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.