James Baynham (1779-1860)
Born: 1779 at Lea Bailey
Parents: Elisabeth Baynham
Married: 1816 to Elizabeth Simmonds and 1833 to Elizabeth Rosser
Died: 1860 at Newland
James, my three times great-grandfather, was born at Lea Bailey in Gloucestershire in 1779, the only child of Elisabeth Baynham.
He married Elizabeth Symonds, daughter of Philip Symonds and Mary Harrington at English Bicknor in 1816, when James was 37 and Elizabeth was about 26. They had seven children: Matthew in 1818; Cornelius in 1820; Sarah in 1822; Isaiah in 1824; Ezekiel and Tryphenia in 1826; and Jeremiah, my great great-grandfather, in 1829. Elizabeth died in 1829, probably in childbirth, aged 39.
In 1833 James married Elizabeth Rosser, daughter of Edward and Mary Rosser at Newland in 1833, when he was 43 and she was 24. She had already had two children: Timothy in 1831 and Catherine in 1833. Together they had another five children: Enoch in 1835; Emma in 1839; Charles in 1843; Thomas in 1846; and Richard in 1851.
James died at Newland in 1860, aged about 80.
Elizabeth Rosser died at Scowles in 1869, aged 60.
James appears to have been born at Lea Bailey, a wooded area to the north of the Forest, in 1779. He was the only child of Elisabeth Baynham and was my great-great-great grandfather.
He was baptised at Ross on 17th April 1779.
In 1816 he married Elizabeth Simmonds at English Bicknor – on 8th September, presumably at the Norman parish church of St. Mary the Virgin.
They are described as being ‘both extraparochial’, which means that they would have been living in an area outside the jurisdiction of any parish and therefore able to choose the church in which they would get married. However, it would have also meant they they were living without any parish support.
James and Elizabeth both made their mark in the register, as did her mother Mary Simmonds.
Elizabeth had been born at Upton Bishop in 1790 and was baptised there on 21st February at the church of St. John the Baptist.
She was the only daughter of Philip Simmonds and Mary Harrington. She had three brothers, one younger and two older – one of whom was William Simmonds who, with his wife Ann, would later have a hand in bringing up my great-great-grandfather Jeremiah.
From the birth records of their children, James and Elizabeth appear to have lived in and around Lea Bailey and Bailey Brook for about a decade and throughout this period James was working as an agricultural labourer. In this area people often lived in cabins which were very primitive, low dwellings – most had dry stone walls and turf roofs, but no windows; inside they had a paved floor and, at one end, a fireplace and chimney.
James and Elizabeth had six children there:
Matthew was baptised at St. Michael’s church, Hope Mansell on 25th April 1818.
Cornelius was baptised at Holy Trinity church, Drybrook on 9th April 1820.
Sarah was also baptised (as ‘Bainham’) at Hope Mansell, on 12th May in 1822.
Isaiah too was baptised at Hope Mansell, on 6th June 1824.
Ezekiel and Tryphenia were the last children to be born in Lea Bailey, at Bailey Brook; they were baptised (as ‘Bainham’) at Hope Mansell, on 17th December 1826. It is probable that they were twins, as evidenced by their names – Ezekiel means ‘strength of God’ and Tryphenia means ‘delicate’ or ‘dainty’.
Jeremiah, my great-great grandfather, was born elsewhere – at Upton Bishop; he was baptised at the church of St. Lawrence, Weston-under-Penyard on 27th May 1829.
So perhaps his mother Elizabeth, then aged 39, went to Upton Bishop to stay with her mother Mary? Sadly Elizabeth appears to have died in childbirth. She was buried at the church of St. Lawrence, on the same day that Jeremiah was baptised there
In 1833 James re-married.
Banns for his wedding to Elizabeth Rosser were published on 1st, 8th and 15th September in All Saints church at Newland, traditionally and affectionately known as the ‘Cathedral of the Forest’.
They were married there on 22nd September.
Their witnesses were Edward and Sarah Frowen – most likely this was Edward the second son of William Frowen, a coal miner, and Elisabeth Aston. Edward had been born and grown up in nearby Whitecliff and now, like James, was working as a labourer and living at Scowles after marrying Sarah Thomas in 1828.
