Walter Harrison

The Life of Walter Harrison (1830 - 1888)

By his great-great-great-great-grandson, Oliver Moules

Walter Harrison was born in the early months of 1830, in the village of East Coker, in the south of Somerset. He was the illegitimate son of 25 year old Teresa Harrison. The identity of his biological father is not certain, but it is possible his father was Samuel Douch (1795 - 1843), a gardener. Walter had one older half-sister, Susan Thorn Harrison, who was also illegitimate. In January 1831, when Walter was less than a year old, his mother died at the age of 26. As he was now an orphan, the infant Walter spent the first few years of his life in the care of his widowed grandmother, Margaret Harrison. However, Margaret eventually became infirm and was admitted to the Helyar Almshouse. With no-one to care for him, the young Walter was sent to the nearby town of Yeovil and admitted into the Yeovil Union Workhouse. It was here that Walter would spend the rest of his childhood.

Yeovil Workhouse

Walter's childhood in the workhouse would have been very unpleasant. Workhouse conditions were designed to be worse than the conditions poor people experienced outside the workhouse. This was to discourage people entering them - saving the parish money. As soon as he was able to, Walter would have joined the other men in the workhouse doing manual work - this could have included stone-breaking, wood-cutting or other agricultural labour. Walter's daily meals would have been bread and cheese for breakfast, meat and potatoes for lunch followed by bread and cheese again for supper. During the years Walter lived in the Yeovil Workhouse, it was run by the aptly named Masters family. Francis Masters was the Master of the Workhouse whilst his wife, Susanna Masters, was the Matron.

In his teenage years, Walter had a rebellious streak. In 1845 he was arrested, alongside Samuel Randell and George Eastment, for stealing a loaf of bread from the Workhouse staff. In July 1845 Walter was sent to Wilton Gaol, in Taunton, before his trial. He was described as 4ft 11, with grey eyes, brown hair and a "fresh complexion." After spending a month in the Gaol, Walter was found guilty of larceny (theft of personal property). He was sentenced to three weeks imprisonment and also had the unfortunate experience of being whipped with a Cat o' Nine Tails. Walter was never arrested again in his life after this brush with the law.

Walter's punishment, printed in the newspaper.

In the later 1840s, teenage Walter left the workhouse after being apprenticed to the local blacksmith. Walter would have worked as the blacksmith's striker - whose job it was to use a large sledgehammer in heavy forging operations. Walter completed his apprenticeship and became a full blacksmith around the age of 19. Walter decided to remain in Yeovil after leaving the Workhouse. In 1851 he was living on Kingston Road, Yeovil, and boarding in the household of Francis Hyde, a stone mason.

It was around this time that Walter met Tryphena March. Tryphena had lived in Yeovil all her life, and had been widowed for two years following the death of her husband, Gideon March, in 1849 at age 32. Gideon's death had left Tryphena struggling to support herself and her two young daughters, Rebecca and Mary March. She made some money from sewing gloves, and in 1851 was lodging with her daughters in the household of James Tarrant, on Paradise Street - about one mile away from Walter. Walter and Tryphena married at St John's Church later that year. Walter was 21 and Tryphena was 26.

Walter and Tryphena moved to Belmont Street, in Yeovil. Shortly afterwards Walter gave up his career as a blacksmith and, instead, became a plasterer. Walter and Tryphena had five children, four of which lived to adulthood:

• Theresa Harrison (1852 - 1911)
• Tabitha Harrison (1855 - 26 November 1918)
• Elizabeth Harrison (1856 - 1857)
• Susan Thorne Harrison (1858 - 1898)
• George Harrison (1860 - 1890)

Walter was the head of a large household including his wife, their five children and his two step-daughters. In 1859, Tryphena became ill with tuberculosis. 1861 was a particularly hard year for the family. In January, Walter's 16 year old step-daughter, Rebecca March, gave birth to an illegitimate daughter, Elizabeth March. The baby died in April 1861, age three months. Shortly afterwards, on the 28th of May, Tryphena died at age 36, having suffered from tuberculosis for two years. Walter was at her side when she died. In 1865 Rebecca gave birth to another illegitimate daughter, who she also named Elizabeth. It was around this time that Walter and Rebecca got married. It is possible that Walter was the biological father of one or both of Rebecca's illegitimate daughters - this is not known for certain and likely never will.

