Home History of Rode People Waite, Walker & West

Waite, Walker & West

Waite Family Tree

Based on Rode parish, Rode Baptist and Tellisford �parish registers (rpr, rbr, tpr), censuses (cen) and birth, marriage and death certificates (cert)

m 1790 Tellisford tpr

John = Mary

WAITE │ MUNDY

d 1804 rpr │

������������� �����������������������������������������������

������������ │������������������������������������������� │� m 1814 rpr������������������������� │�������������������� ������������ │������������������������������������������� │� m1820 rpr���

��������� Mary����������������������������������� John snr �� =�� Elizabeth�������� Nathaniel�������������� �� John Shrapnal���������������������������� William��� =��� Jemima

���� bp 1792 tpr���������������������������� b 1795 cen������ WALKER������ bp1797 rpr������������� ����� bp1799 rpr���������������������������� bp1801 rpr������ WALKER

��������������������������������������������������� bp 1794 tpr │�������������������������������������������������������� �������������������������������������

������������������������ ���������������������������������������������� │

������������� �������������������������������������������������������� │

������������� �������������� ��������������� ������������� �����������

������������� ?�� m <1840�������������������������� │�������������������� │��������������������� ?�������������������� ?������������� ?��������������������� │������������������� │�������������������� │

������� John jnr�� =��� Elizabeth������ Nathaniel������������ Lois���������������� Ann������������� Louisa������� William������������ James������������� Eliza����������� Benjamin

����������������������� │� WILLIAMS������������������������������������

����� b 1815 rbr │�� b 1805 cen����� b1817 rbr������� b1819 rbr������ b 1821 cen�� b 1826 cen����� b 1827 cen����� b 1830 cen���� b 1835 cen����� b 1838 cert

����������������������� │���� d <1852

����������������������� │

������������������������ �������������� ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ���������������������������� m 1852 cert����������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ����������������������� │

����������������������� =������� Jane����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� �� Elizabeth Ann����������������������������������������������������������

����������������������� │������ REES�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� b 1840 cert

����������������������� │�� b 1816 cen

����������������������� │

������������� ������������

������������ │������������������������������������������� │�������������������������������������������������������������������� �������������������������������������

�������� Martha������������������������������������ John

���� b 1853 cert���������������������������� b 1856 cen

Walker Family Tree

Based on Rode parish and Baptist registers (rpr, rbr)

�������������� m<1794?

��� Samuel����� =�������� Sarah

WALKER�� │����������� ?

� b1764rbr��� │����� b1769rbr

� d1824rbr��� │����� d1853rbr

��������� ������������ �����������������������������������������������������

���������������� m1810������ │����������� m1828����������������������������� │�� m1814rpr(1)�������� ��������� ����������� │������������������������������ │ m1819rpr(2)������������� │����������� │

����� Ann�������� =��� Joseph Ford������� =����� Sarah������������ Elizabeth����� =������������� John��������� �������� Sarah���������������������� Luesea���� =����� James� Samuel������ │

HATCHER� │��� WALKER�������� │����� ROSE������������ b1794rpr������������������� WAITE��������� ����� b1797rpr�������������������� b1799������������ WAITE b1802rpr���� │

���� b1787������ │������� b1791������������ │����� b1802����������� bp1812rpr������������������ d>1871��������� ���� bp1812rpr���������������� bp1812rpr�������������������� bp1812rpr���� │

���� d1827������ │������� d1853������������ │����� d1851����������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� d1851rbr����� │

��������� ����������������� ����������������� │����������������������������������� ��������������������������������� ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� │

������� │����� m1828�������������������������� │����������������������������������� ������������������������������������

��� Amelia����� =������ Edward����������� │���������������������� ����������� │�� m1820rpr(3)�������� m<1826rbr�� │������������ ����������������� │� m<1822rbr���������������������������� │

WALKER�� │������� WEST����������� │���������������������� ������ Jemima������ =���������� William�������� =�������� Ann���������� �������������� Eliza������ =������ Isaac����������������� Marey

���� b1811����������������� d1870������������ │���������������������������� b1805rpr������������������� WAITE��������������� b1807rpr������ ����������������������������� │��� WAITE������������� b1810rpr

��� d>1871����� │������������������������������ │��������������������������� bp1812rpr������������������������ �������������� bp1812rpr����� ����������������������������� │����������������������������� bp1812rpr

������������������������������������������������������ │���������������������������� d1823rbr������������������������� ������������������������������������������������������� see Joseph Waite letter

������������� ������ │����������� ������� ����������� �������������������������������������

������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ �������� │�������������������������������� │�������� m1857��������������������������������������������������������������� │

������������� Elizabeth����� ������������������������ ����������� ����������� ������ Ellen�������������������������� Emma������������ = Frederick���� �������������������������������������������� Sarah���� =� William

���������������� Plumer������ ������������������������ ����������������������� � WALKER����������������� ����� WALKER������������������������������� UPTON���������������������������� WALKER������� ��� WHEATLEY

����������������������������������� ������������������������ ����������������������� ����� b1833������������������������� b1836���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������

����������������������������������� ������������������������ ����������������������� ���������������������������������������������� ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������

Witnesses to the above Waite/Walker marriages

������������������������ �����������������������������������������������

1������� 1814������ Thomas MORRIS and Sarah WALKER (Elizabeth�s mother or sister?)

2������� 1819������ Samuel WALKER (Luesea�s father or brother?) and William WAITE (John�s brother?)

3������� 1820������ Samuel WALKER (Jemima�s father or brother?) and John WAITE (William�s brother?)

West Family Tree

Based on Rode parish, Rode Hill, Rode Baptist and Tellisford� parish registers (rpr, rhr, rbr, tpr), Bishop�s transcripts of Rode (rbt), Rode censuses (cen) and birth, marriage and death certificates (cert)

���������

Check all dates

��������������� m1750N.B.

������� Edward��� =������ Sarah

�������� WEST��� │

��������� tailor���� │

������ d1790rpr� │��� d1799rpr

����������������������� │�����������

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������������ │ m1773Bath������������������������ │�� m1783rpr�������������������������� │ m1815N.B?� ������������� �������� │��� m1780rpr

������� Eleanor��� =����� Edward��������� Edward ��� =�� Ann Love�������� Christian� =��� William��������������������� Ann������� =��� Edward

������������� ������������� FREEMAN����������������������� │� COLLIER������������������������������� ALLEN��������������������������������������������� TILY

�������� bc1754����������� a tailor���������� bc1763���� │�� b1763rpr������������������������������ b1741rpr������������������ bc1758

����������������������������������������������������������������������� │� bp1763rpr��������������������������� bp1741rpr������������������������������������� �� bp1755rpr?

������ d1790rpr������� d1795rpr?������ d1832rpr�� │�� d1847rpr�������������������������������������� ����������������� d1813rpr��������� d1810rpr?

����������������������������������������������������������������������� │

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������������� �� m1807rpr��� │���� m1846���� ���������������������� │�������������������� │������������������� │������������� �������� │����� m1830����� �������������������� │ m1825N.B.�� ���������� │

������ Sarah (1)� =����� Edward���� =�� Ann (2)����� William Collier���� Delilah������������ Ann������������� ������ Ann�������� =��� (2)Henry�� Eleanor Collier=�� Zacheus� still

������� LACEY�� │��������������������������� EVANS��������������������������������������������������������������� ������������� ���������� ����������� │� FRICKER� ����������� ���������� │ HAMPTON born

�������� bc1770�� │����� bc1783���������� bc1795������������ b1796����������������������������������������� ������������� ���������� ����������� │���������� ��������������� b1803rpr�� │����� b1803

����������������������� │������������������������������������������������� bp1796rpr������������������������������������� ������������� �� bp1801rpr�� │�������������������� ��� bp1810rpr� │����������

������ d1834rpr� │���� d1870rhr������� d 1873rhr������� d 1862rhr�������� d1796rpr�� ��� d1800rpr������������� ��� d1860rpr��� │�� d1882rpr��������� d1876����� │����� d1880 d1807rpr

����������������������� │�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ������������� ���������������������� │������������������������������������������� │

������������� �������������� ������������������������������������������������� ������������� ���������������������� │�������������������� ���������������������� │

������������ │�������������������� │ m1828Bristol��������������������� │�������������������������������������������� ������������� ���������������������� │������������������������������������������� │

�������� Delilah���� Edward Collier=�� Amelia����� Francis Burdett��������� =���� Mary������� ������������� ���������� Anne Sophia West + 8���������������� Ann + 7

������������������������������������������������ │ WALKER�������������������������� ���������� │�������������������� ������������������������

������ b1808rpr�������� b1809rpr�� │�������� ����������� ����������� ���� b1810rpr�� │�������������������� ������������������������

����� bp1808rpr������ bp1810rpr� │�������� ����������� ����������� ��� bp1810rpr� │�������������������� ������������� ����������������� bp1832���������������������������������� bp1825

������ d1817rpr�������������������������� │�������� ����������� ����������� ����������� ���������� │

������������������������������������������������ │�������������������������������� ���������������������� │

