Whiddon Park

March 8, 2022February 3, 2024 ~ AddieT ~ Leave a comment

The home of the Seymours, Bailys and Evans

Many names are mentioned in this (very long) article. I would advise reading some of the other blog-posts relating to the Seymour, Baily and Turner family to understand better how they are linked.

Edward Seymour Evans in front of Whiddon House, presumably late 1800s, early 1900s

In July 1899, Commander Edward Seymour Evans, of Whiddon Park, Chagford, Devonshire, wrote to Charles Turner, a teacher near Horsham in rural Victoria, Australia. They were cousins, though they did not know each other. Commander Evans was concerned about what would happen to Whiddon Park after his death. He was the “heir in tail” of the property after their mutual great-uncle Edward Seymour Baily had left it to his niece, Mary Evans, nee Turner, and her children, for their use during their lifetime.

In his letter, Evans stated that “until lately I have never heard of my Uncle Andrew Turner’s family. You may be aware that this property [Whiddon Park] is entailed & that in due course providing neither my brother or self have issue, will descend to uncle Andrew’s eldest living representative.” He then enquired about his uncle Andrew’s eldest son, called John Bailey Turner, whose whereabouts he wanted.

The letter was also part warning: “My reason for writing is that I think whoever inherits it should be informed of the exact condition of affairs, and on hearing from you I will provide them, there is no doubt that Mr. Baily never wished the place to be sold, but the money he intended (in my opinion) to be left – with the possession of the property has been left elsewhere, and the place is a perfect ‘white elephant’ to anyone without a fair income to keep it up.”

This letter has always fascinated me. Did Charles Turner reply? Did Evans write to others in the family? As Whiddon Park very clearly did not end up in the hands of Andrew Turner’s family, nor any other Turner relatives, what happened to the house and its contents?

Another curiosity to me is that Charles Turner’s father, Andrew Cheape Turner, was not actually the next male in the lineage. Andrew was the youngest son of his parents, the Reverend John Turner and Mary Jane Baily. His older brother Alfred Rooke Turner (my great-great grandfather) had sons. So why were Andrew’s family mentioned as next in line instead of Alfred?

After many years of research, I have found answers to some – but not all – of my questions.

Whiddon Park

Whiddon Park is situated in the Devonshire market town of Chagford, on the edge of Dartmoor, and in the valley of the Teign river. The property, originally consisting of about 300 acres, was named for the Whyddon family, who owned it from around 1570.[1] Some say the house was built by Sir John Whiddon, who died in 1575, but there is a plaque above the door reading “1649,” indicating that’s when it was built, in which case it was probably built by Rowland Whyddon.[2]

I visited Whiddon House in the mid-1990s. I was not able to look inside, nor go around the back, but the owners at the time allowed me to take a few photos. Looking at it from the front, Whiddon House is pleasant-looking large square house made of granite stone. It is also oddly situated, enclosed on two sides by steep slopes.

A 1988 survey by the National Trust described it as built in an L-shape, and three stories tall, with 9 chimneys. The Ground Floor had 2 dining rooms, 2 sitting rooms, 2 kitchens, a stair turret, back lobby, and lavatory. The First Floor had 5 bedrooms, 2 Bathrooms, and one Lavatory. On the Second Floor there was a Playroom, 3 further bedrooms, a store-room, a study, a box room, 2 bathrooms, and a Lavatory. Inside it had dark oak panelling, large granite fireplaces, mullion windows, and decorative plasterwork.[3]

A deer park was created in the Tudor era by Sir John Whiddon (circa 1570)[4], which covered 195 acres[5], enclosed by a high wall made from immense blocks of granite. “The park is wonderfully picturesque, with granite outcrops, groves of ancient oak, ash, and rowan, broom, gorse, bracken and bilberry, and a lichen and invertebrate community that has survived from pre-Neolithic woodland.” [6] A visitor in 1793 called it “a truly romantic spot,” and said that “behind the house, we are presented, at a little distance, with a distinct view of rock and wood, the most beautiful I have observed in the vicinity of the Teign.”[7] Today, the deer park is owned and managed by the National Trust, and there is no public access to the actual woods, in order to preserve the plant and wildlife.

In 1851, in his handbook for travellers, J. Murray was glowing in his praise for Whiddon Park: “No stranger to this neighbourhood should neglect to visit Whyddon Park, a romantic hill-side at the entrance to the gorse of the Teign, and a short 2m walk from Chagford by a path along the river bank. You will enter the park at the mansion of Whyddon, anciently the seat of the Whyddon family, and now the Bayleys. Here are huge old Scotch and Silver firs to delight you at the threshold; but higher on the hill are scenes and objects magnificently wild, – vistas of beech and aged oaks, chaotic clatters and piles of granite, herds of deer among the ferns and mossy stones, at a distance, the towering tors of Dartmoor.”[8]

Deer park wall. Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ca/Wall_of_Whiddon_Deer_Park_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1243628.jpg

From the Whiddons to the Northmores to the Seymours

The Northmores came to possess Whiddon Park, probably through a marriage with the Whyddons.[9] By the early 18^th century, William Northmore of Cleve owned it. Northmore was an inveterate gambler, and lost £17,000 in one sitting, on the turn of an ace of diamonds in a card game called putt.[10] The modern-day value of this bet is probably close to £2 million.[11] Whether or not this particular loss led to his financial straits, William Northmore obtained mortgages on a number of his properties. Henry Portman, of Orchard Portman, was one of the men who loaned him money. Portman loaned him over £20,000, with the security being a long list of properties, mainly in Devonshire.

When Portman died, his great-nephew Francis Seymour inherited his vast estates and personal property, including the debt owed by William Northmore, which had not been fully settled in either Northmore’s or Portman’s lifetimes.

When Francis Seymour died in 1761, that same debt owed to Portman by Northmore had still not been fully settled, and was passed down to Seymour’s heirs. The bulk of the real estate went to Francis’ son, Henry Seymour. Henry took it on himself to do something about the Northmore debt, and instituted a number of successful Chancery Court cases to recover it.

Whiddon Park and the Bailys

Portman’s Will had made it clear that the estates were to be entailed on the male line. A controversy arose relating to a Codicil to Francis Seymour’s Will, which is detailed <here>. In summary, the codicil named his daughter Mary, the wife of John Baily, as the heir to her father’s property. However, her brother objected, and took the matter to Chancery Court. The end result was that Henry inherited most of the real estate, but some of the Devonshire properties previously belonging to Notrhmore were settled on Mary Baily.

Married women in those days did not have sole rights to their property. Upon marriage, husband and wife became “one person” under English property laws, and a married woman’s ability to own property on her own ceased to exist. Any property acquired by a wife (such as through inheritance) – unless specified to be for her own separate use – came under the control of her husband. Married women could also not dispose of their property nor write a Will without her husband’s consent.[12]

Family lore has it that John Baily spent his wife’s inheritance, and had to sell off some of the properties to pay his debts. However, Whiddon was not sold. It appears that John Baily did live at Whiddon in the year or so before his death, but I do not know if Mary ever did. John is buried at Chagford, but Mary is not, and they died within a year of each other.

No clues are to be had from Mary’s Will, as it was written and signed in 1774 while they were living in Ramridge house, in Weyhill, Hampshire, and before the Chancery suit relating to her father’s Will and Codicil had been fully settled. The construction of her Will reflects this. She mentions the contingencies should property be settled in her favour, or not. If it were, then her eldest son would inherit the properties. Whiddon is not specifically mentioned.

In his Will, John Baily left his Manor of Dunkeswell in Devonshire, and “all other my Messuages Tenements Lands and premises whatsoever or wheresoever situate” as well as his personal estate, to his “well beloved son” Edward Seymour Baily. Again, Whiddon is not specifically mentioned. Several properties in the parish of Dunkeswell were part of the Northmore properties settled on Mary Baily, and I’m presuming Whiddon fell into the category “all other” properties.

The next person to live at Whiddon Park was Edward Seymour Baily, eldest child of John Baily and Mary Seymour. Edward was born in 1761, a few months before his grandfather Francis Seymour died. ES Baily served in the navy, retiring with the rank of Captain. He did certainly live at Whiddon Park, as is mentioned in numerous letters between the Bailys and their lawyers.[13]

Captain Edward Seymour Baily married Phillis Rooke on the 9 Oct 1790 at Wells St Cuthbert. Per their marriage settlement drawn up between them just days before they married, Captain Baily conveyed Whiddon Park into the hands of Trustees, who would then manage the income derived from the property. After Mr and Mrs Baily died, the Trustees were instructed that their property would be settled equally between any children they would have. They went on to have two children, Mary and Edward.

The Bailys faced financial difficulties, and it is presumed that they no longer held any of the other property inherited by Edward’s mother, as correspondence from their lawyers stated that Captain Baily had no other assets or source of income besides Whiddon. After his wife’s death in early 1832, Captain Baily decided to settle Whiddon Park on his son Edward. Judging from the attorneys’ correspondence, this was not a simple matter. There were questions as to whether the Title to Whiddon was sound and sufficiently comprehensive. Furthermore, the property was subject to a mortgage debt of £1706. In addition, according to the terms of the marriage settlement between Captain and Mrs Baily, if Whiddon was to be settled on Edward, then something had to be settled on his sister, Mrs Mary Turner. Another piece of land, described as a “nominal part” of the estate – a field called “Honeybags” adjoining Whiddon Park – was to be settled on Mrs Turner.[14] One can see that this was not equivalent to being left Whiddon Park, including the house, which no doubt would have been useful for the Turners’ growing family (they ended up having 10 children). According to their lawyers, “Mr & Mrs Turner are very indignant at the intended appointment, & therefore most certainly will not join as they have expressed their intention of using their utmost exertions to prevent the appointment.”[15] Note that Rev. Turner believed the whole of Whiddon was worth at the time £6,000. I doubt the field was worth anything close to that sum.

Regardless of Mr and Mrs Turner’s objections, the plan proceeded. The plan was executed in the early 1830s, and Edward Seymour Baily junior came into possession of Whiddon Park. Captain Baily would pay a nominal rent to his son, and continue to live in the house.

Who lived in the house form 1840?

Captain Baily died in 1840, and is buried in the churchyard at Chagford. It seems particularly galling to me (as a descendant of the Turners), that it appears that his son Edward Seymour Baily did not live at Whiddon after his father’s death. Certainly in the 1841 census, there is no entry for Whiddon House in the returns for Chagford, although there is an entry for a farming family by the surname of Webber at “Whiddon.” The likelihood is that their residence was actually “Whiddon Farm. A probate notice in the Exeter Flying Post relating to the Estate of Mary Ponsford Webber makes this clear.[16]

At least Edward did the decent thing by his sister after the death of her husband Rev. John Turner in 1846. Mary and her daughters went to live at Whiddon House for a few years. They were at Whiddon on census night in 1851. By the later 1850s, Mary Turner and her children had left Whiddon. The children were grown up by then, and had gone their separate ways. Mrs Turner spent quite a few years taking turns living with her settled children, particularly Henry in Ireland and Mrs Mary Evans in Surrey. She died in 1876 in Strathpeffer, Scotland, where she had lived for a few years.

Meanwhile, Edward went to live in Reading, Berkshire from at least the 1860s onwards. Per the 1861 census, he was a visitor at 21 Sydney Terrace, Reading, Berkshire, the home of his cousins Ann and Emelia Michell. Curiously, he was also there in 1871, where he is described as “Head cous”, although he is only there with two servants. Perhaps it was the Michell’s home, but they were absent. Finally in 1881, Edward Seymour Baily resided at 67 Castle Crescent in Reading, Berkshire, where he lived until he died. It may be that he rented out Whiddon Park because the income received from this would enable him to live a more comfortable life elsewhere. It may also have been too large a place for a bachelor.

Edward Seymour Baily’s Will

When it came time to write his last Will, signed on the 4 Mar 1879, Edward favoured his niece Mary Jane Evans, even though he had nephews alive. In some ways, this is not surprising. He was geographically close to Mrs Evans and her children, and there are many indications of their friendly relations. Meanwhile, his nephews were scattered across the world (Ireland, Canada, South Africa and Australia).

He devised his property (including Whiddon) to the use of his niece, Mary Jane Baily Evans for her life, and after her death to the use of her eldest son George Bruce Evans for his life, then to his sons successively in order “in tail male”; and if George had no sons, then to his daughters. If George had no children, or they died without issue, the entail then went to Mary’s next son, and so on. Mary’s daughter Mary Emily Evans and her issue were then last in this line.

If none of the Evans had issue, then the estate was to go to Edward Baily’s “right heirs”. In this context, the next in line would be his eldest living nephew, and then that nephew’s issue, with preference given to their sons first, and then on to the next nephew, and the next, etc.

The Evans

ES Baily died 15 Feb 1886. His niece Mary Jane Baily Evans, the wife of Captain John Evans, proved his Will. She had possession of Whiddon for only a few years before she died on 9 Jul 1893, but did not ever live there. In the meantime, her eldest son George Bruce Evans had died, on the 15 Mar 1886, without issue. Next in line was her son Edward Seymour Evans, who became the tenant-for-life of Whiddon Park, and receiver of its rents and profits.

*from Devonshire Historical Descriptive, biographical 1907 (D –4)*

When he wrote to Charles Turner in 1899, ES Evans was 55 years old, and still a bachelor. His elder sister Mary and two older brothers (John and George) had died unmarried. His younger brother William Hunter Evans was the only sibling left. While Hunter had been married, there were no children of the marriage. By this time, it was clear to ES Evans that neither he nor his brother were likely to have children, and he’d better do something to determine who was the next heir.

His two youngest aunts, Frances and Sophie Turner, were still alive, living in London. They had certainly communicated with the families of their colonial brothers, as we have copies of some letters. Evans is likely to have consulted with them about their families. Whether he decided that Charles was the most likely person to ask, or whether he also wrote to others, I do not know.

ES Evans finds another heir

Maybe Charles replied that none of his siblings were interested in claiming an inheritance Evans had labelled “a white elephant”. Alternatively, if the next in line really was Charles’ older half-brother John Bailey Turner, it’s possible that no one knew where he was. In any case, what happened next indicates that ES Evans decided to find a new heir.