However, the Thomas Frowen whom James’ daughter Sarah married in 1846 at English Bicknor was not Edward’s younger brother Thomas; Sarah’s in-laws were Thomas and Mary Frowen (nee Bolton) who had been married at Newland in 1809.
Elizabeth Rosser was the only daughter of Edward and Mary Rosser; she had been born in 1809 and baptised at Coleford Chapel on 17th September.
By the time they were married, Elizabeth had already had two children with James:
Timothy, who was born at Coleford in 1831 and baptised (as ‘Timothy Baynam, son of Elizabeth Rosser Single Woman’) at All Saints church, Newland on 19th June 1831. Elizabeth’s abode was recorded as Scowles, which had only begun to appear in church records at the beginning of the 1800s.
and Catherine who was born at Scowles in 1833 and baptised (as ‘Catharine, illegitimate daughter of Elizabeth Rosser’) at Newland on 11th September 1833. Again, Elizabeth’s abode was recorded as Scowles.
Together they had another two children before the 1941 census was taken:
Enoch was baptised at Newland on 18th October 1835.
Emma was also baptised at Newland on 7th April 1839.
In the 1841 census, James was shown living at Scowles with four children – Isaiah (15), Timothy (9), Catharine (6) and Enoch (4).
By now four other children were living elsewhere:
Matthew (23) had left home, but his whereabouts were not recorded in the 1841 census.
Sarah (19) was now living in Llanrothall as a servant in the household of farmer William Yeamans.
Tryphenia (15) had also moved away, but she did not appear in any 1841 census.
Jeremiah (12) was living in Upton Bishop with his uncle and aunt William and Ann Simmonds.
Cornelius had already died at home in Bailey Brook in 1829, aged about 9; he was buried on 9th July in Holy Trinity church at Drybrook, where only he had been baptised,
Ezekial was also dead – he had died at home in Scowles in 1835, aged about 8; he was buried at Newland on 15th April.
Elizabeth and Emma were not at home either – the 1841 census for Little Dean Bridewell showed Elizabeth (30) as an inmate, living there with her daughter Emma (2). She had been committed to the House of Correction for assaulting and beating another woman and was serving a sentence of 14 days’ hard labour; Elizabeth’s prison story began here.
Two more sons were born at Scowles in the 1840s – Charles on 5th March 1843 and Thomas in 1846; they were were baptised together (as ‘Tom’ and ‘Charles’) on 14th November 1847 at All Saints church, Newland.
James was still working as a labourer.
10 years later, the 1851 census showed James and Elizabeth living together at Scowles with a different four children – Enoch (15), Emma (12), Charles (7) and Thomas (5). The two older children were described as simply ‘at home’ while the younger ones were at school.
James was still working as a farm labourer.
Matthew (33) was living as an inmate in Westbury Union House; he was unmarried and had no occupation.
Sarah (29) had married Thomas Frowen the son of Thomas and Mary Frowen (nee Bolton) in 1846 at English Bicknor and by 1851 was living on Common Grove, English Bicknor with their two young children, Sarah Ann and Thomas, plus her husband’s mother Mary Pritchard (68) and his nephew Samuel Frowen (5).
Aged 25, in 1851 Tryphenia gave birth to a daughter Clara in the Monmouth Union House. Clara was baptised (as ‘Clara Bainham‘) in the church of St. Mary at Monmouth on 30th March, but survived less than a year and was buried there on 15th January 1852.
Isiah had recently got married – on 3rd May 1850 at Newland to Elizabeth Lewis. At the time of the census they were living in Lower Redbrook, Newland.
Elizabeth died later that year, aged 21, and was buried at Newland on 3rd October 1851.
Not long after the death of his wife, Isaiah appears to have absconded from his employer, without consent. His appearance in the Gloucester prison records for early 1857 is Isaiah’s prison story.
Jeremiah (23) was still living at Upton Bishop with William and Ann Simmonds and was working as a farm labourer, like his uncle.
In mid-1851 Elizabeth’s prison story continued: she was again committed to the Littledean House of Correction, this time for stealing a quantity of bark belonging to the Crown. She had been tried at Gloucester Court of Sessions on 1st July, found guilty and sentenced to two calendar months’ hard labour in the House of Correction.