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���� Sarah Eliza� ������������ Edward Hatcher�������� ����������� ������������������� Mary������������� Ellen Norah�� =�������� ?����������������� Francis

������������� ���������������������������������� ����������������������������������� ����������������������� ���������������������� ���������������� HAYTER

������ b1830 rpr��������������� ���������� ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ��������������������������������������� Winchester

����� bp1835 rpr� ��������������� bp1837rpr��������������� ��������������������������� bp1835rpr��� bp1835rpr

������������������������ ������������� Westminster������������� ����������������������������������������������������������������

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The Will of Edward West 1787

In the Name of God Amen __

I Edward West the Elder of the Parish of North Bradley in the County of Wilts Taylor being of a Sound Mind Memory and understanding do hereby Revoke and make void all and every former Will and Wills Testament and Testaments by me at any time heretofore made and do publish and Declare this and none other to be my last Will and Testament in manner following (that is to say) I do desire all my Just Debts and funeral Expenses to be paid and Satisfied by my Executrix or by whom she shall appoint I give and Devise unto my now loving Wife Sarah West All my Lands Tenements and Hereditaments that do in any wise belong unto me Situate in the parish of North Bradley aforesaid for and During the term of her Natural life ___

And after the Death of my said wife I give and Devise unto my son Edward West and to the Heirs of his Body All that my Dwelling House that I Do live in Brew House and Garden that I use and Occupy with the same And half part of the Orchard which I lately purchased of Benjamin Dike from the upper corner of the Necessary straite across between the two Warden pear Trees as near in middle as can be with all ways and Waters belonging to the same and as ever was used with the said Orchard the said half part of the Orchard is that which lieth against Lanthorn Tun Ground and Jell hill and the use of the pump or Well on his paying one Third part of the Repairs To the only use and behoof him the said Edward West and to the heirs of his Body for ever

After the Death of my Said Wife I give and Devise unto my Daughter Elenor wife of Edward Freeman of the parish of Beckington in the County of Somerset Taylor and to the Heirs of her Body lawfully to be begotten for ever All that my other Dwelling House Out House Gardens and the Premises with the Appurtenances thereto belonging Situate within the parish of North Bradley in the County of Wilts and now in the Occupation of Daniel Rossiter and Son to the only use and behoof her the said Elenor Freeman and to the Heirs of her Body lawfully to be begotten for ever __

After the Death of my said Wife I give and Devise unto my Daughter Christian West and to the Heirs of her Body lawfully to be begotten All that my other Dwelling House Weaving shop and that part of the Garden belonging and now used with the same and now in the Occupation of James Ball and half part of the Orchard which I lately purchased of Benjamin Dike from the upper part of the Necessary House strait across between the two Warden pear Trees with all ways waters and path ways belonging unto the same the said part of the Orchard lieth on the south and is the south part of the Orchard with one third part of the use of the pump or well on paying one third part of the repairs of it to the only use and behoof the said Christian West and to the Heirs of her Body lawfully to be begotten for ever And for want or in Default of Issue lawfully to be begotten on the Body of my Daughter Christian West then I give and Devise the above mentioned Dwelling House weaving shop Garden half of the Orchard above mentioned unto my Grand Daughter Sarah Freeman of the parish of Beckington and to the Heirs of her Body lawfully to begotten for ever _

After the Death of my said Wife I give and Devise unto my Daughter Ann Wife of Edward Tily and to the Heirs of her Body lawfully to be begotten all that my Dwelling House weaving shop and Garden belonging to the same with all and Singular the Premises (except the Orchard and the way to the Orchard which was through the entry and Garden) to the said Orchard which I have given unto my son Edward and Daughter Christian above mentioned and which I lately purchased of Benjamin Dike and now in the Occupation of the above named Edward Tily with the use of the pump or Well on his or her paying one third part of the Repairs of it the said Well or pump To the only use and behoof her the said Ann Tily and to the Heirs of her Body lawfully to be begotten for ever __

All the Rest Residue and Remains of my Goods Chattels Real and Personal Estate (not above mentioned) whatsoever or wheresoever I give and bequeath unto my now loving wife Sarah West whom I do likewise hereby make Nominate Constitute and Appoint full and Sole Executrix of this my last Will and Testament made on two Sheets of writing paper on the first of which I have wrote my Name and on the second my Hand aand Seal� In Witness to which I have hereunto set my Hand and Seal the Twentieth Day of October in the Twenty seventh Year of the Reign of our Sovereign Lord George the third and in the Year of our Lord one Thousand Seven Hundred and Eighty Seven __ Edward West

Signed sealed published and declared by the said Testator Edward West the Elder as and for his last Will and Testament in the presence of us who in his presence and in the presence of each other and at his Request have Subscribed our Names as Witnesses hereto _ John Thomas Benjamin Hawkins Josiah Vagg

The will was proved at Winkfield, Wilts on 9th February 1791 before the Revd

Edward Spencer. Administration was granted to Sarah West widow of the deceased.� The effects were assessed as more than �100 and less than �300.

The Will of Edward West � 1861

This is the last Will and Testament of me, EDWARD WEST, of Mogghill, Road in the Parish of North Bradley in the county of Wilts., Yeoman.

(1) I give and devise unto my son EDWARD COLLIER WEST all that my dwellinghouse wherein my grandfather EDWARD WEST formerly dwelt, with the brewhouse adjoining behind and the garden in front, the breadth of the said dwelling house.

(2) And all that tenement adjoining, formerly occupied by JAMES BALL, since by BENJAMIN BEAVERSTOCK, but now void.

(3) And also all that tenement I converted from a Candle shop, lately occupied by GEORGE BEAVEN, but now void, and all the garden adjoining thereto and extending to an orchard hereinafter devised to my wife for life, part of which garden was lately occupied by the said GEORGE BEAVEN together with the yard and pump or well in the same – all which hereditaments are situate at or near Mogghill in the Parish of North Bradley aforesaid to hold the same unto the said EDWARD COLLIER WEST and the heirs of his body lawfully begotten for ever.

(4) I also give and devise unto the said EDWARD COLLIER WEST all that piece of pasture land in my own occupation, now planted as an orchard situate on Road Hill in the Parish of North Bradley aforesaid, adjoining the Turnpike Road on the left hand side leading from Christ Church to Trowbridge.

(5) And all that piece of ground containing by estimation one acre, or thereabouts, being part of Birchin Leaze.

(6) And also all that piece of ground adjoining the last mentioned on one side thereof and fronting the said Turnpike Road containing by estimation thirty eight perches – which said two last mentioned pieces are also in the Parish of North Bradley aforesaid – and in my own occupation to hold the same unto the said EDWARD COLLIER WEST, his heirs and assigns.

(7) I give and devise unto my wife ANN WEST all that tenement and garden formerly occupied by ZACCHEEUS HAMPTON, since by WILLIAM WILCOX, but now void.

(8) And all that tenement lately occupied by my father EDWARD WEST deceased, but now WILLIAM ORCHARD, with such portion of garden in front as is the breadth of the same tenement.

(9) And also all that tenement wherein I now reside with the garden in front.

(10) And also all that tenement near behind, now used as a milkhouse with the outhouse cowhouse erections and garden thereunto adjoining, and belonging also in my own occupation – which said tenement wherein I reside and tenement behind erections and gardens were formerly three tenements with the backside and garden and in the possession of JOHN OFFER and others and were purchased by me of one EDWARD TILEY deceased.

(11) And also all that orchard, as now in my occupation, being a portion of formerly a half part of an orchard, all which hereditaments are situate lying and being at or near Mogghill aforesaid and adjoin the other hereditaments therein before devised to the said EDWARD COLLIER WEST. To hold the same unto the said ANN WEST during her life, and from and after her decease, I give and devise the said hereditaments unto the said EDWARD COLLIER WEST, his heirs and assigns, but subject and changeable with the payment of five pounds to each of my two grandchildren ELLEN HAYTER and FRANCIS WEST within six calendar months after the decease of my said wife if they shall then be living respectively.

(12) And I hereby direct that my said wife and her tenants shall have the use of the said yard and pump or well in the same on the hereditaments at Mogghill hereinbefore devised to the said EDWARD COLLIER WEST by her paying half the expenses for repairing and cleansing the said pump and well.

(13) And that the said EDWARD COLLIER WEST and his tenants shall have the use of the privy that stands on the hereditaments hereinbefore devised to the said ANN WEST for life by his contributing half the expense in keeping the same in proper order.

(14) And I further direct that the present entry or passage adjoining the house I now occupy and the road way to and from the same shall be used in common by the said EDWARD COLLIER WEST and ANN WEST and their respective tenants.

(15) I give and devise all that triangular piece of garden ground in my own occupation adjoining at the top the said piece of pasture land planted as an orchard on Road Hill aforesaid and formerly part thereof. And all that cottage and garden in poor house lane in Road, Somerset. And also all that messuage with garden lying behind , situate near a place called Church Row in Road, Somerset, many years since occupied by JAMES SILCOX and lying behind the dwelling house late in the occupation of WILLIAM WHEELER the younger, together with the appurtenances, unto my said wife ANN WEST during her life, and after her decease I give and devise the same unto the said EDWARD COLLIER WEST, his heirs and assigns.

