Birth

Charles, the third child of Jacob and Mary Denty, was born at Hardington in about 1829. His father was a labourer.

Occupations

Charles worked as a farm labourer for most of his working life. In April 1871, his widow described herself as a railway labourer’s widow. If Charles did work as a railway labourer, it was only briefly.

Marriage

On 16 February 1852, Charles married Elizabeth Ann Taylor at Hardington. Elizabeth, the illegitimate daughter of Ruth Taylor, had an illegitimate son, William, born the previous year.

Prison

In his mid-twenties, Charles’s life imploded when he was convicted of two crimes.

At the Midsummer Quarter Sessions held on 27 June 1854, he was sentenced to one month’s imprisonment for stealing fold stakes belonging to William Hawker Helyar Esquire at Pendomer on 2 June 1854.[1]

At the Somerset Quarter Sessions held at Wells in March 1856, Charles Denty and George Baker were tried for stealing three sacks of wheat from John Vincent Hook of Pendomer. Baker was sentenced to four months hard labour, and Charles (because of his previous conviction) was sentenced to four years.[2]

The consequences of Charles’s lengthy prison sentence were devastating for his family. Elizabeth was left to care for four children alone, and tragically, the youngest did not survive.

Physical description

According to the gaol register for 1856, Charles was five-foot-one and a half inches tall, with brown hair, hazel eyes, a fair complexion, and a scar on his forehead.

Post-release

By April 1861, Charles and his family lived in the home of his mother-in-law, Ruth Taylor, at Hardington Marsh.

Death

Charles died in the Union workhouse in February 1871, aged 42.

Elizabeth’s later life

Elizabeth displayed great fortitude and self-reliance after Charles’s death.

The 1871 census shows her living at Hardington Marsh with six children aged two to nine. Ten years later, four of these children were still at home.

In 1887, her daughter, Lucinda, gave birth to an illegitimate son, Charles Thomas Denty. Lucinda left the village, leaving her mother to look after her son.

By April 1891, Elizabeth lived at Rose Cottage, Hardington Moor, with her son, Thomas, and grandson, Charles. Her occupation was laundress.

In June 1892, she occupied a cottage near the church.[3]

By March 1901, Elizabeth and her grandson, Charles, lived in a two-room house in the High Street. Elizabeth received parish relief, and Charles was an under carter.

Death

No record of Elizabeth’s death has been found.

Children

Charles and his wife had four sons and five daughters.

References

[1] Taunton Courier and Western Advertiser, 5 July 1854 p. 8.

[2] Wells Journal, 22 March 1856 p.8.

[3] Western Gazette, 24 June 1892, p.1.