This decision was made easier by some changes in the laws regarding the breaking of entails. Prior to the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries, entailing estates was a common, legally-binding method used by landowners to keep land within the family. Whether declared in a Will, a marriage settlement, or other type of deed, the instruction was that the land was to go to the eldest son for life and then the remainder to pass to his son’s eldest son “in fee tail” (in tail/entailed) and on to their issue. This had the benefit of keeping the property intact (rather than dividing it into smaller and smaller parcels). It also prevented spendthrift and frivolous heirs from selling the land to fund their gambling, debts, or other bad habits, and thus using up the next generation’s inheritance. But there were some serious disadvantages, including the inability to sell the property when it had become uneconomic to run. Sometimes they could not use the land in certain ways that could be considered a “waste” of the resources on that land. This meant that the landowner could not increase their income off the land in new ways. Another problem was that deeds and Wills often included a widow’s annuity and “portions” for the younger children/daughters. These could run to the thousands of pounds, and had to be raised from the profits of the land. It was feasible that the sum given to the widow or younger children would use up the larger part of the income derived from the land, leaving insufficient income for the tenant-for-life, let alone pay for the upkeep of houses and farms.

The Settled Lands Acts of 1882 and 1890 addressed this situation by giving the tenant-for-life greater powers to deal with the property than had previously existed.[17] This meant that Commander Evans was now able to settle Whiddon Park on someone else. In 1912 he signed indentures which reflected his intent that after his death, Whiddon Park would be put in trust for the benefit of his godson, Edward Arthur Craig Fulton. During Mr Fulton’s lifetime and at his request, or after his death, the trustees could sell Whiddon Park, or any part of it. The proceeds of such a sale would be invested for Mr Fulton’s benefit. Mr Fulton could leave the trust to anyone in his Will, and if there was no Will, the trust would be settled upon his children. Commander Evans’ Will also reflected this arrangement. When Evans died on the 20 March 1920, Whiddon Park became the property of Mr Fulton.

*Exeter and Plymouth Gazette 26 March 1920*

Edward Arthur Craig Fulton

Edward Arthur Craig Rampini was born in Elgin, Scotland in 1888. His father Charles Joseph Galliari Rampini was a barrister and served as the sheriff of Elginshire, and his mother was Annie Burness. Despite the Italian name, Edward’s parents were born in Scotland.

Just how Edward Seymour Evans knew the Rampini/Fulton’s I do not know. As EAC Fulton is described as Commander Evans’ godson, he must have known the Rampini family in the 1880s. They appear to have holidayed together at least once, in 1898 when the Rampinis and Captain Evans stayed at Summerhill House in Strathpeffer, Scotland.

*North Star and Farmers’ Chronicle* 21 Jul 1898

In the 1901 census, the Rampini family were living in Paignton, Devonshire, not far from Chagford. In 1910, Edward Rampini changed his name to Edward Fulton. It appears that his brother Frederick also changed his name to Fulton, but at this stage I have not learned the reason for this.

Edward Fulton was working as an articled clerk when he enlisted to go to World War I. He served in the 2^nd London Regiment, Highland Light Infantry, attached to the 2/4^th Gurkhas, from August 1914. He was stationed in Malta first, then France from 1915-1917, and India 1918-1919. He left with the rank of captain.[18]

After the war, he travelled back and forth to the US a few times. In 1922 he married Alice Aldidge in Paignton. She was of a New Orleans family. They lived in New Orleans for a few years. The couple can be found there on the 1930 US Census. It appears they divorced, and Fulton returned to England and married a second time, in 1940 in Devonshire. His second wife was Maud Georgina M. Forsdyke.

What happened to Whiddon?

As it happened, Mr Fulton did sell the property. In 1921, Whiddon Park was sold to Julius Charles Drewe for the sum of £8000. That’s equivalent today to £401,000.[19] Drewe also bought some adjoining land, where he built Drogo Castle. Since then, Whiddon House has passed on to others’ hands, and what was the enclosed deer park is now managed by the National Trust.

The contents of the property were also sold, by auction on Thursday 7^th April, 1921 by Arthur Coe and Amery auctioneers. The advertisement below details a long list of furniture, carpeting, bedding, paintings, clocks, bookcases and books, a naval barometer, kitchen items and outdoor effects such as garden seats and lawnmowers.

Edward Arthur Craig Fulton died in 1968. There is no mention of a probate or Letters of Administration on the English probate calendars. It is likely that his estate passed over to his widow. Maud died the year after, in 1969 in Paignton. Her estate was probated and was valued at £10,728. As she was 49 years old when she married Edward, it is unlikely they had any children.

One last question – why was ES Evans looking for Andrew’s children?

Early on, I mentioned the curiosity that ES Evans was looking to his uncle Andrew’s family as the next in line to inherit Whiddon. Of the 10 children of Rev John and Mary Turner, only 3 had sons – Mary Evans, Andrew Cheape Turner, and Alfred Rooke Turner. During my earlier days researching the family history, everything pointed to Andrew being older than Alfred. Based on the ages they gave at the time of their marriages, and on the birth certificates of their children, it looked like Andrew was born around 1826 and Alfred in 1828. Although I don’t know why, maybe their sisters in England (the ones who Evans would have consulted) believed this too. But the reverse is true – Alfred was born first, and Andrew is the youngest of the sons.

Does this mean that Alfred’s children were really the rightful heirs? Maybe, but not if they had to prove their relationship. Today, when an intestate estate is to be distributed to the rightful heirs, especially when dealing with a large family who have spread over the globe, the relationships between the heirs and the Deceased have to be proven with birth, death and marriage certificates and other sources (such as census records, Wills, immigration records, etc.).

I do not know whether this was the standard in the 1920s. However, given how many “next of kin” agents advertised in the newspapers, offering to obtain the relevant records for heirs, I think it possible that “proof of kinship” was required.

The reason it matters in this case is that both Alfred and Andrew had common-law relationships that produced children. But in those days, children born out of wedlock were not entitled. If these “illegitimate” children of either man were required to produce a marriage certificate for their parents, they would not have been able to – and may therefore have been excluded from inheriting Whiddon.

This applies to John Baily Turner, who ES Evans was looking for. He was the son of Andrew Cheape Turner with his first wife, Harriet Hiscox. Although I’m not sure of this, it looks like JB was not raised by Andrew and his legal wife, Grace Rose. John Baily Turner disappears from the records until the early 1900s, when he is found on electoral rolls in Queensland. He died in 1920, alone. Had he been alive to try to claim Whiddon, it would not have worked, if he had to prove his parents’ marriage.

With regards to Alfred, he had a number of children with Mary Ann Eliza Lane, including sons. But he and Mary Lane were not married. Later he was to marry Margaret Devine. There are two children whose birth certificates show Alfred as their father. But the one born after the marriage died before ES Evans died, and had no surviving children. Hence, Alfred’s line legally could not claim the estate – if they had to prove themselves.

So in the end, it is probably Andrew’s line who could legally claim the estate – not John Baily Turner, but Charles and his siblings.

But alas, it was not to be, and Whiddon passed in other hands.

NOTES

[1] From White’s Devonshire Directory (1850), accessed on GENUKI https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/DEV/Chagford

[2] Hayter-Hames, Jane. A History of Chagford, Chagford, Devon: Phillimore. (1981).

[3] For a full description, see https://heritagerecords.nationaltrust.org.uk/HBSMR/MonRecord.aspx?uid=MNA151566; Hayter- Hames, p. 60; “Whiddon Park House, Castle Drogo; Devon and Cornwall” National Trust, https://heritagerecords.nationaltrust.org.uk/HBSMR/MonRecord.aspx?uid=MNA151566

[4] Greeves, L. 2004. History and Landscape – A Guide to National Trust Properties. London: National Trust Enterprises Ltd.

[5] Whitaker, J. 1892. A Descriptive List of the Deer Parks and Paddocks of England. London: Ballatyne & Hanson.

[6] Greeves, L. 2004. History and Landscape – A Guide to National Trust Properties. London: National Trust Enterprises Ltd.

[7] Polwhele, 1793, quoted on the website Legendary Dartmoor, https://www.legendarydartmoor.co.uk/whiddon_park.htm, though it does not provide the exact citation. Polwhele published two books in 1793, Historical Views of Devonshire and The History of Devonshire (in 3 vols published 1793–1806) (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Polwhele).

[8] Murray, John. A Handbook for Travellers in Devon and Cornwall, London: Spottiswoodes & Shaw. (1851). quoted on the Legendary Dartmoor website (https://www.legendarydartmoor.co.uk/whiddon_park.htm)

[9] Hayter-Hames, Jane. A History of Chagford, Chagford, Devon: Phillimore. (1981).

[10] May refer to a card game, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Put_(card_game)

[11] “Currency Converter: 1270-2017,” The National Archives, https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/currency-converter/#, accessed 9 Jan 2022.

[12] “Married Women’s Property Act 1882,” Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Married_Women%27s_Property_Act_1882, accessed 2 Nov 2021 (page last edited 25 Oct 2021).

[13] See the documents DD/FS/41 held at the Somerset Heritage Centre. I have obtained digitized copies of many of the items held in this collection.

[14] Letter from Mr Broderip to Mr Senior, undated; Somerset Archive, DD/FS 40/8/2

[15] Letter dated 22 Mar 1833 Somerset Archive, DD/FS 40/8/2

[16] Exeter Flying Post 20 Sep 1869. Note also that on the 1851 Census, there is an entry for George Webber and family at Whiddon House, and a separate entry for Mary Jane Turner and her children also at Whiddon House.

[17] From Wikipedia entry on Settled Lands Act of 1882 and 1890

[18] Record of Service of Solicitors and Articled Clerks with His Majesty’s Forces 1914 -1919; Spottiswoode, Ballantyne & Co. Ltd., London, 1920; accessed at https://archive.org/stream/recordofserviceo00soli/recordofserviceo00soli_djvu.txt

[19] CPI Inflation Calculator, https://www.officialdata.org/uk/inflation/1921?amount=8000, accessed 2 Nov 2021.

The Tichborne connection

August 13, 2021February 3, 2024 ~ AddieT ~ Leave a comment

Much has been written over the years about the Tichborne case, involving as it did heartbreak, a shipwreck, a large inheritance, a grieving mother, and a case of identity fraud. There are countless websites recounting the tale, and there is even a play written about it.

Tales of inheritance are my thing, as I have worked for over 20 years as a probate genealogist, and have myself encountered many cases involving missing heirs, and cases where someone tried to claim they were someone they weren’t. But as so much has already been written about the Tichborne case, I wasn’t planning on writing about it myself. But then I discovered a family connection, and so I am adding this tale to my blog.

Coincidentally, my great-great-great grandmother Mary Jane Turner, nee Baily, mentioned the Tichborne case in a letter she wrote to her son Andrew in Australia. She wrote: “Did you ever know anything of the History of this horrid man who is trying to get the Tichbourne Estates? The general belief is that he is an Imposter. I suppose you have seen something of it in any English papers you may see.”

When I first read that letter years ago, I thought nothing much of it, except that the letter from Mrs Turner was undated, and the mention of the Tichborne estates helped to pin down at least a year range when this letter was written.

I am guessing that Mary Jane did not know that she actually had a family connection to the Tichborne, as she did not mention in it her letter. The missing heir to the Tichborne estates was in fact Mary Jane’s 2^nd cousin once removed.

Mary Jane’s grandmother was Mary Baily, nee Seymour. Mrs Baily’s brother Henry Seymour had a son also named Henry, born in 1776. The younger Henry had an illegitimate daughter, Henriette Felicite Seymour, who was born in France about 1809. Her mother was Felicite Dailly-Brimont. Hentriette married Sir James Doughty-Tichborne, of an old Catholic English family, with large estates in Hampshire.

Henrietta was Mary Jane Turner’s second cousin. There is the connection. What follows is the tale of the Tichborne Case.

Henriette and Sir James had two sons, Roger and Alfred. Roger, the elder, was born in 1829. As a young man, he fell in love with his cousin Katherine. Sadly for them, this was not a match either family wanted, and he was not allowed to marry her. A heartbroken Roger left England to tour South America. Reports indicated that he had left Rio on the 20^th April 1854 on the ship The Bella, sailing for Jamaica. However, 4 days later, one of her long boats was found empty off the coast. This was the only evidence of the fate of the ship, which was presumed to have wrecked at sea off the coast of Brazil, with all crew and passengers assumed to have drowned.

Roger’s mother Lady Henriette Tichborne was distraught, and it appears that she refused to believe he was dead. Rumour later surfaced that a ship bound for Melbourne had rescued the survivors from the shipwreck, which added to her certainty that he was still alive. She was encouraged by a clairvoyant, who claimed Roger was still alive, so Lady Henriette began actively searching for him, advertising widely, including in South America and Australia.

In 1862, Sir James Doughty-Tichborne died. Now added to his widow’s fervent hopes of finding their son alive was added an inheritance to deal with. Had Roger been alive, he would have taken the title and the estates. But as Roger was nowhere to be seen and presumed dead, so his younger brother Alfred was now the heir.

Searching for missing heirs in the colonies was not uncommon. In fact, from the 1860s onwards, there were frequent ads in newspapers looking for missing heirs. Several men who then called themselves “Next of Kin Agents” (and would probably now be called “Heir Tracers”) had set up shop in Australia. One such man was Arthur Cubitt, who established the Missing Friends Office. In 1863, he was contacted by Lady Tichborne, authorising him to announce her husband’s death, and offering a handsome reward to any person who could furnish information about the fate of Roger Tichborne.

*Sydney Morning Herald*, p. 1, 26 July 1865

Enter the claimant. Thomas Castro, a butcher in the New South Wales town of Wagga Wagga was facing bankruptcy. During the examination, he revealed that he had survived a shipwreck, and claimed to own properties in England. Curiously, it is said that he smoked a pipe engraved with the letters RCT – Roger’s initials. A lawyer who had seen the newspaper ads pressed him, and Castro told him that he was the missing baronet.

Castro wrote to Lady Henrietta, stating that he was her missing son. Henrietta was quite eager to accept his claim, even though his letters were poorly written and a bit cagey. Her second son and only remaining child had died in 1866, leaving an infant son. This may have made her all the more eager to have her son back to claim his inheritance. Castro claimed that he had been rescued off The Bella by the Osprey, which was headed to Melbourne. He said he wandered around Australia, and settled in Wagga Wagga where he took up the occupation of butcher, married, and had a child. Why he did not contact his family earlier was not made clear. Nevertheless, after receiving encouraging letters from Lady Henriette, he made plans to travel to England. The lawyer who “discovered” him encouraged him to make a Will. Curiously, in the Will he referred to his mother as Hannah Frances – though the name is Henriette Felicite. He also mentioned properties that did not exist. In 1866, Castro sailed to England with his wife and baby, ready to claim the title and estates.