(16) All the rest of my real estate, if any, I devise unto the said EDWARD COLLIER WEST, his heirs and assigns forever.

(17) I bequeath all my household furniture, plate, linen, china, glass, books, effects, money and all other personal estate whatsoever of which I may dispossessed unto my said wife for her own use.

And I appoint her Executrix hereof, hereby revoking all former wills by me made. In witness whereof, I the said EDWARD WEST have hereunto set my hand this fifteenth day of September, one thousand eight hundred and sixty one – EDWARD WEST – signed by the said EDWARD WEST the testator as and for his last will and testament in the presence of us, who in his presence at his request, and in the presence of each other, have subscribed our names as witnesses – JAMES CRADOCK, Road, Wilts., Labourer –

WILLIAM FREEMAN, Road, Wilts., Tailor.

����������� (11 Folios)

Proved at Salisbury the eighteenth day of June, 1870 by the Oath of ANN WEST, Widow, the Relict, the sole Executrix to whom Administration was granted. The Testator EDWARD WEST was late of Mogghill, Road in the Parish of North Bradley in the County of Wilts., Yeoman and died on the 29th Day of March, 1870 at Mogghill aforesaid.

Under �100

Probate extracted by Crutwell������������������ Fitzt. Macdonald,

And Daniel, Solicitors, Frome���� ����������������District Registrar

A correct Copy

Amelia West (nee Walker)

I have had a look through my records and I can find no mention of an Amelia Walker or Amelia Waite, only the record of her when her children were baptised.

John Waite

I have found several records of Waites , though none that might be the birth or baptism of John Waite c1816. The most promising is this in the marriage register-

mardate

groom-firstname

groom-surname

groom-age

groom-parish

groom-condition

18 Oct 1814

John

WAITE

bride-firstname

bride-surname

bride-age

bride-parish

bride-condition

Elizabeth

WALKER

witness1-firstname

witness1-surname

withness2-firstname

witness2-surname

notes

Thomas

MORRIS

Sarah

WALKER

This is 2 years before your John Waite�s estimated birth, just right for a first son to be named after his father.� However there is no record of a baptism at St. Lawrence.� At that time births were also being recorded at the Baptist Chapel at Road.� We have-

birthdate

firstname

sex

father

mother

fath-surname

moth-surname

wife’s parents/notes

22 May 1825

John

M

John

Elizabeth

PITMAN

John & Ann WAITT

29 Mar 1828

Elizabeth

F

John

Elizabeth

PITMAN

John & Ann WAITT

Elizabeth Pitman (nee Waitt) may have had a much younger brother or a nephew named John Waite

Waite/Walker relationships

There are 2 other Waite-Walker weddings recorded at St Lawrence which may be of interest-

12 Apr 1819

James

WAITE

Rode

Batchelor

Louisa

WALKER

Rode

Spinster

Samuel

WALKER

William

WAITS

Banns

and

10 Jul 1820

William

WAITE

Sojourner

Batchelor

Jemima

WALKER

Rode

Spinster

Samuel

WALKER

John

WAITE

Banns

There are also some similar relationships in the Baptist records-

birthdate

firstname

sex

father

mother

fath-surname

moth-surname

wife’s parents/notes

15 Jan 1826

James

M

William

Ann

WAITE

Samuel & Sarah WALKER

24 Jan 1829

Mary

F

William

Ann

WAITE

Samuel & Sarah WALKER

04 Mar 1831

David

M

Isaac

Eliza

WAITE

Samuel & Sarah WALKER

I have not drawn up any Walker or Waite family trees yet, or drawn any conclusions, but I thought you should see my early findings, in case they give you some ideas.� By the way, I assume that you are trying to find Amelia�s ancestors and the marriage record has no indication.�

John Waite Timeline

Date��������� Event� (Comment)����������������� Reference

1780��������� John, son of John and Mary WHITE, is baptised at Road����������������� Road parish register

����������������� (Could this be a WAITE?� There is no record of a marriage of John and Mary WHITE

����������������� or the baptism of any other of their children in Road)

1788��������� A James WAIT is born����������������� Road parish register

1790��������� John WAITE is married to Mary MUNDY at Tellisford����������������� Tellisford parish register

1792��������� Mary, daughter of John and Mary WAITE, is baptised at Tellisford����������������� Tellisford parish register

1794��������� John senior, son of John and Mary WHITE, is baptised at Tellisford����������������� Tellisford parish register

����������������� (Could this be a WAITE? There is no record of a marriage of a John and Mary WHITE

����������������� or the baptism of any other of their children at Tellisford)

1795��������� John WAITE senior is born at Tellisford����������������� 1841-71 censuses

1795-7������ John WAITE family move to Road����������������� ?

1796��������� A John WHITE is buried at Road� ����������������� Road parish register

����������������� (Could this be a WAITE?� Probably adult as no parent is mentioned)

1797��������� Nathaniel, son of John� and Mary WAIT, is baptised at Road����������������� Road parish register

1799��������� John Shrapnel, son of John and Mary WAIT, is baptised at Road����������������� Road parish register

����������������� (It is unusual to use the same name twice unless the first child has died before the next is baptised)

1801��������� William, son of John� and Mary WAIT, is baptised at Road����������������� Road parish register

1804��������� A John WAITE of North Bradley is buried at Road� ����������������� Road parish register

����������������� (Probably an adult as no parent is mentioned, possibly John senior�s father)

1810��������� James WAIT, born 1788, is baptised at Road ����������������� Road parish register

����������������� (The parents fore-names are not given)

1812��������� Amelia WALKER is born in Bristol/Middlesex?����������������� 1841-51 censuses

1814��������� John WAITE senior is married to Elizabeth WALKER at Road� ����������������� Road parish register

����������������� (witnessed by Sarah WALKER)

1815��������� John WAITE junior son of John and Elizabeth WAITE is born at Road����������������� Baptists register

1817��������� Nathaniel WAITE son of John and Elizabeth WAITE is born in Road����������������� Baptists register

1819��������� Lois WAITE daughter of John and Elizabeth WAITE is born in Road����������������� Baptists register

1819-21���� (John WAITE senior and family move to Bristol)����������������� ?

1820��������� William WAITE, bachelor, is married to Jemima WALKER, spinster of Road, at Road,����������������� Road parish register

����������������� witnessed by John WAITE senior

1821��������� Ann WAITE (daughter of John WAITE senior and Elizabeth?) is born in Bristol������ 1841 census

1826��������� Louisa WAITE (daughter of John WAITE senior and Elizabeth?) is born in Bristol�� 1841 census

1827��������� William WAITE (son of John WAITE senior and Elizabeth?) is born in Bristol������ 1841 census

1828��������� Edward C WEST is married to Amelia WALKER at St. James, Bristol����������������� Marriage certificate

����������������� witnessed by John WAITE senior and Ann WALKER

1830��������� James WAITE (son of John WAITE senior and Elizabeth?) is born in Bristol������ 1841 census

1831��������� Eliza, daughter of Edward and Amelia WEST is born at Bristol����������������� 1841-51 censuses

1832��������� Eliza WALKER is born at Road ����������������� 1861 census

1833��������� Edward, son of Edward and Amelia WEST is born at Bristol����������������� 1841-51 censuses

1835��������� Eliza, daughter of John WAITE senior and Elizabeth is born at Bristol����������������� 1851 census

1838��������� Benjamin, son of John WAITE senior and Elizabeth nee WALKER is born at Bristol�� Birth certificate

1838-40���� John WAITE junior is married to Elizabeth WILLIAMS at ?����������������� ?

1840��������� Elizabeth Ann, daughter of John WAITE junior and Elizabeth nee WILLIAMS����������������� Birth certificate

����������������� is born at St. Paul, Bristol����������������� and 1851 census

1841��������� Edward WEST (1810), Amelia (1812), Eliza (1831) and Edward (1834)����������������� 1841 census

����������������� are living at St. George the Martyr, Middlesex

1841��������� John WAITE (1796) and daughter? Ann WAITE are living at St. James, Bristol������ 1841 census

����������������� (Are his wife and children with his son, John junior?)

1841��������� John WAITE junior (1811), Elizabeth (1805), Louisa (1826), William (1827), James (1830)����������������� 1841 census

����������������� and Elizabeth (1840) are living at Christchurch, Bristol.� (Who are Louisa, William and James,�

����������������� siblings of John Junior? but where is John senior�s wife Elizabeth, daughter Eliza and son Benjamin?)

1851��������� Edward WEST (1810 Road), wife Amelia (1813 Bristol), daughter Eliza (1831 Bristol)����������������� 1851 census

����������������� and son Edward (1833 Bristol) are living at ?

