Thursday, 20 September 2018

Great x3 Grandfather James Bennett

My Great x3 Grandfather James (1842 - 1872) was a manservant, railway labourer and packer, and father of two.


James Bennett was born around 1842 in Upton Pyne, Devon to John Bennett (about 50), a ropemaker, and Jane 'Jenny' Bennett (nee Godsland) (about 38).

James was baptised on 17th April 1842 in Upton Pyne.

James was the seventh of eight children (three daughters and five sons):

  • Mary  1827 - 
  • John  1829 - 
  • Jane  1831 - 
  • William  1834 - 
  • Robert  1836 -
  • Emma  1839 -
  • James  1842 -
  • Samuel  1845 -

1851 Census:


In 1855, when James was about thirteen, his mother Jane passed away, aged about 51, at Upton Pyne. A few years later, in 1859, when James was about seventeen, his father John passed away, aged about 67, also at Upton Pyne.

Young James left home and found work as a manservant for the Hodge family, headed by dairyman William Hodge, in Exeter.

1861 Census:


On Christmas Day 1864, James (22), then working as a labourer, married Sarah Ann Andrews (20) in Heavitree, near Exeter. Whilst Sarah Ann was able to sign her name on their marriage certificate, James left only his mark, implying he could not write. The young couple married in the presence of James' older siblings Robert and Emma.

James and Sarah Ann had two children:

  • William  1868 - 1942 (73)
  • Emma 1871 - 1944 (73)

The young couple moved about five miles south-east from Heavitree to Ebford, where their eldest child, William, was born in 1868.

James soon found work as a labourer and packer for the railway, which took the young Devonian family just over the boarder to Somerset, where daughter Emma was born in 1871. Did James name his daughter Emma after his older sister?

1871 Census:


On Monday 19th August 1872, James' life was cut tragically short. He passed away, aged thirty, from injuries received in an accident at work. In his role as a packer for the Bristol and Exeter Railway Company, he aimed to unload a truck. Alas he attempted to get into the truck while it was still in motion; he missed his step and his leg got entangled in the wheel!

From the Western Gazzette on 23rd August 1872:


James' sudden death left Sarah Ann a widow, far from home, with two infant children, and with no obvious means of support. The small family were soon paupers and Emma sought relief in Exeter. Sadly, they were not welcomed by the city, and its justices sought to have them legally removed to South Molton. Census records imply Sarah Ann soon remarried, and her young children gained a step-father in the form of Scottish veteran of the Crimean War James Clapperton. So young when their natural father died, did William and Emma have any memory of him?

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