After they married, Walter and Rebecca left Belmont and settled on Bond Street, just three minutes away. Walter and Rebecca had a further eight children, but four died as infants and another died at age 11:

• Louisa Harrison (3 May 1869 - 1 September 1915)
• John Harrison (1871 - 1872)
• John Harrison (1871 - 1872)
• Annie Harrison (1873 - 1884)
• John Harrison (1875 - 1948)
• Harry Walter Harrison (1877 - 1877)
• Tryphena Rose Harrison (1879 - 1880)
• Tryphena Rose Harrison (14 November 1882 - 20 January 1965)

The Seven Stars Inn, now
the hair salon Mazzers.

In 1871, the Harrison family were living at the Seven Stars Inn, on Bond Street. Despite continuing to work as a plasterer, Walter also took on the license of the pub for several years. As well as his wife and five of his children, Walter was also living with his nephew, his son-in-law, his apprentice William Giles and two lodgers. William Giles, like Walter, had been in the Yeovil Workhouse, and only left when he became apprenticed to Walter. Later that year, Walter was hired to do some plastering and whitewashing at Yeovil Workhouse - returning there for the first time in over 20 years.

The rest of the 1870s was filled with legal problems for Walter, and he was summoned to court on several occasions. In January 1872 Walter was summoned for not vaccinating his children. He explained that they had been vaccinated, but he "had no idea he had to return the certificate." He was told to do so in future, and made to pay for the costs of the summoning.

In April 1873 Walter came under fire for sending his apprentice, William Giles, to Newfoundland. He had sent William there with a "band of men" to become apprenticed at the fisheries. The court ordered Walter to bring William back by the following week or be punished. It is not known if Walter succeeded in doing so.

On the 22nd of October 1875 Walter was summoned again for not paying the water rates at the Seven Stars. By the time of the summoning this was £3, but Walter had already paid part of it. He was told to pay the rest by a certain date or be punished.

After 1875, Walter decided not to renew his licence at the Seven Stars and the family moved to 22 Vicarage Street, just two minutes away. Walter lived here for the rest of his life. Walter's first grandchild, Alice Harrison, was born in 1880 when he was 50 years old. He would have 31 grandchildren in total, but only 9 of them were born in his lifetime. In his 50s Walter began suffering from chronic respiratory disease - namely asthma and asthenia. This was likely caused by decades of working as a plasterer. Despite his worsening health, Walter continued to work as a plasterer until his final days. He died on the 13th of December 1888, at his home 22 Vicarage Street. He was 58 years old. He was buried at St John's Church - the same church where he had married Tryphena 37 years previously.

Walter Harrison's death certificate

Walter's wife, Rebecca, outlived him by 26 years - she died on the 13th of March 1917, age 73.

Michael Knewstubb

The Life of Michael Knewstubb (1818 - 1879)

By his great-great-great-great-grandson, Oliver Moules

St. Oswald's Church, Ravenstonedale.

Michael Knewstubb was born in the Winter of 1818 in Ravenstonedale, a small village at the foot of the Howgill Fells in Cumbria (then Westmorland). He was the eldest known child of Edward Knewstubb (1785 - 1857) and Margaret Murray, who had married at St Oswald's Church on 30 December 1817. Michael was baptised in the same church on 13 December 1818 and probably named after his late grandfather, Michael Knewstubb (1752 - ?). Michael had four younger brothers: Thomas, Edward, John and James.

Michael's father, Edward, was a prosperous farmer and Michael grew up on the family farm on the outskirts of the village. Michael was taught to read and write but it is not known whether he attended school officially, or was instead taught by his mother. Michael would have assisted his father with "odd-jobs" on the farm from a young age, and started working as a farm labourer for his father full-time at the age of about 12. His father was a successful farmer, and as a result the family were able to employ servants. When Michael was no older than 13 when his mother died - this had a profound effect on him, and he would later name his eldest daughter after her. His father remarried to Mary Harrison (1796 - 1872) shortly after. Through his father's second marriage Michael had three half-siblings: Henry, Elizabeth and Richard.

Newspaper account of the inquest which
appeared in the Kendal Mercury on 5 June 1847.

