Peerless Powditch's
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Chapter 5
JAMES - The Trinity Man.
 "Peerless Powditchs"Vol.3 Norfolk Vacated |
Born on 24 September 1797, the year that saw mutinies in the Royal Navy at
both Spithead and the Nore (following which, conditions began to improve
for the sailor), James entered the world, first born son to Wells - himself a
Mariner - and Mary.
Although little (to date) is known of James' early years, we do know that he
was baptised on 12 November 1798 - just over a year after his birth and
that at the age of 24 years and 7 months, he married Bridget (otherwise
known as Biddy) Metcalfe, in St. Nicholas' Church, on 5 May 1822
Before their wedding, Banns were called, and no objections being raised,
James and Biddy were married by Rev, Hill. Witnesses to their marriage
were Robert Metcalfe, Sarah Ann Metcalfe and Mary Ann Powditch.
Both James and Biddy signed the Register.
Was James indentured to learn a Trade? Confirmation - or otherwise is
currently not to hand, although at several periods in his life he has been
recorded as being in various occupations - all directly involved with the
sea.
For instance, at the birth of James and Biddy's first child - Robert (named
after Biddy's father?) in 1822, James' occupation in the St. Nicholas
Baptism Register, is given as "Sailor" - and he is still recorded as
"Sailor" four years later at James (junr)'s birth, in 1826.
Four children and 15 years later, James - now a "Mariner" is found living at
Lugger (or Logger) Yard, Wells, with his wife, Biddy, and children Robert,
James, Sarah, Thomas, Jemima and Wells. In this record - being namely
the 1841 Census, all are stated as having been "born in Norfolk", and their
nearest (rounded down) ages are given as - James (40); Biddy (40);
Robert (15); James (13): Sarah (9); Thomas (7); Jemima (4) and
Wells (1).
Perhaps James had learnt a trade though, in the Trinity House service,
for between 1841 and 1849, at a period when trains and the railway system
were in their infancy; when tall ships with full-blown sails were common,
and steamships were a rarity; when the only sights in the air were our still
familiar birds; when roads were mostly unmade, and tolls were taken at the
turnpikes - James, either on his own (to be followed later by his family?),
or possibly, all together - travelled from the East coast of England (Wells-
next-the-Sea), to the village of Milford Steynton, near Milford Haven, (now
in Dyfed, but then in Pembrokeshire), South Wales. His occupation at
this time? - well, according to his Death Certificate (1855), James was by
this time the Chief Light Keeper, Trinity Service.
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Between 1800 and 1830, Trinity House established Lighthouses and
Floating Lights around the coasts of England and Wales. Later years
saw more building, particularly after the tragedy at. the "Smalls" Lighthouse
- when, in 1800 during terrible winter storms, the two lighthouse keepers
were cut off for around four months. Relief ships couldn't get near the rocks
to rescue the men, although one ship, reported having seen a man waving
a distress flag. The light kept shining out every night from the lighthouse,
but when eventually a relief ship managed to get someone ashore, they
found that one of the keepers had gone quite mad, and the other keeper
had been dead for some time. Following this incident, Trinity House thought
it more prudent to employ three keepers per lighthouse.
That James is recorded as being "Chief Light Keeper" (on his Death
certificate), may show that he achieved this position either by experience,
or from his age, thus giving seniority. Either way, it was an area that until
his death, and also until his children moved away, was to be the home and
last resting place of a man so far from home.
However, before James and Biddy left Wells-next-the-Sea, the years
following their marriage saw the birth of;-
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N.B. Of all the above children, Wells is the only birth to be recorded in the
old Somerset. House (now St. Catherine's House) Registers - at which
point, his name has been registered as being -
WELLS KENDLE POWDITCH
Having made reference to Somerset House/St. Catherine's House, above,
and as at the end of the Volume there is a list of Births, Marriages and
Deaths (as recorded in the St. Catherine's Registers,) I feel that the
following information may be of assistance.
Until July 1837 Parish Registers are the main source of local and
countrywide information available for compiling the family history. From
July 1837 however, National registration began, at which point it was
compulsory to register with the local Registrar, all Births, Marriages, and
Deaths. Failure to do so resulted in a heavy fine, or imprisonment -
although either "threat" was a sufficient deterrent, in the majority of cases,
to ensure that all necessary details were given to the local Registrar within
30 days of the "event" having taken place.
Thus it is, that when Powditch's moved away, first from Wells-next-the-Sea,
and later, from other towns/districts, t he main index of St. Catherine's House,
lists the Registration District of the respective Birth/Marriage/Death, and we
are able to discover from the records (together with a bit of detective work)
that the James born and married at Wells-next-the-Sea (according to the
Pre-1837 Church Registers), is the same James that died in the
Haverfordwest District, in 1855 !
