Whatmore Family History

At the time of the 1841 census, a Whatmore family was living at Baveney Wood in the east of the parish of Neen Savage in south Shropshire. Although the members of this family did not necessarily remain there I have termed this the ‘Baveney Wood’ branch of the family.

 In 1841 the ‘Baveney Wood’ family consisted of James Whatmore aged 70, a thatcher, Sarah Whatmore aged 40, Benjamin aged 35 and William aged 15. Despite the fact that in 1851 Sarah was described as Benjamin’s sister, she was in fact only a very distant relation. She was probably the Sarah Whatmore born at Quatt and the William who was at Baveney Wood in 1841 was her illegitimate son. William’s life is described in an earlier post. Sarah was acting as  housekeeper. So who exactly was James Whatmore? From his ages in the censuses he is probably to be identified as the James who was baptised on 19 June 1768 at Neen Savage. His father was a Thomas Watmore who married Mary Cassel at Rock, Worcestershire on 13 April 1751. 

Thomas Watmore’s origin has not been proved, but I think it is highly likely that he was the Thomas Watmore baptised on 17 April 1719 at Ribbesford, Bewdley, the son of Francis Watmore and Sarah Burnoll. From Francis Watmore a clear line of ancestry can be traced back to Thomas Watmore of Curdale and beyond. 

Thomas Watmore and Mary Cassal had three other known children besides James of Baveney Wood. These were George 1752 who died the same year, Ann 1757 who married John Green in 1779 and William 1764 who married a Sarah.

James Watmore married Martha Walford in 1794 at Bewdley. Although the 1841 census describes James as a thatcher, the tithe map of Neen Savage of 1839 shows him as the tenant of  seven plots of land all lying between the main road down to Cleobury Mortimer and the lane leading to Yew Tree Farm. James’s holdings were: 

Plot  323 No Name  (Arable)   3 rods 32 perches

Plot 324 Square Meadow  (Pasture)  3 rods 12 perches

Plot 325 Meadow     (Meadow)  2 rods 30 perches

Plot 328 No Name  (Pasture)   2 rods 26 perches

Plot 329 Cottage and garden (Pasture)  1 rod 27 perches

Plot 330 No Name  (Arable) 1 acre 6 perches

Plot 372 Close  (Arable) 2 rods 8 perches 

Rods and perches seem to be different names for the same unit of measurement. A rod was about 16 and half feet long. An acre was 160 square rods. 

The tithe assessment of 1839 gives James’s total amount of land as 3 acres 21 perches for which he paid 2 shillings and sixpence (12 and a half new pence) annually to the Vicar. The landowner in 1839 was a Joanna Soley. James thus had a smallholding surrounding the cottage in which he lived. 

James and Martha had nine known children. These were Margaret 1796 who married William Parton in 1829 at Bewdley, Mary 1798 who died in 1804, Joseph 1799, Benjamin 1801 who never married and died in 1883, Mary 1804, Martha 1804, Eleanor 1808 who married a John Smith, Martha 1811 and James 1814. Martha died in 1828 at the age of 56 and James died in 1842 aged 74. 

Joseph Whatmore born in 1799 migrated to Harborne, Birmingham. He married Hannah Parsons in 1850 in the Kings Norton Registration District. Joseph died in 1878, but Hannah, who was much younger than her husband (she was born in 1831 at Tardebigg, Worcestershire) survived until 1910, dying in the St Asaph Registration District.  The children of Joseph and Hannah were Joseph John 1851 and Elizabeth 1856. Joseph John married Selina Baker in 1876. They went to live in Toxteth Park in Liverpool, but Joseph John died in 1914 in the St Asaph Registration District. Selina died the following year at Toxteth Park. Joseph and Selina’s children were all born in Liverpool – Joseph James 1880, Selina Hannah 1883 and William David 1884. The two boys did not long survive their parents – Joseph Junior dying in 1918 and William in 1916. Selina Junior married  an Ernest Skyner in 1914 in Toxteth Park. 

Neen Savage Church   Painting of 4 July 1791 by the Reverend Williams  Copyright: Shropshire Archaeological Society and reproduced here by their kind permission.

One would not expect parents to give a newly born child the same name as one who was still living. Nevertheless it would seem that James and Martha’s daughter Martha born in 1804 survived to marry a Thomas Noakes on 3 July 1838 at Chetton. Their daughter Martha born in 1811 married an Edwin Baker in 1859, probably in Bridgnorth. Curiously the 1861 census shows them as both unmarried and as living at different addresses in East Castle Street, Bridgnorth. Was it a clandestine marriage despite the fact that they were both well above the age of majority? I also wonder if Edwin ever found out that his wife was actually a good ten years older than she made herself out to be!  

James Watmore Junior, the youngest child of James Senior and Martha married Mary Ann Tolly at Stottesdon on 15 May 1851. James was living at Stottesdon at the time and was employed as a Journeyman Shoemaker. In 1861 he is described as cordwainer and was living at Baveney Wood. James Junior remained at Baveney Wood for the rest of his life, being described as a thatcher in 1881 and as a shoemaker in 1891. He died in 1892 and his wife went to live with her married daughter Mary Ann at the Paper Mill, Neen Savage. Martha died in 1908 aged 85. 

The known children of James Junior and Martha were Benjamin 1851 who died the same year, Martha 1852 who never married and died in 1927, James 1854, Ellen 1857 who died aged 5 in 1861, Mary Ann 1860 (whose illegitimate son John was born in 1883 but died when he was only aged 8 in 1891) who married Aaron Walker on 16 June 1888 at Neen Savage and Margaret 1862 who never married and who died aged 28 in 1891. 

James born 1854 married Jane Crowder Green, although the marriage has not been traced. James and Jane lived in various places during their married life – Wribbenhall in Worcestershire, Billingsley and  Stottesdon before finally settling down at Baveney Wood. Jane died in 1918, but James, who was an agricultural labourer, survived until 1936. James and Jane had a large family of children. These were Helen Elizabeth 1875; Joseph L 1877 who married Emma Southall (one of the three Southall sisters who all married Whatmores) and whose children were Fanny, Mary and John; James 1879 who went to Birmingham where he was working as a Railway Carter in 1901; Edwin 1881; William 1883; Arthur 1887 who emigrated to Australia; Henry 1889; Ernest 1892 who married a Susan Jane  Edward 1892; Sarah Ann 1893 who emigrated to Canada and Alfred Thomas  1899. 

Arthur Whatmore, born 11 September 1887 at Stottesdon, emigrated to Australia in 1912 and lived and worked on a large farm at Dalby, Queensland. He married Anna Wilhelmina Esbensen on 17 June 1916 at  Paddington, Brisbane, Queensland Australia.  Anna died in 1966 and Arthur died on 18 April 1984 at Brisbane, Australia.  

Arthur and Anna  had 4 boys and 2 girls, of whom one is still living. The male children of their sons keep the Whatmore name thriving on the other side of the world.