1851��������� John WAITE (1795 Tellisford), wife Elizabeth (1796 Hawkridge), daughter Eliza (1835 Bristol)����������������� 1851 census

����������������� and son Benjamin (1839 Bristol) are living at Christchurch, Bristol

1851��������� John WAITE junior (1816 Road), wife Elizabeth (1806 Aust) and daughter Elizabeth (1840 Bristol)����������������� 1851 census

����������������� are living at Stafford

1851��������� Fanny WAITE is born in Monmouthshire����������������� 1871 census

1851-2������ Elizabeth, wife of John WAITE junior dies at ?����������������� ?

1852��������� John WAITE junior bachelor? is married to Jane REES at Clifton, Bristol����������������� Marriage certificate

1853��������� Martha, daughter of John WAIT junior and Jane nee REES is born at St. Paul, Bristol����������������� Birth certificate

1856��������� John, son of John WAITE junior (1818 Road) and Jane is born at Bristol ����������������� 1861 census

1861��������� John WAIT (1794 Tellisford), wife Elizabeth and visitor Eliza WALKER aged 29 unmarried����������������� 1861 census

����������������� are living at St. Mathias, Bristol

1861��������� John WAITE junior (1818 Road), 2nd wife Jane, son John and daughter Martha����� 1861 census

����������������� are living at St. James, Bristol

1871��������� John WAIT (1795 Tellisford) widower, lodger and Fanny WAIT aged 20 servant unmarried����������������� 1871 census

����������������� are living at St. Peters, Bristol

1871��������� Amelia WEST ( ) and brother John WAITE junior (1816 Road) are living at St. Philip & Jacob, Bristol ����������������� 1871 census

1871��������� Jane WAITE, daughter Martha and son James are living at St. Peter, Bristol������ 1871 census

1881��������� John WAITE junior (1815 Road) and wife Jane are living at St. James & St. Paul, Bristol����������������� 1881 census

1881��������� Amelia WEST (1816) is living at the workhouse Westbury����������������� 1881 census

1885��������� Amelia WEST (1813), widow of Edward Collier WEST dies at Westbury����������������� Death certificate

����������������� (Amelia was probably accepted into the Poorhouse at Westbury because her husband came from

����������������� Road Hill, which was then in the parish of Southwick in the district of Westbury)

Page from the transcribed records of the Baptist Chapel, Rode

Page from the transcribed records of the Baptist Chapel, Rode

Appendix 6.� Amelia Walker�s Ancestry

and related matters

������� Amelia Walker was born in Bristol in St. Paul�s parish, if her entry in the 1871 census is accurate. This lies to the north and east of the harbour which ran across the city. She appeared in four censuses, but only this one gave this detail. It was at this census, after she was widowed the year before, that�� information was given which both helped and hindered research into her ancestry. Unknowingly, it was the latter which was explored first. Much data was gathered, most of it only now useful, but back then its significance was obscure. The information which turned out to be helpful, and looked at much later, was the presence of Amelia�s granddaughter Elizabeth Plumer at the Goat Inn working as a barmaid. When her subsequent life was followed, some helpful light was thrown on Amelia�s origins.

������ Elizabeth Plumer worked in the home of Emma Upton in Southwark in 1881 and 1891. It was at the latter census that her relationship to her employer as a lady�s companion was described as niece.� Even though census entries are not always reliable, the implication that Emma Upton was Elizabeth�s aunt needed investigation.

������� Emma�s 1891 census entry gave her age as 54 and place of birth as St. Paul�s parish, Bristol. If correct, this would have been in about 1837. Her marriage (1) to Frederick John Upton at St. Mary�s, Newington on June 14, 1857 revealed her maiden name as Walker.

��������� So too was Amelia�s. Did this mean that they were sisters? Well, not quite, proved to be the eventual answer. First, a look at their origins in Bristol is needed.

���������� The database Bristol Diocese Baptismal Registers 1754-1837 lists only one Amelia Walker in its records. At the age of 1 month she was baptised on July 28, 1811 at St. Philip & St. Jacob�s. Her parents were named as Joseph and Ann Walker. There�s no entry on this database for an appropriate Emma Walker in the 1830s. Of the four recorded, all had different parents from Amelia�s. Emma�s absence� from the database, given her father�s non-conformist background, is not surprising.

����������� Emma Walker�s marriage lines in 1857 revealed that her father was a currier named Joseph Ford Walker. A look at the previous census in 1851 shows that he was living in Road, Somerset at Woodbine cottage which still stands. Joseph was aged 59, born at Westbury, Wiltshire and a farmer of 7 acres. His wife named Sarah was 48, born at Road and was a schoolmistress. There were two daughters, both Bristol born � Ellen, 18, a teacher and Emma aged 16 with no occupation given. Besides the above were Joseph�s father-in-law and sister-in-law. The former was Joseph Rose, a widower aged 75 and retired coach proprietor, and Ann Noad Rose the latter. Two school pupils made up the rest of the household.

���������� Two inconsistencies draw attention in the entry. Firstly, and almost to be expected, Emma Walker was more likely to have been born two years earlier than claimed in 1891. Secondly, if Amelia and Emma were sisters, they were half-sisters at best as their mother�s forenames were different. A closer look at the life of Joseph Ford Walker provides evidence to support this claim.

���������� The database England, Select Births and Christenings 1538-1975 has a relevant entry. Named as �� Ford Walker�, a birth is recorded for him at Westbury, Wiltshire on December 2, 1791, and a baptism on April 19, 1793. As the entry itself is not available to read, it�s not clear why three dots precede the name unless the word was illegible. The birthdate in late 1791 is consistent with Joseph Ford Walker being 59 in 1851. His parents were named as Samuel and Sarah Walker.

���������� Joseph Walker is a common name. Such names make it difficult to be certain that someone is a specific family member. However, other evidence accompanying the name can narrow the chances of it being an unrelated person. This rings true when considering the marriage of Joseph Walker.

���������� The England, Select Marriages 1538-1973 database has a record of a Joseph Walker marriage at St. James�s, Bristol on October 8, 1810. He would have been nearly 19, a marriageable age, and Bristol was somewhere Joseph Ford Walker was associated with in later life. The evidence which supports the idea that this was Amelia Walker�s father�s marriage, is reinforced when the bride�s name is considered. She was Ann Hatcher. The forename is the same as Amelia�s mother on the baptism entry, and Hatcher was the middle name Amelia gave her only son. Not one, it seems, he cherished.

���� ��������Amelia Walker�s birth, probably in late June 1811, is consistent with the details above. It seems an appropriate place in the narrative to consider if she had any siblings who shared the same parents. When Amelia married in Bristol in 1828 one of her witnesses was an Ann Walker. Using the Bristol Diocese Baptisms database again we find there was one Ann Walker baptised between 1754 and 1837 whose parents were named as Joseph and Ann Walker. This was on May 23, 1813 at St. Philip & St. Jacob�s, the same church as Amelia�s baptism. Of course, the witness could have been Amelia�s mother.

������������� Also at the same church on October 4, 1818 there was a baptism of a child whose parents were Joseph and Ann Walker. She was Eliza Walker, the only girl with this name recorded on the Bristol database between 1754 and 1837. When a namesake infant son of Joseph Ford Walker died in Bristol in 1837, it was Eliza Walker, described as the child�s sister, who was the informant to the registrar.

�������������� The three Walker girls named above are the only ones found so far in non-baptismal documents later in their lives. There�s always the possibility that Joseph and Ann had other children, but these have yet to surface. The 1851 census information presupposes that at some point Joseph Ford Walker�s wife Ann died and he married Sarah Rose who was with him then at Road.

������������� This marriage was by licence which was applied for by Sarah Catherine Rose on December 27, 1827 at Bath. Days later the marriage took place at St. James�s, Bath on January 1, 1828. The groom�s name was given in full and he was described as a widower of St. James parish, Bristol. The bride was a spinster of Lyncombe and Widcome, Bath. The witnesses were Joseph and Ann Rose, perhaps the bride�s father and aunt.

������������ Is there a record of the death of Joseph�s first wife Ann? Possibly. The database Bristol Burials 1813-1837 has only one Ann Walker of an appropriate age recorded. This was a woman of 40 who was buried on February 1, 1827 at the Portland Street Methodist Church, Bristol. Apart from the timing being compatible with Joseph�s remarriage, there�s nothing to confirm that this was his wife. The use of a non-conformist church might reflect Joseph�s true leanings. He was later shown to be a deacon, albeit with the Baptists.

����������� In the decade after their marriage at least four children were born to Joseph and Sarah Walker. None appear to have been baptised in an Anglican church. The first was Sarah Catherine who was born c.1829. Ellen followed c.1833 and Emma probably in 1835. Their son was not long lived. His birth was registered at Bristol in mid-1837; he was named as Joseph Ford Walker Walker (2). However, after 14 weeks on November 19, 1837 he died of �teething�, according to the death certificate (3). He was described as a currier�s child and it was his half-sister Eliza who informed the registrar. Walker, as a forename, was dropped. They were living at Old King Street in the St. James parish of Bristol at the time.