The Prisoners’ Register there wrongly recorded that she had no previous convictions, but did show that she was believed to be ‘of good character until the present occasion’ and her conduct in prison was ‘very good’ but ‘her husband is much given to drink’. It was noted that she gave birth to a male child on the 17th August.
That male child was Richard, who was not baptised until much later – 10th December 1865.
James died at Scowles in 1860 and was buried at Newland, presumably at All Saints church on 7th April 1860, aged 77.
After her husband’s death, Elizabeth continued to live at Scowles and in the 1861 census was shown living there as a widow aged 50 with three sons – Charles (19), Thomas (14) and Richard (8). The two older boys are both working as coal miners and the youngest was at school.
In 1861 Matthew (43) was now living as a boarder with the Dew family in Linton.
Sarah (39) was still married to Thomas and living in Common Grove, English Bicknor; they now had four school-age children.
In the 1961 census, Isaiah (37) was shown living with his new wife Jane (nee Thomas) at Joyford Hill in West Dean.
They had married by banns on 20th June 1859 in the church of All Saints at Newland and in 1860 Jane had given birth to a son and he had been baptised James in Christ Church, Dean Forest on 15th April.
Sadly baby James had survived for only 11 days and been buried in Christ Church on 22nd April 1860.
Jeremiah, my great-great grandfather, had married Caroline Evans in 1852 and in around 1853 they had moved with their first child Louisa Mary to the Midlands. In 1861 they were living in Union Street, Smethwick with five young children and Jeremish’s uncle William Simmonds in whose household he had grown up. Jeremiah was now employed locally in a glass works.
Elizabeth died at Scowles in 1869 and was also buried in the graveyard of All Saints church at Newland on 2nd April 1869, aged 60; the burial register describes her as ‘Elizabeth, Relict of James Baynham’.
Matthew died aged 50 at Bromsash in Herefordshire in early 1871 and was buried at Linton on 1st March.
At the time of the 1871 census, Sarah (49) and Thomas were still living in Common Grove, English Bicknor with three daughters and Thomas’ brother Joseph. Thomas and Joseph were working as agricultural labourers and Sarah was a charwoman.
Isaiah’s second wife Jane had died aged 27 in 1864 and had been buried in Christ Church on 16th January.
In 1871 Isaiah (47) appears to have been living in The Mire, West Dean with a woman named Emma Hughes (26); she was recorded in the census as ‘Emma Baynham, Wife’ but there is no evidence that she and Isaiah were married. Isaiah was working as an agricultural labourer.
A decade later, the 1881 census recorded that both Sarah and Isaiah were still alive:
Sarah (59) and Thomas, now 71 and still working as an agricultural labourer, were still living in Common Grove, English Bicknor. With them were their youngest daughter Rosanna (15) and two grandchildren – Thomas Webb (11) and Elizabeth L. Frowen (8), who were both at school.
By 1881, Isaiah (57) and Emma (35) had moved to East Dean and were living with a boarder named Milson Baynham (26). Isiah was working as a coal mine labourer and Milson was a coal miner, in an area where all the other local men were involved in coal mining.
Isaiah died aged 63 at Lydbrook in 1887 and was buried on 17th February back in West Dean, in the graveyard of Christ Church.
Sarah died aged 65 at English Bicknor in the same year and was buried in the graveyard of St. Mary the Virgin on 11th October 1887.
Jeremiah, my great-great grandfather, died in Winson Green, Birmingham on 19th August 1900, aged 71. He was buried on 22nd August at Oldbury Cemetery in Smethwick where he had lived for most of his adult life.
Notes:
James’ parents are shown in other family trees as John Baynham (born 1759) and his wife Sarah Woodward (born 1770) but there does not appear to be any evidence for this. The only baptism record for a James as son of a John and Sarah Baynham around this time is in 1817 (at English Bicknor), by which time James was already married to Elizabeth Symonds/Simonds/Simmonds.
Her birth record shows her family name as ‘Simonds’
Why did they choose to marry at English Bicknor?
James and Elizabeth were both recorded as ‘extraparochial’; James had been born in Lea Bailey, which is probably why he was extraparochial, but Elizabeth had been born in Upton Bishop so why was she extraparochial?
Acknowledgements:
- Census extracts – www.ancestry.co.uk
- Baptism, marriage and burial records – www.ancestry.co.uk and www.familysearch.org