In 1847, Michael was involved in the untimely death of his friend, Robert Tunstall. On 20 May 1847, after attending Brough Fair together in the nearby village of Brough, Michael and Robert started walking home to Ravenstonedale at roughly 4:30 a.m. Michael had left his horse at the local inn, and when they got there they decided to go in for a quick drink. By the time they left, they were both "intoxicated." As Robert didn't have his own horse, Michael told him to get on his. The horse refused to carry two people and began kicking. About 50 yards from the inn Michael and Robert both fell off the horse. Michael was unhurt but Robert hit the back of his head "with considerable force" and was knocked unconscious. Robert was taken back to the inn and attended by the local doctor. He was returned to his home the next day but never regained consciousness and died 12 days later, age 60. An inquest ruled Robert's death as an "accidental death." It is possible the event deeply effected Michael, as family remembered him for being strictly against drinking alcohol.

Stud Fold Farm in 2010.

At the time of the 1851 census, Michael was living at Sprint Gill cottage, in Ravenstonedale, with his father, step-mother and siblings. He was listed as working as a farm labourer on his father's farm. It was around this time, in the early 1850s, that Michael started training to be a cattle doctor. He began treating the cows of Ravenstonedale and the surrounding area around the year 1854. His main responsibilities would have been tending to sick cows and delivering calves. After the death of his father in 1857, age 72, Michael inherited his land - roughly 45 acres. In 1861 Michael was living at Stud Fold Farm, near Sprint Gill. At age 42 he was still unmarried and living alone except for a 21 year old domestic servant, Mary Kirkhide.

Michael married Jane Hodgson on 12 November 1863, at Ravenstonedale Church. He was 44 years old, and she was 22. Jane was also born and bred in Ravenstonedale, coming from the nearby farm of Dovengill. After their marriage, Michael and Jane continued to live at Stud Fold Farm. They had five daughters together:

• Margaret Knewstubb (5 December 1864 - 5 April 1945)
• Catherine "Kitty" Knewstubb (25 November 1866 - 24 July 1948)
• Mary Ann Knewstubb (1868 - 1941)
• Jane "Jennie" Knewstubb (February 1871 - 31 January 1941)
• Elizabeth Knewstubb (1874 - ?)

In 1871 Michael was still living at Stud Fold Cottage, and was still listed as a "farmer of 45 acres" - this meant had had not bought or sold any land in the previous ten years. As well as his wife and four young daughters, Michael also employed one servant - Elizabeth Fawcett. As well as farming his land, Michael was by now an experienced and skilled cattle surgeon who was respected and well-known in the community and surrounding area for his expertise.

On 11 July 1874 a "public meeting" was held at the Cross Bank Inn to reward Michael. Michael was presented with "a beautifully illuminated address and a purse of 55 guineas" as a token of thanks for his services as a cattle doctor in the community. Michael was described as a "kind neighbour and friend, ever ready to do good." The guineas and address had been collectively paid for by the community to thank Michael for his "great skill and attention as a cattle doctor during a period of upwards of 20 years." Around 1875, the Knewstubb family left Ravenstonedale and settled in the town of Sedbergh, about 10 miles away. At the time, Sedbergh was part of Yorkshire - but it is now also part of Cumbria.

In Sedbergh, Michael's career focused more on being a cattle doctor than a farmer. In the later 1870s his elderly father-in-law, Martin Hodgson, moved in with the Knewstubb family. Martin died on 11 July 1879, age 76. Michael continued working in Sedbergh until he died "very suddenly" exactly five months later on 11 December 1879. He was about 60 years old and may have even died on his 61st birthday.

Michael's sudden death threw his family's future into uncertainty as the family's sole provider was gone. Michael's widow, Jane - just 38 years old and with five daughters age between 15 and 5 - managed to find success as the owner and keeper of a hotel, The Temperance Inn.

