, dated 6 April 1830 makes the case for William Miller being deserving of relief. He was in debt partly as the result of a coroner’s bill for 20 shillings, and described by Wooler as willing to work for as little as 1 shilling a day, having done some work for his son in the Tan yards. [4] Perhaps William and his family were just managing to make ends meets until burdened by the coroner’s bill.

In 1834 William and Isabella were in Wolsingham with four children: James, George [John George] , Mary (b.1833) and Ann Watson (1831–1834). The children were sick with smallpox but were receiving help. Wolsingham acknowledged a receipt from Greystoke for rent: 4 weeks at 2s 6d and 5 weeks at 4s 6d when the family were ill, as well as 11s for a child’s coffin and funeral for Ann being.[5] At this point the registers describe William as a labourer.

Miller Family Expenses
PR 5/67-H 6

When his children were ill with smallpox, William Miller had sought medical assistance , but on the doctor’s refusal to help he then applied to the magistrate, Mr Wilson, who ordered overseer Robert Moses to ask the doctor to attend them.[6] One bill from J Davison, Surgeon, Wolsingham, or £7.14s.6d between April and June 1834 was principally for attending George Miller.[7]

The medical bills became a contencious issue. Robert Moses wrote to Greystoke in May 1834 admonishing Greystoke declaring that, once well, the Millers would be removed if the doctor’s bill was not settled.

‘As you object to paying the bill as soon as the Doctor says the family can be removed I shall send them.’ [8]

He concluded that the Millers’ removal would be welcomed by many of the inhabitants of Wolsingham.

‘ Which are much annoyed by their children begging about the streets.’

A Removal Order was issued by Wolsingham but was suspended in April 1834 due to the families illness. [9] Robert Moses informed Thomas Burn of Greystoke that he had been compelled to issue the order as he had not heard from him for at least a month. [10] Thomas Burn replied on 5 May 1834 saying he had not received a copy of the suspension of the Removal order, so could not pay anything until he did.[11] Robert Moses wrote back three days later with a copy of the order. [12]

‘I do not believe that you are behaving fairly towards me in objecting to pay the Doctors bill.’

The negotiations concerning the doctor’s expenses continued to the point of legal action being proposed by Wolsingham. [13] On 7 October 1834 Thomas Burn wrote to Robert Moses highlighting what Greystoke Parish believed to be discrepancies in the doctor’s bills. He advised Moses that after a meeting of the Vestry he had been ordered to write as they needed an explanation of the costs in the bills. One amounted to £13.4s.0d and the other to £9.18s.0d . The vestry consulted medical men whose opinion was that the bills were too high. [14] In a more conciliatory tone he added:

‘We are bound to go by the law but you don’t we will meet any time upon fair terms.’

The Miller family if they were removed to Greystoke, did not stay. They moved on and became part of the Durham mining community. By 1841 they were in the Parish of St Oswald, Durham. William was a miner living with Isabella and children James, George, Ann (b.1836) and Jacob (b.1841).
The coroner’s bill was paid in 1835 when John Cockburn was Assistant Overseer of Greystoke.[15]

 

John dempsey Cross Sweeper London 1820
John Dempsey Cross Sweeper (London 1820) National Portrait Gallery of Australia https://www.portrait.gov.au/image/87692/87466/

Sources
[1] Cumbria Archives, PR5/67/-/F 11.1 Greystoke Overseers’ Voucher, 28 June 1826 (Joseph Thompson to the Overseers of Greystoke)
[2] Cumbria Archives, PR5/67/1/F 14.1 Greystoke Overseers’ Voucher, 27 June 1826[7] (Thomas White to Thomas Burn)
[3] Cumbria Archives, PR5/67-I .9 Greystoke Overseers’ Voucher, 29 October 1829 (Robert Moses to Thomas Burn)
[4] Cumbria Archives, PR5/67-J 17 Greystoke Overseers’ Voucher, 6 April 1830 (Joseph Wooler to Thomas Burn)
[5] Cumbria Archives, PR5/67/H 6.1 Greystoke Overseers’ Voucher, 6 May 1834 (Receipt from Greystoke to the Overseers of Wolsingham)
[6] Cumbria Archives, PR5/67/H2.3 Greystoke Overseers’ Voucher 8 May 1834 (Robert Moses to Thomas Burn)
[7] Cumbria Archives, PR5/67/H 10.1-88 Greystoke Overseers’ Voucher, April – June 1834 (Receipt for Account of J Davison Surgeon)
[8] Cumbria Archives, PR5/67/H2.3 Greystoke Overseers’ Voucher, 8 May 1834 (Robert Moses to Thomas Burn)
[9] Cumbria Archives, PR5/67/H 18.1 Greystoke Overseers’ Voucher, 28 April 1834 (Suspension of removal order from Wolsingham to Greystoke of the Miller Family)
[10] Cumbria Archives, PR5/67/H 2.2, Greystoke Overseers’ Voucher, 1 May 1834 (Robert Moses to the Overseers of Greystoke)
[11] Cumbria Archives, PR5/67/H 1 Greystoke Overseers’ Voucher, 5 May 1834 (Thomas Burn to Robert Moses)
[12] Cumbria Archives, PR5/67/H 2 3. Greystoke Overseers’ Voucher, 8 May 1834 (Thomas Burn to Robert Moses)
[13] Cumbria Archives PR5/67/H 3 Greystoke Overseers’ Voucher, 30 august 1834 (Thomas Burn to Robert Moses)
[14] Cumbria Archives, PR5/67/H 5.1 Greystoke Overseers’ Voucher, 16 September 1834. and PR5/67/H 7.1. 7 October 1834 (Thomas Burn to Robert Moses)
[15] Cumbria Archives, PR5/53, File of Vouchers 1829- 1835


Miller family records accessed at www.findmypast.co.uk Durham, Births Marriage Deaths and Parish Records Durham 4 May 2020

 

 

Top Trumps explained

By Alannah Tomkins

The game of Top Trumps depicting people found by the Small Bills project arrived on my doorstep yesterday, and in less than five minutes my son was demanding an explanation of the different categories of score.

