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.