Elizabeth Greenman

The Life of Elizabeth Greenman (1834 - 1927)

By her great-great-great-grandson, Oliver Moules

Elizabeth Allen was born in 1834, in the village of Box in Wiltshire. Not much is known about her early life or family. She was baptised in Box on the 22nd of June 1834, and her parents are listed as James and Mary Allen. They were living at "the quarries" in Box, and James was working as a labourer. When Elizabeth was a very young girl, both of her parents died. She was sent away to Bath where she was raised in the workhouse at 12 Walcot Parade, which held roughly 100 orphaned girls. Elizabeth would have had a hard and unpleasant childhood growing up in the workhouse. She was later trained to be a domestic servant, and left the workhouse around the age of 16 to become employed as one.

In 1850, Elizabeth left the workhouse and moved to Bathampton, where she became employed as a servant in the household of John Popham Sainsbury, a wine merchant. Elizabeth was one of three servants, alongside Jane Bowles and Catherine Nickson, who she would have shared sleeping quarters with. Elizabeth's working day was long and tiring: the day would start by Elizabeth fetching clean clothes for the women in the household (Sainsbury's five daughters). Elizabeth would then spend the next few hours cleaning. Once the cleaning was done she would then go around the house and do various jobs such as making the beds and dusting the furniture and various ornaments. Finally, Elizabeth would work together with Jane and Catherine to do the laundry for the whole house. Elizabeth worked in the Sainsbury household for several years before she started courting Henry "Harry" Greenman in the 1860s.

Harry Greenman was a young man from Elizabeth's hometown of Box. Like many living in Box during this period, Harry worked as a quarryman, mining bath stone in the local quarry. He was seven years younger than Elizabeth. Harry and Elizabeth married on the 27th of May 1866, at the St. Thomas a Becket Church in Box. After their wedding, Elizabeth and Harry moved into a house in Boxfields. It was here that they had their seven children:

• George Henry Greenman on the 28th of February 1867
• Kate Elizabeth Greenman on the 30th of April 1868
• Isaac William Greenman on the 26th of October 1869
• Herbert Harry James "John" Greenman on the 24th of January 1872
• Ellen Louisa Greenman in 1874
• Alfred Frank Greenman on the 4th of December 1875
• Emily Caroline Greenman on 1st of January 1877

Elizabeth spent these years as a housewife whilst Harry worked as a quarryman. The Greenmans would often have several of Harry's fellow quarrymen to living with them - at the time of the 1871 census two quarrymen, Job Baker and John Butler, were listed as "lodging" with the Greenmans. Around 1880 the family moved from Boxfields to Woodstock House, a house on Mill Lane in Box. Over the next few years Elizabeth and Harry's eldest children began moving out - with George and Isaac both joining the army in the mid 1880s. Tragedy struck the family in 1886, when Elizabeth's daughter, Ellen, died suddenly when she was only 12 years old.

In the 1890s Elizabeth helped care for Harry's elderly parents, Isaac and Charlotte Greenman, who were both in their 80s. Isaac died in 1895, age 86, and Charlotte died later that year age 82. Elizabeth and Harry's first grandchild, Ellen Amelia Greenman, was born on the 23rd of January 1896 to their son George, when Elizabeth was 61. Elizabeth and Harry would have 20 grandchildren in total, the youngest of which was born when Elizabeth was 86 years old, in 1920.

In the early 1890s Elizabeth and Harry moved from Mill Lane to Washwells. Harry, who by this point had been a quarryman for almost 40 years, became Foreman of the Box quarry around this time. After celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary in 1906, Elizabeth and Harry moved to Henley, where they lived next door to their son Herbert Harry James "John" Greenman. At the time of the 1911 census, Elizabeth and Harry were both in their 70s. Harry had retired from quarrying and instead was working as a general labourer. Their son, John, was living next-door, with his wife Annie Lucy Wootten and their two young children: Arthur William John Greenman and Margaret Lucy Greenman.

Shortly after the 1911 census, Harry began suffering with Alzheimer's disease. As Harry's health deteriorated he was cared for by both Elizabeth and her daughter-in-law Annie Wootten. In May 1913 Harry was diagnosed with "retention of urine." Then, in October, Harry was discovered to have developed gout in his legs. Harry died on the 2nd of November 1913, at the age of 72. After Harry died, Elizabeth became heavily reliant on John and Annie. In 1914 World War I broke out across Europe. John, who was a veteran of The Second Boer War, was called up to fight in WWI as well. Around 1916 or 1917 John was injured in the neck with shrapnel and sent home. Elizabeth lived to see the war end in 1918.