��� ����������The daughters � Amelia�s half-sisters � all lived to adulthood. In 1841 the whole family were still at Old King Street and Joseph�s occupation was given as a leather seller. The next census found all, save Sarah Catharine, living at Woodbine cottage in Road. She was working as a barmaid at the Angel Inn, Westgate Street in the St. Peter & St. Paul parish of Bath. The licensed victualler was her uncle Thomas Rose who had recently become a widower and about whom we shall learn a little more later. On Christmas Day 1852 Sarah Catherine married (4). The January 1, 1853 edition of the Bristol Mercury had this report: �December 25th. at Pithay Chapel, William, son of W.W.Wheatley, artist of Road, to Sarah, 4th. daughter of J.F.Walker of� Road, late of Old King Street, Bristol�. Pithay was a Baptist Chapel in Bristol. Sarah�s description as the 4th. daughter fits� with what is known about the three daughters from Joseph�s first marriage. The artist of Road was William Walter Wheatley 1811-1885. His paintings of the River Baptism of his wife Emma in 1843 and the 1850 painting of the ceremony of �Clypping the Church�, both at Road, are featured in books about the village�s history.

����������� Both Ellen and her mother worked at the Rode Hill School which had been built as a National School in 1834. Although she�s described as a teacher in 1851, given her age, any training would have been limited. Absolute certainty about Ellen�s life is lacking but, there is a record of a marriage of an Ellen Walker whose father�s name was Joseph.� It was probably hers because of her husband�s birthplace. It took place at Bedminster, Bristol on September 11, 1853 (5). The groom was Sydney Parker Norton. When their life is followed through succeeding censuses we find he was born at Road and became a very successful manufacturer of boots and shoes in the midlands. Ellen predeceased him in 1903 (6). Sydney lived on until March 31, 1907 (7). When his estate was published after probate at Worcester it amounted to �15,707, the equivalent in 2017 of just over �1.7 million.

��������� The life of the third daughter Emma, which has been instrumental in our learning something of Amelia Walker�s ancestry, has been covered above.

��������� Attention now will be focused on the parents of Sarah, Ellen, Emma and Joseph for, in the case of the father, it opens the prospect of a better understanding of the relationship between the Walker and Waite families, as some members of the latter crop up in the family story, and in the case of the mother, a tenuous link is opened to the gentry � a connection for our family, up until now, conspicuous by its absence.

��������� The name Joseph Ford Walker suggests that a mother�s maiden name has been used as a forename. Joseph was born in Westbury, Wiltshire in late 1791 to Samuel Walker and his wife Sarah. It came as no surprise to learn from the England, Select Marriages database that there was a marriage at Westbury on August 13, 1787 between a Samuel Walker and Sarah Ford. It seems likely that these were Joseph�s parents. It�s also very probable that Samuel ended his days at Road, as did his wife. Among the burial records of the Particular Baptist Church at Road is one for a Samuel Walker, aged 60, on September 23, 1824. A projected date of birth of c.1764 would be in line with a man who married in 1787. His wife Sarah outlived him by many years. The May 5, 1853 edition of the Devizes and Wiltshire Gazette carried the following notice: �April 26th. at Road, death aged 83, Sarah Walker surviving her son J.F.Walker by three weeks�. Her burial followed at the Baptist church on May 1st. Her age in the church record was given as 84, but curiously, her death was not registered.

��������� The evidence presented so far lends strong support to the assertion that Joseph Ford Walker had two wives � Ann Hatcher and Sarah Catherine Rose � and with them had six daughters and one son who have been officially recorded and others who we learn of below. Joseph died on April 3, 1853 (8). A report in the Bristol Mercury of April 9, 1853 said the following: �April 3rd. at Road, death of Joseph Ford Walker, late of Old King Street and Deacon of the Baptist Church, Pithay, Bristol�.

���������� �Joseph is commemorated at Road on what must be a large gravestone at the Rode Particular Baptist Chapel. For information on this and the contemporary newspaper reports I�m indebted to Peter Harris. The stone was placed there in October 1861 and includes other members of the Walker and Rose families. At the foot of the stone is the following inscription :

��������� �This stone was placed here as a token of respect for the memory of two beloved parents and other dear relatives by Thomas Whitaker Rose of Bath�. Joseph fell into the category of �dear relative�. Thomas Rose was the keeper of the Angel Inn at Bath for whom his niece Sarah Catherine Rose worked in 1851.

����������� Several people are commemorated on this stone as well as the unnamed �infant children of Joseph and Sarah Walker of Bristol ���. who died between the years 1832 and 1842�. The number of children could not be read on the stone, but would have included Joseph�s namesake son who was born and died in 1837.

����������� Before looking at the ancestry of Joseph Walker�s second wife Sarah Catherine Rose, it�s a convenient point to try and unravel the connection between the Walker and Waite families. At quite critical points in the West and Walker story, the name Waite has appeared. These include Amelia Walker�s wedding in 1828, at the preparation of Edward Collier West�s will in 1870 and working with the widowed Amelia at the Goat Inn in 1871.

������������ It will be recalled that one of the witnesses at Amelia and Edward Collier�s wedding in Bristol in 1828 was a John Waite. As has been mentioned elsewhere, there were two men with this name, father and son. In the case of the wedding, it was likely to be the father as the son was only twelve, though a witness this age was possible at the discretion of the minister.

������������� John Waite sen. was born at Tellisford, just north of Road. This place of birth is consistently given by him in the three censuses from 1851 to 1871. Also from the census, his date of birth can be estimated at c.1794/5. John was probably the son of John Waite and Mary Munday who married at Tellisford in 1790. The baptism of a John, son of John and Mary White at Tellisford in 1794 could well be John Waite�s as there�s no John & Mary White marriage recorded at Tellisford, or baptism of children named White there at around this time. Perhaps this is a case where a strong local accent resulted in a miss-hearing followed by a recording error.

������������ On October 18, 1814 at Road parish church John Waite married Elizabeth Walker. One of the witnesses was a Sarah Walker, perhaps the bride�s mother or sister. Given the marriage date, the groom would have been about the right age to have been the Tellisford born John Waite of c.1794. His family had moved to Road as his siblings, presumed to be younger than him, were baptised at Road, not Tellisford, from 1797 onwards.

�� ����������The marriage between John and Elizabeth not only marks an association between the Waite and Walker families, but it could also be the origin of the eventual association between the Wests and the Waites. It is proposed that the Elizabeth Walker, who married John Waite in 1814 at Road, was the younger sister of Joseph Ford Walker whose first daughter Amelia married Edward Collier West at Bristol in 1828. Though the evidence is not conclusive, it is compelling enough to warrant consideration.

������ �������It will be recalled that Joseph�s parents were named as Samuel and Sarah Walker at his baptism at Westbury in 1793. When Elizabeth Walker was baptised at Road on March 27, 1812, together with six of her siblings, their parents were also named as Samuel & Sarah Walker. The eldest of the children was Elizabeth, having been born on March 17, 1794.� Joseph was born in late 1791 and when the only opportunity arose � the census of 1851 � he gave his place of birth as Westbury in Wiltshire. The place of birth given for Elizabeth Waite, nee Walker, varied between the census entries in 1851 and 1861, and yet at its core was a consistency. In 1851 the entry was �Wilts. Hawbridge�, and ten years later it was �Somerset Hawkridge�. Neither rings completely true. Hawkridge, Somerset is far to the west on Exmoor. This seems unlikely for a family whose known places of living were Westbury and Road, not far from each other. Wiltshire doesn�t have a Hawbridge, but it does have a Hawkeridge. This was, and is, a hamlet that lies between Westbury and North Bradley and less than four miles east of Road.

������������� For Joseph and Elizabeth to have parents with the same names and for both to be born in the same locality, not too distantly separated in time, and for both families to be associated with Road, albeit at different times, does lend some weight to the idea that they could be siblings. If accepted, it might explain the connections involving the Wests and Waites.

������������� The witness John Waite at Amelia Walker�s wedding would have been her uncle if the hypothesis above is correct. It was not�� unusual to have an uncle act as a witness with your mother or sister on such an occasion. Almost certainly the same John Waite acted as a witness when the dying Edward Collier West�s will was drawn up in November 1870 in Bristol. He gave the same address as the trustee Edmund Whittard. On the census the following year he was still living as a lodger at 2&3, Broad Weir with the Whittards. This is not surprising as the lady of the house was his daughter Eliza. He was described as 76, Tellisford born, a widower and oddly as a �retired taylor�. Odd because he had been a cordwainer since at least 1841. Perhaps because his son-in-law was an outfitter it was assumed he was a tailor.

������������� The John Waite who was working as an assistant at the Goat Inn with the recently widowed Amelia West in 1871 was said to be aged 55 and born in Road. It was his description as Amelia�s brother on the census which set in train the investigation into the Waite family in the hope of linking them to her ancestry. Again, if the hypothesis is accepted, the simpler and more accurate relationship between the two would be that of cousins. This John Waite was born on July 16, 1815, the son of John and Elizabeth Waite, according to the records of the Baptist Church at Road. Like his namesake father he was a shoe maker. A summary of what is known about the Walker and Waite families, together with family tree diagrams which include the proposed relationship outlined above, are presented later.