To add to the curiosity of the case, it was hard to see how Castro could be Roger. Photos side-by-side or Roger as a young man, and Castro in the late 1860s, do show some similarity in facial features.

Photo source: https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/89321/mysterious-disappearance-and-reappearance-roger-tichborne

But there were glaring differences. Roger in his youth was tall, slender, with a long sallow face, dark, straight hair and blue eyes. His mother described him as having a “delicate” constitution. Crucially, he had a tattoo on his left arm. However, Castro has obese, with a round face and light-coloured wavy hair. And he had no tattoo. A blacksmith on the Tichborne estates remarked “if you are Sir Roger, you’ve changed from a racehorse to a carthorse.”

Despite all this, Lady Henrietta believed him, and settled on him an allowance of £1000 a year! Few others believed him, though he had been able to “remember” some details from his childhood, such as the name of the family dog. Working against him were several factors. For example, his letters were badly written, though Roger had been well-educated. Roger also spoke French fluently, having grown up mostly in Paris – but Castro did not. There were many other “lapses in memory”, which he explained as being the result of the traumatic shipwreck scrambling his memory.

Lady Tichborne died two years later. In 1871, he initiated a civil case to claim the Tichborne estates, then in the possession of Roger’s nephew. The trial lasted more than 3 months, and the court rejected his claim. In the end, the case turned on the fact that Roger had a tattoo that Castro did not have.

He was then arrested and tried for perjury. The trial broke records for its duration (188 days) and costs, and captured the public’s imagination in both England and Australia. Investigators had found many people who identified Castro as Arthur Orton, the son of a butcher in Wapping, England. Orton had sailed to Australia, and at some point took on the name Thomas Castro.

The prosecutors theorised that after seeing the ads looking for Roger Tichborne, Orton/Castro saw an opportunity and took it. By chance, he had come across former servants of the Tichborns while in Sydney making his travel plans. Perhaps he picked up enough information about the family to make his claim hold some water.

But the evidence in the perjury trial was overwhelmingly stacked against him. Aside from the number of witnesses who identified the defendant as Arthur Orton, there was the fact that his handwriting did not match Roger’s. Furthermore, the logs of the Osprey, which did land in Melbourne, did not mention picking up survivors of a shipwreck. Castro was found guilty of perjury and sentenced to 14 years of penal service. He died in 1898 and was buried in a pauper’s grave.

Sources:

“Tichborne versus Tichborne,” Hawke’s Bay Weekly Times, vol 1, issue 45, 4 Nov 1867, p. 272. Accessed on Papers Past website 11 Apr 2021.

Cecilia Kendall “The Tichborne Case – a Case of Identity Fraud?”, 6 May 2020, The Brighton Museum website accessed 10 Apr 2021

https://brightonmuseums.org.uk/discover/2020/05/06/the-tichborne-case-a-case-of-identity-fraud

Stacy Conradt, “The Mysterious Disappearance and Reappearance of Roger Tichborne,” 18^th Jan 2017

Mental Floss website: https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/89321/mysterious-disappearance-and-reappearance-roger-tichborne accessed 10 Apr 2021.

Robyn Annear, “The Return of the Tichborne Claimant”, The Monthly, May 2014.

https://www.themonthly.com.au/issue/2014/may/1398866400/robyn-annear/return-tichborne-claimant?cb=1618041336 accessed 10 Apr 2021.

Also see:

Barry Enever, “The Tichborne Claimant, a Victorian Mystery”, Ennever/Enever family history and ancestry, http://www.ennever.com/histories/history19478.php accessed 10 Apr 2021.

The Children of the Reverend John Turner and Mary Jane Baily

July 10, 2021February 3, 2024 ~ AddieT ~ Leave a comment

John Turner, who was later in life the Vicar of the parish of Hennock, in Devonshire, was born around 1780 in the city of Gloucester. He was baptised on the 8 December of that year at St John the Baptist church. His parents were John Turner and Hester Smyth.

John was ordained as a priest of the Church of England in 1808. For a description of his career, visit this blog post: https://someheirsandgraces.wordpress.com/2021/05/30/where-the-reverend-john-turner-and-his-family-lived/

The Reverend John Turner married Mary Jane Baily on the 18 October 1811 in Bathwick (part of the town of Bath), Somersetshire. She was the daughter of Edward Seymour Baily, of Chagford, Devonshire, and Phillis Rooke.

They moved from parish to parish while Rev Turner searched for a more permanent position in a suitable parish. Over the course of 25 years, they had 11 children, only one of who died as an infant. Of the children who survived, they had an equal number of boys and girls. As their family grew, the pressure on Mr and Mrs Turner to find a house large enough to fit them all also grew, as did the imperative to meet their needs in childhood, as well as to provide the means or education for the sons to establish them in careers, and the marriage portions for the daughters (or some sort of income should they not marry).

The children, in order of their birth were:

John Baily Turner (1813-1864)
Mary Jane Baily Turner (1814-1893)
George Armstrong Turner (1816-1817)
Edward Seymour Turner (1818-1905)
Charlotte Mary Turner (1820-1870)
Henry Emanuel Turner (1822-1885)
Emily Hester Turner (1823-1899)
Alfred Rooke Turner ( 1825-1892)
Andrew Cheape Turner (1828-1890)
Elizabeth Frances Garrett Turner (1830-1904)
Sapphira Phyllis Turner (1836-1915)

What follows is a short biographical account of the children. Of course there is a varying amount of information about them, especially the women.

John Baily Turner

John Baily Turner was the first child of Mr and Mrs Turner. He was born in 1813 in Devizes, Wiltshire[i], and baptised on the 11 February at Great Marlow, Buckinghamshire.[ii]

By early accounts, “Baily” as he was referred to by his parents, was a bit of wild and perhaps boorish youth. The accounts laid out in the saga of “The Reverend Turner and the Wesleyans” paint him as a hot-headed young man, who threatened not only the peace, but the safety and lives of those he was opposed to.

According to some biographies of him, he entered the army, serving with the South Devon Yeomanry Cavalry. By his own account, he saw action in the 1830s with De Lacy Evans’ mercenary brigade in the Spanish Carlist Wars, and perhaps rendered “distinguished services”.[iii] Yet it is also known from family letters that he was – at least part of the time – living at home and causing problems. In 1833 he was scheduled to appear at the court in Exeter on the matter of insolvency.[iv] His mother and grandmother (Phillis Baily) worried that there was no permanent position for him.

He was married at St. Pancras on the 10th March, 1840 to Miss Anne Mackay, daughter of Lachlin Mackay. From the Turner family correspondence to their lawyers, it seems that the Mackays were planning on emigrating to Canada, and Baily and his wife wanted to join them. Funds were raised by liquidating some of the assets his mother had, so that Baily and his wife could join her family in Canada, circa 1841-1842.

What did he do in Canada? Quite a lot, it seems. One account is that he may have been a veterinary surgeon with the 7^th Hussars, stationed at St Jean, Quebec, though how this fits in with his earlier life isn’t clear. Later he moved to Montreal and founded a newspaper called the Morning Chronicle. Whilst in Montreal, he secured a commission in the Montreal Dragoons. While there, he was also briefly the Deputy Grand Master of the Montreal Lodge, Orange Order, but was expelled from them in 1846 with accusations of embezzling funds being levelled against him. This he denied. [v]

In 1849, the Annexation Manifesto was signed by many militia officers. The Manifesto called for the annexation of Canada by the United States, and arose in response to the British Parliament abolishing laws that had created preferential trade for British Colonies. The officers who had put their signatures to the Manifesto had their commissions revoked. Turner was not one of the signatories, but he resigned in protest and in solidarity with those who had lost their positions. [vi]

Baily Turner and his wife moved to Bytown in 1852 (Bytown was later renamed Ottawa). A couple of years later, the locals urged him to form an artillery unit. This was in the context of militia reforms in Canada, due to the reduction of British garrisons during the Crimean War. He wrote to the Adjutant General on this topic, outlining what would be required, and noting that he would take command. In September 1855, Turner was appointed Captain of the newly formed Volunteer Militia Field Battery of Ottawa, which formed part of the Militia District Number 1 in Upper Canada. Just over a year later he was promoted to Major. He also founded the Canada Military Gazette in 1857, although it only ran for 16 issues. Accounts indicate that he worked hard to keep his militiamen happy by organising parties and outings for the officers. From 1860, annual military balls were held, which the Field Battery organised. [vii]

John Baily Turner died suddenly at age 51, on the 23 March, 1864. He was buried at Sandy Hill Cemetery, though his remains were moved in 1895 to Beechwood.[viii] He and his wife did not have children.

Curiously, his estate was not probated until 1883, when administration was granted to Reginald Lowbridge Foster of Wells, the attorney for Turner’s sister Emily Hester Turner. The estate consisted of £354. It may have been that his wife Anne had not properly attended to his estate, and it was not administered until after her death.

The Evans – Mary Jane Baily Turner and Captain John Evans

The eldest daughter, and second child, of the Reverend and Mrs Turner, was Mary Jane Bailey Turner, born in 1814, and baptised on the 8 August of that year at Great Marlow, Buckinghamshire.[ix]

At the age of 22, she married in Hennock, Devon on the 22nd November, 1836 to Captain John Evans of the Bengal Army, who was born in Ireland and is likely part of the Evans-Bruce family connected to Mary’s great-aunt Mary Seymour Bruce, nee Baily. Family lore has it that he was related to Sir George De Lacy Evans, a general in the British Army who served in four wars during the 19^th century. This connection has not been proven.

It appears likely that Captain and Mrs John and Mary Evans went to India in the year or so after their marriage, as their first child was (according to census records) born in India. However, they returned by June 1838 , as the eldest son (John) was baptised in Hennock then. From then until at least 1841 (and perhaps a year or so beyond that), they lived in Knightly, a hamlet of the village of Chudleigh, Devonshire, not far from Hennock.

From at least 1845[x] to at least 1851, they resided at 26 Park Street, Walcot, Bath. On the 1851 census, Mary was head of the household (as her husband was away), and 5 children were living with her (though Hunter was described as “James” age 5)[xi]. By 1861, most of their sons were either on board their ships, or living elsewhere. However, I have not been able to identify John Mary and their daughter Mary on the census records.

On the 1 March, 1865, it appears that Mary Jane Baily Evans was admitted to the “lunatic asylum” in Kensington, and was discharged on the 26 Nov 1865.[xii] Sadly the registers do not provide any details about what in particular afflicted her, not was this mentioned in any of the family correspondence I have seen. The register simply has a tick in the column for “recovered.”

Later the family settled in Penge (also known as Annesley), in the county of Surrey. They were certainly there in 1871, at Thicket Road, Penge, Surrey[xiii]

Mary died 9 July, 1893. Her husband had pre-deceased her, having died on the 2 July 1886, in Surrey[xiv]. Probate on her Will was granted to her sons Edward and William, of effects valued at just over £5118[xv]. She is buried in the churchyard of St Michael the Archangel in Chagford, Devonshire, with her father.[xvi]

(a later blog post will be about their children).

George Armstrong Turner

While John Turner was curate at Crawley, Hampshire, the third child and second son of John and Mary was born, on the 5 July, 1816. He was baptised later that month. Sadly, he did not live to see one full year. He died as an infant on the 27 February, 1817.

Edward Seymour Turner

Edward was born on the 24 March 1818, and baptised on the 22 April at St. Thomas, Winchester, Hampshire.

Two of the Turner boys were apprenticed to the merchant navy, Edward being the first (Alfred was the other one). At the age of 14, on the 24 January 1832, Edward was indentured for the term of 5 years, under a master named John Christopher.[xvii]

Snippet from the merchant navy indenture list. John Christopher was his first captain. From Ancestry.com.

Around 1843, Mr and Mrs Turner began discussing an advance to Edward for the sum of £500, as they had with Baily and Henry. Edward wanted to buy a share in a ship (of which he was a commander) which was trading around Mauritius and Madagascar.[xviii] The process for raising the money seemed to drag on, for in 1848, the matter was still being discussed. By the terms of the Marriage Settlement between Mr and Mrs Turner, each son would be able to have £1000, either advanced to them to establish them in life, or when both parents had died. The solicitors were against the boys having the full amount at once, but Seymour argued that he needed more than £500 for his share of the ship. Communication went back and forth between Edward (signing his letters as “Sey Turner”), his mother and the lawyers. As his mother put it, she wanted to enable him to “make something of himself – you will readily believe a man does not like to go to sea all his Life – especially encountering all the hardships he was done,” and that she wanted to help him “do something for himself, instead of working for others.”[xix] In the end, £1000 was given to him, just in time for him to set sail in December 1848.

Eventually, Edward made his way to South Africa, where he attempted to make his fortune in the diamond fields. He married Maria Gilfillan in 1861 at the Cape. They had three daughters, Agnes, Fanny, and Nelly. Edward must have given up the diamond fields, as a letter from Mrs. Turner to one of her grandchildren describes Edward as an “African Sheep Farmer.” There are tales of the two eldest girls helping their papa count sheep, and of long treks in a bullock-wagon to visit their grandmother, Mrs. Gilfillan, across the Orange River. Nelly married Mr. Blanchard. In a letter from Sophie to her niece Frances (sometime either late in the 1890s or early 1900s – before 1904), she writes that Edward is in his 80s, and that Nelly Blanchard was trying to get him and his wife Maria to come live with her in Johannesburg.

Mrs. Turner made a few references to Edward and his family in the letters to her youngest son Andrew and his wife Grace. For example, “I have not heard from Edward & did not yet know if he met any success at the Diamond Fields – I sincerely trust he did for he is very badly off poor dear he sends such nice accounts of his children.”

Edward died on the 4 June, 1905 at Middleburgh, South Africa.

I would welcome any more information, stories and photos from Edward’s descendants.

Charlotte and Emily, Frances and Sophie

Emily Hester Turner (L) and Mrs Mary Jane Turner (R)

The four younger daughters of Rev and Mrs Turner were Charlotte Mary, Emily Hester, Elizabeth Frances Garrett, and Sapphira Phyllis Turner.