Elizabeth became a great-grandmother for the first time upon the birth of Gwendoline Errington, on the 30th of January 1919, when Elizabeth was 84. Later that year, Elizabeth's daughter, Kate, died at the age of 51. Three years later, John died of cancer at the age of 50. In 1923, Elizabeth was diagnosed with cancer herself - cancer of the esophagus. Due to Elizabeth's advanced age, being 89 years old at the time, it was decided that an operation would be too risky. Instead, Elizabeth just continued to live with the cancer under the care of her widowed daughter-in-law, Annie.

In 1924 Elizabeth celebrated her 90th birthday. Later that year, Annie re-married to Edwin Bow and moved from Henley to Valens Terrace. Elizabeth's advanced age and ongoing health problems meant she could no longer continue to live at Henley alone, so she moved in with her youngest daughter, Emily, who was living on Devizes Road in Box. Elizabeth lived here for the rest of her life. She died in her daughter's house on the 25th of February 1927, age 92. She was buried in Box Cemetery, beside her husband Harry.

Elizabeth's long life spanned the reigns of 4 British monarchs and 32 British Prime Ministers. Many of Elizabeth's descendants also lived long lives - her daughter, Emily, died in 1970 age 93 and her granddaughter Nellie Moules (daughter of John) died in 2010 age 99.

George Bayliss

The Life of George Bayliss (1868 - 1941)

By his great-great-great-grandson, Oliver Moules

George Bayliss was born in the market town of Ledbury, in the east of Herefordshire, on the 27th of April 1868. He was the seventh child of Thomas Bayliss, a 46-year-old boatman who worked on the canal, and his 41-year-old wife Mary Ann Thomas. George had four older brothers and two older sisters, as well as five half-siblings from his mother’s first marriage to William Lane, who died in 1856. George’s younger sister, Ada, was born in 1872 when George was four years old. George grew up in a small cottage next to the Hereford-Gloucester Canal, where his father worked as a boatman transporting goods and people along it on his canal boat. George’s mother died when he was eight years old, and he was raised solely by his father from then on. 

George left school around the age of 12. Immediately after leaving school, George started working as a boatman for his father. In addition to his father, George also worked alongside his older brother Samuel. They worked aboard Thomas’ canal boat, which he had named “Emma.” Their job was to transport timber and coal along the canal, which they would sail from Ledbury to Gloucester every day. 

When George was 21 years old, he decided to leave the boatman trade and instead enlist in the army. He traveled to Hereford, where he enlisted in The Royal Artillery on the 29th of August 1889. He was described as 5ft 9¾ and 154lbs, with light brown hair and grey-coloured eyes. George then traveled 50 miles to Shrewsbury for his medical examination two days later. He was deemed “physically fit” for service, and was officially approved for military service on the 2nd of September 1889. After spending three months training at the Royal Hibernian Military School in Dublin, George was posted to Singapore on the 5th of December.

George during his time in India.

At this time, Singapore was a British Crown Colony. The Colonial Government’s ineffectiveness in controlling the growing population of Singapore resulted in the society becoming lawless and chaotic. This had paved the way for several Chinese criminal “secret societies” to become extremely powerful, and wars between rival factions of these societies resulted in hundreds of deaths. The British governor, Sir Cecil Clementi Smith, had began clamping down on these societies in 1889 – so it is likely George spent his time in Singapore doing this. Smith’s plan was somewhat successful, and the secret societies were driven underground. George returned home to England on the 11th of April 1891. 

Whilst back home, George returned to his job as a labourer. A year later, he was called up again and was posted to India, arriving on the 22nd of September 1892. George spent the next five years in India. On the 28th of November 1895 he was promoted to the rank of Lance Bombardier, but on the 14th of December he was demoted back to the rank of Gunner at his own request. George returned home on the 19th of March 1897. 

Upon his return to the UK, George moved from Herefordshire to Wales. It is likely he went to Wales for work. He settled in the village of Williamstown, in the Rhondda Valley, where he found work as a coal miner. Not long after, George met Sarah Jane Walters who had lived there for several years. Four months later, on the 17th of July 1897, George and Sarah got married. George and Sarah lived at 8 Rowling Street, in Williamstown, with Sarah’s parents William and Lizzie, and her brother Thomas. 