���������������� A brief look at the interesting ancestry of Sarah Catherine Rose, the second wife of Joseph Ford Walker, reconnects the story to the Walker children�s mother.

���������������� Sarah Catherine Walker�s life was commemorated in 1861 on the tombstone at Rode Particular Baptist Church she had died, aged 49, on August 26, 1851 (9). She was the elder daughter of Joseph Rose and Ann Noad. It�s presumed she was born c.1802 and was followed c.1805 by her younger sister Ann Noad Rose. It was their younger brother Thomas Whitaker Rose who commissioned the gravestone.

����������������� Ann Noad Rose did not marry; she was present with her father at Woodbine cottage, Road, together with Joseph and Sarah Walker in 1851. Ten years on and after her father, sister and brother-in-law had died, she was living with, and working for, her brother at the Angel Inn, Bath, as a hotel assistant. Like her sister, her death at 62 on July 10, 1867 (10) is commemorated on the Rode gravestone.

����������������� Having commissioned the making of the tombstone Thomas�s death is not included on it, but his first wife and child�s is. The report of her death (11) appeared on March 6, 1851 in the Bath Chronicle and states �Sarah, aged 44, wife of Thos. W. Rose of the Angel Inn, Bath, died March 1 at the home of her brother-in-law Joseph Walker�. Above the mention of his wife on the tomb are the words �Annie, the daughter of Thomas Whitaker Rose and grandchild of the above Ann Rose, who died Feby 1844 aged 5� years�. The child�s death was registered at Frome (12). Thomas�s middle name was his grandmother�s maiden name. The Whitakers were a notable local family in the 18th. century who became wealthy as clothiers and dyers. On August 22, 1851 Thomas took Matilda Clarke as his second wife at Bath (13). He must have prospered in the hotel business for at his death, described as a gentleman, on February 10, 1895 (14) he left �2045 to his widow. He was buried at Bath Abbey.

������������� Sarah, Ann and Thomas�s parents were Joseph Rose and Ann Noad. It was with them principally in mind that Thomas had the tombstone made in 1861. The inscription begins � In a walled grave beneath this stone are deposited the remains of Ann wife of Joseph Rose and eldest daughter of the late Jonathan Noad Esqre. of Rockabella House in this place died March 1828 aged 64 years�.

������������� Further down the stone and separated from the memorial to his wife are the words �Also of Joseph Rose died May 26th. 1852 aged 77 years�. His death was registered at Frome (15). Joseph had married Ann at St. Lawrence�s, Road on December 3, 1801. He was about 25, and Ann, at 38, was the oldest of her numerous siblings. She was probably regarded as a �good catch�, whatever the disparity in age, as her father was a man of substance in the area. However, business acumen seems to have evaded Joseph Rose. Although his father-in-law left property to his daughter, he was not prepared to favour Joseph until he became a discharged bankrupt. Even then, all he would receive was �all the dividend or dividends that may become due and payable to me ��.. from the estate of the said Joseph Rose� (Harris, 2015).

������������ By 1841 Joseph was a widower, Ann having died in 1828,� living at 3, Prospect Buildings in the Lyncombe and Widcome area of Bath. Living with him was his unmarried daughter Ann. He gave his occupation as coachman. At the next census, he was a retired coach proprietor. By then he was in his seventies and perhaps had� prospered.

���� ��������This prosperity, if that was what it was, would not have matched that of his late father-in-law Jonathan Noad. He began life as Jonathan Miller c.1740 and became adopted by the cloth making magnate Thomas Noad of Rockabella House in Road.When Thomas died in 1760 his estate and cloth making business were inherited by Jonathan who adopted his surname. He married Sally Whitaker in 1762, the daughter of Thomas Whitaker, another prominent clothier and dyer. Such was Jonathan Noad�s success that he had Merfield House built as his new residence in Road. His wife Sally predeceased him in 1809; he followed in 1814. A more detailed survey of the prominent clothiers of Road and their various properties, and much more, can be found in �A Pictorial History of Rode� (2011), and �Discover Rode�s Past� (2015), both by Peter Harris.

������������� As fascinating as these diversions along the contributing branches of the family are, we must not lose sight of Amelia West, nee Walker, and her end in the Westbury Workhouse. Why she became an inmate, apart from abject poverty, is not known. While speculation cannot provide an answer, a closer look at those involved with her husband�s will does give cause to wonder if her material welfare was in safe hands.

��������� �In today�s terms, Edward Collier West�s will was something of a �rush job� having been drawn up, signed and witnessed two days before his death. There�s no way now of knowing whose idea this was and why. Given Edward�s situation, was someone looking ahead and trying to be practical, or was his death just sooner than expected?

���������� Three men are named as executor and witnesses and all should come under scrutiny in the light of what happened to Amelia. It has not been forgotten that she could well have brought all her troubles on herself and refused help when offered, but it would be a perverse individual to spurn a lifeline, if indeed one were offered, when faced with the Victorian workhouse.

���������� Witness John Waite was Amelia�s uncle by marriage if the hypothesis concerning Joseph Ford Walker and Elizabeth Walker is accepted. In 1841 and 1861 he was active in the same trade in Bristol, viz. a cordwainer at the former date and shoemaker at the latter. Interestingly, 1851 showed a different occupation. Both he and his wife were employed by the Pithay Baptist Chapel in Bristol and lived at the Chapel House. He was the sexton, and his wife Elizabeth was described as a sextoness � a term not met before. Effectively, the building and grounds were in their care. It will be remembered that at his death two years later Joseph Ford Walker was recorded as having been a Deacon at Pithay Chapel so both men would have known each other even if not related as proposed.

������������ John Waite�s address in 1861 was the same as his daughter and son-in-law at 3, Broad Weir, but he and his wife were not lodgers, or vice-versa. Two families occupied the same building. By the following census, John�s situation had changed. He was now a widower and lodger in his son-in-law�s home. It�s probable that the Elizabeth Waite whose death was registered in mid-1870 at Bristol was John�s wife (16). When acting as a witness in November 1870 John Waite would have been an elderly man either having been co-opted by his son-in-law to be involved, or simply trying to be of service to his niece and her husband. There�s no evidence, before or after this event, which would lead one to question his probity. The death of John Waite, aged 82, was registered at Barton Regis� (17). He died at 14, Bath Buildings, Bristol on July 6, 1877. His occupation as shoemaker was recorded and his son-in-law Edmund was the informant. The cause of death was senile decay.

������������� The second witness was Horace Hurley, an accountant of Bedminster, Bristol. When he died in 1885 (18), it was as Horatio Nelson Hurley, aged 64, giving him a notional date of birth of c.1821. However, other records give cause for doubt. No birth or baptism has been found, nor any inclusion on a census.

������������� It appears that on October 22, 1842 he uttered a forged cheque in the name of Mary Parish upon Messrs. George Clutterbuck, Tugwell, James Mackenzie & Thomas Clutterbuck � presumably a business company. He was committed by the Mayor of Bath for this offence. According to the Somerset Goal Registers 1807-1879, he was held at Shepton Mallet where he was described as a clerk, single, of previous good character and with respectable connections.

������������ At his trial at the County Assizes on March 13, 1843 for� �Forging an order for the payment of money�, he was found guilty and sentenced to 15 years transportation. He was said to be 25, so his date of birth looks to have been earlier than 1821. He was removed to a prison hulk called the Stirling Castle at Devonport on March 30th.

������������ It�s clear he did not serve this sentence in full; how much, if any at all, is not known. On December 21, 1850, at the parish church at Twerton, just outside Bath, he married Jane Harriett Powntney (19). In one of those examples of irony a novelist might envy, he gave his occupation as �gentleman�, as did his father and future father-in-law.

������������� No more has been found concerning him until September 15, 1866 when the Bristol Mercury ran a story about his trial for attempted fraud. The Quarter Sessions Court docket books held at the Bristol Archives show that he confessed to five counts of unlawfully obtaining monies by means of false pretences. On October 26, 1866 he was sentenced to imprisonment in the Common Goal for 9 calendar months with hard labour. He next appeared as a� witness when Edward Collier West�s will was drawn up in November 1870.

������������� With Hurley�s record of dishonesty widely known, questions have to be asked, viz. who would involve him as a witness to a legal document concerned with money and property like a will;� why him when almost anyone could have performed this duty? Of course, he could have been known to any of those involved with the will, including the Wests, but it was a strange choice and one that, for all we know, may have had some bearing on what eventually happened to Amelia.

������������� Two days before his death, Edward Collier West, to quote his will, �did nominate, constitute and appoint Edmund Whittard as his sole executor�. However, it would be surprising that someone who was so close to death they could no longer sign their name, would have been able to organise the will�s writing, witnesses etc. It seems much more likely this was created by others. Who better than an established businessman, perhaps aided by an �accountant� familiar with such documents?