Previous researchers when working in a particular district have been quick
to suggest that "missing" Powditch's have "drowned at sea". However,
mobility was one of the family traits, and besides trading at, and between,
various ports along the east coast of Britain, jobs (or occupations) have,
at times, led to "strange shores". In which case, just because "William"
was born and/or married at Wells, it doesn't mean to say that he lived there
until he died - for his death may have occurred over a hundred miles away
from his birthplace.
But now to return to the family history;
Due to there still being a few unsolved "gaps" in my research details, I am
uncertain as to when James and Biddy set out for Milford Steynton, or in
fact, who went with, them. I am however able to make a few suggestions,
which fortunately are backed up by positive documentation, and thus may
"jog" a memory or two, regarding "reminiscences" handed down over the
years.
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As previously shown, at the 1841 Census in Wells, James and Biddy were
at home with all of their children, The ages stated are "rounded-down"
figures;- thus a 44 year old is recorded as 40; a 17 year old as 15, and so
on, Children's ages, for those under 15 years old, were supposed to be
recorded exactly - although "cross-checks" against baptisms, etc in Parish
Registers, suggests that this requirement was not always maintained.
For the purposes of this example, I have shown below, the family "at home"
on Census day, together with their stated ages, their actual age, their year
of birth, and their age in 1849.
Robert, as can be seen, was the eldest child of the family. The 1841
Census regrettably doesn't state the occupations of the sons/daughters -
only the Head of the family. All we know about Robert therefore, is his
Census age of 15 (although in reality he was aged 19).
Somewhere and sometime, Robert married. Where and when, we don't
know - it may even have occurred outside the St. Catherine's jurisdiction
of England and Wales. His first child however was born in the district of
Poplar, London, in 1847. (Marjorie Stein, who is descended from Robert,
relates the family tradition that Robert was indentured at Blackwalls,
London, which could explain his presence in Poplar)
James, the second eldest child (Census age 13; actual age 15) married
Elizabeth (ever afterwards known as Betsy) Rumbles, at Wells, on
May 18th, 1848. Their first child - Sarah Ann - was born at the end of
1848/beginning of 1849, at Wells-next-the-Sea, and their second child,
James Thomas, was born in the Registration district of Haverfordwest,
West Wales, in 1850.
So, James junior had gone to South-West Wales with his wife and daughter,
and had had a child born there too. His father (James senior) was there
already - as we have already seen - and as we shall discover later, so,
at various times, was James (snr)'s brother Thomas, and Thomas' son,
Samuel. Whether their wives, plus all their children, went with them is
difficult to assess until more details are available.
In 1853, some 3 years later, James (jnr)'s 3rd child was born at Cardiff,
South Wales - and as will be seen in a later Chapter, remained there until
his death many years later.
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In the meantime, Sarah (=Sarah Ann), James (snr)'s eldest daughter, having
moved with her father to Milford Steynton, married Thomas James in the
Registration district of Haverfordwest in 1854. Sarah Ann (in later years)
appears to have lived at the same address as her father, though whether
Sarah and her husband lived with her father, or whether James lived with
his daughter remains to be seen.
Thomas, who was aged between 7 and 8 at the time of the 1841 Census,
remained in the area of Wells-next-the-Sea, at least up to the time of his
marriage there in 1857.
Like his eldest brother, employment in the docks of London beckoned to
twenty-four year old Thomas, and he followed Robert to Poplar, where, not
long after his and his wife's arrival, their first child - James Thomas Bell
Powditch - was born, in the late spring of 1858.
Due to Thomas' arrival at Poplar around the year 1858, I am inclined to
believe (though not proved to date), that two children - Mary Jane
(born 1861), and Elizabeth Catherine (born 1869) - were Thomas' and his
wife's, offspring (see Chapter 10, for further details).
One wonders however, what happened to this young family, after 1869, for
after this year there is no further mention of Thomas's children, in any of the
St. Catherine's Registers - which cover England and Wales. There is a
possibility, however, that Thomas re-married in the Liverpool District, on
7 May 1879.
There are many unanswered questions relating to James and Biddy's
interesting family. Why did James (snr) go so far to a Trinity House post
when there were lighthouses/floating lights much nearer Wells-next-the-
Sea? Why did so many Powditch's (fathers/sons) go to the Milford
Steynton area in the 1840's? Were Biddy, Jemima and Wells living at
Milford Steynton at the time of James (snr)'s death? Was there any
correspondence between any members of the family, particularly those
living in London/Norfolk?
Biddy must have moved from Milford Steynton at some time after James'
death, for her own death in 1866, at the age of 67, is recorded in the
Registration district of Hackney, London.
Wells married in the Registration district of Poplar, London, in 1867, and
Jemima married in the Registration district of Hackney, London, in 1869.
But unlike novels which could find opportunity for an ending here, our
characters become more real, as their respective lives unfold before us.
Before we learn about the children of James and Biddy, we must return to
the children of Wells and Mary (nee Vincent), and discover the link with
South Wales and Suffolk.
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