Like similar games, each card has a subject (in this case a woman, man, or child associated with the Old Poor Law) and scores in five categories. The scores are frequently assigned approximately or randomly rather than according to a system or to strict data – at least that has been my assumption when playing these games with my children. Therefore the scores are not rigid indicators of research, but either approximations or entirely made up (to ensure a good range of scores across all of the characters).

‘Life Story’ provides a score out of five and notionally indicates the extent to which we can know the details of someone’s life. The East Sussex diarist Thomas Turner is the only one of our people who left such a lengthy personal document, so in honour of this fact he is the only person with the top score of five. Everyone else gets between one and four, based loosely on how well we can hope to research their biography, and find out details of their lives.

Agency is given as a percentage, and alludes to the range of action open to each person. The dead pauper Charles Aldritt has an agency score of zero, whereas the litigious Cumbrian businessman Charles Thurnam has the highest score (95%) in recognition of his willingness to throw his weight around.

Surname rarity has a greater measure of system behind it. I looked at the prevalence or otherwise of each surname according to the website https//:forebears.io and then converted the rankings into a score out of 1000. This process awards Ann Tomsat the highest score of 995, and gives Elizabeth Wilson just 10.

Persistence refers to the number of decades (out of ten) where we might hope to be able to trace the person in historical records, including but not limited to the vouchers. I had to tinker with this set of scores a little, so they do not necessarily represent what I know to be true or feel to be possible for all characters: the risk was that, otherwise, many people would have had a score of just one!

Finally Poverty Rating ranks the cards from one to thirty based on the severity of their poverty relative to each other. In this category the Staffordshire child Nancy Wilkes gets a score of 29: I was very pleased with the illustration for this card!

More information on some of the people featured in the Old Poor Law Top Trumps can be found in the blogs on this website.

The Kirkby Lonsdale Digester

By Peter Collinge

On 10 August 1811 wholesale ironmonger George Backhouse of Kendal billed Kirkby Lonsdale Workhouse for a single item, a digester, costing £1 11s 4d.[1] In a pamphlet from around 1740, entitled Cheap provision, recommended to the publick in general, and poor in particular, the purpose of a digesterwas to dissolve bones that could be used in soups and broths.[2] It was not evident how a digester worked.

‘An excellent Broath is made with Bones, dissolved by a digester, and thicken’d with Rice. To make a nourishing and satisfactory Dinner of it Put Half a Pound of Meat, of any Sort, salt or fresh, or both, or Ox Cheek, Cow Heel, Calves, Feet &c cut into Bits, into a Gallon of Water, after you have made it boil and froth up, put in a Pound of Rice, let it Boil for three Hours, adding another Gallon of Water warm’d’.[3] To this, may be added with discretion, ‘any garden stuff … Pease, Turnips, Potatoes, Parsnips, Leeks, … and it may be season’d with Ginger, Jamaica or black Pepper’.

Sixty years later, the snappily-titled The economy of an institution, established in Spitalfields, London, for the purpose of supplying the poor with a good meat soup, At One Penny per Quart. Principally extracted from the Papers of the Society, and published with a view to the Establishment of similar institutions, in towns, villages, and populous neighbourhoods produced by the Society for the Relief of the Industrious Poor, reported that a digester had been installed in Spitalfields, but it was not yet in use.[4] The committee was of the opinion that ‘most of the nutrient may be extracted from the bones by the usual mode of preparing the Soup’, to wit they had four boilers, two of one hundred gallons each and two of 150 gallons each.[5]

The society gave the following recipe for one hundred gallons of soup: eight stones of beef, 16 stones of shin of beef, 46lbs of pease, 36lbs of Scotch barley, 24lbs of onions, 8lbs of salt, 10oz of black pepper.[6] These were to be placed in a boiler filled with water and simmered overnight. In the morning the water was to be topped up.

The reports of the Society for Bettering the Condition and Increasing the Comforts of the Poor thought a digester saved both food and fuel.[7] The reports gave a description from the Birmingham Soup Shop on how a digester functioned. ‘Soup is prepared by previously dissolving the meat and bones in the digester; a vessel which … is capable of dissolving bones to jelly within a few hours’.[8]

‘The bones are cut into small pieces with an axe, and part of them put into the digester, which is filled two-thirds with water, and the lid screwed down; when the first operation takes place, for two of three hours, with a light weight on the valve. What then remains undissolved is put a second time into the digester, with the rest of the bones, and the same quantity of water, greater weight being laid on the valve, equal to 40lb or 50lb on the square inch. When the bones are supposed to be nearly dissolved, and the vessel cool enough to open, the meat is added … and the whole boiled together for two or three hours, with only a small pressure on the valve’.[9] For this to work successfully, ‘some skill, and a great degree of attention is required’.[10]

[1] Cumbria Archive Service, Kendal, WPR19/7/1/5/1, Kirkby Lonsdale Overseers’ Voucher, George Backhouse, 10 August 1811.

[2] Cheap provision, recommended to the publick in general, and poor in particular (London[?], 1740[?])