�������������� Edmund Whittard was the son of James Whittard, a stone mason, and his wife Mary. He was baptised on January 29, 1832 at Stonehouse, about three miles west of Stroud in Gloucestershire. He was still living in the area in 1841, but hasn�t been found at the following census. On March 23, 1854 he married at the Bristol Register Office (20). His occupation then was cabinet maker and he gave his address as Pithay Chapel House in the Christchurch parish of Bristol. His bride, also of the same address, was Eliza Waite, the daughter of John Waite who witnessed Amelia Walker�s wedding and Edward Collier West�s will. It will be remembered that John Waite was the sexton at Pithay Chapel in 1851.

������������ By 1861 Edmund Whittard had become a general dealer and was living at Broad Weir with his wife and three young children. At the next census, not only had the family expanded, but they occupied a second numbered property on the street. Edmund was now an outfitter with seven children. He seems to have prospered. By 1881 four more children joined the brood and he had become a tailor, clothier and general salesman.� His wife, like a couple of his daughters, underwent a name change; hers from plain Eliza to Elizabeth Eliza.

�������������� Edmund Whittard died a tailor and clothier on April 29, 1893 (21). At the probate hearing at Bristol on June 26th. following, his wife, formally named as Elizabeth Eliza, received �1193� 10s.� 4d. This would be equivalent to just under �140,000 in 2017. Not a fortune certainly, but neither is it an indicator of abject poverty. Elizabeth Eliza lived on until June 17, 1899 (22). At the probate hearing we learn that her address was the Ship Inn, Lower Park Row, Bristol � still a public house in 2017. The beneficiary of her �1104� 4s.� 4d. was a stockbroker named Frederick Warner Waite, the son of a Samuel Waite who had been born at Road c.1822.

��������������� Amelia West�s time as the proprietor of the Goat Inn was no longer than three years. A new landlord was in place in 1874 and probably before that. What her activities were between then and 1881, and if they contributed to her becoming a workhouse inmate, are not known. She was not without relatives to help her. Some indeed, like two of her half- sisters, were more than financially secure. However, they may not have known of her predicament living far from Bristol.

���� �����������The wording of Edward Collier West�s will, which it�s reasonable to assume was not drawn up by him, includes the undertaking that the executor, Edmund Whittard, would hold �upon trust� all monies, property etc. �for the sole and separate use of my wife Amelia West for and during the time of her natural life�. In view of Amelia�s admittance to the Westbury Workhouse within ten years of her husband�s death, it not only becomes a matter of conjecture if this undertaking was carried out, but it�s difficult not to wonder if the relative success of the Whittard family was at the expense of Amelia�s material welfare. Perhaps future researchers might uncover the answer.

����������������������� The Walker and Waite Families

�������� Firstly, thanks and recognition are due to Peter Harris for his generous assistance given in 2011 and 2016 with information about these two families in early nineteenth century Road. It is only now, six years on, that pieces of the puzzle are falling into place.

����������� It became apparent, when examining the primary sources, that Road had more than one family with these names. This presented the problem of being certain that individuals were members of the same family. Fortunately, it seems to have been the practice in Road, as elsewhere, that in some cases, children were �saved up� and christened in a group, perhaps when it was thought their number was complete, though life being what it is, this could not be guaranteed. Whether this was done as a belated act of religious fervour, lest their brood faced perdition, or more prosaically a matter of economics with family groups perhaps incurring no greater fee at the font than an individual, has yet to be determined.

������������ On March 27, 1812 at St. Lawrence�s, Road no fewer than seven of Samuel and Sarah Walker�s children were baptised. Their ages ranged from eighteen to two. Other sources suggest there was an addition later, and if the ideas put forward earlier are correct,� their firstborn had been baptised at Westbury years before.

������������� It was at Westbury that Samuel Walker had married Sarah Ford on August 13, 1787. Their firstborn, Joseph Ford, arrived in 1791. Whether this was in Westbury itself, where he was baptised, or in the hamlet of Hawkeridge just to the north, is not known. A little over two years after his birth, the eldest of the baptised in 1812 arrived on March 17, 1794. This was Elizabeth who gave the hamlet as her birthplace. The lives of both Joseph and Elizabeth, and their spouses, have been extensively covered above.

�������������� Next to be born was Sarah; her birthday was recorded on the baptism record as January 7, 1797. Pre � 1837 marriage records in Anglican churches lack detail, but perhaps because of who the witnesses were, there�s good reason to believe that Sarah Walker married John Goodenough at St. Lawrence�s on May 11, 1818. Her witnesses were Louisa Walker, her sister, and Samuel Walker, most likely her father as her brother Samuel was only sixteen.

������������ ��It seems more than likely the parish clerk entered the names in the book in 1812 as no incumbent, or his curate, would be so creative with spelling. Luezea appeared for Louisa who was born on April 17, 1799. The second spelling appeared years later when she married Isaac Waite at St. Lawrence�s on April 12, 1819. Like her older sister, she married a Waite, but he doesn�t appear to be from the same family. The three witnesses were all Walkers : two Samuels � probably father and brother, and William � an uncle perhaps. It seems that in later life Louisa took to calling herself Eliza. This is the conclusion drawn from the contents of a letter written in 1892 and held by the Baptist Church at present day Rode. The letter mentioned a memorandum written by Isaac Waite concerning his children. He claimed all had their births registered at Rode Baptist Church. The births, not all in fact registered, ranged from 1820, the year after Isaac�s marriage to Louisa, to 1834. When those among the eight are registered, the mother�s name given is Eliza, daughter of Samuel & Sarah Walker. In 1841 the family were found at Hilperston Marsh, Trowbridge where Isaac worked as a fuller in the wool trade. There are 10 children present, some of whom correspond with those in the memorandum in terms of name and age. Significantly their mother�s name is Louisa. Without the 1892 letter and its memorandum, it might be thought Eliza was another sibling.

�������������� In 1812 Samuel headed the list in the parish register, but he was only fourth in birth order. He was born on November 20, 1802. There were at least two of this name at about this time in Road and distinguishing between them is difficult. One married Fanny Pain in 1822 and had five witnesses including Eleanor West and three Walkers with forenames different from Samuel�s siblings. The other married Jayne Dyer on May 23, 1825 with no family witnesses. She died in 1833 and was buried at the Baptist Church on June 11th. that year. Of the two, the former Samuel seems less likely to be the one in 1812 on the thin grounds that his three Walker witnesses were not from his family. The association with the Baptists that the Walker family had, perhaps from 1812 onwards, adds a little strength to the assertion that Jayne�s husband was the correct Samuel. What is more certain is that the Samuel Walker who was buried at the Baptist Church aged 51 in late October 1851, was not the one on the 1812 list because his birthdate would have been two years earlier.

������������� Jemima was born on May 13, 1805 and like two of her older sisters she married a Waite. This was William Waite, probably her brother-in-law. The marriage took place at St. Lawrence�s on July 10, 1820 when she would be just fifteen. Her three witnesses were probably her father and brother, both Samuel Walker, and John Waite her father-in-law. Fifteen was quite young for marriage, but legal then and not unknown. At Road�s Particular Baptist Church a burial took place on January 14, 1821 of an unnamed child of William Wait, (as spelled). Given the dates, it�s likely the marriage was seen as a necessity. Jemima did not have a long life; her burial, again with the Baptists, was on July 13, 1823 when she was named as the wife of William Wait.

����������� The next Walker girl was Ann. Her birthdate was given as June 13, 1807. At some time before 1826 she married a William Waite, quite possibly her recently widowed brother-in-law, as on January 15, 1826, a baptism record appeared at Road Baptist Church for James, the son of William and Ann Waite. The mother�s parentage was given as Samuel and Sarah Walker.

������������� There�s some confusion about the name of the last to be baptised in 1812. She has been called Marey, but the script shows Marcy. This was a probable miss-spelling of Mercy; the parish clerk simply transcribed what he heard. The next entry on the parish register after the Walker group was for a child named Mary and it was recorded in the normal way. Mercy Walker had been born on January 11, 1810. On March 1, 1829 at St. Lawrence�s, Road she married Joseph Hall. One of their witnesses was Isaac Wait (as spelled).

�������������� After this group patronage of St. Lawrence�s for baptisms in March 1812, the Walkers seemed to switch their allegiance to the Particular Baptist Church at Road. Within a matter of weeks James, a son of Samuel and Sarah Walker, was recorded to have been baptised at this church on May 3, 1812. No more is known about him, but it appears he was the last of the Walker brood.

������������� Had the assistant to Amelia West at the Goat Inn, Bristol not been described as her brother at the 1871 census, interest in the Waite family would have assumed a much lower profile. When this relationship was noticed, it was remembered that the same name, John Waite, appeared on her marriage lines. Later, it surfaced again on her husband�s will. Not only he, but his family�s links to the Wests needed investigating.

������������ On August 23, 1790 a John Waite married Mary Munday at Tellisford, a Somerset parish just north of Road. Their witnesses were John� Munday, presumably a relative of the bride, and George Moon whose appearance at each wedding on the page suggests he was the parish clerk. In due time children were born to them and five have been traced. First was Mary, baptised at Tellisford in October 1792, followed by John, whose baptism was given the precise date of November 19, 1794. The family held the next three baptisms at St. Lawrence�s, Road and probably moved there too. Nathaniel was first on February 26, 1797, followed by John Shrapnal on March 24, 1799, and then William on December 27, 1801.

