Fay Sampson’s Family History
This site is a work-in-progress. There is a massive amount to cover. I have included both male and female lines, and some go back 30 generations. Keep coming back for more.
I have numbered the generations working backwards from my own as (1)
WILLIAM BRETT/BRITT was born in the late 1750s or early 1760s. In the 1851 census his birthplace is said to be ‘Marsfield’. This must be Maresfield in East Sussex. It is only three miles from Buxted, where William was living at the time of his wedding.
His age is given in the 1841 census as 80. Since ages were rounded down to the nearest 5, he could have been anything from 80 to 84, giving him a birth date of 1756-61. In the 1851 census, he is said to be 91, narrowing it down to 1759-60. But workhouse records are not always entirely reliable. So this would be the end of George II’s reign, or the start of George III’s.
We do know the date of William’s baptism, nor do we yet have online access to the Maresfield registers. There was a baptism for William Britt on 9 Sep 1759 in Ninfield in Sussex. He was the son of Samuel and Mary Britt. But this is16 miles from Maresfield, and unlikely to be the right family. The fact that his baptism does not appear elsewhere in the area strengthens the likelihood that he was indeed baptised in Maresfield.
Maresfield lies in the High Weald, on the southern edge of Ashdown Forest. It was a largely agricultural village, but with a previous history of iron-working.
We have just three records that link the Brett surname to Maresfield.
Baptism. West Hoathly.
1753 Sep 7 John son of John and Hannah Brett of Maresfield.
Removal Order from Hartfield.
1771 Feb 4. John Brett, Higler, his wife Hannah Brett (née Wing) and children Hannah (14 years), George (12 years), Mary (3 years) and an unbaptised daughter (4 months) to Maresfield.
A higler is a hawker or pedlar. Hartfield is 7 miles north of Maresfield.
In those days, everyone had a parish of settlement, usually their birthplace, or where they had lived for some time. If they fell on hard times, it was the duty of the Overseers of the Poor of that parish to provide relief. Clearly, the Overseers of Hatfield were denying responsibility for the family, and sending them back to their own parish. William is not among them, but, if he is their son, he could have left home, perhaps to work on a farm.
Burial. St Bartholomew, Maresfield.
1779 Dec 19 John Brett
There is a good chance that this is William’s family, but we cannot be sure until we see the Maresfield registers. There may have been another Brett family in the village.
In mid-life, we find William as a poulterer, later as a blacksmith, and in old age as an agricultural labourer. We do not know how he started his working life, or what his occupation was when he married.
He moved many times. At the time of his marriage he was living in Buxted, just east of Maresfield.
There had evidently been Bretts here before him. There is a Brett Lane in Buxted and a Britt’s Farm. The latter was occupied by another William Britt in 1827.
Despite being resident in Buxted, William married in Ticehurst, which is 13 miles east. Since he raised his first children there, he had probably moved before the wedding, but not been there long enough for it to become his parish of settlement. It would have been in Ticehurst that he met Jane.
JANE TICEHURST. Jane’s baptism has not been found either. She was living in Ticehurst at the time of her marriage in 1791, but was not baptised there.
The coincidence of her surname matching the place of her wedding is not a mistranscription. She signed her name Jane Ticehurst. Ticehurst is not only the name of a village, but a common surname in the area.
There was a baptism for Jane Tyschurst in 1771 in Worth, Sussex, but this is a long way west of Ticehurst, and unlikely to be the right one.
Marriage. Ticehurst.
1791 Apr 4 William Britt of the parish of Buxted in the County of Sussex and Jane Ticehurst spinster of this parish were married in the Church by Banns.
William makes his mark +, while Jane signs her name in very small writing.
Witnesses: Dan Wagham, Frances Tandy.
Brett and Britt are alternative spellings. Brett is much more common than Britt. Since William was illiterate, he would not have know the difference.
The couple had three children baptised in Ticehurst.
Baptisms. Ticehurst. East Sussex
1792 Aug 24 Elizabeth
1795 Sep 7 Jane
1797 Dec 3 George
Elizabeth, born in Ticehurst, was married in Deal, Kent, in 1822. Before arriving in Deal, the family had moved several times.
We find them next in Hernhill, 6 m NW of Canterbury.
Burial. Hernhill.
1800 Jan 8. George Brett.
The register does not say whether this is a child or an adult, but it may be the George who was born in Ticehurst.
Baptisms. Hernhill.
1802 Apr 4 James
James was buried on 30 Jun 1802, aged 2 months.
On 6 Mar 1804 there is the burial of Hannah Britt aged 7 months. Her baptism has not been found. Seven months later, another Hannah was baptised.
1804 21 Oct Hannah
1806 14 Dec Robert
Then in Canterbury:
Baptism. St Mary, Northgate
1808 23 Oct John
Baptisms in Deal for William and Jane Brett begin in 1810.
Baptisms. Deal.
1810 4 Feb at Deal St Leonards, Susanna
1813 Sep 26 at Deal St George Sarah. The family were living at West Street, Lower Deal. William Brett was a poulterer. None of the other baptisms state his occupation.
