Introduction
William Partridge spent most of his life at Lyatts in Hardington Mandeville, working as a farm labourer and lime burner. He and his brother, Abraham, remained in England, while four of their brothers emigrated to Australia. Their sister, Sarah, married the innkeeper William Purchase.
Childhood
William was born around 1819, the sixth of ten children of Abraham and Joan Partridge. Abraham worked mainly as a farm labourer, although he was listed on the 1841 census as a lime burner. Lime burning involved heating limestone in a kiln to produce quicklime, which farmers used to neutralise acidic soils and improve fertility.
In his youth, two of William’s sisters died young: Elizabeth in 1831 at the age of 25, and Edith in 1833 at 27. His father died on 18 June 1841 from inflammation of the lungs, when William was about 21.[1]
Early married life
On 7 April 1844, William married Ann Wethey at East Coker Church. According to the marriage register, William was 24, and Ann was 23. William signed his name, while Ann made a mark.
At the time, William was working as a farm labourer, while Ann was a weaver. Their first child, Emily, was baptised at East Coker on 19 May 1844, a few weeks after the marriage. Two more children were born there: William Wethey and Mary. While they were living at East Coker, three of William’s brothers emigrated to Australia in 1849.[2]
Ann’s parents, Joseph and Charlotte, lived at Burton in the same village, where Joseph worked as a carpenter. The death of Charlotte in November 1848 may have prompted William and Ann to move to Hardington.
Hardington
By March 1851, the family had moved to Lyatts, Hardington, where they lived next door to William’s widowed mother, Joan, and his married brother, Richard, as well as near his brother, Abraham. Joan died later that year, and Richard and his family emigrated to Australia in 1854.
At Lyatts, William and Ann had three more children, Sarah Ann, John Wethey, and George (who died in infancy). Towards the end of 1860, William’s eldest daughter, Emily, gave birth to an illegitimate daughter, Emma, while living with her parents. On 31 May 1861, she married Thomas Marsh and moved to Pendomer.
The 1861 census listed William and his son, William Jr, as lime burners, reflecting the local demand for quicklime in agriculture. This son died on 24 March 1878 from tuberculosis at the age of 31.[3]
By the mid-1870s, all of William and Ann’s children had married and left home. William and Ann remained at Lyatts until about 1890, when they moved to Moor Lane.[4] The 1891 census again listed William as a lime burner.
Death
William’s death was recorded in the first quarter of 1893 at the age of 72. Ann died later in the same year at the age of 73.
References
[1] Death certificate of Abraham Partridge.
[2] New South Wales, Australia, Assisted Immigrant Passenger Lists, 1828-1896.
[3] Death certificate of William Wethey Partridge.
[4] Hardington voters’ lists.