������������� It was John Waite, born in 1794, who was to marry Elizabeth Walker in October 1814 at Road. He became a cordwainer, moved to Bristol and died there in 1877. It was he who witnessed both Amelia Walker�s wedding and Edward West�s will and what is known of his life is covered above.

������������� The record of John and Elizabeth�s children is somewhat fragmented and later corroborating evidence is lacking in most cases. However, they could have had nine children, the first three of whom were recorded at the Particular Baptist Church at Road. First was John, of whom more later, born on July 16, 1815, then Nathaniel on April 25, 1817 and Lois on July 15, 1819. The 1841 census records a John Waite, aged 45 and occupation cordwainer, living in the St. James parish of Bristol. With him is an Ann Waite, aged 20, possibly his daughter. If this is �our� John Waite, and it�s by no means certain, Ann could be the fourth child.

�������������� At the same census in Tower Lane in the Christchurch parish, Bristol a younger John Waite, occupation shoe maker, was living with an Elizabeth Waite and four children. The two adults were said to be aged 30. However, if this was John Waite junior born in 1815, as seems likely, he would have been 25 at the census date and unlikely to have fathered three of the four children. The three were Louisa 15, William 14 and James 11. It�s more likely they were siblings of the John they were with and hence three more of John senior�s children. Where their mother, Elizabeth, was and why she was absent is not known.

�� �����������The more informative 1851 census was able to locate John senior, his wife Elizabeth and two new children precisely. They were together at Pithay Chapel House in Bristol and could be confused with no other Waite family as their places of birth corresponded with what is known. The children were Eliza, aged 16 and a dressmaker, and Benjamin, 12 and at school.

������������� Of the nine children of John Waite and Elizabeth Walker three left a trace greater than their name and perhaps year of birth and of these only one had a minor role in our family story. In reverse order of age, they were :

������������� �Benjamin, who was born on December 19, 1838 at 101, Temple Street in Bristol (23). In one of the oddest coincidences found in this study there was a near identical family living in the next parish, St. Mary, Redcliffe, in 1841. The parents were John & Elizabeth Waite, the father was a boot and shoe maker and the youngest child was named Benjamin, aged 2 years. However, we can be confident that this family were not the Waites who migrated from Road. In the two years between mid-1838 and mid-1840 the births of only three Benjamin Waites were registered, strangely all in the same quarter. Only one of these was in Bristol and the mother�s maiden name was Walker, the other two were in Yorkshire. Benjamin became an engineer�s pattern maker and in 1858 he married Taunton born Harriett Lewis in Bristol (24). She was ten years his senior. Between 1861 and 1871 they migrated to London and finally settled in Camberwell. It was there that Harriett died in 1882 (25). They had had three children. Benjamin married again in late 1889; his bride, a younger one this time, was Annie Maria Long (26). Benjamin Waite died in Camberwell in 1903 (27).

������������� Eliza was the second youngest of the nine thought to have been born to John & Elizabeth. This was in c.1835 and in Bristol. Her marriage to Edmund Whittard in 1854, their eleven children, change of name to Elizabeth Eliza and eventual demise have already been recorded. However, unlike any other in Appendix 6, her photograph survives. She is featured standing behind her seated husband, both in middle age, in an almost dutiful pose. Edmund, white haired and bearded, retains his rustic origins while appearing stern faced. Eliza has short, curled hair which has kept its dark colour. She�s solidly built with a rather masculine face which is not sure whether to smile or frown. Both appear well dressed as might be expected from an outfitter.

������������� The first born, John, was the third of the trio of John Waite�s children about whom something is known. Of the three, he�s the only one to have played a small part in the West family story. Wrongly recorded as Amelia West�s brother in 1871, he was almost certainly her cousin. If the ideas discussed above are accepted, then his mother and her father were siblings. Like his father, he was a cordwainer. His marriage, if it took place at all, was to Elizabeth Williams from Aust in Gloucestershire. It has not been traced. No record has been found up to and after the birth of their daughter Elizabeth Ann on February 27, 1840 at Rosemary Street, St. Paul�s, Bristol. She, aged one, was the fourth child at Tower Lane when the 1841 census was taken. The next census found John, Elizabeth and Elizabeth Ann at 30, Greengate Street, St. Chad, Stafford. How long they had been there is not known, but shortly after much was to change.

������������� On May 23, 1852 John Waite was married at Clifton parish church, Bristol to Jane Rees, the daughter of Jenkin Rees (28). Moreover, John was recorded as a bachelor on the wedding certificate. No civil registration of death has been found for Elizabeth Waite between the census in 1851 and this marriage in 1852. This, together with the failure to find a record of his first wedding, suggests it was a common law marriage which ended in 1851. It�s also significant their daughter Elizabeth Ann is no longer found with her father.

�������������� If she had been, she would have been joined by her half- sister Martha on July 10, 1853 at Newfoundland Lane, St. Paul�s, Bristol (29). Two years later her brother John was added to the family (30). They were to be found at 6, Marlborough Street in 1861 and at the next census, as we know, John was at the Goat Inn, while the rest of the family were at 8, Narrow Wine Street in Bristol�s St. Peter�s parish. While Jane and Martha were engaged in boot making, the son John was employed as a coach smith. The children seem to have gone their separate ways by 1881 for only John and Jane, now in their sixties, were together. This was at Bath Cottage, near Rennison�s Baths in the district of the united parishes of St. James and St. Paul.

������������� Shortly after the census was taken Jane Waite died (31). Seven years later her husband John Waite�s death was registered in Barton Regis (32).�

GRO References

(1) ���Emma Walker�� Marriage�� June 1857�� Newington�� 1d�� 244

(2) ���Joseph Ford Walker Walker�� Birth�� Sep. 1837�� Bristol�� 11��

�� 115

(3) ���Joseph Ford Walker�� Death�� Dec. 1837 ��Bristol�� 11�� 130

(4) ���Sarah Catherine Walker�� Marriage�� Dec. 1852�� Bristol�� 6a��

��� 190

(5) ���Ellen Walker�� Marriage�� Sep. 1853�� Bedminster�� 5c�� 1188

(6) ���Ellen Norton ��Death�� June 1903�� King�s Norton�� 6c�� 194

(7) ���Sydney Parker Norton�� Death� �June 1907�� King�s Norton�� 6c

�� 208

(8) ���Joseph Ford Walker�� Death�� June 1853�� relevant pages

�� missing in GRO record

(9) ���Sarah Catherine Walker�� Death�� Sep. 1851�� Frome�� 10�� 264

(10) Ann Noad Rose�� Death�� Sep. 1867�� Bath�� 5c�� 394

(11) Sarah Rose�� Death�� Mar. 1851�� Frome�� 10�� 312

(12) Annie Rose�� Death�� Mar. 1844�� Frome�� 10�� 282

(13) Matilda Clarke�� Marriage�� Sep. 1851�� Bath�� xi�� 26

(14) Thomas Whittaker Rose�� Death�� Mar. 1895�� 5c�� 481

(15) Joseph Rose�� Death�� June 1852�� Frome�� 5c�� 396

(16) Elizabeth Waite�� Death�� June 1870�� Bristol�� 6a�� 14

(17) John Waite�� Death�� Sep. 1877�� Barton Regis�� 6a�� 45

(18) Horatio Nelson Hurley�� Death�� June 1885�� Barton Regis��

��������� 6a�� 51

(19) Horatio Nelson Hurley�� Marriage�� Dec. 1850�� Bath�� 11��

��������� 39

(20) Edmund Whittard�� Marriage�� Mar. 1854�� Bristol�� 6a�� 169

(21) Edmund Whittard�� Death�� June 1893�� Bristol�� 6a�� 9

(22) Elizabeth Eliza Whittard�� Death�� June 1899�� Bristol�� 6a��

� ��������51

(23) Benjamin Waite�� Birth�� Mar. 1839�� Bristol�� xi�� 168

(24) Benjamin Waite�� Marriage�� Mar. 1858�� Bristol�� 6a�� 111

(25) Harriett Waite�� Death�� Sep. 1882�� Camberwell�� 1d�� 475

(26) Benjamin Waite�� Marriage�� Dec. 1889�� Camberwell�� 1d��

��������� 1310

(27) Benjamin Waite�� Death�� Sep. 1903�� Camberwell�� 1d��

��������� 449

(28) John Waite�� Marriage�� June 1852�� Clifton�� 6a�� 208

(29) Martha Wait�� Birth�� Sep. 1853�� Bristol�� 6a�� 27

(30) John Waite�� Birth�� June 1855�� Bristol�� 6a�� 34

(31) Jane Waite�� Death�� June 1881�� Barton Regis�� 6a�� 49

(32) John Waite�� Death�� June 1888�� Barton Regis�� 6a�� 56�����

Published
26 December 2023
Last Updated
10 January 2024