Introduction

Charles Baker belonged to the late nineteenth-century factory phase of weaving. He worked in a Coker web weaving factory and lived in Hardington Moor during his later years.

Birth at West Coker

Charles was born at West Coker in about 1827, the third child of Charles and Harriet Baker. His father worked as a weaver, while his mother was a glover.

Marriage

On 10 July 1853, Charles married Frances Adella Voizey at West Coker. She was the daughter of Richard Voizey, a sailcloth weaver of East Chinnock. Her mother, Ann, died when she was about sixteen. Frances was illiterate, signing the marriage register with a cross.

West Coker and East Coker

Charles and Frances initially lived at Coker Hill, West Coker, for a few years before moving to Burton, East Coker, between June 1856 and February 1857.

Occupation

Charles worked in the Coker weaving industry. In April 1861, he worked as a laborer in a sailcloth factory. By April 1871, he was a yarn sorter, and in April 1881, he worked as a sacking weaver. By April 1891, he was a web weaver.

Move to Hardington

By 1889, Charles and his family had moved to Hardington Moor, where they lived in a cottage owned by Thomas Guppy.^[1]

In about 1893, he moved to West Coker, where he died in January 1895, aged 59.[2]

Frances’s later life

After her husband’s death, Frances lived in the household of her son, Henry, in Chur Lane. She died in November 1904 at the age of 73.

Children

Charles and Frances had four sons and four daughters:

1854- Ellen

1856- Ann (died in infancy)

Circa 1858- William Charles

Circa 1861- Ann

1863- Edwin

Circa 1867- Henry

1870- Emma

Circa 1873- Walter

References

[1] Hardington voters’ lists; guardian valuation lists.

[2] Hardington voters’ lists; West Coker burial register.