Charlotte Mary Turner, known affectionately as “Charlie”, was born 13 March 1820 in Crawley, Gloucestershire,[xx] and baptised on the 22 May in Newnham, Gloucestershire,[xxi] where her father was the curate.

Emily Hester Turner was born on Christmas day 1823 at Stoke Damerel, Devonport, Devonshire , and baptised 28 January in the new year. At this time, their father was an officiating minister in Stoke Damerel, though he did not baptise Emily.

The two youngest daughters were Frances (Elizabeth Frances Garratt Turner) and Sophie (Sapphira Phyllis Turner), who were both born in Hennock, Devon. Frances was born 10 April 1830 and Sophie on 17 January, 1836. Both were baptised by their father.

None of the four younger sisters married.

When their father died in 1846, Mrs Turner and her youngest children, including the four daughters, went to live at Whiddon House in Chagford, Devon, the property which then belonged to Mrs Turner’s brother, Edward Seymour Baily.[xxii] Mrs Turner and the two youngest daughters were at Whiddon on census night 1851. Emily, on census night in 1851, she was staying as a visitor in the home of Mr and Mrs George and Eliza Harvey at no. 19, Dex’s Field in Exeter St. Sidwell. Mr Harvey’s occupation was as a Professor of Music. Charlotte was away from home on census night, but I have not identified her on the 1851 census yet.

From family correspondence, it appears that Charlotte and Emily mostly remained with their mother, and lived in various places, including Torquay in Devonshire, Prohurst House, in Charleville, County Cork, Ireland and Scotland.[xxiii]

On the 1861 census, Charlotte and Emily were residing at 3 Devonshire Terrace, St Marylebone, London. Emily’s occupation was given as the “Superintendent of Institution”. Among the other residents were German, English and French governesses. The institution was The Temporary Residence for Governesses, established in 1842. For a moderate weekly sum, it provided a home for governesses while they were seeking employment. The 1861 Charities of London stated that since its last report in 1857, 569 governesses had been admitted, 192 of those in the past year. [xxiv]

Devonshire Terrace was a row of three houses on the Marylebone High Street. It has the distinction of being connected to Charles Dickens. No. 1 Devonshire Terrace was his London home from 1838 until 1851.[xxv] As Dickens had left probably by the time the sisters arrived at Devonshire Terraces, it is not likely their paths actually crossed.

Charlotte died on the 22nd December, 1870 at age 49, in Forres, Scotland, of broncho-pneumonia. Only her sister Emily was with her. Her mother wrote in a letter “she had been ill for a long time but the termination came suddenly at last, dear creature she was so good & wise.”[xxvi]

At the time of her death, she had assets values less than £200. She did not draw up a formal Will, but it appears that she left writings in which she made her intentions clear that she wanted her sister Emily to be her residuary legatee. On this basis, Emily was granted probate on the 9 May 1871. Additional assets must have been found (likely after their mother died), as the matter was re-sworn in August 1877 with the total assets described as totalling under £2000.[xxvii]

By 1871, Emily was boarding with Euphemia Smyth, at 321 High Street, in Forres, Scotland, and was described as having ‘Income from Ind Money.”[xxviii] In 1881 she was staying at a private hotel in Fodderty, Scotland, with a McGregor family.[xxix] In 1891, she was still in Scotland with members of the McGregor family, though the address was 3 George Street, Banff.

Emily was also often ill, and was described by her mother as being “delicate.” She also had problems with her eyes. At the time of her death she resided at Seafield Street, Banff. She died on the 11 March, 1899 in Banff, Scotland. Her last surviving sisters, Sapphira and Elizabeth were the executors of her estate.[xxx]

In the Cluny Hill Cemetery in Forres, Scotland stands the headstone for Mary Jane Turner and two of her daughters, Charlotte and Emily:

Inscription

Sacred to the beloved memory of Mary Jane,
widow of the Revd. John Turner, late of Hennock, Devonshire,
and only daughter of Edward Seymour Baily Esq, of Whiddon Park, Devonshire,
who died at Strathpeffer, 18th September 1876,
also Charlotte Mary,
second daughter of the above, who fell asleep in Jesus, 22nd December 1870, at Forres,
also Emily Hester, third daughter of the above, died at Banff, 11th March 1899.

Frances and Sophie

The two younger sisters converted to Catholicism , though I am not sure when. This is mentioned in family correspondence from Mary Jane Turner to her son Andrew in Australia. “Miss Elizabeth Frances Garrett”, was also mentioned in the Biographical List of the More Notable Converts to the Catholic Church in the United Kingdom During the Last Sixty Years[xxxi]. As Frances was a relative unknown, the noteworthiness of the conversion may be due to the fact that her father was an Anglican clergyman.

During their adulthood, they lived in London and in Torquay. In 1861, they were residing at Still Cottage, Babbacombe St Mary in Torquay.[xxxii] This, to me, is an amazing coincidence, as I lived in Torquay for a few months with a friend I met while travelling in Europe. Her family lived in a lovely house in Babbacombe probably only a few minutes’ walk from where Frances and Sophie had lived 130 years earlier.

View of the Cary Arms on Babbacombe Beach, 2013

In 1871, they were lodging with the Lacey family at 18 Halsey St, Chelsea. The head of the household, Mr William Thomas Lacey, was the “Manager, Marlboro House.”[xxxiii]

Their London address on the 1881 census was at 5 Kempsford Gardens, Kensington. Their occupation was stated to be “income derived from government stock.” They had one servant, Elizabeth Bedder. In 1891, Sophie (listed as Sapphira) was at 6 Inverness Terrace, in Fulham, London. She was described as the “sister” of the head of the household, likely meaning Frances, though Frances was not at home on census night.[xxxiv] I have not identified her yet on the 1891 census. In 1901 they were at no. 49, Park Hill Rd in Hampstead.

There is some indication that they did not get along with the other sisters. Hints about this are given in a letter from Mrs. Turner to Grace Turner: “for I was quite sure C & E would never again live with their sisters.”

Their mother described them as being “very much engaged.” Their letters to their nieces in Australia are full of their “business” as they take care of sick friends or go visiting. Frances and Sophie often visited their sister Mary Evans in Surrey, staying the weekend and returning to London on Mondays. They also visited their brother Henry in Ireland.

Frances died on the 15th March, 1904 in Hampstead, London. Probate on her Will was granted to her sister Sapphira, and her estate consisted of effects valued at £1389.

Sophie died 15 November, 1915 in Stafford. Interestingly, probate was granted to a Louis Weighton, a retired actor. Sophie’s address at the time of her death was “The Convent”, Stafford.

Henry Turner

Henry Emmanuel Turner was the fourth son of the Rev and Mary Turner. Henry was born 17 January 1822 in Newnham, Gloucestershire, and baptised on the 15 March. He was the only son who stayed closer to home.

In about 1843, Mr & Mrs Turner settled on him £500, as they already had with Baily. His intention was to use the funds to become a farmer. This he pursued for several years, on a property the family owned, called Elm Farm, in the parish of Pilton, in Somerset.

Elm Farm, 2011, copyright Maurice Pullin, accessed at https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2457919

Henry married twice. The first marriage was to Elizabeth Rae, the daughter of Reverend James Rae, minister of Parton, Kincardineshire, Scotland. The marriage took place 13 June, 1844 at Parton[xxxv]. Elizabeth died on the 30 August 1850 and was buried at the Ballinakill Graveyard in Charleville, Cork, Ireland.[xxxvi]

In 1852, Henry married in the chapel of Coxley, in Wells, Somerset, to Mary Hart Reynolds of Coxley, Somersetshire, who was aged 21.

It seems he changed his mind about farming, for he was later living in Ireland, specifically in Milford, about 45 miles east of the city of Cork. Henry held many important positions in Cork. He was on the Board of Guardians of the Kanturk Union,[xxxvii] was appointed as a Magistrate for Cork in December 1859[xxxviii], and was a Justice of the Peace for Milford, and the land agent of Admiral Samuel Evans[xxxix], who I believe is likely related to Henry’s brother-in-law John Evans.

He made his home in Prohurst House in Milford. It was a handsome Georgian home of two stories. The house was one of the residences of the Bruce family, who arrived from Scotland into Ireland in 1654. They were a family of bankers and barristers. They settled in Charleville in 1753, when George Bruce married Mary Evans, daughter of Thomas Evans of Milltown Castle. George Evans Bruce purchased the townland of Prohurst, and some time later, his grandson Jonathan Bruce built Prohurst House, which took 14 years to complete. The property was later leased by Captain Evans, a relative of the Bruces, and then to Henry Turner. It passed on the Rice family in 1876.[xl]

Prohurst House, from the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage, accessed at https://www.buildingsofireland.ie/buildings-search/building/20900601/prohust-house-prohust-county-cork

On November 16, 1862, his home was fired into by persons unknown. The Dublin Evening Mail described “one shot was fired through the drawingroom window through the upper panes, lodging five pellets in the ceiling. The other shot was fired at a blind window at the side of the house…In the morning, a threatening notice was found tied to the knocker of the hall door, signed ‘Captain Moonlight’ and threatening Mr Turner with the fate of Braddell and Fitzgerald if he used any cruelty towards the tenants.”[xli] The Cork Examiner noted that some in the area say that the incident arose “as a consequence of certain proceedings which Mr. Turner is about to take against a tenant for non-payment of rent. Others state that an ill-feeling was evoked by a severe penalty inflicted by him on certain parties in his capacity as magistrate.”[xlii]

The clergy of the surrounding parishes (Millford, Liscarroll and Freemont) denounced the “unmaly and mischevious actions.” The Reverend Sheahan, R.C.C. of the united parishes of Churchtown and Liscarroll, when addressing his congregation, spoke of Henry Turner’s considerateness towards all sects and classes. [xliii]

Henry was mentioned a couple of times in the letters from his mother: “Henry & his wife have paid their usual visit & gone to Whiddon to receive the Rent & see after the place – but they only stayed two or three days in London; I am very sorry not to have seen them, especially dear Mary who is so good & fond of us all.”

Henry and Mary had only one child, a daughter affectionately known as Ettie, whose birth was registered as Mary Henrietta Turner in 1854. Her grandmother described her as pale, “like the rest of the family”. She also said she enjoyed receiving letters from her grand-mamma. Sadly Ettie died as a child, on the 23 March 1869 in Prohust, Cork Ireland.

Henry died on the 23 February 1885 at Knockrea, Cork, Ireland, and is buried at Charleville. Probate on his Will was granted on the 23 March 1885 to his widow, Mary Hart Turner, on assets valued at just over £2953.[xliv]

Alfred Rooke Turner

The story of Alfred Rooke Turner can be found at this link:

Alfred Rooke Turner

Andrew Cheape Turner

Andrew Cheape Turner was born on the 4 April, 1828 in Knaresborough, Yorkshire, during his father’ short stint as curate of that parish. He was baptised on the 9 Mary the same year. His name likely comes from Andrew Cheape, who was the vicar of the parish of Knaresborough.

Andrew made his way to Australia, first, arriving in South Australia in 1846. Not long after, in 1847, he went to Victoria.[xlv]

He had two children with Harriet Hiscox. It is not certain when and where they met, or if they were actually married, as no record of marriage has been found. The birth certificate of their daughter Mary says they married in Bristol, England in 1849 but no such marriage was found on the England & Wales marriage indexes. Their daughter Mary was born in 1852, and died as a baby. Harriet died on the 15 January, 1855 in Sandridge, Melbourne.

Their son, John Baily Turner, was born in 6 May 1850. It does not appear that he was raised by his father. John is not listed as one of the children on Andrew’s death certificate. What became of the boy isn’t certain. Was he taken in by his mother’s family, if there were any in Melbourne? Was he informally adopted? It is known that the family “back home” knew about him, as he is mentioned in a letter from Edward Seymour Evans in 1899 when he discusses what is to become of Whiddon House.

In any case, in late adulthood, he ended up in Queensland. John Baily Turner died there in 1920.

Andrew Cheape Turner and one of his sons

Andrew remarried, to Grace Rose, a 26-year-old Scottish lass, on the 6 August, 1861 in Footscray, Victoria. Together they had 7 children.

Andrew took the clever option during the goldrush. His career was varied, but rather than join the diggings as a miner, he made his fortune as a merchant. He first kept the Werribee Hunt Hotel in Ballan, and then went to the Ballarat goldfields, “where he was the first man to have cradles, wheelbarrows, etc, taken to the diggings.” In 1854 he sold the Werribee Hunt Hotel and moved to Melbourne, and managed Dight’s first private gold escort. He spent some time in the Ovens district before returning to Melbourne, where he took the Old Shakespear Hotel in Collins Street, for about two years. Then he had the mail contract between Melbourne and the diggings for a couple of years, after which he moved to the Western District – Port Fairy, specifically, then known as Belfast- where he kept a livery-stable. He and his new family stayed there for 25 years. On his return to Melbourne, he kept the Buck’s Head livery stables in Little Lonsdale Street, and then later the Botanical Hotel in Domain Rd., South Yarra.[xlvi]

Tragedy struck the family in 1890, when Andrew drowned in the Yarra River, on the 11 September. His drowning was reported by two men, who “observed an old man, who seemed to be very despondent, sitting down on the bank, with his eyes fixed on the water.” Their attention was drawn elsewhere, but when they turned back to look, the man was no longer there, but not long afterwards, they observed a dark shape in the water. The Herald report of that day states that he was seen to have jumped off the Princes’ Bridge on the evening of the 11th.The police dragged the river for a body, but did not find it. The two men described him as about 60, and quite bald.[xlvii] His body was not found until the 19th, by Constable Burks.

Andrew had apparently been working as a commission agent. The Inquest on his death found that on the 11th of September, he left home without a word about where he was going. He was despondent because of financial difficulties, and he had told a friend that there was nothing left but to drown himself.[xlviii] The financial depression of 1890 hit many hard, and it seems that Andrew was not spared.

Their children were: Mary Emily, Andrew Charles, Thomas Edward, Alfred James, Frances Annie, Francis Henry, and Seymour Baily. Despite the tragic end to Andrew’s life, it appears that his family had been given a good start in life, as his sons obtained decent middle class professions. Thomas was a chemist; Alfred was a law clerk; Andrew was a school teacher, and Seymour was a shopkeeper.

I know there are descendants of Andrew’s in Australia. I welcome any details they may have about his life and times, and about his children and descendants. I would also welcome better quality photos than the ones I have posted!

