Simon Thomas DOWN

Notes:

Birth:
GRO ref: DOWN, Simon Thomas q3 1876 Tavistock RD 5b 351; GRO online index shows mother's maiden name as Justhan

Died:
GRO ref: Down, Simon Thomas q1 1882 aged 5 Tavistock RD 5b 268

Other Events:

• Occupation: 1871; Coal miner

Notes:

On the same pages of the marr register is the marr of a George P Down (to Louisa Edwards). The 1871 census shows another George Down boarding with John and Esther and their son George. The boarder was aged 18, b Tavistock, unm, coal miner; no relationship given.

2 likely John Down's born Tavistock in the 1861 census: one aged 17, one aged 19, both unm, living with parents, both copper miners. (A job which could have been the cause of John's early death). I have not attempted to work out which is the right one.

Birth:
(birthplace acc to 1871 census)

Died:
GRO ref: Down, John q3 1878 aged 33 Tavistock RD 5b 233

John married Hester Elizabeth JUSTHAM on Sep Q 1866 in Tavistock Reg Dist, Devon, England. Hester (daughter of James JUSTHAM and Charlotte Augusta THOMAS) was born on Jun Q 1847 in Whitchurch, Devon, England; died on Dec Q 1925 in Tavistock Reg Dist, Devon, England. [Family Group Page] [Family Chart]

Other Events:

• Education: 1851; Scholar
• Occupation: 1861; General Servant
• Occupation: 1881; Laundress

Notes:

Helen on BMD index (birth), Esther on BMD when mar in 1866 and on 1871, 1881 and 1891 censuses (Hester Elizabeth on BMD for 2nd marr ...)

The family were living in Cramlington, Northumberland at the the time of the 1871 census

Birth:
GRO ref: JUSTHAM, Hester Elizabeth q2 1847 Tavistock RD 9 477; GRO online index shows mother's maiden name as Thomas
(birthplace Tavistock according to the 1871 census, Horrabridge according to the 1891)

Died:
GRO ref: Down, Elizabeth E q4 1925 aged 78 Tavistock RD 5b 438; GRO online index shows middle name as Esther

Notes:

Married:
GRO Ref: JUSTHAM, Esther E to Down, John q3 1866 Tavistock RD 5B 656

Other Events:

• Occupation: From 1841 to 1891; Tailor

Notes:

Living at Datterbrook, Whitchurch in 1841 (as Gustham, in same house as miner John Thomas & family)
Living at Plymouth Old Road, Horrabridge in 1851
Living at Pepper St, Tavistock in 1861 with wife, s SRT, d ST, d HE, s LT, James, Wm and Issick
Living at 72 West Street, Tavistock in 1871 with Charlotte and sons James, William, Isaac and Albert, and g.son Frederick (several other households had same address)
Living with Charlotte and son Albert in 1881 at 72 West Street, Tavistock living in Higher Market Street, Tavistock in 1891 Living in Tavistock 1901

Birth:
source: 1851 census; 24 in 1841c

Baptised:
PR entry shows "James Jetsome", son of John and Elizabeth

Occupation:
From censuses (1891 shows not epmr or empee), and when son Simon was baptized in 1842

Died:
GRO ref: JUSTHAM, James q4 1907 aged 87 Tavistock RD 5b 212

James married Charlotte Augusta THOMAS on 31 May 1841 in The Parish Church, Stoke Damerel, Devon, England. Charlotte (daughter of ? and Susannah) was born about 1820 in (possibly), Horrabridge, Devon, England; died on Mar Q 1895 in Tavistock, Devon, England. [Family Group Page] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Birth:
Date from age in censuses and death registration index.
Place N.K. ['Not Known'] (1861); Horrabridge (1871)

Died:
GRO ref: Justham, Charlotte, aged 74 q1 1895 Tavistock RD 5B 345

Notes:

Married:
GRO ref: TRISTRAM [sic], James to THOMAS, Charlotte q2 1841 Stoke Damerel RD 9 508
Details from PR entry (image on FMP, viewed 24 Nov 2018)
Clearly a mis-transcription by the time the index was made as the PR entry clearly shows James's surname as Justham.

Banns of marriage:
From PR entry. Since the marriage did not occur at this time, it seems it may have been prevented. Charlotte was a minor - perhaps her parents did not consent.

Other Events:

• Miscellaneous: 16 May 1812, Buckland Monachorum, Devon, England; Killed his brother-in-law, Oliver Palmer
• Occupation: From 1839 to 1866, Milton Combe, Buckland Monachorum, Devon, England; Tailor
• Residence: From 1841 to 1866, Milton Combe, Buckland Monachorum, Devon, England

Notes:

(Research):The help of the tree of Mark Hamilton is acknowledged in getting started on this part of my ancestry. 
I have now verified most of it, made a few corrections and expanded it.

