Introduction

Alfred’s move from Hardington to the nearby market town of Yeovil provides an example of short-range migration to secure work and better housing. His story also shows how he transitioned from being a traditional sawyer to working in a mechanical sawmill.

Childhood

Alfred was born on 22 November 1838 at Hardington, the second child of William Purchase and his first wife, Charlotte. His father was a weaver and sleighmaker, and later an innkeeper. His mother, Charlotte Parsons, came from West Coker.

By June 1841, the family home resided in Lyatts Lane, where Charlotte died on 17 January 1843 of brain inflammation at the young age of 34.

On 4 September 1845, William married Sarah Partridge, the daughter of Abraham and Joan Partridge.

By March 1851, William and his family had moved into Box Tree cottage, which was then the White Horse Inn. After William died in October 1859 at the age of 61, his widow continued to run the inn for several years.

Marriage

By April 1861, Alfred worked as a sawyer and lodged in North Lane with Ann Rendell, her illegitimate daughter, Matilda, and Matilda’s illegitimate son, Frank, who was two years old. Later that year, Alfred married Matilda at Hardington Church.

Yeovil

By 1863, Alfred and his family had relocated to Yeovil, where Alfred worked as an engine driver at a sawmill.

In April 1871, the family resided at Rustywell, and by April 1881, they had moved to Hendford Station Road. The voters’s lists provide the following addresses: 1886-89, 2 Hendford Station yard; 1890-97, 6 Hendford Station yard; 1898-99, 10 Rustywell; 1900-04, 6 Hendford Station yard. 

Alfred died in 1907 at the age of 69; Matilda died in 1912 at the age of 77.

Children

Alfred and Matilda had seven children: Henry, William, John, George, Elizabeth, Edwin, and Annie.