Person:Edmund Hutchings (1)

Childhood

Edmund Wilkins Hutchings was born in November 1809 at Crewkerne in Somerset, son of Ann Hutchings, formerly North, and her husband William Hutchings, an agricultural labourer. He appears to have been the third of four children. Little more is known about his early life. His middle name Wilkins may be a clue to earlier ancestors, but this has yet to be established. His middle name appears not to have been used after his baptism.

Adulthood

On 8th January 1833, aged 23, Edmund married Mary Ann Forsey, who was 22 and from the nearby parish of Winsham. Their first child, Mary, was baptised just over three months later. Her baptism describes Edmund as a labourer. When their second daughter, Ann, was baptised in 1834 the family's abode was given as Woolminstone, a small hamlet in the parish of Crewkerne but a little way out of the town itself. In 1836, Edmund's mother Ann died. Her burial also notes that the family lived at Woolminstone.

Edmund and Mary had a son William in 1838, also at Woolminstone.

The 1841 census finds Edmund and Mary living at Woolminstone with their two younger children and Edmund's father William. Their eldest daughter Mary was staying with Edmund's sister Mary in Crewkerne town on census night. After the 1841 census Edmund and Mary had two more children in Crewkerne parish: Alfred in 1841 and George Henry in 1844. They then moved to Mary's native parish of Winsham, where they had two further children: Herbert in 1847 and John in 1850. Back in Crewkerne, Edmund's father William died in 1849. The 1851 census finds Edmund, Mary and their children living at Whatley in Winsham. At this time Edmund was described as a farmer.

Some time between 1851 and 1861 they moved away from the Crewkerne and Winsham area, some 18 miles or so to the north east, to Northover near the town of Ilchester. Edmund was described as an agricultural labourer. Their daughter Mary also moved away in the 1850s; she was married in London in 1856, but then returned to Crewkerne, where Edmund and Mary's first known grandchild was born in 1860.

Edmund and Mary moved again between 1861 and 1871, to Broadwindsor in Dorset, about four miles south of Woolminstone. At Broadwindsor they lived in the hamlet of Little Windsor, and Edmund worked as a farm bailiff. One of their granddaughters, Kate May, (their daughter Ann's daughter) was staying with them on census night.

Mary died in 1872, aged about 62. She was buried at Broadwindsor.

After Mary's death, Edmund went to live with his daughter Ann. She by this time was living in Plymouth. The 1881 census finds Edmund living with Ann and her family at 10 John Street close to the town centre. In Plymouth Edmund worked as a gardener. He was still with Ann's family at 10 John Street ten years later in the 1891 census, by which time he was a great grandfather; some of his great grandchildren were living next door at 11 John Street.

Edmund died later in 1891 in Plymouth, aged 82.

1. ↑ ^1.0 1.1 Crewkerne (St Bartholomew) baptisms, in Church of England. Parish Church of Crewkerne. Crewkerne Parish Registers, 1558-1901. (Taunton: Somerset Heritage Service).

   BAPTISMS
   Date: December 8th
   Aged: 4 weeks
   Name of the Child: Edmund Wilkins
   Name of the Father and Mother: Son of W[illia]m & Anne Hutchings formerly North

   To be four weeks old on 8th December, Edmund would have been born between 4th and 10th November. This baptism can be linked to the adult Edmund who married Mary Forsey on the basis that:
   A. It is in the same parish that Edmund gave as his birthplace in the 1851-1891 censuses and at the right time to match his age.
   B. In the 1841 census Edmund is living with his father William.
   C. Also in the 1841 census Edmund's daughter Mary is living with Mary Scriven, formerly Hutchings, whose marriage certificate tells us she was the daughter of William Hutchings.
   D. One of the witnesses to Edmund's marriage was Thomas Vincent, who three months later married Elizabeth Hutchings, the older sister of the Edmund baptised in 1809.

2. ↑ England. 1841 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class HO107; Piece 940; Book 1; Folio 20; Page 9, 6 Jun 1841.

   Address: Woolminstone, Crewkerne, Somerset
   William Hutchings, male, 60 [1776-81], Ag Lab, born in county
   Edmund Hutchings, male, 30 [1806-11], Ag Lab, born in county
   Mary Ann Hutchings, female, 25 [1811-16], born in county
   Ann Hutchings, female, 7 [1833/4], born in county
   William Hutchings, male, 3 [1837/8], born in county

3. ↑ England. 1851 Census Returns for England and Wales. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class HO107; Piece 1928; Folio 208; Page 7, 30 Mar 1851.

