The Norman and Marshall Families - Paupers and Peasants
The Family of John Norman and Harriet Brown
John and Harriet were extremely poor. They appear to have moved from village to village and the baptisms of their three eldest children suggest that in a period of 5 years between 1827-1832 they lived in Bratton Seymour, Shepton Montague, Bruton and Maperton. They were forcibly removed from Maperton to Bratton Seymour circa 1832 with their three eldest children:
"Upon complaint of the Churchwardens and Overseers of the Poor of the parish of Maperton...unto us...that John Norman, Harriet his wife, and their three children namely William aged about 5 years, Henry about two and Samuel about one year have come to inhabit in the parish of Maperton, not having gained a legal settlement there, nor produced any certificate owning them to be settled elsewhere, and that the said John Norman, Harriet his wife and their said three children are actually chargeable to the said parish of Maperton. We the said judges upon due proof made thereof...do adjudge the same to be true and we do likewise adjudge that the lawful settlement of them the said John Norman, Harriet his wife and their said three children is in the said parish of Bratton Seymour...We do therefore require you the said Churchwardens and Overseers of the Poor of the said parish of Maperton...to convey the said John Norman, Harriet his wife and the said three children from and out of your said parish of Maperton to the said parish of Bratton Seymour and deliver them to the Churchwardens and Overseers of the Poor there, or to some or one of them, together with this our order...and we do also hereby require of you the said Churchwardens and Overseers of the Poor of the said parish of Bratton Seymour to receive and provide for them as inhabitants of your parish." (Somerset Record Office)
On arrival in the village the Normans were handed over to the churchwarden, John Hodges who gave them a home in one of his cottages at the bottom of Church Path.John Norman himself was illiterate but nevertheless had gained the position of Parish Clerk in 1850, and was listed as such in an 1866 Post Office Directory.
Bratton Seymour is 4km north west of Wincanton. In 1832 it was little more than a hamlet with a church but no shop or pub. The population in 1841 was 103, up from 59 in 1831. The inhabitants were mainly illiterate agricultural labourers working on one of the large farms such as Manor Farm or Holbrook Farm (where the Normans were to work later. There was no provision for schooling in the village until Miss Elizabeth Sly opened a Dame School around 1850. This school continued for nearly 30 years with children being charged 1/2d a day. When Miss Sly retired children had to attend the nearest National Schools in Maperton or Shepton Montague. Nowadays it is an up-market village, but still has no shop, school or pub.
In 1861 John and Harriet had moved to Holbrook Cottage in Bratton Seymour.John died in 1872. The Parish Registers for Bratton Seymour from the 1850s are still held by the Church so the family are hard to follow forwards.
John and Harriet had the following children, although not all baptisms have been found:
- William:1827 Bratton Seymour
Married Jane Ling - Henry: 1829 Shepton Montague
Married Letitia Rex 1851 - Samuel: 1831 Shepton Montague (note in registers to say that the family were residents of Bruton)
Married Ann Green 1857 - Elizabeth: Born Bratton Seymour 1832. Died as infant. No baptism found
- Emily: Born c. 1835, Bratton Seymour. Baptism not found but present in 1841 census.
- Eliza: 1837 Bratton Seymour
- George: Born 1838 Bratton Seymour. Baptism not found
Married Mary Jane Foot 1860 - Mary Ann: 1840 Bratton Seymour
- Elizabeth: 1843 Bratton Seymour
- John: 1850 Bratton Seymour
Died aged 5 months
Of the children of John and Hannah, only four have been traced forwards, including my own ancestor, George.
William married Jane Ling from Bruton and had just two daughters, Elizabeth and Ann. They lived in Bratton next door to John and Harriet. William was a labourer and Jane was a dairywoman.
Henry married Letitia Rex in 1851. In 1861 they were living in Bruton. Henry was an ag.lab and Letitia's sister and brother, Ann and Frank Rex were living with them. Henry and Letitia had three young sons at home: Albert, Edward and Walter. By 1861 Henry was a Game Keeper and the couple had 3 more children - Agnes, Florence and Harry.
Samuel married Ann Green in Bratton Seymour in 1857. Ann's family were from Silton in Dorset but had moved to Bratton Seymour. Samuel and Ann moved to Chiddingly in Sussex where he worked as an ag.lab, then to Eastbourne where Samuel got a job as an engine driver. They had 9 children together: Arthur (1857), Estcourt, (1859), Eliza Alice (1860), Agnes (1863), William (1866), Alfred (1869), Jane (1872), Harriet (1876) and Kate (1879).