[3] Cheap provision, recommended to the publick in general, and poor in particular (London[?], 1740[?]), pp.1-2.

[4] Society for the Relief of the Industrious Poor, The economy of an institution, established in Spitalfields, London, for the purpose of supplying the poor with a good meat soup, At One Penny per Quart. Principally extracted from the Papers of the Society, and published with a view to the Establishment of similar institutions, in towns, villages, and populous neighbourhoods (London: W. Phillips, George Yard, Lombard Street, 1799).

[5] Society for the Relief of the Industrious Poor, The economy of an institution, p. 15.

[6] Society for the Relief of the Industrious Poor, The economy of an institution, p. 14.

[7] Society for Bettering the Condition and Increasing the Comforts of the Poor, The reports of the Society for Bettering the Condition and Increasing the Comforts of the Poor  (London: printed by W. Bulmer and Co., 1798-1800), p.151.

[8] Society for Bettering the Condition and Increasing the Comforts of the Poor, The reports of the Society for Bettering the Condition and Increasing the Comforts of the Poor  (London: printed by W. Bulmer and Co., 1798-1800), p. 166.

[9] Society for Bettering the Condition and Increasing the Comforts of the Poor, The reports of the Society for Bettering the Condition and Increasing the Comforts of the Poor  (London: printed by W. Bulmer and Co., 1798-1800), p. 164.

[10] Society for Bettering the Condition and Increasing the Comforts of the Poor, The reports of the Society for Bettering the Condition and Increasing the Comforts of the Poor  (London: printed by W. Bulmer and Co., 1798-1800), p. 164.

William Wetherell, (1785-1870), Shoe, Clog Maker and Repairer, Dalston, Cumberland

By NMDEA

William Wetherell was baptised on 6 March 1785 at Kirkby Lonsdale, Westmorland. He married Martha Davidson on 31 January 1803 in Dalston, Cumberland, where he made and repaired shoes and clogs. He appears in the Pigot’s 1829 Trade Directory listed under Clog and Patten Makers (& shoes).[1] By this time William and Martha had eight children bapised in the hamlet of Raughton Head, near Dalston: Thomas (1803-1880), Richard 1806-1857) , Jane (1808-1890) Ann (1810- ), James (1813-1814), Martha (1815-), William, (1817- ), and Margaret (1819-1842).[2 ]

His bills to the Select Vestry of Dalston from 1835 to 1837, are mainly for the repair of clogs or calking of clogs, less often new clogs and once for a pair of shoes. The price of new clogs varied according to size (see Blog about Clogs 9 January 2019). For example, the Roddick brothers got new calked clogs on 19 October 1835, priced at 3s for George, and 2s 6d for Thomas. On 13 July the following year they received the same again. On this occasion Thomas’s clogs cost more at 2s 9d. Like the Roddick brothers items on the bills are mainly for children of working or apprentice age.[3]

SPC44/2/43 7 Dalson Overseers' 1836 Voucher William Wetherell
SPC44/2/43 7 Dalson Overseers’ Voucher, William Wetherell, 1836

George and Thomas Roddick, John Hind and John Sanderson also appear on the bills of Joseph Shields, Schoolmaster, who had a Hedge School at Corsica Cottage, Buckhowbank. The family of George and Thomas Roddick received parish relief payments between 1830 and 1835.[ 4] John Sanderson was the illegitimate son of Ruth Sanderson. His mother received payments from the Parish between 1824 and 1831. Her other two children Joseph (1817-) and Sarah (1821-) like John being born at Dalston Workhouse.[5]


Clogs would have been the favoured footwear of those who worked in the industries which grew around Dalston; as well as the cotton mills of Northern England. The River Caldew provided the water power for the industries of Dalston at this time. With extensive cotton mills, a flax mill, and forge there was a constant demand for Wetherell’s footwear . The wood (sycamore, beech and willow) used to make the clogs was either sourced locally and stacked to dry out, or alternatively seasoned clog sole blocks were bought in.

Wetherell usually had an apprentice or a few other shoemakers working for him; advertising in the local newspaper when these were required. [6]

‘Shoemaker Wanted two good Journeyman shoemakers for strong country work will meet with constant work if suitable’


As there are only vouchers for the short span of time it is not discernable for how long Wetherell had been supplying the Vestry of Dalston. By 1838 John Brown, previously a shoemaker in Carlisle, appears to be doing similar work for the Vestry and for the same individuals named on Wetherell’s bill.[7]

Wetherell’s wife died in 1845. He appears in Slater’s trade directory of 1848 as does John Brown. Both were still trading in Dalston.[8] Retiring shortly afterwards, he subsequently married his housekeeper Margaret Ladyman (baptised in Temple Sowerby 1803), at Gretna 12 August 1854 [9] and died 12 November 1870.[10] He was succeeded by his son William who married Jane Dewers, and their sons James and William. Two other sons followed their father into the same trade. Thomas married Mary Ann Nelson and set up his business in Skelton. Successive generations joining and continuing the business. Richard married Isabella Roper and traded in Carlisle, while sister Jane married John Olivent Bewsher also a shoemaker, eventually emigrating to the United States.