ENDNOTES

[i] According to the Col. J.B. Turner memorial at the Beechwood Cemetery, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

[ii] According to the England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975 index on Ancestry.com.

[iii] Halliday, Hugh A. (1997) “John Baillie Turner and the Ottawa Volunteer Field Battery,” Canadian Military History: Vol. 6: Iss. 1, Article 2. Available at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/cmh/vol6/iss1/2

[iv] The Western Times 19 Oct 1833

[v] Halliday, Hugh A. (1997) “John Baillie Turner and the Ottawa Volunteer Field Battery,” Canadian Military History: Vol. 6: Iss. 1, Article 2. Available at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/cmh/vol6/iss1/2

[vi] Halliday, Hugh A. (1997) “John Baillie Turner and the Ottawa Volunteer Field Battery,” Canadian Military History: Vol. 6: Iss. 1, Article 2. Available at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/cmh/vol6/iss1/2

[vii] Halliday, Hugh A. (1997) “John Baillie Turner and the Ottawa Volunteer Field Battery,” Canadian Military History: Vol. 6: Iss. 1, Article 2. Available at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/cmh/vol6/iss1/2

[viii] Beechwood Cemetery Foundation, “Captain John Baillie Turner”, Historical Portraits, Ottawa, Beechwood Funeral, Cemetery & Cremation Services, 2017

[ix] England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975, Ancestry.com.

[x] According to the baptism of William Hunter Evans

[xi] 1851 England Census, Class: HO107; Piece: 1943; Folio: 419; Page: 38; GSU roll: 221102; accessed at Ancestry.com

[xii] The National Archives of the UK; Kew, Surrey, England; Lunacy Patients Admission Registers; Class: MH 94; Piece: 4, part of the UK, Lunacy Patients Admission Registers, 1846-1912 collection accessed on Ancestry.com.

[xiii] 1871 England Census, Class: RG10; Piece: 849; Folio: 151; Page: 77; GSU roll: 827760, accessed on Ancestry.com

[xiv] England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966, accessed on Ancestry.com.

[xv] England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966, accessed on Ancestry.com

[xvi] According to Find A Grave https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/142966614/mary-jane_baily-evans

[xvii] UK, Apprentices Indentured in Merchant Navy, 1824-1910: The National Archives of the UK; Kew, Surrey, England; Collection: Registry of Shipping and Seamen: Index of Apprentices; Class: BT 150; Piece Number: 2, accessed at Ancestry.com

[xviii] Letter from Walter Coulson to Edmund Broderip, 20 Feb 1843; Foster of Wells, DD\FS/41/27; Somerset Heritage Archive,

[xix] Letter from Mary Jane Turner to Edwin Lovell, 3 Jul 1848; Foster of Wells, DD/FS/41/29/31; Somerset Heritage Archive.

[xx] 1861 England Census, Class: RG 9; Piece: 73; Folio: 66; Page: 24; GSU roll: 542568; accessed at Ancestry.com.

[xxi] Newnham parish registers, Gloucestershire Archives; Gloucester, England; Reference Numbers: P228 IN 1/5, accessed on Ancestry.com.

[xxii] 1851 England Census.

[xxiii] Charlotte’s probate record states that she was formerly of Prohurst, County Cork, Ireland, and later of 11 Wellswood Park, Torquay, but her residence at the time of her death was Streatham House in Forres, Scotland.

[xxiv] Low, Sampson, The Charities of London in 1861: comprising an account of the operations, resrouces, and general conditions of the charitable, educational, and religious institutions of London. 1862.

[xxv] Bartlett School of Architecture, Survey of London, Chapter 4: West of Marylebone High Street, accessed at https://www.ucl.ac.uk/bartlett/architecture/research/survey-london

[xxvi] Letter [unsigned but likely from Mrs Mary Jane Turner], 22 Apr [likely 1871].

[xxvii] Grant of Probate in the estate of Charlotte Mary Turner

[xxviii] 1871 Scotland Census, Parish: Forres; ED: 5; Page: 13; Line: 13; Roll: CSSCT1871_25 [Index only, accessed at Ancestry.com].

[xxix] 1881 Scotland Census, Parish: Fodderty; ED: 1; Page: 13; Line: 9; Roll: cssct1881a_103237 [Index only, accessed at Ancestry.com].

[xxx] England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966, accessed at Ancestry.com.

[xxxi] Gorman, W. Gordon, Biographical List of the More Notable Converts to the Catholic Church in the United Kingdom During the Last Sixty Years, 1910, London: Sands & Co.

[xxxii] 1861 England Census, Class: RG 9; Piece: 1410; Folio: 116; Page: 31; GSU roll: 542808, accessed at Ancestry.com.

[xxxiii] 1871 England Census, The National Archives; Kew, London, England; 1871 England Census; Class: RG10; Piece: 90; Folio: 58; Page: 36; GSU roll: 824586, accessed at Ancestry.com.

[xxxiv] 1891 England Census, Class: RG12; Piece: 54; Folio: 97; Page: 9; GSU roll: 6095164, accessed at Ancestry.com.

[xxxv] “Marriage Notices from the Wigtonshire Free Press” transcribed by Diana Henry and compiled by Randy Chapple, Feb 2006, accessed at http://freepages.rootsweb.com/~leighann/history/wfp/marriages/25.html

[xxxvi] Find A Grave entry for Elizabeth Rae Turner, accessed at https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/131145918/elizabeth-turner

[xxxvii] Cork Examiner 29 Sep 1865

[xxxviii] Warder and Dublin Weekly Mail 10 Dec 1859

[xxxix] Cork Constitution 20 Nov 1862, p 2

[xl] Hajba, Anna-Maria, Houses of Cork, Vol 1 – North, Ballinakella Press, 2002

[xli] Dublin Evening Mail, 19 Nov 1862

[xlii] Cork Examiner, 19 Nov 1862

[xliii] Cork Examiner, 25 Nov 1862

[xliv] England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966, accessed on Ancestry.com.

[xlv] Victoria and It’s Metropolis: Past and Present, Vol IIB, Metropolitan District, p. 681

[xlvi] Victoria and It’s Metropolis: Past and Present, Vol IIB, Metropolitan District, p. 681

[xlvii] The Age, 13 Sept, 1890, p. 11

[xlviii] The Herald, 20 Sept., 1890, p. 3

The Reverend Turner and the Weslyans

June 10, 2021February 3, 2024 ~ AddieT ~ Leave a comment

If we are lucky, newspapers can very richly paint a picture of interesting times in the lives of our ancestors. Here is a case in point.

Quite soon after the family’s arrival in Hennock, the Reverend John Turner began to make a name for himself in local circles. Just over a year after his arrival, in September 1829, Reverend Turner instigated a complaint against the landlord of the New Inn at Hennock[i], Mr. Samuel Loveys, for keeping the inn open until at least 3 a.m. the night following the local fair day, and for not only keeping a skittle ground, but allowing people to play in it that night.[ii] At the Chudleigh Petty Sessions, Reverend Turner gave evidence that “there was a riotous assemblage of persons dancing therein”.[iii] While it was noted that other neighbours were not disturbed by the revelry, Mr Loveys was nevertheless fined.

A few years later, an ongoing fracas erupted between himself and his son on the one part, and the non-conformists of the parish on the other. In the parish of Hennock, there were many Wesleyans, and for 18 years or so, they had met in a licenced room/meeting house, as they had no chapel of their own. People from neighbouring parishes often came to worship there too.[iv]

In the summer of 1834, tension erupted between the Wesleyans and the Reverend John Turner when Wesleyan preacher, Edward Ford, published an intention to give an open-air sermon at the Cross in the village of Hennock on the evening of the 17^th June. On the evening in question, the Wesleyan minister positioned himself (according to his own account) nearly opposite the Cross, so as to be furthest away from the vicarage as possible. A numerous congregation assembled. They were rather too close to the Vicar’s house, it would seem. The Vicar’s eldest son (presumably John Baily Turner), a young man of 22, began to play on his small brass horn, so loudly that he nearly drowned out the preacher. When asked to forebear his playing, he cheekily replied “shall I?” and continued to blow. This nuisance was shortly followed by a volley of rotten eggs and other missiles. Two men from the assembled crowd knocked on the garden gate and remonstrated with young Turner. His father, the Reverend, then made his appearance and confronted the two men. According to him, one of the men threatened him by saying “if you do not immediately knock that fellow down [pointing to the son] with the stick that is in your hand, you deserve to be posted, and shall be posted tomorrow morning.” The Reverend replied that this was not how he treated his children, and retorted that “perhaps he thinks he has as much right to blow his horn in his father’s yard as you have to gather a rabble around these doors and insult his father. I like not these violent methods.”[v]

After the sermon, Mr Ford and another man came to call on the Vicar, and were invited in. Mr Ford tried to placate him by saying he did not know they were so close to the vicarage, and also mentioned that he knew several clergyman with whom Reverend Turner was acquainted. The Reverend offered them refreshment, and they parted in good terms.

However, a few weeks later, an anonymous paragraph appeared in the local newspaper which was not very complimentary to the Vicar in the altercation (although it did not call him by name). This resulted in an exchange of letters to the editor begun by the Vicar of Hennock and answered by Ford. The Reverend called out the behaviour of the two men who had remonstrated with is son, and said that the description of the eggs and other missiles thrown at the congregation was “a gross misrepresentation,” having only been four or five eggs, which could not possibly have been actually aimed at the visiting preacher, as he could not possibly have been seen from the vicarage garden. Most curiously, he seemed to take umbrage with the statement made in the original article that he had apologised to Mr Ford. He wrote, rather, that “I had naught to apologize for.” Instead, he expressed the sentiment that he was the insulted party.

Edward Ford responded with his own letter, in which he retorted that “the Vicar of Hennock, swollen, and big with self-importance, can see no one but himself as the object of all our movements and proceedings on this visit of mine to the village”. What’s more, he accused the Vicar of wanting to monopolise the souls of the parish. When the Wesleyan minister and his friend were shown into the house, he demanded an apology from the son. The Vicar said to them “well, all I can do, I shall do, which is you know to try to make him feel compunction and to acknowledge his fault to me in private.” Mr Ford believed they had agreed he should try, and get it in writing. But later, the Vicar tried to induce him to give up the point and tried to make out that he was the injured party. Ford accused the Vicar of attempting to degrade the Methodists, who he said just wanted to be left alone to their just rights.

The animosity between the Vicar of Hennock and the Wesleyans did not end there. On the 12 August the same year, a group too large to fit into the meeting house had come to hear the Rev. Paine’s sermon. In order to be heard by those outside as well as those inside, the preacher stood at the door of the meeting house. Shortly after the service began, 10-year-old William Loveys was seen and heard blowing a long tin horn outside the meeting house where the Wesleyans were assembled. A member of the congregation, an army lieutenant on half-pay, Henry Moss, grabbed him by the coat, shook him, and by some accounts, slapped him. Moss was later charged with assaulting the boy. In Court at the Castle of Exeter on the 16^th August, the young boy told the Bench that the horn had been given to him by Henry Turner, a boy about his own age, who told him to blow it, though he did not say to what purpose. The witnesses alleged that the boy had been purposefully sent to disturb the congregation. Henry was, of course, one of Reverend John Turner’s sons.

The Weslyan Chapel, built in 1833. Photo credit Derek Harper, https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/6133685

John Baily Turner, the eldest son, also made an appearance in court in a related case. He was described as “a tall young man, with a formidable pair of mustachios.” According to witnesses, John Baily Turner approached Moss just outside the meeting house with his stick raised menacingly, demanding to know who had taken the horn. Moss admitted he had it, and that the horn was somewhere Turner could not get at, upon which Turner collared Moss and attempted to hit him with the stick. A scuffle broke out, and the stick was taken from Mr Turner, though he did manage to land a blow to Moss’s chest with his fist. In court, Moss testified that he feared if the stick had not been taken from him, Turner would have killed him with the intended blow. Young Turner then allegedly turned to Mr. Lambie, the Constable from Bovey Tracey who happened to be attending the meeting house, and asked for the horn, which was then returned to him. He left, but returned a moment later, seized Moss around the neck from behind him, and was heard to say “he would not be satisfied till he had his [Moss’s] blood, and that he wished his dog had a piece of his throat for his supper.”

After the service, as several people, including Moss, were walking back towards the neighbouring village of Bovey Tracey, Turner caught up with the party and again began hurling insults. He called Moss a coward, liar and thief and told him he would hunt him down like a wild beast. Moss told the court he knew Turner by sight, but was not aware of having done or said anything to offend him before that day. John Baily Turner was charged with assault and using threatening language on Mr. Moss and the Wesleyan congregation. In Court, young Turner was called upon to enter into his own recognizances in £50 and to find two sureties in £25 each, and to keep the peace for 12 months.

Another case was also heard in court in relation to events of that day. A young man by the name of Walling “having the appearance of a farm servant” was charged with throwing a firework near the Chapel yard. John Baily Turner paid his fine, which was seen to imply that Turner had something to do with that event as well.