Birth:
Shown as aged 56 in the 1851 census, i.e. born 1794 or 5

Baptised:
PR entry shows "John Jetsome", son of Richard and Alice

Miscellaneous:

John's family

The eighth child of his parents, John had just one brother who died in infancy when John was a baby. Of his six older sisters, 3 also died before John was born or when he was a baby. So he grew up with 3 older and 2 younger sisters, and the older being some years older two of them married in 1807, when John was just twelve.
Five years on and John was uncle to at least 3 nieces (daughters of his sister Prudence) and one nephew (son of his sister Grace). He might have enjoyed playing with them, though that probably appealed more to his sisters.
One might have hoped that his brothers-in-law, William Binney and Oliver Palmer made up for his own lack of brothers, and would have provided role models for him to look up to.

The killing

But for some reason, one awful day in 1812, on 16th May to be precise, John took a potato axe and killed Oliver.
The burial register describes Oliver as "murder'd with a potatoe ax by his br in law John Jetsome a lad 17 years of age".
Hamilton-Leggett provides more detail (primary source not give): "He struck and beat Oliver Palmer on the back of the head causing rupture of the blood vessels of the brain. .. Oliver died the next day".
Soon after the crime was committed John was arrested, to be subsequently tried at the Exeter Assizes in July that year.
Having been arrested , the parish accounts show it cost the parish £1 13s 9d for "Expenses in taking up John Judson and keeping him in Custody on a Charge of Murdering Oliver Palmer". But Buckland Monachorum being some 35 miles from Exeter, taking the direct route across the middle of Dartmoor, whilst taking little over an hour now, the journey to the Assizes was a longish one back in 1812. The "Expence in Attending the prosecution of John Jutson", which would probably have included board and loding, amounted to a further £12 13s 7d for the parish to find.

Trial and sentence

Treman's Exeter Flying post of 16th July records, under the heading "Exeter, Wednesday, July 15" that "The Assizes for the county of Devon will commence at the Castle of this city, on Monday next [20 July], before Sir Alan Chambre, knight, and Sir Robert Graham, knight, when the following prisoners are to be tried, viz. - ... John Jutson, charged with the wilful murder of Oliver Palmer; ...".
On the 23rd the Exeter Flying Post did not list John amongst those who, up to the 2nd, had been tried, but we can see the list of sentences past a week later.
If he had been found guilty one would have expected his fate to have been the gallows, but he was found guilty not of murder, but manslaughter, and sentenced to just one month's imprionment.
Hamilton-Leggett includes more information, recording that the sentence was "convicted of manslaughter John Jetsome is fined 1s. and imprisoned in the Common Gaol for one calendar month and further until the said fine be paid."

In gaol

I'm not sure if having been in custody for a couple of months before being sentenced he would have been imprisoned for a further month or whether the sentence would be considered to have been performed. If he was imprisoned in the County Gaol, it would have been the one built to a design by the important prison designer William Blackburn in the 1790s, which held about 100 prisoners. [Exeter memories website]
  

What price a life?

This was by far the most lenient sentence passed at that Assizes session, no others receiving less than 6 months imprisonment, even Susannah Jewell, sentenced for stealing potatoes. Five found guilty of stealing, and one of assault and robbery, were sentenced to death, only 2 being reprieved.
  I hope that there are records which will provide more background information but at the moment I can only speculate about this. The burial register seems so certain that this was a wilful murder, and the Coroner's Jury gave their verdict that it was "done by a Blow made on the head of Palmer by Jutson with a Potato mattock", but the sentence was so light that one wonders if there were attenuating circumstances, or was it simply a lack of evidence that led to John only being convicted of manslaughter.
If the conviction of manslaughter was due to it being believed that John had intended to harm but not kill Oliver then surely a more severe sentence would have been handed out for the assault?
If it looked like murder but the only witness other than John was dead then there would have been no one to say if he appeared intent on killing, lashed out in anger or even self-defence, or was merely throwing the mattock to Oliver for him to use and didn't mean to hit him at all?
If John was felt by the local community to have been guilty and escaped justice due to a lack of evidence one might have expected him to have felt a need to move away, but he remained in the parish for the rest of his life, marrying 2 years after the incident and bringing up a family of 13 children in the village of Milton Combe. Since he made his living working as a tailor he can't have lived shunned by the community. Maybe Oliver was a violent man and John was intending to punish him. The truth has probably not been recorded and cannot now be discovered, but it would be interesting to know more, and I will search for additional details (and would welcome then from anyone who had discovered extra particulars).