Sources
[1] J Pigot & Co., National, Commercial Directory Cumberland & Westmorland and Lancashire
[2] England Birth and Baptisms [accessed at www.findmypast 10 May 2020]
[3] Cumbria Archives, SPC44/2/48 160, Dalston Overseers’ Voucher, 15 June 1835 – 12 December 1835; SPC44/2/43 7, Dalston Overseers’ Voucher, William Wetherell11 July 1836- 5 September 1836.
[4] Cumbria Archives, SPC44/2/32, Dalston Account Book for Weekly Outdoor Relief. 1826-1840.
[5] Cumbria Archives, SPC44/2/35, Dalston Account Book for the Maintenance of Illegitimate Children, 1833-1836
[6] Carlisle Journal, 5 November 1836, p.2.
[7] Carlisle Archives SPC44/2/47/4, Dalston Overseers’ SPC44/2/43/7, Dalston Overseers’ Voucher 2 December 1837-28 May 1838 ( John Brown)
[8] Cumberland 1848 ( Slater’s County Directory)
[9] England and Wales National Probate Calendar, Index of Wills and Administration. 1858- 1995 [accessed at www.ancestry.co.uk 10 May 2020]
[10] Carlisle Patriot, 19 August 1854, p.5.

This is a work in progress subject to change with further research
Additional information from Cumbria Archives
DSO 242, Carlisle Shoemakers Guild, 1800-2003
DGC 2, Shoemakers Guild, 1795-1934
Penrith Observer, 28 February 1956, p.6 (Old time clog shoe and timber trade).

Joseph Shields (1795-1858) Schoolmaster, Part II (some of his pupils)

By NMDEA
Corsica Cottage Buckhowbank Dalston 2019 former home to Joseph Shields

Looking for evidence of who the pupils were who attended Joseph Shields identifies the following:

John Sanderson was the son of Ruth Sanderson. She was listed as a single woman of Hawkesdale Poorhouse when he was baptised on 29 April 1827. His father was named as Joseph Bowman of Kiitchin Hill ,Torpenhow, husbandman, who was pursued for contributions towards his son’s maintenance.[1] Ruthe Sanderson was described as being in the poorhouse when John’s older brother, Joseph, was baptised on 12 January 1817 and his sister Sarah on January 28 1821.[2] Ruth Sanderson received payments under her status as the mother of illegitimate children from Dalston Parish between April 1824 to April 1831.  Initially this was 2s weekly, then reduced to 1s 6d weekly. [3]

John Sanderson appears to have worked in the cotton weaving industry in Dalston and then in Caldewgate, Carlisle living with his sister Sarah and mother until around the time of her death in 1867. At the time of the 1871 census he was one of the labourers building the Lindley Wood Reservoir near Harrogate, Yorkshire.[4]

The brothers George (15 December 1831) and Thomas (6 June 1831) were the children of George and Jane Bell. George the elder was a miller of New Village, Dalston.[5]

The Roddick family, which also included sisters Ann and Elizabeth, was receiving outdoor relief of 4s weekly from 21 March 1830 to December 1835. [6]

Thomas Roddick married Agnes Cookson 7 September 1850 at Gretna signing his name while Agnes made her mark. On leaving Dalston, they settled near by in Cummersdale. Thomas was working in a textile mill .

By 1850 George Roddick hadbeen convicted twice for theft. The first occasion was on 10 November 1849. Along with John Dixon, he stole an axe belonging to Mr Thurnam selling it on to a James Hamilton in Carlisle. Charged under the Juvenile Offenders Act, they received a three week prison sentence. [7] At the Michaelmas Quarter sessions of 1850 George was given a six month jail sentence with hard labour and one month’s solitary confinement for breaking in and stealing glasses, porter, lemonade and other items from the tent of Mrs Robinson on the night of the Carlisle Fair on 19 September. His accomplice, Joseph Armstrong was described as of ‘imperfect instruction’, while George was described as ‘a labourer aged 21 who is well instructed’. [8]

John Hind cannot be positively identified, as is the case with the three girls. It is possible the girls are some of those who appear on a bill from William Wetherall for repairing clogs and making new ones. The boys’ names appear on his bill. [9] The girls may have worked in one of the textile mills situated in Dalston. The voucher for the girls is dated after the Factory Act 1833 where children from the textile mills had to attend school six times a week for two hour sessions. They also needed a schoolmaster’s certificate in order to be employed the following week [10]

Bill from Wm Wetherall for Clogs Dalston
SPC44/2/43/13, Dalston Parish Voucher December 1836-1837, settled May 27 William Wetherall

[1] Cumbria Archives, CQ5/8, Bastardly Bonds, Easter 1827
[2] Cumbria Archives, PR 41/8, Dalston Parish Register, Baptisms 1813-1832;
[3] Cumbria Archives, SPC 44/2/35, Account book for the maintenance of Illegitimate children, 1833-1836
[4] ancestry.co.uk [accessed 19 September 2019] 
[5] Cumbria Archives, PR 41/8, Dalston Parish Register, Baptisms 1813-1832;
[6] Cumbria Archives, SPC 44/2/32 1826-1840, Account Book for weekly outdoor relief.
[7] Carlisle Patriot, 10 November 1849
[8] Carlisle Patriot, 19 October 1850

[9]Cumbria Archives. SPC44/2/43/13 Dalston Overseer Voucher 1836=1837
[10]Platt, Jane, Making their Mark (Amadeus Press, 2019)

Robert Chicken, publican and butcher (1794-1847)

By Alannah Tomkins

As a small child one of my favourite card games was Happy Families. As soon as the Carlisle volunteer group found Robert Chicken among the overseers vouchers for Dalston, therefore, I knew I wanted to write about him. He was also the initial inspiration behind our own card game.

He was baptised in 1794 in Kirkbampton, the son of John and Mary Chicken (nee Skelton). In July 1823 he married Elizabeth Chambers at Great Orton, and the couple went on to have three children: John, Robert, and Dinah. He married a second time to Elizabeth Rayson in 1833 and had another son Thomas. Indicating their level of prosperity, the family kept one male servant/apprentice and a female servant in 1841.