George and Sarah’s first child, Alice Maud Bayliss, was born on the 11th of April 1898 – 16 days before George’s 30th birthday. They had a son, Trevor Thomas Bayliss, in 1899 but Trevor died at the age of 1. On the 11th of October 1899, The Second Boer War broke out in South Africa between Britain and The Boers. In January 1900 George was called up to fight in the war. George and his regiment set sail for South Africa board The Cestrian and arrived on the 10th of January 1900. As part of the “14th King’s Hussars” regiment, George fought in the Siege of Kimberley, where British forces defended the town of Kimberley from attacking Boer forces. The war ended with a British victory on the 31st of May 1902. George returned home to Williamstown on the 18th of August, where he returned to his previous job as a coal miner.

George in the military in later life - either
The Boer War or World War I.

Upon returning from the war, George and Sarah moved out of Sarah’s parents’ house and into their own house 12 doors down, at 20 Rowlings Street. Over the next few years, George and Sarah had four more children: William Henry “Bill” Bayliss in 1902 and twins Elsie Maud Bayliss and Allen George Bayliss in 1904. Allen died shortly after his birth, and Elsie died at the age of one. George’s children Maud and Bill were the only ones to survive to adulthood. George and Sarah also lived with George’s friend Alfred Brimble, who worked alongside George in the coal mine.

George was possibly involved in the infamous Tonypandy Riots of 1910. The riot started after a series of strikes by coal miners in South Wales over their wages - George may have been among the coal miners who was striking. The strike eventually turned into a riot where shops and houses of the mine owners were attacked. In response Winston Churchill, who was Home Secretary at the time, ordered the military to go and stop the strikers. Over 500 miners were injured and at least one was known to have been killed. Several strikers were sent to jail, which resulted in another protest where up to 10,000 miners marched in their support. Many in South Wales were very resentful towards Churchill for his actions against the miners - many living in South Wales still hold this grudge today. George and his family also held animosity towards Churchill for this event. A few years later, the Bayliss family moved to 16 Davies Street, in Williamstown.

On the 28th of July 1914, World War I erupted throughout Europe. He signed up to the army on the 3rd of September 1914, in Porth. He was described as 5ft 12, 148lbs and with grey eyes and brown hair. George was posted to France in January 1916 and helped man the artillery guns until October. He was recalled to Harfleur, in France, where he was deemed “physically unfit for service”, discharged and sent home. He was found to be suffering from myalgia, which is pain in the muscles caused by a combination of old age and trench fever. George returned home on the 25th of October 1916. The war ended two years later, in 1918.

Around 1920, George met Tom Franklin. Tom was also a veteran of World War I, and originally from the village of Box, in Wiltshire. Tom had come to Williamstown after the war to work in the coal mines, following his brother who had done the same thing. George and Tom worked together in the coal mines, so it is likely that it was through George that Tom met George’s daughter Maud. Tom and Maud got married on the 26th of March 1921. They had four children: Violet in 1921, Bill in 1924, Dennis in 1927 and Nancy in 1933. In the late 1930s, Tom and Maud moved their family back to Tom’s hometown of Box. George and Sarah’s son, Bill Bayliss, also went with them. George and Sarah then moved into a new house, 51 Cornwall Road. It is known that George had a close relationship with his granddaughter, Violet.

In the late 1930s, Sarah became hospitalised in Llwynypia Hospital, about 2 miles away. She died there on the 16th of October 1939, age 64. This left George a widower. He lived alone at his house in Williamstown from then on. Although by this time he was retired, George received a pension from the army for his service in the Boer War and World War I. George died in his house on the 7th of November 1941, age 73. His daughter, Maud, died three months later at the age of just 43. George was buried beside his wife in Williamstown. His son, Bill, never married or had children and lived until 1975.

George’s first great-grandchild, Christine Maud Stenner, was born in 1944, 2.5 years after George died.