The matter did not end there, and the local newspapers seemed to pay close attention to any disturbances in the village of Hennock, no matter how small. They reported, for example, that on the Friday night after the return of the parties from Exeter Castle, where the cases had been heard in court, there was a “scene of great uproar” in the village, with men and boys out drunk and rioting, and disturbing the peace nearly the whole night, shouting “victory” and “we’ve gained the day!” The following Sunday, Mrs Mary Ann Davy, who was the main witness against Mr Walling, was insulted in church. One particular newspaper, the Western Times, seems to have taken up a position against the Vicar, and sniped that while the Vicar himself had “set his face against these riots and has done his utmost to restrain all those who come within the sphere of his influence, we hope that every member of his family will adopt the precepts which we feel assured he must have given them” – a statement that seems to be a veiled reference to his son John Baily.[vi]

The question of whether or not there was loud and boisterous behaviour on the Friday night following the court hearing, and whether or not Mrs Davy was or was not insulted in church was not settled so quickly, as letters to the editor went back and forth between supporters of both camps. Joseph Clarke, the school- teacher, wrote that there were no disturbances at all, and if there was some celebration, surely it could be excused, as the friends and family of the child William Loveys would be happy to see the “cowardly assault” on him by Lieutenant Moss punished. As for Mrs Davy, the schoolteacher claimed he had seen no disrespect levelled at her in church.[vii] In response, a Mr Colliver wrote that his “spirit recoils” at the disrespectful manner in which Lieut. Moss was alluded to, and that Mrs Davy was insulted in church by no one less the Vicar’s servant, who “repeatedly looked at her through a quizzing glass, by way of derision,” and that ribbons were insultingly waved at her by girls “no doubt instructed accordingly”. Referring to the Vicar and his family, Mr. Colliver wrote: “there are some men, who become notorious, for no other reason than that they may suddenly start from that obscurity, into which a want of fame, by any meritorious action, has so long driven them. The friends of the vicar would have more effectually shown the sincerity of their zeal in his cause, had they handled the affair in silence, especially as the injured and unoffending party were so merciful towards the aggressors and so disposed to harmony,” and finished with “Why will the Vicar of Hennock’s false friends keep this unpleasant subject alive? The sooner it sleeps, we should imagine, the better.”[viii]

Snippet from The *Western Times*, 6 Sep 1834

Amazingly, the acrimony between the supporters of the Vicar, and those of the Wesleyans, did not die down with the end of summer. In late November, a summons was obtained by Mr. Edward Reed, a Wesleyan, against the Vicar of Hennock, for assault. Furthermore, the case by the Rev. T. Paine against the Vicar’s son, John Baily Turner along with John Lovis and William Walling, for once again disturbing the Wesleyan congregation at Hennock in August, had been taken to the petty sessions. At the Ashburton Petty Sessions, the case of the King v. John Baily Turner and others was heard. The court was crowded, including the presence of several “well-dressed females.” First to be heard was the case against the Vicar, who was, however, not in attendance, as it turned out that the constable had not properly served the summons. The chairman of the Bench, Mr. Langmead, refused to hear the case in the Vicar’s absence. Furthermore, the constable admitted that he knew the Reverend was too ill and confined to home.

The case against John Baily Turner was heard, though he too was absent from court. Again, it appeared that the Constable had not properly served the summons. This drew the complaint from the Wesleyans that the Constable did not seem “overanxious” to do his duty. The facts of the case were laid out, viz. there were three disturbances on the evening of 12 August: the blowing of the horn, the actions of John Baily Turner when attempting to claim the horn back, and the throwing of the firework towards the meeting house. Moss had been convicted of assaulting the Loveys boy, and Walling was convicted of throwing the firework. Rev. Payne had sought a summons against John Baily Turner, but there had been talk of a compromise, by which the young Turner had given a guarantee that as far as he could prevent, no further disturbances would occur, and the charges were dropped. But John Baily Turner then caused Moss to be apprehended and held to bail to answer charges of assault against himself, at which point the Methodists changed their minds and charged John Baily Turner with disturbing the congregation. The bench decided that the matter would be heard further at the next Petty Sessions.[ix]

The Editor of the Western Times announced that on the 22 January at Ashburton, the case of assault was decided against the Reverend John Turner, in absentia. However, no further proceedings were taken, once again to encourage the parties to come to some amicable agreement, outside of court.[x] What shortly followed was another flurry of letters to the editor. The Wesleyans wrote to accuse the Reverend of not being willing to come to some agreement. Not only that, but it appears that the Vicar threatened the newspaper with libel for publishing the proceedings of the petty sessions. Mr Furlong, Rev Turner’s attorney, wrote to Moss and others, asking them to express their regret for the much earlier assault on John Baily Turner and admit they were in error about what he was alleged to have said. This of course they were unwilling to do. Eventually some agreement was reached, but it was alleged that the Vicar and his son then broke those pledges. Furlong sent another letter essentially asking the Wesleyan witnesses to admit perjury as the only condition of reconciliation. Without that, the Turners refused to agree to arbitration.[xi] All this was refuted by Mr Furlong in a letter to the editor, in which he pointed out that the announcement of the decision against Rev Turner was not supposed to be made public by the court for a month, and to point out that the alleged “assault” was merely that “the Vicar had held up a stick to the complainant with his left hand, without making any attempt to strike” – in other words, that the charges were exaggerated or trumped up, and that the editor of the Western Times was too frequently trying to call the attention of the readers to this matter.[xii] The editor of the newspaper wrote a correction of sorts, acknowledging that the decision against Turner had been sealed for a month by the court in order to give an opportunity to the parties to make peace, but that this had given rise to speculation that he had been found guilty. The editor went on to write that this was not merely a case of assault, but the “important principle of religious tolerance” and inferring this was not being practiced by Turner or those close to him.[xiii]

ENDNOTES

[i] I think the Inn is now called the Palk Arms.

[ii] The Western Times, 10 Oct 1829

[iii] The Western Times, 7 Nov 1829

[iv] Extern Flying Post, 21 Aug 1834

[v] The Western Times, 12 Jul 1834

[vi] The Western Times, 23 Aug 1834

[vii] The Western Times, 30 Aug 1834

[viii] The Western Times, 6 Sep 1834

[ix] The Western Times, 6 Dec 1834

[x] The Western Times, 24 Jan 1835

[xi] The Western Times, 24 Jan 1835

[xii] The Western Times, 5 Feb 1835

[xiii] The Western Times, 7 Feb 1835

Rev John Turner and Mary Jane Baily at Hennock, Devonshire

June 6, 2021February 3, 2024 ~ AddieT ~ Leave a comment

The Reverend John Turner finally found a suitable position for his family when he was made the Vicar of Hennock, in Devonshire, in July 1828.

The Village

Hennock is a small village about 600 feet above sea level, overlooking the lovely Teign valley. It is situated just within the bounds of the Dartmoor National Park, and the North Teign river forms the bounds of the parish on the east. The village is about 1 km long, with most houses built along one road. Most houses would have had a wonderful view over the valley. It is believed that there have been people living in the location of Hennock since at least Saxon times, and it was mentioned in the Doomsday Book (1086) as “Hanoch”. The parish of Hennock also included the hamlet of Knighton, and was about 3 miles from Chudleigh, a larger location.

Ordnance Survey 6 inch to 1 mile Old Map (1888-1913) of , Chudleigh Knighton, Devon, United Kingdom

In 1831, a few years after the Turners settled there, the population of Hennock was nearly 750. It was predominantly an agricultural village, with 99 households employed in agriculture. The main crops were wheat, barley and oats, and there was also pasture-land and orchards.

In the 1838 list of Landowners, Occupiers of Land, and Tithes paid, the Reverend John Turner is mentioned 3 times:

As the Occupier (with “others”) of Hazlewood Farm, owned by Sir Laurence V Palk (who owned many properties in the parish)
As the Landowner of the Poor House, whose occupiers were paupers of the parish
And as both owner and occupier of the Glebe (including the “House, Gardens, various meadows and fields and the Church and Yard”)

Mining also took off in the Teign Valley in the 1800s. In 1836, the first large scale mine opened near Henock, though it did not last long. It took off again in the 1850s, after the Turner family had left. However, there would have been more people living the area who were employed in mining.

The Church

The parish church is St. Mary’s. It is considered an “ancient” church, with parts of it dating back to the 12^th century. It is described being in the “Early Perpendicular style”, and consists of a chancel, nave, north and south aisles, south porch, and a tower containing four bells. Within it is an ancient Norman font. For those interested in churches, see the links section below.

St Mary’s Church, Hennock, 1996 c Adelaide Tapper

Reverend’ Turner’s patron was Francis Garrett, Esq., of Ellacombe in Torquay. According to the Tithes Apportionments in 1838, the total tithes raised in the parish were £419, of which £233 was paid to the Vicar, with the remainder going to the Trustees of the Charity Estates of the Corporation of Exeter.

The Vicarage

The vicarage is located near the road leading out of Hennock towards the main road to Chagford. It also had a fine view over the valley and the Haldon Hills. It is a, two-story building in a “U” shape, with a walled garden on its left-hand side. A modern floor-plan shows a number or rooms downstairs, including a dining room, sitting room, large kitchen with a dairy attached, a “snug”, a “studio” and a large storage room. Upstairs are 6 bedrooms and a study. Whether the configuration was the same during the time the Turners lived there is not known. The children would have shared bedrooms, which was not unusual at the time. The building is said to date back to the 13^th century. The house must have been added to over the centuries, as it is described as having three bedrooms dating back to the Tudor period, and two from Regency times. A later, 20^th century resident described it as a house “full of nooks and crannies,” built into a hill, thus having many steps. [1] The roof was thatched, which no doubt attracted many creepy-crawlies.

Modern floor plan of the Vicarage, ground floor, from Savills Real Estate brochure

Modern floor plan of the Vicarage, first floor, from Savills Real Estate brochure

A description of the garden in the mid-20^th century is that it contained an enormous cedar tree housing a family of owls, three acacia trees, and a big bay tree that blocked the front garden path. There was a large, walled vegetable garden, apple trees and a fig tree.

Aerial view of the vicarage at Hennock – from Savills Real Estate brochure

Family life

The last two children, both daughters, were born and baptised in Hennock. Elizabeth Frances Garrett Turner was born 10 April, 1830 in Hennock, and was baptised 8 July by her own father. She was named after his patron, Francis Garrett. Sapphira Phyllis Turner (usually known as Sophie) was born 17 January, 1836, and baptised 16 November, also by her father. Her first name is that of her great-aunt, Sapphira Seymour Baily, and her middle name is the name of her maternal grandmother, Phillis Rooke.

By 1836, Mr and Mrs Turner had 10 children who had survived childhood. The 1841 census only lists 6 of them still living at home. Two had married by then. The eldest, “Baily”, had married and emigrated to Canada. Their second child, Mary, had married and was residing nearby at Chudleigh. And I believe two of the boys (Edward and Alfred) had probably already joined the merchant navy. Alfred would only have been about 15 or 16.

Mrs Turner’s father, Edward Seymour Baily, had the estate of Whiddon House, at Chagford, just over 11 miles away. In some respects, that might have made the parish of Hennock a conveniently-located appointment.

Yet even today Hennock is somewhat out-of-the-way, with steep roads in and out, as I found in 1996 when I visited the village with a friend of mine. We had trouble getting her car up the steep hill out. Back then, with transportation being by foot, horseback, or horse-drawn, it would have been very remote. The Rev. Turner mentioned in a letter written in 1833 that “this village is almost inaccessible to a carriage.”[2]

Of their daughters, only the eldest, Mary, married. With limited financial means, and living in such an out-of-the way village, there may have been little opportunity for the girls to socialise and meet potential spouses.

Links and Sources:

The Village Houses – from the Hennock & Teign Village Chronicle

https://www.hennock.org.uk/hennock_houses.html

Modern photos of Hennock at Geograph website

https://www.geograph.org.uk/of/hennock

“Memories of Hennock” by Primrose Peackock, at the Hennock & Teign Village Chronicle

(who lived in the Vicarage 1942-1953)

https://www.hennock.org.uk/hennock_memories_peacock.html

Savills Exeter, “The Old Vicarage” brochure. Accessed at https://assets.savills.com/properties/GBETRSEXS160211/EXS160211_EXS18001310.PDF

GENUKI: Hennock

https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/DEV/Hennock

“Hennock”, in Lewis, Samuel (1831) A Topographical Dictionary of England, transcribed by Mel Lockie on GENUKI

https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/DEV/Hennock/Lewis1831

“Hennock”, in White, William (1878-79), History, Gazetteer and Directory of the County of Devon, London: Simpkins, Marshall & Co., pl 472-3. Accessed at GENUKI:

https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/DEV/Hennock/Hennock-White1878

Hennock Folklore

https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/DEV/Hennock/Henderson1878

St Mary’s Church History

https://www.hennock.org.uk/church_html/hennock_st_marys_history.html

“Hennock,” Stabb, J. (1908-16). Some Od Devon Churches. London: Simpkin et al, p. 117, transcribed by Michael Steer and accessed at GENUKI https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/DEV/Hennock/StabbHennock

ENDNOTES

[1] Peacock, Primrose, 1954, “Memories of Hennock”, Hennock & Teign Village Chronicle, accessed at https://www.hennock.org.uk/hennock_memories_peacock.html

[2] Letter from John Turner to Mr Lovell, 13 Feb 1833; Foster of Wells, DD\FS/40/4/40-66 Somerset Heritage Archives.

Where the Reverend John Turner and his family lived

May 30, 2021February 3, 2024 ~ AddieT ~ 1 Comment

John Turner was born in Gloucester city, the son of John Turner and Hester Smythe. He was baptised at the parish church of St John the Baptist, on the 8 December 1780.

He attended Trinity College at Oxford University, receiving his B.A. in 1800 and an M.A. in 1804. He chose the church as his career, and was ordained deacon in Lincoln in 1806, and as priest in 1808. It appears that his first posting after being ordained was in the village of Shackerstone, Leicestershire. After his marriage, he and his wife and growing family moved every few years, but still he remained a curate, in search for a more lucrative parish. Below is a description of the parishes, towns and villages where the Reverend John Turner and his family were situated, prior to the final location, Hennock in Devonshire. A later, separate post will be devoted to Hennock.

1808 – Shackerstone, Leicestershire

On the 23 September, 1808, John Turner was appointed the curate in the village of Shackerstone, Leicestershire, with a stipend of £30.[i] This little village, which in the year 1801 had about 431 inhabitants, is located about 108 miles from London, and 14 miles from Leicester city. The Anglican church is named St Peter’s.

In England, he term “curate” was used to describe a lower-level clergyman – either an assistant to the vicar or rector of a parish, or a priest of a parish which did not have a good enough living for a vicar/rector.[ii]

Description of the place:

“SHACKERSTONE, a township and a parish in Market-Bosworth district, Leicester. The township lies 3 miles N W of Market-Bosworth, and 5 W by S of Bagworth r. station; and has a postal pillar-box under Atherstone. Acres, 1,920. Real property, £1,930. Pop., 278. Houses, 62. The parish contains also Odstone hamlet, and comprises 2,653 acres. Pop., 462. Houses, 100. The manor belongs to Earl Howe. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Peterborough. Value, £150. Patron, Earl Howe. The church is old but good. There are an endowed school with £17 a year, and charities £8.”[iii]

This was quite a small village. According to the 1801 census, inhabitants numbered only 431. This little place is located about 108 miles north of London, and 14 miles west of Leicester city.