Chicken was a victualler and publican in Dalston parish. By 1829 he was running the Waggon and Horses inn at Hawkesdale at Bridge End. At some point the establishment was renamed the Bridge End Inn, and under this name has survived into the twenty-first century. In the nineteenth century Hawkesdale was a small but arguably elite township, the latter claim confirmed by the residence of the Right Reverend Bishop of Carlisle at Rose Castle, Hawkesdale.

Image courtesy of the Wellcome Trust: engraving by R. Cooper, 1822, https://wellcomecollection.org/works/aseaxzqw. Publicans and food retailers were often portrayed as stout and prosperous.

Chicken supplied the parish of Dalston with meat (beef, mutton, and offal rather than poultry) and other consumables in the period 1834-37, including one and a half gallons of ale for a funeral. The meat came from his shop in the Shambles, Carlisle, rather than directly from the inn. Chicken has been illustrated in the Top Trumps game of this project using an image of a butcher’s shop, but it seems likely that butchery was not the foremost part of the family business. They identified in censuses and directories with the innkeeping part of the concern and we only know about the early history of the butcher’s shop because it is cited in an overseer’s voucher. The property in the Shambles was given up by the Chicken family in late 1846, towards the end of Robert’s life.

Image courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery of Australia and its collection of portraits by John Dempsey: https://www.portrait.gov.au/image/87718/87466/ This image depicts Billy Bean, a butcher’s carrier, of Scarborough 1825

Robert died at the relatively young age of 53. His second wife Elizabeth outlived him by over thirty years and died in 1883. She remained in the parish of Dalston and at first continued the tavern business: she employed her step-daughter Dinah as a barmaid in 1861. By 1871 and at the age of approximately 75 she was still living in Hawkesdale but had given up the inn to another female proprietor, Sarah Rayson, who was presumably her younger sister or niece. Elizabeth lived in Green Lane with her son Thomas, a brewer’s traveller, ensuring that two of Robert’s children had some occupational connection to their father’s main trade. The mother and son were immediate neighbours to an elderly mother-and-daughter couple who lived on parish poor relief, but this was not to be the fate of the widowed Mrs Chicken. Elizabeth herself became an annuitant, meaning she bought into a fund for her support in old age, and lived only with a female servant by 1881.

Image courtesy of archival volunteer and regular blogger on this site NMDEA

After Robert’s death in 1847, one Joseph Chicken can be found as an innkeeper in Dalston. In all likelihood he was Robert’s younger brother, who also acted as one of Robert’s two executors. Joseph kept the ‘Indian King’, combining it with work as ‘station keeper’.

Sources: Carlisle Patriot 4 December 1846 and 24 December 1847; White, Cumberland and Westmorland Directory (1829); Mannix, Cumberland Directory (1847); SPC 44/2/47/10 Dalston overseer’s voucher paid to Robert Chicken 1837; census for Dalston 1841-81.

Thomas Burn, (c.1776-1848) Assistant Overseer for the Townships of Greystoke.

By NMDEA

Thomas Burn was appointed the Assistant Overseer serving the Townships of Greystoke , Johnby, Little Blencow, Motherby and Gill at a meeting of the Vestry 16 May 1823. His appointment, to start on 4 August 1823, was for three successive years for a yearly stipend of twelve pounds and twelve shillings. Previously in 1820 he had been Overseer along with Joseph Stagg, Joseph Guardhouse, Joseph Todhunter and Thomas Arnott. [1] It might be wondered why he moved from the position of overseer to assistant overseer. Some might see this as a demotion, but by the 1820s the position of assistant overseer had become an official salaried post whereas an overseer continued to be unpaid.

Thomas Burn was a yeoman. He married Elizabeth Hawell on 30 March 1802 and they had one daughter, Jane, baptised at Mungrisedale on 28 April 1803 then again a week later 5 May at Greystoke.[2] Jane later married Joseph Mattinson on 19 November 1825 but died 31 December 1831 aged 28 years.[3]

Mention of Thomas Burn in newspapers is limited. In February 1828 it is reported in several newspapers that a hive of bees belonging to him had swarmed and were thriving. Comment is made of the mild weather for the place and season.[4] The abundance of reports on bees at the time was a reflection of the regard for their productive ways and perfect society. [5] Thomas Burn probably kept them to supplement his income from farming. In 1831 the Cumberland Pacquet and Ware’s Whitehaven Advertiser refers to a presentation to him of a silver teapot by the rate payers of the Parish in recognition of his conduct during his long service as Assistant Overseer. [6]

During his time as Assistant Overseer letters survive that were sent to him in relation to his office. The letters came from a wide range of places some from the adjacent parishes within walking distance, others from further away. [7] One came from Wolsingham, County Durham, concerning William Miller, a besom maker and his family struggling to make a living and coping with family sickness. [8] Another came from a poor widow Alice Lowden in Liverpool. [9]

In 1835 Thomas Burn gave notice of his intention to leave the office of Assistant Overseer giving up all money, books and papers belonging to the parish 15 April 1835.

Wanted Assistant Overseer Greystoke Feb 2 1835 PR5/53 15-1
Wanted Assistant Overseer February 2 1835 PR5/53-15-1 Greystoke Overseers’ Vouchers

Thomas Burn corresponded with his successor John Cockburn 12 August 1835 concerning pay due.

