Introduction
Albert Pike spent his early years at East Chinnock before joining the 58th Regiment of Foot. After being discharged in 1880, he briefly stayed with his sister and brother-in-law at Hardington before settling in Portsmouth. In Portsmouth, he found a wife at the relatively late age of 43, worked at the Royal Navy Dockyard, and raised eight children.
Childhood
Albert was born at East Chinnock in late 1839/early 1840, the eighth of fourteen children born to Charles and Jane Pike. His father, Charles, was a farm labourer.
By the age of ten, Albert was also working as a farm labourer. Within the next ten years, he left the village and eventually enlisted in the army.
Army career
Albert joined the 58th Regiment of Foot and was discharged on 18 May 1880.[1]
Hardington
After leaving the army, Albert spent a short time with his sister, Jane, and brother-in-law, James Chapman at their home in Barry Lane, Hardington.[2] The 1881 census described Albert as a “Pensioner.”
Marriage
In mid-1883, Albert married Sarah Ann Tillotson, a domestic cook, in or near Portsmouth. Sarah was the daughter of George Samways, a licensed waterman and the widow of William Tillotson, a drummer with the 19th Regiment of Foot, with whom she had at least two children.[3] At the time of their marriage, Albert was about 43 years old, while Sarah was 29.
Albert and his family lived at 13 Stamford Street in Portsmouth, where Albert worked in the Royal Navy Dockyard.
Death
Sarah died in 1910 at the age of 56, and Albert died in 1918 at the age of 78.
Children
Albert and Sarah had five sons and two daughters.
References
[1] Royal Hospital Chelsea Pensioner Admissions and Discharges, 1715-1925.
[2] Albert’s parents were both dead by then.
[3] The marriage of William Tillotson and Sarah Ann Samways has not been found. Their daughter, Beatrice Emma Samways, was born at Gosport in 1874, and their daughter, Amy Mabel, was born at St Helier, Jersey, in 1880. The 1881 census recorded both girls living with their maternal grandmother at Alverstoke. Beatrice and Amy both adopted the surname “Pike.”