St Peter’s Church, Shackerstone, Leicestershire. Photo credit: Stephen McKay, Wikipedia – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shackerstone Accessed 22 May 2021

Links:

Leicestershire & Rutland Churches: https://www.leicestershirechurches.co.uk/shackerstone-church-st-peter/

GENUKI: https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/LEI/Shackerstone

Family Search Wiki: https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Shackerstone,_Leicestershire_Genealogy

Parish Chest: https://www.parishchest.com/shackerstone-3763.php

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shackerstone

1811 – at Bathwick, Somerset

On the 18 October, John Turner “of Hatherley House, Gloucestershire” married Mary Jane Baily, in the church of St Mary’s, Bathwick, a “suburb” of Bath.

Mary’s parents, and Mary herself, were frequently at Bath, as were members of Mary’s family.

Description of the place:

“Bathwick is believed to have formed an important part of the old city, and it contains now some of the best streets and most elegant buildings of the modern city, including Sydney-place and Gardens, Laura-place, and Pulteney-street.”[iv] It became part of the Bath urban area in the 18^th century with development of the Pulteney estate and the building of the Pulteney Bridge.

“Saint Mary’s Church, Bathwick. Views of the City of Bath”, by R. Woodroffe, accessed at Rare Old Prints, http://www.rareoldprints.com/p/1822 29 May 2021.

Links:

GENUKI: https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/SOM/Bathwick

Family Search Wiki: https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Bathwick_with_Woolley,_Somerset_Genealogy

Rare Old Prints: http://www.rareoldprints.com/bathprints?openform&iobcat=081%20Bathwick%20Old%20Church%20and%20St.%20Mary%27s%20Church

1813-1815 – Great Marlow, Buckinghamshire

Circa 1813 to 1815, Rev John Turner was possibly curate at Great Marlow. The entry for Great Marlow does not appear yet on the Clergy of the Church of England database, as it is still incomplete. However, we know they were there because their first two children were baptised there, and some archived documents refer to the Rev. John Turner of Great Marlow.

John Baily Turner, the first child of, was born in Devizes, Wiltshire, but baptised at Great Marlow on the 11 Feb 1813. Mary Jane Baily Turner was baptised on the 8^th August 1814.

Description of the place:

“Great Marlow, including the Borough and waste belonging to it, is bounded, on the North, by High and West Wycombe; on the East, by Little Marlow; on the South, by the Thames; and on the West, by the parishes of Medmenham, Hambleden, and Fingest; the whole parish being about four miles and an half long, and three in breadth: and containing, by computation, about 6000 acres; of which, 800 are woodland, 200 meadow, and 4500 arable, divided into about 35 farms; the waste, or common, not exceeding one hundred acres.”[v]

In 1811, according to census data, the population of Great Marlow was 3,965.[vi]

“Buckinghamshire. Great Marlow” Etching by Chalon I I. 1815. accessed at Rare Old Prints
http://www.rareoldprints.com/p/15750 on 23 May 2021.

Great Marlow Church, Bucks”, Rare Old Prints, accessed at http://www.rareoldprints.com/p/13917 23 May 2021.

“Great Marlow, Bucks” drawn, etched and engraved by John Greig, published in *Pennant’s London Illustrated …*, 1805. Accessed http://www.antiqueprints.com/proddetail.php?prod=h0870 23 May 2021

Links:

GENUKI: https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/BKM/GreatMarlow

Family Search Wiki: https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Great_Marlow,_Buckinghamshire_Genealogy

Rare Old Prints: http://www.rareoldprints.com/county/Buckinghamshire?opendocument&town=Marlow

County Views – Buckinghamshire – village and church views

http://www.countyviews.com/bucks/village1.htm#G

http://www.countyviews.com/bucks/church1.htm#G

1815 – 1818 – Crawley, Hampshire

On the 29 March, 1815, Rev John Turner was appointed the curate of Crawley. This appointment brought him a salary of £75 and the fees and the house and garden, offices and 2 acres of glebe.[vii]

Whilst there, the Turners baptised and buried their 3^rd child (and 2^nd son), George Armstrong Turner. He was baptised on the 28 July 1816, and died 27 February 1817.

Possibly their 4^th child (and 3^rd son) Edward Seymour Turner was born at Crawley, on the 22 April, 1818, but he was baptised at St Thomas church in Winchester, Hampshire.

Description of the place:

“CRAWLEY, a parish in the hundred of Upper Buddlesgate, in the county of Southampton, 5 miles N.W. of Winchester, and 3½ from Stockbridge. It contains the chapelry of Hunton, a peculiar in the archdeaconry and diocese of Winchester. The living is a rect* in the diocese of Winchester, value with the curacy of Hunton, £690, in the patronage of the bishop. The church, dedicated to St. Mary, is an ancient structure in the early English style. The charities amount to £1 per annum. There is a school.”[viii]

Parish Church of St. Mary, Crawley, Hampshire, accessed at
http://www.pew-news.hampshire.org.uk/benefice/stmary.htm

Links:

Family Search Wiki: https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Crawley,_Hampshire_Genealogy

British History Online info:

http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/hants/vol3/pp408-413#h3-0003

Hampshire County Records Office

http://www3.hants.gov.uk/archives/catalog.htm

GENUKI: https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/HAM/Crawley

1818 – abt 1823 – Newnham & Little Dean, Gloucestershire

On the 26^th November 1818, the Reverend Turner was instituted Stipendary Curate of Newnham and Little Dean, Gloucestershire. The salary for these two parishes was £70 and surplice fees.[ix]

Whilst here, two further children are born and baptised:

Charlotte Mary, born 31 March and baptised 22 May 1820

Henry Emanual, born 17 Jan and baptised 15 Mar 1822

Description of the place:

“NEWNHAM, a parish, post and market town, in the hundred of Westbury, county Gloucester, 11 miles S.W. of Gloucester, and 114 W. by N. of London. It is a station on the South Wales railway. The town is situated on an eminence overlooking the river Severn, near the ferry where Henry II. received Strongbow after the conquest of Ireland. It is a polling-place and petty sessions town, and returned members to parliament in Edward I.’s time. It was chartered by King John, whose state sword is still kept here, and is now governed by two constables in lieu of a mayor, &c.” [x]

“St Peter’s Church, Newnham” contributed by Alf Beard on Wishful Thinking webpage http://places.wishful-thinking.org.uk/GLS/Newnham/StPeter2.html accessed 23 May 2021.

Links:

Ancestry.com Gloucestershire baptisms, marriages and burials 1538-1813

https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/4732/

Ancestry.com Gloucestershire baptisms, marriages and burials 1813-1913

https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/5066/

Family Search Wiki: https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Newnham,_Gloucestershire_Genealogy

Forest of Dean Family History Trust: https://forest-of-dean.net/joomla/

GENUKI: https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/GLS/Newnham

Gloucestershire Archives

http://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/archives/article/107703/Archives-Homepage

1823 – late 1827 Stoke Damerel, Devonshire

During this period, the family appear to have been living at Stoke Damerel, a part of the town of Devonport. Rev John Turner was busy conducting many of the baptisms for the parish, as can be seen by his signature in the parish registers. He appears to be “officiating minister”, but he does not appear on any lists as a curate or other office there. I searched the baptismal registers from February 1822 until October 1827, and found his signature only from 1823 until late 1824, but none after that. We know that they were there in late 1825 because their son Alfred was baptised there.

Whilst in Devonport, 2 further children were born:

* Emily Hester, born 25 Dec 1823, baptized 28 Jan 1824

*Alfred Rooke, born 29 Nov and baptized 31 Dec 1825

Description of the place:

“STOKE DAMEREL, a parish, in the hundred of ROBOROUGH, Roborough and S. divisions of DEVON; adjoining the borough of Plymouth, and containing 33,820 inhabitants. This parish, which includes Devonport and Morice-Town, is one of the most extensive in the county; the village occupies an elevated site, and comprises several rows of excellent houses, a crescent, and some private mansions of more than ordinary beauty. Among the public structures are, the immense reservoir of the Devonport Water Company, which supplies the government establishments and the neighbourhood in general; the military hospital, a spacious edifice of grey marble, erected in 1797, on the west side of Stonehouse Creek, comprising four large square buildings, of similar size and form, connected by a piazza of forty-one arches; and the Blockhouse, occupying an eminence north of the village, surrounded by a fosse and drawbridge, commanding a most magnificent prospect. On the eastern bank of the Hamoaze is Morice-Town, consisting of four principal streets . . The church is a mean but spacious building, with a low square tower. Two additional churches have been erected; and there are places of worship for Independents, Calvinistic Methodists, and Wesleyans. – See DEVONPORT.” [xi]

“Stoke Damerel Church”, accessed at Rare Old Prints, http://www.rareoldprints.com/p/6152, 30 May 2021

**ALLOM, Thomas, DOCK-YARD & HARBOUR, DEVONPORT.** **1832** Accessed on Ash Rare Books, https://www.ashrare.com/devonport_prints.html, 23 May 2021

**ALLOM, Thomas, [DEVONPORT] ST. MICHAEL’S TERRACE, STOKE DAMAREL, DEVONSHIRE.** 1830
Accessed on Ash Rare Books, https://www.ashrare.com/devonport_prints.html

Links:

Devonport Naval Heritage Centre: https://devonportnhc.wordpress.com/

Family Search Wiki: https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Stoke_Damerel,_Devon_Genealogy

GENUKI: https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/DEV/StokeDamerel

1827 – 1828 – Knaresborough, Yorkshire

On Oct 3, Revered John Turner become the curate of Knaresborough, Yorkshire – quite far away from the usual haunts in southern England. The salary for this appointment was more lucrative, at £150. [xii]

While at Knaresborough, their son Andrew Cheape Turner is born 4 April, and baptized 9 May 1828.

Description of the place:

“KNARESBOROUGH, or Knaresbrough, a market and parish-town, in the lower-division of Claro, liberties of St. Peter and Knaresborough; 5 miles from Ripley, 7 from Boroughbridge and Wetherby, 11 from Hopper Lane Inn, 12 from Ripon, 13 from Otley, 18 from Leeds and York, 24 from Skipton, 201 from London. Market, Wednesday. Fairs, January 13; first Wednesday after March 12; May 6, (unless it falls on a Sunday, then the day following,) first Wednesday after August 12; first Tuesday after October 11; Wednesday after December 10, for horned cattle, ., c. The sheep Fairs are held on the days preceding the first and last Fairs; the Statute days for servants, are on Wednesday before November 2, and Wednesday after. Bankers, Messrs. Harrison and Terrys, draw on Messrs. Willis, Percival, and Co. 79, Lombard Street; Messrs. Coates and Co. draw on Sir James Esdaile, Bart. and Co. 21, Lombard Street. Principal Inns, Crown, Bay Horse, and Old Elephant and Castle. Pop. 5,283. The Church is a vicarage, dedicated to St. John the Baptist (see Churches for photograph), in the deanry of Boroughbridge, diocese of Chester, value, £9. 9s. 4½d. Patron, Lord Rosslyn.” [Description(s) edited from various 19th century sources by Colin Hinson © 2013, on GENUKI: https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/YKS/WRY/Knaresborough/KnaresboroughHistory”

Parish Church and Old Manor House, Waterside, Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, accessed on Pinterest https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/702420873101495515/ 23 May 2021

“Knaresborough, from the Castle”, Accessed at Rare Old Prints, http://www.rareoldprints.com/county/Yorkshire?opendocument&town=Knaresborough
23 May 2021

Links:

Family Search Wiki: https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Knaresborough,_Yorkshire_Genealogy

GENUKI: https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/YKS/WRY/Knaresborough

St John the Baptist’s Church, Knaresborough (GENUKI): https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/YKS/WRY/Knaresborough/PhotoFrames/KnaresboroughStJohnTheBaptist_2

Historic UK: Knaresborough:

https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryMagazine/DestinationsUK/Knaresborough/

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knaresborough

Britain Express: https://www.britainexpress.com/attractions.htm?attraction=2758

Rare Old Prints: http://www.rareoldprints.com/county/Yorkshire?opendocument&town=Knaresborough

Endnotes

[i] Clergy of the Church of England Database, https://theclergydatabase.org.uk/jsp/search/index.jsp Record ID 38566.

[ii] “Hierarchy of the Church of England in the 1820 period (and before)”, at GENUKI, https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/YKS/YRY/YKS/Church accessed 29 May 2021.

[iii] John Marius WILSON‘s “Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales, 1870-72”

[v] The History and Antiquities of the County of Buckingham, by George Lipscomb, 1847

[vi] GENUKI https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/BKM/GreatMarlow accessed 30 May 2021.

[vii] Clergy of the Church of England Database, Record ID 278309.

[ix] Clergy of the Church of England Database, Record ID 142226

[x] The National Gazetteer (1868), accessed at GENUKI.

[xi] Lewis’ Topographical Dictionary of England (1844) accessed on GENUKI.

[xii] Clergy of the Church of England Database, Record IF 195712

Pedigree of Alfred Rooke Turner

May 16, 2021February 3, 2024 ~ AddieT ~ Leave a comment

This is the pedigree of Alfred Rooke Turner. Many of my first blog posts will relate to people on this tree.

The blog posts in the pipeline include the Rev John Turner; the children of the Rev John and Mary Turner; Edward Seymour Baily, Phillis Rooke (the younger), Phillis Rooke, nee Michell; John Baily, and the Chancery case relating to Francis Seymour.

Alfred Rooke Turner

May 14, 2021February 3, 2024 ~ AddieT ~ 1 Comment

Sailor, miner, engineer – or “a riches to rags story”

The stories handed down in the Turner family had it that they were descendants of the Dukes of Somerset and a “Seymour Heiress.” Look out for other blog-posts, which will detail this aspect of the family’s history.

With regards to Alfred specifically, it was said that he was a purser in the Royal Navy who jumped ship to join the Victorian gold rush in the early 1850s, and that after abandoning his wife and family, he died years later in a horse-riding accident near Euroa, in Victoria.

Untangling fact from speculation has been a challenge. Some of the tales turned out to be true – or at least partially true – but some were not.

Alfred was born in Stoke Damerel, Devonport, Devonshire, in November 1825, and baptized on the last day of the year 1825. He was their 8^th child – and fourth son – of the Reverend John Turner and Mary Jane Baily.

John Turner’s family had been bankers in Gloucester, and John attended Cambridge University, after which he was ordained. His career began slowly, as a curate or officiating minister in a number of parishes, mostly in southern England. In 1828, he was at last appoited the vicar of a small, quiet village of Hennock, Devonshire, when Alfred was still a small lad.