Burn wrote:

Sir , My Stipend being due the fourth of this month. I now expect you to pay me the sum of sixteen pounds before Saturday first, if not an action for the recovery without further notice. Yours etc; Thos Burn. [10]

Mr Cockburn replied:

Sir , In reply to your note of the 12th inst I have respectfully to inform you that your demand of £16 your full years salary cannot be complied with but I can at the same time inform you that the sum due for the time you were in office £11.2s.8d will be paid on demand. Aug 15 1835. Yours John Cockburn. [11]


Thomas Burn remained in the Greystoke area farming and hopefully keeping his industrious bees. He died on 8 January 1848 and his wife on Elizabeth 23 July 1849. [12]

The British Bee Hive George Cruikshank 1840 (1867)
The British Bee Hive George Cruikshank 1840 (1867) The British Museum

Sources
[1] Cumbria Archives, PR5/47, Poor Account Book, 1820-1837
[2] Cumbria Archives, PR 5/5, Greystoke, St Andrews, Baptism and Burial Register, 1757-1809; PR 5/9, Greystoke St Andrews, Marriage Register, 1813-1837.
[3] findmypast.uk [accessed 30 March 2020]
[4] Carlisle Patriot, 2 February 1828, p. 2.
[5] Ellis Hattie, Sweetness & Light, mysterious History of the Honey Bee (2004)

[6] Cumberland Pacquet and Whitehaven Ware’s Advertiser, 15 November 1831, p. 3 col, b
[ 7] Cumbria Archives, PR5/63, 22 letters to out relief, 1800-1837.
[8] Cumbria Archives, PR5/67/H 1, Greystoke Overseers’ Voucher, 5 May 1834.
[9] Cumbria Archives, PR5/67-H 21, Greystoke Overseers’ Voucher, 15 September 1835.
[10] Cumbria Archives, PR5/67-K 57, Greystoke Overseers’ Voucher, 12 August 1835.
[11] Cumbria Archives, PR5/67-K 55, Greystoke Overseers’ Voucher, 15 August 1835.
[12] Carlisle Journal, 27 July 1829 p.3 col. g.

This is a work in progress

Nathan Arnison (1796-1886), Linen and Woollen Draper, Penrith

By NMDEA

Nathan Arnison can be found in a trade directory of 1829 at Nether End, near Penrith, as a linen and woollen draper. [1 ] He moved the business to Market Place Penrith around 1831. He bought the shop from a William James who had purchased it from Christopher Crackenthorpe, a member of the Wordsworth family. The shop once was the home of William Cookson silk mercer and draper, and the maternal Grandfather of the poet William Wordsworth and his sister the diarist Dorothy Wordsworth.

Plaque re the former owners of Drapers on the site of N Arnison business, Penrith


A small bill amongst the Greystoke overseers’ vouchers, is headed ‘Bought of N. Arnison Linen and Woollen Drapers, Family Mourning and Funeral Furnishing’, and dated 27 April 1836. The four items, totalling 11s 1/2d, inclued the versatile fabric of cotton calico, priced at 1s. 6d, and 1 pair of sheets at 4s. 4d. [2] It is not apparent from the bill who might be the recipients of these items. Eight years later as well as a small bill for £1.17.6 a larger bill from N Arnison exists.[3] To the Executors of the late John de Whelpdale it is for his funeral expenses in June 1844 for £123.7s.6d Among the 63 different textiles supplied are black and slate calico, ribbon, black mourning silk, crepe, silk and Barcelona handkerchiefs. [4]

N Arnison Linen and Woollen Draper Penrith PR5/67-K

Nathan Arnison, the son of George Arnison (1744-1833) and Elizabeth Topping (1752-1831) of High Hareskeugh (sic) was baptised 1 January 1796 at Kirkoswald .[5] His father a yeoman and victualler of the Horse Heads Inn, Haresceugh [6]. Nathan married Ruth Barra (1799-1870) in 1827. Two sons joined the business: George (1829-1883) and Thomas Bell (1833-1888). N Arnison and Sons appear in subsequent Trade Directories. Robert (1836-1916) was a draper in Sheffield. The other sons William Barras (1830-1896) and Charles Nathan (1840-1911) were principally solicitors. [7] Nathan and Ruth also had two daughters: Isabella Ruth (1838-1914) and Elizabeth who married Hamilton Woods, an engineer.

When Nathan Arnison died 27 February 1886 he left a well established businesss. [8] Those living in the Penrith area will be familiar with the shop that remains in the same place in the centre of Penrith today.

Sources

[1] Parson and White, Directory of Cumberland and Westmorland Furness and Cartmel (1829).
[2] Cumbria Archives, PR5/67- K 8, Greystoke Overseers’ Voucher, 27 April 1836.
[3] Cumbria Archives, DX 8/1/15, N Arnison Account, 1843.
[4] Cumbria Archives, DHUD/17/60, John de Whelpdale deceased, N. Arnison, Penrith, draper, 29 June 1844.
[5] J.J. Thornley, Penrith Ancient Church Registers of the Parish of Kirkoswald.
[6] Parson and White, Directory of Cumberland and Westmorland, Furness and Cartmel (1829)
[7] M Harrison & Co., Directory and Gazetteer County of Cumberland (1861).

[8] Cumbria Archives, PROB/1886/W570, Will of Nathan Arnison.

Isaac and Mary Mark. When will they be Settled?

