James Morris Purchase was a groom at the Rectory in 1871 and a coachman in 1881 and 1891.

Early life

Born at Hardington in 1845, James was the eldest child of William and Sarah Purchase, who kept the White Horse at the foot of Pig Hill.

James’s father died in 1859 when he was 14. By April 1861, James was a farm labourer. In about 1864, he became a servant at the Rectory.[1]

First marriage

On 2 November 1869, at Hardington, James married Ann Eliza Bartlett, the illegitimate daughter of Elizabeth Bartlett. The following year, they had a daughter, Alice.

In October 1870, James was a manservant. In April 1871, he was a groom, living with his wife and baby daughter in the house of his wife’s grandmother at Hill End.

Ann died on 1 November 1880, aged 32.

Second marriage

On 12 October 1882, James married Elizabeth Sweet at Crewkerne. She was a domestic servant who, one year earlier, had been a nurse in the home of a barrister at Merriott. On 25 July 1883, James and Elizabeth had a son, Frederick James.

Sad end to a joyous day

On 29 June 1897, James over-exerted himself at the Jubilee festivities in the village and collapsed and died in the Rectory saddle room. The local doctor attributed his death to a weak heart, accelerated by the excitement of the event. James left effects valued at £563-10s gross and £557 6s 7d net. By his will, he left £50 to his daughter, £50 to his son, and the remainder to his wife.[2]

James’s gravestone bears the words “33 years faithful servant to the rectory.”

On 12 September 1912, the auctioneer, Mr W Redwood, held a sale of James’s household furniture and effects at Hill End. The sale included three hogsheads of cider and three small orchards of apples.[3]

His widow’s second marriage

His widow remained in Hardington until 1904. On 31 December 1904, she married William Thomas Rendell at St Paul’s Church, Weymouth. William was born at Hardington and moved to Wyke Regis in the 1890s to work as a bricklayer. His first wife, Eliza, died there in 1898.

William and Elizabeth initially lived at 18 Cromwell Road, Weymouth. By April 1911, they lived at 39 Roman Road, Radipole, in a house named Pendomer.

The 1921 census recorded William as a builder’s foreman employed by Theo Conway Ltd of Commercial Road, Weymouth, working away from home at Hastings.

William died on 1 January 1932, aged 71, leaving effects valued at £1,646-12s. Elizabeth died on 12 July 1937, aged 84, leaving effects valued at £110-13s-7d.

References

[1] James Purchase’s gravestone inscription.

[2] The will of James Purchase, dated 14 May 1895, proved at Taunton on 4 August 1897.

[3] Western Gazette, 1 September 1905, p.2.