Jacob Franklin

The Life of Jacob Franklin (1826 - 1915)

By his great-great-great-great-grandson, Oliver Moules

Jacob Franklin III was born on the 2nd of April 1826, in Westwells, Corsham, Wiltshire. Jacob's parents were Jacob Franklin Jr. and Elizabeth Norris. Jacob Franklin Jr was a 40-year old labourer and retired member of the Royal Navy, who may have fought in the Napoleonic Wars which had ended 13 years earlier. Jacob spent his childhood growing up in Westwells with his large family. Jacob had two older brothers: Jonathan Franklin, who was four years older, and John Franklin who was one year older. Following Jacob were five younger siblings: William in 1828, Sarah Jane in 1832, Marianne in 1834, Mark in 1839 and finally Julia in 1840.

Jacob arrested at age 15 for destroying a fence.

Jacob did not attend school and started work at an early age. From the age of around 12, he began working as a labourer alongside his father and older brothers. He may have been among the many labourers who helped construct the nearby Box Tunnel, which opened in 1841. At age 15, later in 1841, Jacob got in trouble with the law for the first of many times in his life. In December, Jacob and his childhood friend and neighbour, James Tinson, were found guilty of "willfully destroying a line fence to the garden of Thomas Jones." Jacob and James were both sentenced to one month each in prison. After being released from prison in early 1842, Jacob returned to working as a labourer.


At some point over the next few years, Jacob became engaged to Sarah Barnett. Sarah was also from Corsham, having been born at Pound Pill, and her father worked alongside Jacob as a labourer. They married on 11 November 1844, at St. Bartholomew's Church in Corsham. Jacob was 18 years old and Sarah was 17. After the wedding, Jacob and Sarah moved to Greenhill. At this time in Corsham, the completion of Box Tunnel had caused underground quarrying in the area to flourish, due to the new way to transport the cut stone and ease of access to the quarry. As a result, many local labourers - including Jacob - began working as quarrymen.

Jacob and Sarah's first son, William, was born on 16 October 1845 when Jacob was 19. Over the next few years they had several more children: George Franklin in 1849, Thomas Franklin in 1850, Ann Elizabeth Franklin who died as a baby in 1852, and another Ann Franklin in 1853. Shortly after Jacob's 27th birthday in 1853, his mother was diagnosed with Typhus fever. She died three weeks later, on 29 April 1853, when she was 54 years old. Jacob and Sarah's next daughter, Elizabeth Franklin, was born in 1856 and named in honour of Jacob's mother.

1859 was a particularly hard year for Jacob. The year started with the sudden death of his wife, Sarah. She died on 20 January 1859 of valvular heart disease, and was only 31 years old. Jacob was now a 32 year old widower with four young children. Just a few months after Sarah died, Jacob became engaged again to Sarah Neate. Sarah Neate was from Atworth, and 12 years younger than Jacob. Jacob and Sarah married in Atworth on 24 October 1859. However, just days before their wedding, Jacob was struck by another family tragedy when his younger brother, Mark, was killed in the Quarry at the age of 22.

After getting married, Jacob, Sarah, and Jacob's five children moved from Corsham to the nearby village of Box, so Jacob could work in the Box Freestone Quarry. Jacob also adopted Sarah's three year old daughter, Elizabeth Neate, who had been born out of wedlock. Jacob and Sarah had several children over the next decade: Sarah in 1862, John in 1864, Henry in 1866, Rosina in 1868, Lily in 1870 and Alice in 1872.

In 1873, Jacob suffered a sad family tragedy. On Sunday, 16 November 1873, Jacob's 9 year old son John was playing near the edge of a disused quarry at Box Hill. John lost his footing and fell 12 feet into the quarry - a large piece of the ceiling then fell onto him and crushed his arm "very badly." John's 7 year old brother, Henry, ran home to get Jacob. Upon reaching the quarry, Jacob found his son "crushed under a large mass of stone of some two tons weight." Despite this, John was still alive. Jacob managed to rescue his son and John was taken to the Royal United Hospital, in Bath. Due to his injuries, John's arm had to be amputated. Whilst in hospital John developed a fever, and he died the next evening. An inquest was held into John's sad death. It was ruled as an "accidental death", and it was found that "there was a number of disused quarries in [Box] in a dangerous condition." The jury asked the coroner to communicate with "the responsible parties" to make them safer.