The widow's fate

If he had escaped lightly, it appears his sister didn't. Having lost her husband, and with three young children (aged about 4 years, 3 years and a few months) one might imagine Prudence receiving comfort and support from her parents and siblings, even if the presence of John may have made this difficult. However, she also needed financial support, and on marriage her legal place of settlement, where she was entitled to this support, would have changed from being that received at birth from her father to wherever Oliver's was. And so she was removed from her home for her 27 years from birth, the place where her parents and siblings lived, to a community of strangers.

The weapon

Claimed as deodand!  

Occupation:
(1839 - dau Mary's marr cert, 1841c, 1851c, dth cert in 1866)
Milton [Milton Combe] shown in the 1841 and 1851 censuses

Residence:
John was clearly living in Milton Combe at the time of the 1841 and 1851 censuses, and at his death in 1866; his wife had also died there in 1864. I'm sure he must have been there in 1861 but most of the census returns for Milton Combe are missing for that year (there is one page at the end of ennumeration district 7b with about 2 households and that's it)
In 1841 he was with his wife Elizabeth and children Grace, Allice, Isaac, Ann and Agness, with the surname spelt as "Gustham". Also with the family was 10 yr old Edwin Hollock.

Died:
Died of disease of the heart, many years, anasarca, 1 month.
GRO ref: JUSTHEM, John q1 1866 aged 75 Tavistock RD 5b 318

John married Elisabeth OLIVER on 20 Apr 1814 in St. Andrew’s Church, Whitchurch, Devon, England. Elisabeth (daughter of Elizabeth OLIVER) was born about 1794 in Whitchurch, Devon, England; was christened on 10 Aug 1794 in St. Andrew’s Church, Whitchurch, Devon, England; died on 3 Aug 1864 in Milton Combe, Buckland Monachorum, Devon, England; was buried on 7 Aug 1864 in St. Andrew’s Church, Buckland Monachorum, Devon, England. [Family Group Page] [Family Chart]

Other Events:

• Alt. Baptism: 18 Jul 1795, St. Eustachius’ Church, Tavistock, Devon, England

Notes:

No other Olivers in 1851 census b Whitchurch, but quite a few Milton Abbot and Beerferris

Birth:
Was Elizabeth the Betty bapt in Whitchurch in 1794 or the Elizabeth bapt in Tavistock in 1795? Since most other records show her as Elizabeth the Tavistock might be considered a "better fit", but the censuses show her birthplace as Whitchurch suggesting she is the one baptised there. Whitchurch adjoins Tavistock, so it would be quite likely some children born in Whitchurch were baptised in Tavistock, though!
Age given as 56 in the 1851 census suggests born between 31st March 1794 and 30th March 1795; this too suggests the Whitchurch baptism is the correct one though a 3.5 mth gap between birth and baptism would not be unusual!

Baptised:
Betty, dau of Elizabeth, base born.

Alt. Baptism:
I think this is prob the Elizabeth Oliver who marr Humphrey Spiller in Tavistock in 1817. Her age as given in census entries suggest she too was born 1794 or 5. But her birthplace is consistently given as Tavistock, while that of my ancestor is consistently given as Whitchurch.

Died:
GRO ref: Justham, Elizabeth q3 1864 Tavistock Reg Dist 5b 230; GRO online index shows age at death as 61

Her death certificate shows Elizabeth's death was registered by one "Elias Floyd", present at the death, abode Buckland Monachorum. I can find no such person in Devon, but there were several Elizabeth Floyds, including (at the time of the 1871 census) one living in Clearbrook, in Buckland Monachorum parish. She made her mark so would probably not have realised that the registrar had written Elias - or the original may have shown Eliza and have been mis-transcribed as Elias (I have a GRO copy).

If it was, as seems to me probable, Elizabeth Floyd, then she would have been aged about 64, born Buckfastleigh, so probably not a relation, just someone who was able to sit with / nurse a dying woman? Not quite a neighbour - Clearbrook is about 2.5 miles from Milton Combe.

Notes:

Married:
From PR entry (image on FMP, viewed 24 Nov 2018)
Shows John Justham of Buckland Monachorum, Elizabeth Oliver otp, married by Banns, John signed, Elizabeth made her mark, witnesses Richard Justham made his mark, Nicholas Symons signed.

