Jeremiah Baynham (1829-1900)
Born: 1829 at Upton Bishop
Parents: James Baynham and Elizabeth Symonds
Married: 1852 to Caroline Evans
Died: 1900 at Birmingham
Jeremiah, my great-great-grandfather, was born at Upton Bishop in Herefordshire in 1829
He married Caroline Evans, daughter of William Evans and Mary Hall in 1852 – at Much Marcle, presumably in St. Bartholomew’s Church, when he was 23 and she was 20. They had eleven children: Louisa Mary in 1853; Urina Ann in 1854; Arthur William, my great-grandfather, in 1856; George in 1857; Agnes in 1860; Andrew in 1862 (d. 1863); John in 1864 (d. 1865); Albert in 1867 (d. 1892); Thomas in 1869; Peter in 1873; and Amos Joseph in 1876.
Jeremiah died at Birmingham in 1900, aged 71.
Caroline died at Smethwick in 1913, aged 84.
Unlike his siblings who were all born in and around Bailey, my great-great-grandfather Jeremiah was born in the tiny village of Upton Bishop, Herefordshire in 1829; he was the seventh and youngest child of James Baynham and Elizabeth Symonds. Perhaps his mother, then aged 39, had gone to Upton Bishop to stay with her mother Mary Symonds for the birth?
Sadly, it it appears that Elizabeth must have died in childbirth, or shortly afterwards, as she was buried at St. Lawrence on 27th May 1829; and on the same day Jeremiah was baptised there, by the same clergyman.
Perhaps the choice of St. Lawrence for her burial was because several of James’ ancestors had also been buried there.
The choice of the name Jeremiah is interesting too; it is an ancient name and one of its meanings is “God will uplift or loosen (from the womb)” – fitting for a baby whose mother appears to have died giving birth to him.
Jeremiah first appeared in a census in 1841, but he was not living with his widowed father James and his siblings at Scowles. Instead it recorded him as living in Upton, ‘part of Upton Bishop’, with his aunt Ann and uncle William Symonds, his mother’s brother, who were in their 50s and childless. Jeremiah was aged 12 and working as an agricultural labourer, as was his uncle.
Given that his mother Elizabeth had died when he was born and his father James was presumably left to look after six other children between the ages of three and eleven, young Jeremiah must have begun living with his mother’s relatives in Upton Bishop at some point between 1829 and 1841. William did not marry Ann until 1835, so perhaps Jeremiah had lived with his grandmother Mary until her death in 1831 and then with one of his mother’s other married brothers Edward or Thomas, both of whom had young families, until he movd in with William and Ann some time after 1835?
In 1851 he was still living with William and Ann, at 4 Crews Village in the Parish of Upton Bishop Crews; he was now aged 23 and still working as a farm labourer.
In 1852 he married Caroline Evans at Much Marcle, presumably in St. Bartholomew’s Church, on 13th December. Jeremiah appears to have signed the register and Caroline made her mark, as did the witnesses Jeremiah’s uncle William Simmons and Caroline’s younger sister Matilda Mary Evans.
Caroline had been born in 1832 at Ledbury in Herefordshire, the third of seven children of William Evans (1797-1864), a tailor, and Mary Hall (1795-1886). She had grown up in Much Marcle, but three of her siblings had died in 1833-4.
Jeremiah and Caroline’s first child Louisa Mary was born at Upton Bishop Crews on 19th September 1853 and registered at Ross; she was baptised (as ‘Louiza Mary’) at Upton Bishop on 13th November, presumably in the church of St. John the Baptist.
This suggests that Jeremiah and Caroline were living in Upton Bishop and that Jeremiah continued to work locally.
Only Louisa was born in Herefordshire. All the other children were born in the Midlands, so presumably the family moved to West Bromwich at some time during 1854, before the birth of their second child Urina.
It appears from the birth certificates of their children that Jeremiah and Caroline moved house several times within the same area over the next few years as their family grew.
The birth certificates also show Jeremiah working either as a labourer at a glass works or working as a glass maker.
Urina was born on 20th November 1854, at Oak Road and Arthur William, my great-grandfather, was born on 6th June 1856, at Newhall Street.
They were baptised together at Christ Church, West Bromwich on 13th July 1856.
George was born on 26th September 1857, at Glover Street and baptised in the local Wesleyan-Methodist chapel at West Bromwich on 14th October.
Agnes was born on 8th August 1860, at Union Street but there is no record of her baptism.