In 1874, Jacob was arrested again for assaulting George Greening - the keeper of The Bear Inn, in Box. On the evening of the 31st of January 1874, Jacob came into The Bear with Sarah and one of their children, and went into the taproom. About ten minutes later, George heard a woman scream and ran into the taproom to find Jacob beating Sarah with a leather strap. As soon as George tried to stop him, Jacob reportedly said he would "serve you the same" and punched George in the face. Some of George's friends then rushed forward and threw Jacob out of the building. Jacob refused to leave and remained outside offering "to fight anyone." Jacob was fined £1 (worth about £62 in modern money). At the time, Jacob was dealing with his son's tragic death less than two months before - which could explain his behaviour here.

Jacob and Sarah had one more child in Box, Emma Franklin in 1875, before relocating to the nearby village of Colerne. Jacob took up a new job as a farm labourer on Widdenham Farm, where he worked alongside several of his sons. Jacob and Sarah's youngest child, Ellen, was born in 1879 when Jacob was 53. In 1881 Jacob was briefly put out of work after injuring himself. On 3 September 1881, Jacob tripped and fell over whilst getting over a stile at Colerne. He was taken to The Royal United Hospital, in Bath, the next morning suffering from a contused back which healed after a few weeks. It wasn't long after that Jacob and Sarah moved back to Box, and Jacob returned to his job in the Quarry. The settled on Box Hill, where Jacob's eldest son, William, lived with his family.

By this time in his life, Jacob had enough experience and skill as a quarryman to become a ganger (self-employed foreman), who employed his own team of quarrymen. In December 1882, Jacob signed a contract with R.J. Marsh and Co. to work for them for 12 months. However, by the 31st of March 1883, Jacob "gave out" and refused to complete the contract. He was summoned to court, and said his reasoning for not fulfilling the contract was that he "could not go on without help because the stone turned out bad." Jacob was made to pay £3 9s 8d to R.J. Marsh and Co, which is now worth about £230. In 1889, Jacob's son George died at the age of 40. Three of Jacob's siblings, Jonathan, John and Sarah Jane, all died in 1895. Jacob's last surviving sibling, Marianne, died in 1904 age 70.

Jacob continued to work in the Quarry well into old age. At the time of the 1901 census, Jacob was still listed as working as a "stone quarryman" despite being days away from his 75th birthday. On 26 October 1901, two days after Jacob and Sarah's 42nd Wedding Anniversary, Jacob's eldest son, William, died age 56. William's widow, Elizabeth Jane "Bessie" Franklin, later remarried to Henry John "Jack" Simpkins - whose mother was Jacob's step-daughter Elizabeth Neate.

Jacob retired at some point over the next few years. In 1905 Jacob was widowed again when Sarah died age 67. They had been married for 48 years. After Sarah died, Jacob lived alone on Box Hill.

In 1908, the 82-year old Jacob was taken to court yet again after another assault: on 25 July 1908, Jacob supposedly "assaulted" a little girl called Elsie Hancock. Elsie lived at The Quarryman's Arms pub, which was run by her family, and on 25 July Jacob went there and had a pint of beer. Elsie's mother, Sarah Hancock, left Jacob and Elsie alone in the taproom whilst she cleaned the bar. She then hear a noise which sounded like Elsie, and upon entering the taproom found Jacob "behaving improperly towards the child" with his hand over her mouth. Jacob denied the charge of assault, and during the trial seemed confused and "apparently did not know what had taken place." Investigators found that he was a respectable person. He was fined £5 and ordered to have good behaviour for 12 months. The judge also advised Jacob's family to "keep him under some restraint" due to his advanced age. Shortly afterwards Jacob moved in with his daughter Emma, and her family. He was found to be suffering from dementia, and remained in her care for the rest of his life.

Jacob lived long enough to see the start of World War I on 28 July 1914. Several of Jacob's grandsons fought in the war: William James Franklin and Henry John Tom Franklin both served in the army, whilst Jacob James Franklin and Percy George Franklin served in the Royal Navy. On 10 December 1915, Jacob's eldest grandson, William James Franklin, died in Gallipoli of frostbite whilst fighting in the war. Exactly one week later, on 17 December 1915, Jacob died at the age of 89 of "senile decay" - what would now be described as dementia.

Jacob's death certificate

Jacob was survived by 10 of his 13 children, 46 of his 62 grandchildren and 21 great-grandchildren.