? married Susannah. Susannah was born about 1800 in North Lew, Devon, England; died after 1851. [Family Group Page] [Family Chart]

Other Events:

• Occupation: 1851; Laundress

Notes:

This is a GUESS - Susannah was living next door to James & Charlotte in 1851

Other Events:

• Occupation: Tailor
• Apprentice: From 1765, Buckland Monachorum, Devon, England; Apprenticed to Thomas Whitbourn
• Residence: 1826, Milton Combe, Buckland Monachorum, Devon, England

Notes:

Birth:
(assumed from baptism)

Baptised:
PR entry shows "Richard Pike Jutsham", base born son of Elizabeth

Occupation:
From the marriage certificate of his daughter Prudence (1839 marriage)

Apprentice:
The account of the disbursements of the Overseers of the Poor of Buckland Monachorum for the year 1765 includes the following entry:
"Richard Pike Jutsham for 2 Yds. & ½
of Cloth for A Cot of Briches at 2^sh - 6^d p[er] y^d - 0 6 3
for 3 yd & ½ of strips for A vest at 1^s 6^d p[er] y^d - 1 10½
for Making ^ same Canvast thread & Inkel - 0 4 9
Bottns 1 dozen 6^d & a dozen & ½ of Small Botton 1½^d - 0 0 7½
for A pare of Hose - 0 0 5
for A Hat - 0 1 3
for A Pare of Indenters for Jutsham - 0 4 0
P^d to Tho: Witeborn for his Aprintice - 3 0 0
for A pare of Shoes - 0 3 0

[total] 4-2-2"

A seperate entry in the accounts the same year reads "for Attening to Tavistock to bind apprintice 0 1 6". Pauper apprenticeships were agreed before a J.P. Usually the child was bound to the master until they were 21, and the master agreed to teach them a trade and to provide clothing, board and lodging etc. Most commonly boys were apprenticed to learn farm work, and became ag labs, girls to learn housework. Presumably Thomas Whitbourn was a tailor, as later records shows Richard to have been one. A skilled trade, this would seem to have been preferable to being an ag lab, at least in Richard's time.

Residence:
At the time of his death

Died:
(assumed from burial)

Richard married Alice NUTE on 5 Nov 1780 in St. Constantine’s Church, Milton Abbot, Devon, England. Alice (daughter of John NUTE and Elizabeth) was born about 1758 in Milton Abbot, Devon, England; was christened on 21 Aug 1758 in St. Constantine’s Church, Milton Abbot, Devon, England; died on 18 Oct 1838 in Buckland Monachorum, Devon, England. [Family Group Page] [Family Chart]

Notes:

(Research):I had the surname Merrifield for Alice from another tree. Now I have found her marriage I have found she was Alice Nute. I don't know whether the other researcher knew more than I do (maybe Alice was a widow) or less (and had assumed the surname from the middle name given to their first child). For the moment I am assuming she was a spinster; while the register doesn't show, it usually would show if a person were a widow(er).
It would appear that both Nute and Merrifield were family surnames.

Birth:
Abt 1758 based on age being given as 80 at registration of her death, and baptism in Milton Abbot (where she was 'of' when she married), there being a baptism of an Alice Nute there in that very year. Birthplace assumed.

Baptised:
From PR entry (image on FMP, viewed 30 Aug 2012):
Under heading "Baptised An^o: Domⁱ: 1758" - "Alice daughter of John & Elizabeth Nute"

Died:
GRO ref: Jetson, Alice q4 1838 Tavistock RD 9 309

The death was registered by one John Hennick, described as "occupier", rather than "present at death" or a relatioship (and I have not come across any links to Hennicks). This seems to imply that he was the occupier of the house in which Alice died. I suspect he was the John Hennick shown as an ag lab, living in Exeter Street, Tavistock in 1841 in the house of another ag lab and his family. In Buckland Monachorum Alice may well have been housekeeper for John, in this way acquiring a home after she had been widowed (over 12 years before her death).

Notes:

Married:
From PR entry (image on FMP, viewed 30 Aug 2012):
Richard Pike Jetsham, of Buckland Monachorum, made his mark; Alice Nute, otp, made her mark; witnesses John Gill and Benjamin Martin (both signed)

Banns of marriage:
Shows Richard Pike Jetsam as sojourner of Milton Abbot parish, in contrast to the marriage part of the register entry which shows him as of Buckland Monachorum. He may have stayed in the parish so the banns only needed to be called there and not in both churches - a way of saving money.

Notes:

Birth:
Date a guess based on date of son's birth
* His name is juat a guess too * - I think it is likely that he was called Richard Pike and that his son was named after him.