So by 1861 Jeremiah was living with his wife Caroline and five young children – Louisa (7), Urina (6), Arthur (5), George (4) and Agnes (8 months) – in West Bromwich in Staffordshire, on Union Street.
Also living with him was his uncle William Symonds (‘Wm. Simmonds, Boarder’ in the 1861 census) who was now over 70. William’s wife Ann had died in October 1855, aged 70 – of old age (‘Decay of Nature’) in the Union Workhouse at Ross; she was shown on the record as the ‘wife of William Symonds, haulier’. Presumably Jeremiah had then invited his old uncle to live with him in West Bromwich and found a job for him.
They were both working as labourers in a glass works. It is possible that it was the famous Chances Glassworks, but the company records contain no mention of either man. The birth certificates of the children born during the next decade showed Jeremiah working as a carter, jobbing carter and carter at a glassworks.
Sons born during the 1860s and baptised in the local Wesleyan-Methodist chapel at West Bromwich were –
Andrew, born on 16th August 1862 and baptised (oddly, as ‘Henry’) on 1st October; he died on 16th November 1863, aged just one year.
John, born on 31st May 1864 and baptised on 24th June; he died late in 1865, also aged just one year.
Albert, born on 17th July 1867 and baptised on 7th August.
Thomas, born on 24th April 1869 and baptised on 12th May.
By 1871 the family had moved to 126 George Street, Smethwick – just off Spon Lane, where Chances Glassworks was situated. Their eldest child Louisa (16) was still at home with two teenage brothers William (14) and George (13), a younger sister Agnes (10) and two small brothers Albert (3) and Thomas (10) but Urina (16) was not – she was now employed as a live-in general servant (domestic) in a school for girls at Barton In The Beans, Leicestershire.
Teenage sons Arthur (referred to by his middle name William in the census) (14) and George (13) had both started working as ‘spare boys’ in the glass works where Jeremiah was still shown employed as a ‘labourer’, but perhaps this is down to the census enumerator, as Jeremiah appears throught this period to have been working as a carter of some sort, either in the glass works or otherwise as a jobbing carter. Agnes (10) was at school.
William Simmonds was no longer living with them; he had died in October 1867, aged 77 – of old age (‘Senile Decay’) in the Union Workhouse at West Bromwich; he was shown on the record as a ‘General Laborer’.
During the 1870s, another two sons were born and both were baptised in Holy Trinity church, West Bromwich –
Peter, born on 21st April 1873 and baptised on 1st June.
Amos Joseph, born on 7th July 1876 and baptised on 6th August.
Later in 1876 Louisa Mary died on 10th November at home in George Street, of tuberculosis; she was unmarried and aged just 23.
As recorded on the birth certificates of Peter and Amos and on the death certificate of Louisa Mary, during the perod 1873 to 1876 Jeremiah was working as a jobbing carter. So perhaps he is the ‘Baynham Jeremiah, carter, George St, W. Smethwick’ in the 1873 White’s Directory? If so, he could also be the ‘Jeremiah Baynham of West Smethwick, haulier’ who on 22nd December 1880 was listed under Liquidations By Arrangement in The London Daily News section ‘From Last Night’s Gazette’. Certainly the next census records him as a general labourer, with no mention of carting or the glass works.
George left home around this time and in 1878 married Harriet Hudson who had grown up in the Potteries.
By 1881 the family was still in Smethwick, but at some time after 1876 had moved again – to 38 Corser Street. Arthur and George and Agnes had all left home. Albert (13) was ‘out of employment’ and Thomas (11) was at school – as were the two youngest boys, Peter (7) and Amos (4).
Jeremiah was working as a general labourer.
The family had also taken in a new lodger, William Lloyd. Aged 22, he had been born and had grown up in Much Marcle where Caroline was from. In 1882 he married daughter Agnes who at the time of the census was working away from home as a live-in servant in Monks Coppenhall near Crewe. Like Jeremiah, William was working as a general labourer.
By 1891 Jeremiah had moved his family yet again – to 111 Heath Street, Smethwick. Two sons were still living at home – Peter (19), working as an electro-plater and Amos (14, not 24 as recorded), working as a printer compositor. There was now a different boarder – Charles Johnson (32) a ceramic artist who was born in Hay.
The census also recorded an Alfred Baynham (17) who may well have been a relative.
Thomas (21) had left home a few years earlier and married Ellen Frost in 1888.