On 16 May 1814, 9-month-old Sarah Brett was buried. The family had moved to Duke Street, Lower Deal.
St George was chapel of ease for the lower part of Deal. Sarah’s baptism was transcribed into the register of the parish church of St Leonards in the upper part of the town.
These baptisms form a plausible sequence, but cover a wide area. However, we know from the censuses that Elizabeth moved from Ticehurst to Deal, a distance of over forty miles, so the family may have made other large moves in the interim.
Sometime between 1813 and 1841, William seems to have worked for a blacksmith.
In the 1841 census there are a William and Jane Brett living in Deal
1841 Census. Mill Road, Deal
William Brett 80 Ag Y (born in Kent)
Jane Brett 70 Y
Emma Cox 5 Y
Ages of adults were rounded down to the nearest 5. William could have been 80-84, and Jane 70-74. Both were said to be born in Kent. The parish of Ticehurst is now in East Sussex, but was then in Kent. William’s birthplace is more problematic. Maresfield and Buxted are well within Sussex.
The occupation of agricultural labourer is a quite a step down from poulterer, but in old age people often suffered a loss of economic status. If William’s business had failed, or if he lost his employment, he would have had to take whatever work was available. One of the notices of his death also said that he was formerly a blacksmith. This range of occupations suggests that he was not a specialist in any of them, but probably assisted in an unskilled capacity.
We do not know who Emma Cox was. We might expect her to be a grandchild, but we have no information about her baptism.
Jane did not live to see the 1851 census, which would have told us her birthplace.
Burial. Deal.
1850 Feb 3 Jane Brett. Upper Deal. 74.
This gives her a birth date of 1775-6.
It was unusual for people to live into their nineties. But the 1851 census shows 91-year-old William Brett living in the Eastry Union Workhouse on the night of the 30th March.
1851 Census. Union Workhouse, Eastry
William Brett Pauper U 91 Ag Labourer Marsfield, Sussex
Many of the inmates are said to be unmarried, but the older ones would in most cases be widowed. William’s age, and the fact that he was born in Maresfield, close to Buxted, identifies him as Elizabeth’s father.
William must by now have been too old and infirm to support himself as a labourer. The 1782 Poor Relief Act (Gilbert’s Act) stated “That no Person shall be sent to such Poor House or Houses, except such as are become indigent by old Age, Sickness, or Infirmities, and are unable to acquire a Maintenance by their Labour; and except such Orphan Children as shall be sent thither by Order of the Guardian or Guardians of the Poor, with the Approbation of the Visitor; and except such Children as shall necessarily go with their Mothers thither for Sustenance.”[2]
Eastry Union was formed by amalgamating a number of smaller parish workhouses. A new workhouse was built on the south side of Mill Lane in Eastry in 1835-6. In 1836, Deal was among a new group of parishes joining the Union. Its workhouse had been much larger than the others.[3]
“Once inside the workhouse, an inmate’s only possessions were their uniform and the bed they had in the large dormitory. Beds were simply constructed with a wooden or iron-frame, and could be as little as two feet across. Bedding, in the 1830s and 1840s at least, was generally a mattress and cover, both filled with straw, although blankets and sheets were later introduced. Bed-sharing, particularly amongst children, was common although it became prohibited for adult paupers.”
An example of workhouse rules can be seen in those of Aylesbury.
William Brett died in the workhouse on 13 Feb 1855. He had reached the surprising age of 95. His address is given as Eastry Union.
The Rules appended to Gilbert’s Act stated that “when any Person shall die in the House, the Governor shall take Care that the Body of such Person be immediately removed into some separate Apartment, and be decently buried, as soon as conveniently may be; and also take Care of the Cloaths and Goods of such Person, and deliver them to the Guardian of the Poor of the Parish or Place to which such Person did belong, who is to pay the Charges of the Funeral of such poor Person.”
Richard’s body was taken back to Deal, to be buried with Jane.
Burial. St Leonard’s, Deal.
1855 Feb 17 William Brett. Eastry Union. 95.
The fact that he died in the workhouse was glossed over by the death notice in the Kentish Gazette, which was probably submitted by one of his children.
Kentish Gazette. 20 Feb 1855
Feb 13 at Upper Deal, Mr William Brett, at an advanced age.
Upper Deal was the address given for Jane at her burial.
Clearly, the informant did not know William’s exact age. The ages of old people given at their burial are frequently inaccurate.
The Dover Telegraph adds an intriguing extra detail.
The Dover Telegraph and Cinque Ports Advertiser. 17 Feb 1855.
Feb 13, at Upper Deal, Mr William Brett, formerly a blacksmith, at an advanced age.
There can be no doubt from the date that this is the same William Brett who died in the workhouse at Eastry in February 1855. The 1851 census for Deal and the surrounding area shows no other William Brett of a comparable age.
Since William appears elsewhere as a poulterer and an agricultural labourer, it is very unlikely that he was a master blacksmith, but he may have worked for one. It seems to be another case where whichever of his children posted this notice was trying to put a more flattering gloss on his life than the facts warranted.
[1] www.workhouses. org.uk
[2] www.workhouses.org.uk
[3] www.workhouses.org.uk
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