Birth
Adam Rendell, the fourth child of Thomas and Mary Anna Rendell, was born at Misterton on 13 September 1816
Marriage
Adam married Rhoda, the daughter of William and Ann Slade, at North Perrott on 3 March 1840. Her father was a miller and baker and later a farmer.
White Vine Farm
Adam was the tenant of White Vine Farm from about 1840 to 1866.
In March 1851, he farmed 250 acres and employed four labourers. In April 1861, he farmed 210 acres and employed three men and two boys.
Parish offices
Adam was Hardington’s overseer in 1848.[1]
Severe injury
On Thursday, 20 March 1862, Adam suffered a severe cut to his neck. Someone went to fetch George Jolliffe, a Crewkerne doctor, who sewed up the wound.
According to the version of events printed in the newspapers, the injury resulted from an unusual accident. Adam was taking a sharp knife to some men draining a field. As he passed through a gateway, his horse shied or stumbled, and in saving himself from falling, he inadvertently brought the knife across his throat, inflicting a wound three or four inches long.[2]
Rhoda’s inheritance
In 1863, Adam’s wife, Rhoda, inherited £300 from her father.[3]
Leaving White Vine
Rhoda’s legacy and his father’s death in November 1864 may have prompted Adam to retire from farming.
On 2 November 1865, Palmer and Sons conducted a sale of live and dead farming stock, corn, hay, and grass at the farm.[4] On 8 March 1866, the remainder of the stock was sold, together with dairy and household goods, cider, and casks. The sale notice referred to Mr A Rendell “leaving the farm and declining business.”[5]
Misterton
Adam and Rhoda moved to a house near Misterton Cross, where they lived with one female servant.
Adam’s inheritance
Following his mother’s death on 4 November 1873, Adam inherited one-sixth of his father’s estate.[6] As his father’s estate in 1864 was valued at “under £3,000, Adam’s inheritance probably amounted to about £500.
Adam may have invested part of his new wealth in a house and seven acres of land at Preston Plucknett. In August 1875, he advertised the property to let from 25 March 1876, as the existing tenant, Mr Short, was leaving.[7]
Adopted daughter
In the 1870s, Adam adopted Edith Emma Hann, the granddaughter of Rhoda’s sister, Maria.[8] This adoption separated Edith from her parents and siblings who lived in West Ham.
Death
Adam died at Misterton on 21 August 1876, aged 59.[9] He left an estate valued at “under £4,000.”
Rhoda’s later life
Rhoda continued living at Misterton with her great-niece, Edith Emma Hann, and one female servant. The Misterton voters lists for 1889 to 1892 record her address as “The Laurels.”
Rhoda died on 19 January 1892, aged 76, leaving an estate valued at £117 15s 10d.
Later in the year, Edith Emma Hann married Adam’s great-nephew, Frederick Robert Rendell.
The will of Adam Rendell
Trustees & executors: Arthur Rendell of North Perrott, Yeoman & Frederick Fowler of Lopen, Yeoman.
To wife, Rhoda: Household effects for life, then to Edith Emma Hann (“Adopted by me”). Ditto house at Misterton with the farm buildings adjoining.
Income from remainder to wife for life, then:
Sister, Mary Ann, wife of Thomas Studley, for life then capital to her children-income from £200
Sister, Sarah Slade, widow, for life then capital to her children-income from £400
Sister, Eliza, wife of James Inder, for life then capital to her children-income from £300
Emanuel Slade of North Perrott, Yeoman, for life then capital to his children-income from £200
Elizabeth, wife of Robert Sealey of North Perrott, for life then capital to her children-income from £200
Maria Hann of Haselbury, widow, for life then capital to her children-income from £200.
Edith Emma Hann-£1,000 absolutely.
Residue to Testator’s brother, Thomas Rendell.
Wit: Edward Budge, solr, Crewkerne, Samuel Newick, his clerk [10]
The will of Rhoda Rendell
Executors: Samuel Newick of Crewkerne, Accountant, and George Nichols of Crewkerne, Accountant.
To my executors: all my estate to convert to money to hold on trust to divide equally between my brother, Emanuel Slade of North Perrott, Yeoman, and my sisters, Elizabeth Sealey, wife of Robert Sealey of North Perrott, cordwainer, and Maria Hann of Haselbury Plucknett, widow (if they die in my lifetime leaving children, the children to stand in their place).
Wit: Solicitor’s clerk and James Hitchcock, Retired Tradesman, Misterton.[111
References
[1] Hardington jury lists.
[2] Sherborne Mercury, 25 March 1862, p.5.
[3] The will of William Slade, dated 4 February 1860, proved at the Principal Registry on 17 June 1863.
[4] Dorset County Chronicle 26 October 1865 p. 20.
[5] Western Gazette 2 March 1866 p. 4.
[6] The will of Thomas Rendell, dated 11 January 1864, proved at Taunton on 29 December 1864.
[7] Western Gazette, 20 August 1875, p.4.
[8] The will of Adam Rendell, dated 3 December 1874, proved at Taunton, 16 October 1876.
[9] The Civil Registration Death Index, burial register and memorial inscription give Adam’s age as sixty.
[10] The will of Adam Rendell, dated 3 December 1874, proved at Taunton on 16 October 1876.
[11] The will of Rhoda Rendell, dated 17 January 1882, proved at Taunton on 22 March 1892.