Toppesfield - employment in agriculture in 1867

In 1867 Commissioners appointed by Parliament published their report on whether the Factory Acts, which regulated the employment of children, young person and women in factories, could be extended to agriculture.

During their inquiry they visited various Poor Law Unions in Essex and at meetings heard evidence from landowners, farmers and community leaders about agriculture in their areas, and how children, young persons and women were employed. The agricultural labourers themselves were not asked. At the end of each meeting a summarising report was drawn up. This contains a useful description of the town or parish at the time, and the state of agriculture and agricultural workers in 1867. Images taken from Reports from Commissioners on Google Books

Meeting with Halstead Union 16 October 1867.

Rev, John Gaselee, rector of Little Yeldham, took the chair. Parishes discussed: Great Yeldham,Little Yeldham, Ridgewell, Stambourne, Tilbury-juxta-Clare, and Toppesfield.

Toppesfield

Observations on all six parishes.

  

William Prior of Toppesfield c.1800

The earliest Prior known to our family is our 5th great grandfather William Prior, who married Sarah Playle on 6 July 1808 at the Church of St Margaret of Antioch in the village of Toppesfield Essex UK. He lived with his family in this village, had a number of children, and worked as an Agricultural Labourer. 

Agricultural Labourer
Our rural Essex ancestors census occupations, like many others, were quite often 'Ag Lab' meaning Agricultural Labourer. Generally this meant the man was employed by tenant farmers on a casual basis, being paid only for the work done and nothing if they were sick or the weather bad. The labourer would live with their family in a cottage owned by the landholder or in rented lodgings nearby, and would grow their own vegetables and graze their own animals on common land. The farmers grew crops which required harvesting in summer, done by hand with a sickle or a scythe, and sowing and tending at other times of the year. There were also farm animals to care for, such as dairy cows, sheep, pigs and poultry. The farm land & building, fences & hedges, tracks & ponds also required regular maintenance. 

Twig Talk - the novels of author Thomas Hardy (born 2 June 1840) often revealed the plight of rural labourers in 19th century England, and likely reflect the life of our ancestors in the rural village of Toppesfield Essex UK.

Sarah Playle came from Stambourne, a neighbouring village, and I believe her parents were Frances Playle and Elizabeth Pask. However, we do not know where William came from or his parents names, or when he arrived in Toppesfield.

   Toppesfield Village sign

   - courtesy of www.villagesigns-essex.co.uk

There is an unofficial census for the parish of Toppesfield, taken by the church curate, for the 1801 & 1811 years. They can be found in the back of the register of burials from the Church of St Margaret of Antioch, held at the Essex records office and available online. They are merely lists of the names of heads of household and the number of occupants. William Prior is noted in the 1811 list with a household of 1 male & 2 females, while there are no Prior's noted in the 1801 list. I surmise that the Prior females in the 1811 census were William's wife Sarah & a daughter born in either 1809 or 1810, but I have not yet found any records to confirm this.

The children of William & Sarah that I have noted from the baptism register of the Church of St Margaret of Antioch, although I am sure there are more, are:

• John - bap. 18 August 1811
• Thomas - b.26 July 1818
• Betsey - bap. 13 January 1822
• George - bap. 30 July 1826
• Sarah - bap. 12 September 1830

     Church of St Margaret of Antioch, Toppesfield, Essex UK

       © Copyright Peter Stack and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

Introducing the PRIOR kids Down Under family tree

We are the first generation of our PRIOR family tree to be born in Australia. Our father came from Hockley Essex UK in the 1960's, at 18 years of age. He emigrated to Sydney Australia as a '£10 pommie', to stay with his Aunt Hurling (nee Prior) & her family, who had emigrated some years earlier. He met, fell in love with and married an Australian girl, starting the first generation of Prior kids Down Under. 

When we were growing up together we were often referred to collectively as 'the kids', an Australian colloquialism. Sometimes it was 'big kids' versus 'little kids', or other individual nicknames, but universally it was the 'kids' on a daily basis, and therefore appropriate in the title of this blogspot.

This blog was created for us, our children, our families, and their children; to tell the story of our family, our relatives and ancestors, about who they were and where they came from, and so perhaps link and connect us in some way. 

The Australian flag, in recognition of Federation on 1 January 1901, incorporates the Union Jack flag of Great Britain and Ireland, the Commonwealth star, and the Southern Cross constellation.

The Prior family coat of arms depicts three red chevronels on an ermine bend, between four gold stars of eight points wavy, the Crest being a star (as in the arms). The surname is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and derives from the Olde English pre 7th Century "prior", a monastic official immediately subordinate to an abbot, originating as an occupational name for the servant of a prior. Later, the name became a nickname, a common practice in the Middle Ages, for a person bearing the qualities associated with a prior. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Roger Priur which was dated 1205, in the (Kings Court) "Curia Regis Rolls of Suffolk" during the reign of King John. Surnames became necessary when England's government introduced personal taxation, known as Poll Tax.

Acknowledgement

This blog is dedicated to my great uncle Ernie (E.H.Prior) and granddad Frank (F.C.Prior), the genealogists of the family who sparked my interest with their endless 'snippets' of family history, all meticulously recorded by hand. This verse was written by Grandad Prior the year before his death:

                      ‘Genealogists’ Lament’

          To search in vain, can be a great pain; - - -

    But to search with success, brings great happiness.

      There is always Shame, when there is no Name;

         Death is the wooer, for a Genealogists Cure.

                  (Margerum/Prior, August 1999)