Alfred’s mother, Mary Jane Baily, was indeed a descendant of the first Duke of Somerset (though not a direct descendant of any of the other Dukes). Her father, Edward Seymour Baily, was a nephew of the 4^th Earl of Sandwich, and she herself was 3^rd cousin to the 12^th Duke of Somerset. Her grandmother, Mary Baily nee Seymour, was the only daughter of Francis Seymour, a younger brother of the Duke. Francis Seymour had inherited considerable property. Mary’s mother Phillis Baily, nee Rooke, had also inherited money from the Rooke and Michell families. There had indeed been money in the family: upon entering into marriage with Rev. Turner, Mary Jane Baily was worth at least £10,000[1], which is equivalent today to at least half a million dollars[2].

But the Reverend and Mrs Turner had 10 children to provide for: 5 sons to establish in a profession, and 5 daughters to provide dowries for, or an independent income should they choose not to marry. With so many children, the Turners could not afford university for their sons. Furthermore, in those days, if the boys wanted to enter into typical gentleman’s professions, such as the military, a commission had to be purchased for them. Rev. Turner’s own income as vicar was not much, and any expectations he may have had about inheriting from his banker father were for naught when the Turner bank collapsed. So he and his wife had to bring up a large family on the interest earned on Mrs Turner’s inherited property.

At the age of 16, Alfred was apprenticed to the Merchant Navy, (not the Royal Navy as family lore had it). Starting on the 12^th March, 1841, for a term of 5 years, he began by serving under the Master Henry D Blyth on the ship The Union, which appears to have sailed mainly close to English shores.[3] The record of his merchant navy service goes to 1846 but not beyond, indicating he only served the 5 years. The records are patchy, so it is just as possible that he remained in the Merchant Navy as it is that he left. Whether he then served in the Royal Navy is not known, as the navy did not maintain records of sailors who were not officers until after 1853.

Alfred arrives in Victoria

According to family stories, Alfred jumped ship at Melbourne to join the gold diggings in the early 1850s. There are some indexes of ships’ deserters, but Alfred does not appear in any of them. Nor has he been found on any passenger lists (which would not be surprising if he was serving on a ship). Therefore pinning down his movements in the late 1840s and early 1850s has been difficult. A different family story is that he came to Australia with his brother Andrew Cheape Turner. If that is so, his arrival would be closer to 1846, when Andrew arrived in South Australia.

Alfred’s time in the colony of Victoria can definitely be traced to at least 1854. On the 13^th April of that year, in Melbourne, he signed a Power of Attorney to his brother-in-law, John Evans, to receive funds that were his share in the Estate of his great-aunt Ann Rooke. We can also speculate that Alfred was in Melbourne in 1855. An ad placed in the Argus newspaper on the 3 August simply states: “Mr Alfred Rooke Turner is requested to send his address to Messrs De Pass Brothers and Co.” After sending his Power of Attorney, it seems that his family lost touch with him.

Advert in the Melbourne Argus, Fri 3 Aug 1855

Alfred Rooke Turner’s signature on the 1854 Power of Attorney

What his occupation was in the 1850s in not clear. One family story is that he worked on tugboats in Port Philip Bay. He is also possibly the Alfred Turner mentioned on the 1856 Electoral Roll for the state of Victoria, living in Mt. Egerton, occupation “miner”, although his middle name is not provided and could be another Alfred Turner.

A visit to the home country, and a share in the inheritance

Mrs Turner was very keen to help her sons. The terms of the marriage settlement between Rev and Mrs Turner, and the inheritance from her Aunt Ann Rooke, allowed for the sons to have at least some of their portion advanced to them during their mother’s lifetime, to help establish them in professions. Many of the sons struggled to find a sustainable career, and well into their 20s some had remained very dependent on their parents. After much legal advice (and resistance to the idea from Reverend Turner), their eldest son John Baily Turner was provided £500 in 1840 to enable him to emigrate to Canada with his wife’s family[4]. The next son, Henry, was assisted with a similar sum to establish himself as a farmer in 1843[5]. Two other brothers, Edward Seymour Turner (who went to South Africa) and Andrew Cheape Turner (who went to Australia), appear to have both received £1,000, in 1848 and 1849 respectively.[6]

In March 1857, Mary Jane Turner wrote from Prohurst House in Charleville, Ireland (where her son Henry later lived) to the family lawyers in Wells that “my son Alfred (of whom you made enquiries through the De Passes) has come home – quite unexpectedly – surprized us, about a fortnight ago – as I had not heard for nearly two years tho’ he had often written, he has been four years in Australia.” His intention, she said, was to return to Melbourne in April. A few days later, she wrote again to ask if Alfred could have his £1000 as the other sons had – or at least £500. Alfred arranged to meet with the lawyers in Wells on his way to board the ship back to Melbourne. But the matter was not quickly settled. The matter had to be settled through the aid of the lawyers Messieurs De Pass, who corresponded with the Turner family lawyers on his behalf to help arrange the transfer of funds. At one point, the English lawyers must have called into question Alfred’s identity, and Mr E. de Pass commented:

“If the signature of Mr A. R. Turner to those letters of the 2^nd & 17^th September be not a “Forgery” – then is your letter of yesterday both evasive and uncalled for. I knew nothing about Mr Turner’s being in England last spring & certainly do not envy him the position in which he will be placed by your statements. What little I know of the man, I cannot suppose him to be the imposter you make him out.”

It appears that Alfred did not receive the full £1000 as some of his brothers did, but only £500. As I have not yet examined all the legal correspondence, I’m not certain why. Perhaps the explanation comes from a letter from his mother to Andrew in 1872, in which she writes “I am very sorry he did not get the money, the same as you and Edward. I could not help it and as I had lost the interest from Edward, my income was so reduced, I was afraid! I should not be able to live life, I became so involved, my income was so reduced!” Nevertheless, it does appear he received at least half of what he was entitled to.

The letter from his mother to the lawyers in 1857 enlightens us a little bit about what he was occupied in doing in Australia. She mentions “he is engaged in Melbourne in Partnerships with others and is only come home to stay a short time – to see us & carry out some Machinery for wh[ich] he is obliged to go to Glasgow.” She expressed her hopes that he was “in a fair way of realizing an independence” and talks about Alfred being able to pay her a better rate of interest on the money he was to receive than she could get elsewhere. It was a business venture of some sort, though the details are not explained.

Married, or not?

By 1860, Alfred was living with Mary Ann Eliza (nee Lane) in Ararat, where he had taken up gold mining. The birth certificates of several of their children provide marriage dates around April or May of 1856 or 1857, and state that the marriage took place in London. However, no such marriage has been found. The letters between Mrs Mary Jane Turner and the English lawyers written in 1857 also do not mention that he was married. Much later, his marriage was mentioned by Mary Jane Turner when writing to Andrew, who was also living in Victoria. She wrote in August of 1872:

“[I] am particularly anxious to know if he had a letter from me explaining the first news of his marriage. I suppose by the age of the children, he must have been so, when he was with us in England fourteen years ago [circa 1857].” She went on to comment “How much it is to be open about these things, and everything?”

All of this indicates that as of 1857, he was in fact, not married.

Life on the Goldfields

Perhaps Alfred used his £500 to establish himself on the Victorian goldfields at Ararat, and later nearby at Moyston. Despite his mother’s hopes that he would be able to establish himself well in the colony, he was not successful at gold mining. On the contrary, life in Moyston and Ararat would have been hard for the Turner family. The mining camps were muddy, noisy, and disease-ridden. Living standards were poor and scarlet fever was rife. Early in 1871, Alfred met with an accident and was not able to work for 8 months[7]. By August of that year, Alfred voluntarily petitioned for insolvency, with liabilities of £99 17s 6d and assets of only just over £6.[8] A letter from Mary Jane Turner to Andrew, dated circa 1871, says “I am very grieved about him poor dear fellow & hear fr[om] his letter he is in ill health do you not think he c[oul]d get some other employment & leave that dreadful digging wh[ich] never seems to have paid well enough for him to follow”.

Due to the unhealthy conditions in Moyston, Mary Ann and the children removed to Sandhurst (now Bendigo), and Alfred joined them later.[9] The Bendigo Rates books for 1873 show that Alfred Turner, a miner, paid rates to the value of £10 for house owned by the Crown on the corner of Myrtle and Hargreaves Street. By the next year, Alfred owned the house, and continued to be the ratepayer until 1879. As of 1880, he was the ratepayer for a house on Stevenson Street, Bendigo, until the following year, after which he is no longer listed in the Bendigo Rates books. Two of their children were born in Sandhurst. John was born and died there in 1874, and Edward John was born in 1876.

Alfred’s occupation on the Bendigo Rates books, and on his children’s birth certificates, is still listed as a miner. Perhaps in Bendigo he worked for a larger mining concern. For example, the Central Deborah Gold Mine was located just a few blocks from the corner of Myrtle and Hargreaves Streets. But other family stories tell of a brokerage business in Toorak (perhaps his brother’s) and horse breeding. These stories, however, haven’t yet been verified. Another unverified tale is that he got into a fight in which he seriously injured the other person, and may afterwards have been on the run from the police. When this event took place is unclear, nor has any evidence of this been found (yet), such as in the Police Gazettes.

According to family lore, Alfred abandoned the family in 1879 and they never saw him again. It is around this time that Alfred became involved with Margaret Devine, an Irish woman. In 1880, Alfred and Margaret had a daughter who he acknowledged as his, and in 1882, Alfred and Margaret married in Fitzroy. They had another daughter together, Ellen, born in February of 1887. Alfred’s occupation stated on her birth certificate was that of “mining manager.”

It appears that Alfred also left his second wife and children as well, and communication with descendants of this marriage indicates that they did not know what had happened to him either.

An Interesting Venture – The Kinta Alluvial Tin Mining Company

Letters to his brother Andrew from their sisters in England indicate that Alfred had been in England several times in the 1880s on a business venture. One letter dated circa 1886 mentions that one of his sisters saw him off on the P&O, and that he was known to have been in London around Christmastime on another occasion, although he did not make his presence known to them. Another letter dated 1887 asks Andrew if Alfred’s whereabouts are known, as his business partners in London were searching for him. He can also definitely be placed in London in March of 1886, as he was mentioned in a news article about his nephew, Bruce Evans’ suicide, at which time he was residing at Norfolk Street, the Strand.

The business venture, it turns out, was the Kinta Alluvial Tin Company. In early 1886, advertisements were placed in newspapers in London, Australia, and elsewhere announcing the venture. The ads describe Alfred Rooke Turner as a Civil and Mining Engineer. He was one of the directors in the company, and his address was the Kinta Straits Settlement, in Perak, on the Malay Peninsula. A prospectus was issued, and the company formed with capital of £50,000, with shares issued at £1 each.[10] The company was registered on the 20 June, 1886. Alfred was to be entitled to a remuneration of £75 per lunar month so long as he managed the business at Kinta, as well as to “one hundredth part of one-tenth of the net profits as declared by the directors any year.” [11]

It was an impressive amount of capital that was put up for the venture. The plan was to acquire a concession from the Regent of Perak of more than 2,014 acres carry out mining operations, construct public works, and put up telegraph lines.[12] Unfortunately, it appears that “almost nothing else was heard about the company” after its establishment.[13] By 1892, the Kinta Alluvial Tin Company Ltd was struck off the business register and the company was dissolved.[14] What exactly went wrong is uncertain. However, it appears that European mining companies were unable to compete with the Chinese miners, or otherwise it is possible that overheads were too high or management inadequate.[15]

In any case, it seems that Alfred went missing again in 1887, according to the Victorian Police Gazette.[16] He was back in Sydney in May 1887, with an intention to “go west.”

Victoria *Police Gazette* 20 Apr 1887, p 225

Victoria *Police Gazette* 20 May 1887, p. 164

What happened to him over the next few years isn’t known, but what we do know now is that Alfred did not meet with a horse-riding accident, as was believed by the descendants of his children with Mary Lane. His health had often been poor, and by 1892, it was seriously bad. On the 6 October, 1892, he was back in London, and was admitted to the Newington Workhouse[17], where he died 10 days later of phthisis. His name was misspelled on the Admission Register as Alfred Rucks Turner. The register also states that he was born 1825, was a miner, and (oddly) widowed (which was untrue, as both wives were still alive). His death certificate gives his profession as Mining Engineer.

It is sad to think of such a lonely end to his life. He had sisters in London who – one would think – would have helped him had he asked for aid. His mother had said of him in 1857 that he had been “tossed about the world”. Regardless of that, he tried his hand at many things, and saw much of the world.

Endnotes

[1] Based on their lawyers’ letters held at the Somerset County Archives

[2] Currency conversion at the National Archives: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/currency/ ; for an alternative view, see Pounds Sterling to Dollars: Historical Conversion of Currency by Eric Nye, which came up with an estimate closer to $780,000 (US$)

[3] The National Archives of the UK; Kew, Surrey, England; Collection: Registry of Shipping and Seamen: Index of Apprentices; Class: BT 150; Piece Number 4; on Ancestry.com. UK, Apprentices Indentured in Merchant Navy, 1824-1910 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.

[4] Based on their lawyers’ letters held at the Somerset County Archives

[5] Based on their lawyers’ letters held at the Somerset County Archives

[6] Letter from Lovell and Broderip Lawyers undated but presumed to be 1851

[7] According to Paul Gallagher, his leg was crushed in an accident. However, I do not know the source of his information

[8] The Melbourne Leader, Sat 12 Aug 1871, p. 22; The Ararat and Pleasant Creek Advertiser, Friday 4 August, 1871, p.2

[9] Information provided by Paul Gallagher, from his mother Mavis Gallagher, nee Turner’s remembrances

[10] Straits Times Weekly Issue, 8 July 1886, p. 2

[11] Straits Times Weekly Issue, 8 Jul 1886, p. 4

[12] Straits Times Weekly Issue, 8 Jul 1886, p. 4

[13] Khoo, S.N. & Lubis, A-R. (2005). Kinta Valley: Pioneering Malaysias’s Modern Development. Areca Books.

[14] The London Gazette, Issue 26253, 2 Feb, 1892, p. 5550-551

[15] Khoo & Lubis.

[16] Victoria Police Gazette, 20 April, 1887, p. 225; Victoria Police Gazette 20 May, 1887, p. 164

[17] London, England, Workhouse Admission and Discharge Records, 1659-1930, Reference Number: SoBG/111/30; Ancestry.com,: Provo, UT, USA, 2014; Accessed http://www.Ancestry.com 15 Nov 2016