Introduction
Edwin Baker worked in the Coker web weaving industry throughout his life. After the death of his first wife in 1888, he and his young son lived at Hardington Moor with his parents for several years. Following his second marriage in 1908, he resided in a house in Manor Street, West Coker, with various members of his wife’s family.
Early life at East Coker
Edwin was born at East Coker in 1863, the fifth child of Charles and Frances Baker.
His father, Charles, was born at West Coker, and his mother, Frances Adella Voizey, was born at East Chinnock. They married at West Coker on 10 July 1853 and lived there for a few years before moving to Burton, East Coker, between June 1856 and February 1857.
Charles, Edwin’s father, worked in the Coker weaving industry for most of his life. In April 1861, he was a labourer in a sailcloth factory, a yarn sorter in April 1871, a sacking weaver in April 1881, and a web weaver in April 1891.
First marriage
On 4 February 1884, Edwin married Ann Stagg at East Coker. She was the daughter of George and Bethiah Stagg. George was a gardener, while Bethiah was a midwife.
Birth of son
Edwin and Ann had one son, Frank Edwin, born at West Coker on 25 July 1885.
Death of first wife
Ann passed away in 1888, aged 24.
Move to Hardington
After his wife’s death, Edwin and his young son moved in with his parents and his brothers, Henry and Walter, at Hardington Moor.
Death of his father
Edwin’s father died in January 1895, leading to another difficult time for the family. Edwin’s mother and son moved in with Edwin’s brother, Henry, after he married in April 1895. Meanwhile, Edwin may have worked away as he had not been found on the 1901 census.
Second marriage
On 14 March 1908, Edwin married Sarah Ann Hannam at West Coker. She was a forty-one-year-old widow with three children.
Her first marriage had been unusual in that she spent much of her time residing with her parents while her husband, George Hannan, lived at Queen Camel, where he worked in his father’s bakery.
Life at West Coker
After their marriage, Edwin joined Sarah in a four-room house on Manor Street that also accommodated her parents (Richard and Sarah Rendell), her brother, John, and her children, Herbert and Amelia. This house became Edwin’s permanent home.
Sarah’s father, Richard, died in December 1908, followed by her mother, Sarah, in 1914. Her children, Herbert and Amelia, left home in 1915, but Sarah’s brother, William, moved in afterwards.
The 1911 census recorded Edwin as a power loom web weaver. Ten years later, he was a twine weaver employed by Drake & Sons of East Coker.
Death
Edwin died in 1926, aged 62.
Sarah’s later life
In September 1939, Sarah lived in Cherry Lane, Odcombe, close to her married daughter, Amelia. Sarah died in 1942, aged 74.
Edwin’s son
On 22 August 1908, Edwin’s son, Frank, married Florence Amelia Rendell, his stepmother’s niece. He died in 1961, aged 76.