By NMDEA

Three letters which relate to Isaac Mark and his wife Mary can be found with other Greystoke overseers’ vouchers. The first dated 2 June 1821 is an examination of Isaac Mark’s antecedents by the magistrates of Leath Ward to determine his place of settlement . Isaac is described as a labourer late of Kingside Hill, Holm Cultram. Born at Bowscale in Greystoke Parish he had, until about the age of 15, worked on a farm at Newlands. His father rented it from William Pattinson for £50 a year. In 1788 Newlands was described as being in both Castle Sowerby and Sebergham Parish [1]. After that, Isaac served in first the navy for twelve years then in the 81st Foot Army Regiment for twelve years. Not being in any one place more than six months, he had been to Malta, Gibraltar, Sicily, Naples, and Lisbon amongst many other places. He was married in Gretna around 1804-5. His son was born about 3 months later. He said he had not tried to gain a settlement elsewhere.[2]

Examination of Isaac Mark June 2 1821 PR5/67-C3


Isaac Mark was baptised on 30 October 1771, at Bowscale, Cumberland, the third son of Thomas (1736-1812) and Sarah Pattinson(1738-1805). He was the brother of George (b.1762), Mary (b.1762), Elizabeth (b.1765), Ruth (b.1767) John (b.1769), Thomas (b.1774), Sarah (b.1779) and Benjamin (b.1785). All were baptised as Quakers.[3] Isaac’s family were descendants of the Bewley and Mark families whose names dominated the Quakers of Mosedale, Cumberland. Some were persecuted for their faith. [4]

Perhaps struggling to make a living, Isaac left the farm. Military conflict may not have sat well with any Quaker principles he had.

It is not known where his wife Mary was born. The marriage document gives her surname as Marey Gels of Higton Lancshire[sic]. Their son, Thomas, appears to have been baptised in Bolton le Moors Lancashire on 17 June 1804.[5] Shortly afterwards, on 17 October 1804 Isaac enlisted in the 81st Foot Regiment at Londonderry, Ireland. He appears on a list of others in the Regiment serving in Canada [6].

While Isaac was absent Mary and Thomas were removed from Bolton le Moors to Greystoke on 3 October 1808, only to be sent back.[8 ] At a future appeal at the Quarter Sessions, they were returned to Greystoke where they were accepted by the overseers and given relief. The overseers account book shows that Mary was given £1 every 4 weeks but towards the end of 1813 payments were sometimes £2 every 8 weeks.[9]

Cumbria Archives PR 5/45 1810-1814 Poor Account Book payment 11 February 1811

On 14 November 1808 an order was given to remove Mary described as a widow and her son named Benjamin aged about 1 year from the Caldewgate Parish of St Mary’s in Carlisle to Castle Sowerby. The record refers to her son as Benjamin, no reference is made to her son Thomas although a subsequent document refers to a son called Thomas suggesting he was still alive. Further research has revealed that as a twelve year old the overseers of Greystoke arranged for him to be apprenticed to George Harrison a husbandman at Skelton Parish . Mary either thought she was now widowed or claimed she was. It is possible that there were two sons, Thomas and Benjamin. The 1851 census records Benjamin Mark aged 43 a Bricklayer of English Damside, Carlisle living with William Gilmore and his wife Mary Gilmore. Although referred to as Son-in-Law it may be that Benjamin Mark was his stepson and Mary Mark his wife. Isaac having died [10]

Caldewgate was mainly and area of innkeepers, tradesman and manufacturers attracting people from other areas looking for employment. The poor could be looked upon badly, more being spent on removing a pauper than relieving them.[11] Whether Mary was removed is not known.

By 7 December 1816 Mary’s status was no longer described as that of a widow. Once again the Justices ordered that Mary and her son Thomas be removed from Caldewgate Quarter to Greystoke Parish. Mary and Thomas, aged about 11 years, were described as having previously been removed from Bolton le Moors and accepted by one of the Overseers of Greystoke, Johnby, Blencow, Motherby and Gill, about seven years previously. Isaac her husband a soldier could not be found at the time, his whereabouts until lately being unknown. The Magistrates believed that he had returned to the Greystoke area and his place of settlement. They rejected Greystoke’s appeal against her removal as they had been paying her relief and should have been less submissive in accepting her from Bolton le Moors. The onus being on them to prove a settlement in another neighbouring parish.[12] Isaac may have left the army after the Napoleonic Wars about this time and have returned to what he considered home looking for work.

On 9 June 1821 a short letter to Thomas Burn the Overseer for Greystoke from Isaac and Mary stated they had arrived in Wigton. It briefly describes Isaac and Mary’s journey. He writes ‘she desires you send her bed and what there is‘. [13 ]

Letter from Isaac and Mary Mark to Thomas Burn 7 June 1821 PR5/67-C17

The last letter, dated 17 June 1821, is from John Stalker, the Overseer of Castle Sowerby to Thomas Burn warning him that if they try to send Isaac and Mary to them they will lodge an appeal at the Quarter Assizes. Stalker wrote: ‘take care you do not incur a penalty by suffering a woman deranged as she is to be at large’. Greystoke to be trying to remove both of them [14].

Together by choice or necessity it is not known if they every gained a settlement anywhere.