A Richard PIKE was bapt in Plymouth in 1724 - could this have been Richard Pike JUSTHAM's father? Elizabeth's parents seem to have moved from Buckland Monachorum to Stoke Damerel when she was a baby; she could well have become pregnant in the Plymouth area. I suspect the Justhams (her paternal line) would have acquired settlement rights in Buckland Monachroum, but her father may well have not qualified to acquire it in Stoke Damerel. As a pregnant and single girl, Stoke Damerel would have been keen to remove her to Buckland Monachorum, not just because of the liklihood she would need support, but because her child being illegitimate would acquire a right of settlement whereever he was born,

Richard married Elizabeth JUSTHAM. Elizabeth (daughter of Stephen JUSTHAM and Thomasina NORTHMORE) was born in 1739 in Buckland Monachorum, Devon, England; was christened on 12 Jun 1739 in St. Andrew’s Church, Buckland Monachorum, Devon, England; died about Jan 1815 in Buckland Monachorum, Devon, England; was buried on 4 Feb 1815 in St. Andrew’s Church, Buckland Monachorum, Devon, England. [Family Group Page] [Family Chart]

Other Events:

• Miscellaneous: 1747, Stoke Damerel, Devon, England; Orphaned
• Residence: 1815, Lillipit, Buckland Monachorum, Devon, England

Notes:

Birth:
(assumed from baptism)

Baptised:
PR entry shows "Elizabeth Jutson", dau of Stephen and Thomasin

Miscellaneous:
When she was aged just about 8 Elizabeth lost both of her parents, one dying in May, the other in June. One of her 6 siblings had died the previous year, the others (if still living) were aged from 1 to 15.

I wonder what happened to the family?

Residence:
Elizabeth was living in this hamlet at the time of her death

Died:
(assumed from burial)

Buried:
From DFHS index of PR entries (on FMP, viewed 1 May 2013)

Shows Elizabeth Merrifield, of Lillipeek [Lillipit] - just south of Milton Combe, Milton being where Elizabeth's son died (and may have spent his working life) and where her grandson and possibly most of her family lived.
Crucially, the burial entry shows her as aged 76, i.e. suggesting she was born about 1738-9, and so tying in with the age suggested by her baptism.

Notes:

Relationship:
The overseers accounts for Buckland Monachorum show payments made to care for Elizabeth and her son, but there is no evidence of trying to establish who the father of her child was, nor of forcing a father to support his son.

Notes:

Birth:
date from baptism register, place assumed from place of baptism

Baptised:
From GENUKI - data transcribed from PRs

John also had a first cousin John, baptised in Marystow in 1712.
I think this John was probably my ancestor due to the names he gave his children, i.e. his first daughter Joan (like this John's mother) and after naming 2 sons after himself, the first having died, he named a son Stephen, like his father.
However, this John would have been about 38 when his first child that I know of was baptised - unusually late, the John bapt 1712 would have married aged about 25, a more common age, and I know that John's parents moved to Milton Abbot where my ancestor John lived (not very significant, given how close the 2 parishes are).

Died:
(assumed from burial)

Buried:
From PR entry (image on FMP, viewed 30 Aug 2012):
Under 1772 "Aug^st. 24^th: John Newte Sen^r:"

John married Elizabeth est 1737. Elizabeth was born between 1708 and 1720; died in May 1794 in Dunterton, Devon, England; was buried on 27 May 1794 in All Saints’ Church, Dunterton, Devon, England. [Family Group Page] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Birth:
Estimate based on date of baptisms of children

Died:
(assumed from burial)

Buried:
An Elizabeth was buried without a comment in the PR (dau of, wife of, widow or whatever) in Milton Abbot in 1762. I did think it was probably this Elizabeth but have now found a widow Elizabeth of Milton was buried in Dunterton in 1794. At that time this Elizabeth's daughter Grace and her family were living in Dunterton; I suspect that Elizabeth was living with her daughter in her old age. She was a pauper at the time of her death, so there may be entries in an overseers accounts book referring to payments for her support.
This Elizabeth's husband had been born Marystow but had lived much of his life in Milton Abbot - had he (and so Elizabeth) acquired a right of settlement there? His father was also from Marystow but his grandfather probably born Lewtrenchard - had any one acquired a right to be settled in Marystow? Is there a settlement examination? - worth looking, though a quick look at A2A suggests there is very limited survival of these records in the relevant parishes.

Notes:

Married:
Based on date of baptism of first child
Although FMP haven't indexed Marystow marrs (at the time of writing), Dartmoor Press data has all Marystow marriages 1654-1753 and it isn't there, so it looks like it wasn't in Marystow.