Introduction
Ambrose Samways spent most of his adult life as a dairyman, working in various parishes across Dorset and Somerset. Born into a labouring family that experienced early bereavement and later mental illness, he did not inherit land or security. His marriage into the family of a substantial tenant farmer improved his social connections, yet he remained a dairyman rather than becoming a tenant farmer himself. His life illustrates the mobility associated with dairy work in the late nineteenth century.
Childhood
Ambrose’s childhood was spent at Wraxall, a small village located seven miles east of Beaminster, which, in 1851, had only 16 inhabited houses and a single farm.[1] He was born there in 1843, the son of Levi Samways and his first wife, Ellen Warren.[2] Levi was a farm labourer, also born at Wraxall, while Ellen came from Yetminster. Ellen died in late 1854 or early 1855 at the age of 32, leaving Levi to support five children.[3] In November 1858, he married Mary Hansford, who had been a pauper in the Beaminster workhouse seven years earlier with her illegitimate daughter.[4]
Ambrose began working at a young age. In October 1857, he and two others were fined 4s and 7s 6d costs for riding on their wagons at different times at Toller Porcorum.[5] In August 1863, he was the victim of a crime when a local man stole his hat, valued at 4s 6d, at Cattistock; the perpetrator received seven days’ hard labour.[6]
In September 1867, when Ambrose was about 23, his father was admitted to Herrison Hospital suffering from depression. The hospital records describe him as restless, expressing fears about his health and contemplating suicide. He claimed to have venereal disease, but it is unclear if this was true or delusional. Although he was eventually discharged, he was readmitted in January 1881 for another temporary stay.[7] Between 1862 and 1876, Levi and Mary had three sons, including Samuel John Samways.
Early married life
One month after his father’s first admission to Herrison, Ambrose married Sabina Gale at Toller Porcorum.[8] She was the daughter of William Gale, who farmed 290 acres at Woolcombe in that parish. When William died in 1873, he left an estate valued at “under £2,000, which he probably divided among his large family.”[9] Ambrose’s marriage into a family of higher social standing may have facilitated his entry into dairying by 1871.
Ambrose and Sabina initially lived with the family of Sabina’s married sister at Toller Porcorum.[10] Subsequently, Ambrose’s career as a dairyman took them to various places across Dorset and Somerset, including Fleet from 1873 to 1876, North Poorton in 1878, Allington in 1879, Netherbury in 1881 and Milborne Port in 1891.[11] Between 1873 and 1879, Ambrose and Sabina had six children.
Hardington
From 1897 to 1901, Ambrose managed Marsh Dairy Farm for Samuel George Bartlett of Coker Hill.[12] In February 1898, one of Ambrose’s daughters advertised for a situation as a cheesemaker and butter maker, indicating the dairying skills within the family.[13] In the 1920s, two of his daughters, both widowed, worked at a dairy near Warminster—one as a manager and the other as an assistant—suggesting that these skills had lasting value.[14]
By 1901, Ambrose and Sabina were living alone; all six children had left home, although none had yet married.[15] The first to marry was Lily Mary, who married Henry George Crocker of Cranborne at Hardington Church on 9 January 1902.[16]
Death
After leaving Hardington, Ambrose may have moved to Powerstock, where two of his daughters were married. Fanny Mabel Harris married Thomas Bodley Dawe Taylor of Marsh Farm, Hardington, on 24 April 1905, and Frances Jessie married Reginald John Butler of Alleyfields Farm, Upton Noble, on 27 February 1906.[17] The children of the first couple included Basil Charles Taylor, who married Phyllis Mary White at Hardington in 1936.
Ambrose then moved to West Coker, where he died on 21 December 1907 at the age of 64.[18] After his death, Sabina moved in with her daughter at Marsh Farm, where she died on 2 June 1909 at the age of 71.[19] Both Ambrose and Sabina were buried at West Coker.[20]
Conclusion
Ambrose’s life does not display significant upward mobility. Despite marrying into a substantial farming family, he remained a dairyman, moving between parishes rather than establishing himself as a tenant farmer. However, he maintained continuous work across several decades and raised a family of six children. His only son later farmed at North Brewham, and two of his daughters married farmers, suggesting a degree of upward movement in the next generation.
References
[1] 1851 census of Wraxall; Post Office Directory of Dorset, 1855, p.107.
[2] Civil registration birth index; Wraxall baptism register; HO107, Wraxall, ED4, piece1860, folio 51, p.25.
[3] Civil registration death index
[4] Beaminster marriage register; HO 107, Stoke Abbot, Beaminster Union, piece 1860, folio 363, p.7.
[5] Dorset County Chronicle, 5 November 1857, p.3
[6] Weymouth Telegram, 27 August 1863, p.2
[7] Dorset Heritage Centre: NG-HH/CMR/4/32D/1804 and NG-HH/CMR/4/32F/2956
[8] Toller Porcorum marriage register.
[9] RG10, Toller Porcorum, ED9, piece 2014, folio 56, p.9; National probate calendar.
[10] RG10, Toller Porcorum, ED 9, piece 204, folio 58, p.14.
[11] RG11, Netherbury, ED1, piece 2120, folio 14, p.21; RG12, Milborne Port, ED11, piece 1902, folio 129 p.22; Fleet baptism register; North Poorton baptism register; Allington baptism register.
[12] Hardington voters’ lists.
[13] Western Gazette, 11 February 1898, p.4.
[14] RG15, Bishopstrow, ED1, schedule14; RG15, Bishopstrow, ED1, schedule 23.
[15] RG13, Hardington Mandeville, ED4, piece 2297, folio 42, p.3.
[16] Western Gazette, 17 January 1902, p.12.
[17] Powerstock marriage register. By 1911, Reginald John Butler was a commission agent.
[18] Western Gazette, 27 December 1907 p.12
[19] Western Chronicle, 11 June 1909, p.12.
[20] West Coker burial register.