Jeremiah was a general labourer again, with no mention of the glass works – plus his 1900 death certificate (informed by his widow), describes him as a railway servant and Elizabeth’s 1913 death certificate (informed by their son Peter), describes him as a coal hauler.
On 30th January 1892 Albert died of pneumonia, after a bout of influenza which had lasted 13 days. He was still living at the family home in Heath Street and working as a factory labourer; he was unmarried and aged just 25.
Jeremiah died at home of St. Anthony’s Fire, after 21 days of influenza, on 19th August 1900, aged 71. He was buried on 22nd August at Oldbury Cemetery, St. Paul’s Road, West Smethwick in Sandwell.
After his father’s death, Peter took over his father’s position as head of the household at 111 Heath Street – in the 1901 census he was recorded as living there with his mother Caroline and the boarder Charles Johnson. Peter was still working as an electro-plater.
By now Amos had left home and had married Helen Williams in 1900.
Peter married Alice Moore in 1904.
Sons Thomas, Arthur William and George all died of tuberculosis between 1905 and 1908 –
Thomas died on 8th February 1905, aged 36, in the infirmary of the Kings Norton Union Workhouse in Selly Oak, where Edward Pye (the father-in-law of Thomas’ oldest brother Arthur William) had died back in 1882. He left a widow Ellen and four children (two more had died in infancy).
Arthur William died at his home, 12 Oxford Street, Walsall on 25th August 1905, aged 49
George also died at his home, 92 St. George Street, Smethwick, on 22nd August 1908, aged 50. He left a widow Harriet and ten children.
In 1911 Peter was living with Alice and their son at 127 Cape Hill, Smethwick. Also living with them was Peter’s mother Caroline (83, widow) and Alice’s father Joseph (75, widower).
Caroline died at Peter’s home on 2nd August 1913, of old age – at 84. She too was buried at Oldbury Cemetery, with Jeremiah, on 7th August.
Jeremiah and Caroline are buried in an unmarked grave to the right of this photograph, within the shade of the tree.
Peter was 88 years old when he died on 31st December 1961; he had outlived his wife Alice and two sons. He left his small estate to his brother Amos.
Amos was also 88 years old when he died on 29th December 1964, survived by his three children; his wife Helen had died in 1947.
Notes:
- the area covered by the 1841 census was “All that part of the Parish of Upton Bishop which lies on the eastern side of the road leading from the Old Gore to Sandford and on the south side of the road from the Crow Hill to Kempley”.
- transcriptions of this census have shown ‘Jeremiah’ incorrectly – as variously ‘Beresmah’ and ‘Beremiah’ – and his age as 18, not 12.
- the description of area covered by the 1851 census was “Upton Bishop bounded on the East by Dymock and Kempley on the South by Weston and Linton on the West by —— and Brampton Abbots on the North and North West by —— and Much Marcle. Its length from East to West about six (?) miles, from South to South about four, is of considerable dimensions with Houses, scattered from one extreme to the other, contains about 5000 acres”
- this census records Jeremiah’s surname as Symonds and his relationship to William as ‘son’; presumably the person recording the information simply made these assumptions – an easy mistake for the enumerator to make!
- William Symonds is shown as ‘Simmonds’ in the census
- he is shown aged 62, but he is actually 72 – in the 1851 Upton Bishop census his age was recorded as 60
- Caroline’s age is shown as 69, but she is 59
- certificate shows Jermiah’s age as 73, but he was in fact 71.
- it shows his profession as ‘Railway Servant’
- burial register shows Jermiah’s age as 73, but he was in fact 71.
- it also shows his trade as ‘ironworker’
- the census shows Caroline as 72, but she is actually 69
- Jeremiah – his grave is in Section C (Catholic) of the Unconsecrated Ground, with a note under ‘No. of Grave’ saying ‘Reopened 470 6ft’ plus a pencil annotation ‘1/140’
- Caroline – her grave is in the same Section; the note says ‘Reop 1004 6ft’; the annotation says ‘1/145’
Acknowledgements:
- Marriage certificate for Jeremiah and Caroline – www.gro.gov.uk
- Census extracts – www.ancestry.co.uk
- Baptism, marriage and burial records – www.ancestry.co.uk and www.familysearch.org
- Non-conformist baptism records – Sandwell Archives
- Chances Glassworks Collection – Sandwell Archives
- Oldbury Cemetery – Mark Baynham
- Houses on Oldbury Road – Sandwell Archives