Thomas Burn from John Stalker 17 June 1821 PR5/67-C2

Sources
[1] Cumberland Pacquet and Ware’s Whitehaven Advertiser,6 August 1788, p.1
[2] Cumbria Archives. PR5/67-C item 3, Greystoke Overseers’ Voucher, 2 June 1821
[3] Quaker Birth Marriage and Death Registers, 1578-1831 [accessed at ancestry.co.uk 21 February 1821]
[4] Rev. Edward Thomas Bewley. The Bewleys of Cumberland and their Irish and other descendants (1904).
[5] Gretna Green Marriage Registers [accessed at ancestry.co.uk]; Liverpool Parish Clerk Project Online. www.lan.upc.org.uk
[6] The National Archives, Kew, WO 25/481, 81 Foot British Regimental Registers of Service 1801-1816pp. 89-90 (https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/)
[7] Lancashire Archives, Salford Quarter Sessions, QSP/2575/31, Salford Epiphany 1809 or event date 3 October 1808
[8 ] Lancashire Archives Salford Quarter Sessions QSP/2575/31, Salford Epiphany, 1809 or event date 3 October 1808; Cumbria Archives, PR 5/57, Removal orders, 1737-1833
[9] Cumbria Archives, PR 5/45, Overseers’ Account Book, 1810-14
[10] Cumbria Archives, SPC 67/38, Castle Sowerby Removals, 1778 -1835; Cumberland Quarter Sessions, Q4/2, Christmas Sessions, 1809, p. 105. Cumbria Archives PR 5/59 Bundle of Apprenticeship Indentures 1763-1837
[11] Frederick Morton Eden, The State of the Poor (1797) Volume II page 60
[12]Cumbria Archives, PR 5/57, Removal Orders, 1737-1833
[13]Cumbria Archives, PR5/67-C, item 17, 9 June 1821
[14]Cumbria Archives, PR5/67-C, item 2, 17 June 1821

This is a work in progress subject to change with further research

 

Assistant overseers in northern England: connections east and west

By Alannah Tomkins

The project’s research into salaried overseers, called assistant or perpetual overseers in the contemporary terminology, took us to the Durham County Record Office. The chapelry of Lamesley in County Durham holds a very unusual collection of sixty five letters, all written in May or June 1831, in relation to the same post for this sort of job. Thirty one men wrote on their own behalf, while others wrote references or testimonials in support of their application.

This flurry of administrative activity was sparked by an advertisement, placed in newspapers for Durham and Newcastle on Tyne, for an assistant overseer. The terms of employment were stringent: in exchange for £60 per year, the appointee was asked to live in the chapelry, have no other occupation, and to offer securities of £200 against the risk of malpractice in office. The candidates would undergo ‘election’ on Friday 10 June at 3pm.

What does this have to do with the project’s focus on Cumbria (including selected parishes in former Westmorland)? The appeal of this post was felt far and wide, attracting applications from Liverpool and other places some distance west and south of Lamesley. An application from Brough in Westmorland came from one George Pearson, who in comparison to some of the applicants wrote rather a good letter in terms of both handwriting and details of his occupational background.

Pearson described himself as a married man of 34 years old.  He had been a clerk to Mr Blackett at his colliery works, left Mr Blackett in 1819 to be clerk to the London Lead Company, and remained there for eleven years.  He gave up that employment owing to ill-health, and on recovering began teaching in a school at Brough ‘as an occupation rather than to make a living by it, there being over many schools in Brough before I began’.  He claimed to be well-versed in accounts, to have property exceeding the requisite security bond, and to command references for his religious and moral character. He named referees including a banker, a reverend, and four others including Mr Blackett. 

Wellcome Images: detail of clerks from ‘Hudibras addresses a lawyer who sits in an elaborately decorated pew next to shelf of books; two clerks sit beneath’. Aquatint by Merigot, 1799, after William Hogarth. https://wellcomecollection.org/works/mqw23ewf/items?canvas=1&langCode=eng

Pearson’s letter went on to ask about the duties required of the post-holder, and his chances of success.  He gave an unusual account of his faith, in that he was a member of the Methodist Society but an attender at Church, to the extent of being a churchwarden at Longmarton and establishing a large Sunday School there (where the teachers were nearly all Methodists, apparently). 

His application looked quite professional, but struck a plaintive note: the salary on offer at Lamesley was less than half of the total he had commanded at the London Lead Company, ‘but such is the competition for situations and so numerous are applicants’ that during the previous year he had visited Liverpool, Newcastle and other places with ‘the best’ recommendations but without success. 

But Pearson’s story doesn’t end there, because he spent some time considering his position and eventually withdrew from the appointing process at Lamesley. He explained his reasons in a letter, and in doing so gives us extra insight into the recruitment of assistant overseers. He wrote on 7 June ‘as all the ratepayers have a vote in the election and have been canvassed by different parties, several of whom may be every way eligible, the choice will probably fall on one who belongs to the neighbourhood and is connected by friends with the parish: the chances of success for a stranger would in consequence, I fear, be so slight as not to warrant the expense I should incur in coming over’. Who knew that you had to ‘canvas’ for ratepayers’ votes to secure a post as assistant overseer this early in the nineteenth century? There was a contested election for the assistant overseer of St Chad’s in Lichfield in 1843, where it is evident that canvassing had taken place, but this was under the ‘New’ poor law of 1834 (where the Guardians of each Union had to be elected, so a culture of electioneering for poor-law offices was more pervasive). And Pearson was not simply making a false assumption because at least three other applicants either refer to their own ‘canvas’ or that of other candidates.

The letters in the Durham archives provide a fascinating insight into the evolution of the job application as a genre of writing, but they also offer us detailed guidance on the tensions and opportunities for aspiring assistant overseers. A single post could be hotly contested, drawing interest from beyond county boundaries. Lamesley is plainly not in the modern county of Cumbria, but its evidence in this respect will form a key component in our writing about the holders of assistant overseer posts.

Oh, and the job? It went to a Mr William Wren, who lived in Lamesley and had already been an assistant overseer in a different location during ‘a most arduous and difficult period’. But that is another story.

Sources: Newcastle Courant, 21 May 1831; DCRO EP/LAM 7/174-240.