   Address: Whatley, Winsham, Somerset
   Edwin Hutchings, head, married, male, 40 [1810/11], Farmer, b. Crewkerne, Somerset
   Mary Ann Hutchings, wife, married, female, 39 [1811/12], Farmer Wife, b. Winsham, Somerset
   Marey [sic] Hutchings, daughter, unmarried, female, 18 [1832/3], Farmer Daur, b. Crewkerne, Somerset
   Ann Hutchings, daughter, unmarried, female, 16 [1834/5], Farmer Daur, b. Crewkerne, Somerset
   William Hutchings, son, unmarried, male, 13 [1837/8], Farmer Son, b. Crewkerne, Somerset
   Alfred Hutchings, son, unmarried, male, 9 [1841/2], Farmer Son, b. Crewkerne, Somerset
   G.H. Hutchings, son, unmarried, male, 6 [1844/5], Farmer Son, b. Crewkerne, Somerset
   Herbert Hutchings, son, unmarried, male, 3 [1847/8], Farmer Son, b. Winsham, Somerset
   J. Hutchings, son, unmarried, male, 8 months [1850], Farmer Son, b. Winsham, Somerset

4. ↑ England. 1861 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class RG9; Piece 1645; Folio 27; Page 8, 7 Apr 1861.

   Address: In Street, Northover, Somerset
   Edmund Hutchings, head, married, male, 49 [1811/12], Ag Lab, b. Crewkerne, Somerset
   Mary A. Hutchings, wife, married, female, 48 [1812/13], b. Winsham, Somerset
   Henry Hutchings, son, unmarried, male, 16 [1844/5], Ag Lab, b. Crewkerne, Somerset
   John Hutchings, son, unmarried, male, 10 [1850/1], b. Winsham, Somerset

5. ↑ England. England and Wales. 1871 Census Schedules. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class RG10; Piece 2025; Folio 24; Page 15, 2 Apr 1871.

   Address: Littlewinsor and Swilotts, Broadwinsor, Dorset
   Edmund Hutchings, head, married, male, 55 [1815/6], Farm Baliff, b. Crewkerne, Somerset
   Mary Anne Hutchings, wife, married, female, 54 [1816/7], b. Winsham, Somerset
   Kate May, granddaughter, female, 8 [1862/3], b. Devonport, Devon

   The top of this census page says "Littlewinsor and Swilotts" (i.e. Littlewindsor and Swilletts to use the modern spellings) but there is nothing to distinguish which families were at the hamlet of Littlewindsor and which were at the hamlet of Swilletts. The Hutchings were probably at Littlewindsor, because that was given as their abode when Mary died the following year.

6. ↑ England. 1881 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands: . (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class RG11; Piece 2194; Folio 7; Page 19, 3 Apr 1881.

   Address: 10 John Street, Plymouth, Devon
   William May, head, married, male, 45 [1835/6], Publican & Hauler, b. Tiverton, Devon
   Ann May, wife, married, female, 45 [1835/6], Publican's Wife, b. Crewkerne, Somerset
   William May, son, unmarried, male, 20 [1860/1], Compositer Printer (unemployed), b. Devonport, Devon
   Frank May, son, male, 16 [1864/5], b. Plymouth, Devon, Imbecile
   Maud May, daughter, female, 13 [1867/8], Scholar, b. Plymouth, Devon
   Elizabeth M. May, daughter, female, 11 [1869/70], Scholar, b. Plymouth, Devon
   Annie May, daughter, female, 8 [1872/3], Scholar, b. Plymouth, Devon
   Hannah May, daughter, female, 6 [1874/5], Scholar, b. Plymouth, Devon
   Edmund Hutchings, father, widower, 70 [1810/1], Gardener, b. Crewkerne, Somerset

7. ↑ England. 1891 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class RG12; Piece 1726; Folio 14; Page 21, 5 Apr 1891.

   Address: 10 John Street, Plymouth (Charles), Devon
   4 rooms occupied
   William May, head, married, male, 55 [1835/6], Shop Keeper & General Laborer, employed, b. Cullompton, Devon
   Ann May, wife, married, female, 56 [1834/5], b. Crewkerne, Somerset
   Hannah May, daughter, single, female, 17 [1873/4], b. Plymouth, Devon
   Edmund Hutchings, boarder, widower, male, 80 [1810/11], Gardener, worker, b. Crewkerne, Somerset

8. ↑ Deaths index, in General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration. (London: General Register Office).

   d. Edmund HUTCHINGS, December Quarter 1891, Plymouth Registration District, Vol. 5b, page 195, aged 82 [1808/9]