Introduction

Enoch James Bartlett was a dairyman at Hardington in the 1860s. However, he found it difficult to sustain that occupation and eventually reverted to working as a farm labourer. Despite his unsuccessful attempt to improve his circumstances, he showed adaptability by securing various laboring jobs in Chilthorne Domer, Trent, Hardington, and East Coker to support his wife and six children.

Childhood

Enoch James Bartlett, commonly known as James Bartlett, was born at Hardington in 1837, the second child of Thomas and Maria Bartlett.[1] His father, Thomas, was a sailcloth weaver and later a farm labourer.

Marriage

In late 1862 or early 1863, James married Sarah Anne Apsey, the daughter of Edward and Mary Apsey, at Hardington church.

Dairyman at Hardington

Before his marriage, James was a farm labourer. After his marriage, he was a dairyman, working at Hardington until 1870.

Chilthorne Domer

By September 1870, James and his family lived at Chilthorne Domer.[2]

Trent

By April 1871, James was a labourer living with his family, including his brother, John, at Homer, Trent.

Return to Hardington

By February 1873, James and his family had returned to Hardington, where he worked as a labourer.[3] They resided in Barry Lane in 1881 and at Hardington Moor by 1888.[4]

The 1881 census recorded James’s daughter, Louisa Mary, as resident at Manor Farm, Hardington, where she worked as a nursemaid.

East Coker

By April 1891, James lived at Isles, East Coker, where he worked as a domestic gardener, possibly in service to Reverend Henry Helyar at Pendomer Rectory. He later became a non-domestic gardener.

Death

James died from cancer at East Coker on 20 March 1893, aged 55.[5]

Sarah Ann’s later life

After James’s death, Sarah Ann lived in Rose Cottage, Rectory Lane, Hardington. She died on 9 April 1913, aged 79.[6]

Children

James and Sarah Ann had six children:

Circa 1864-Frances Ellen (married John Henry Meech, butcher and landlord of the Bell & Crown Inn, Beaminster; died 1892);

1865-Arthur (became a gardener in Derbyshire; died in 1951);

1867-Louisa Mary (married Willie Stapley, a cook, in 1895; died at Folkestone in 1897)

1868-Oliver (became a blacksmith at Castle Cary; died in 1935);

1870-Agnes (became a cook in London; married a civil servant in 1923; died in 1959);

1871-John (became a gardener, working at various places including Windsor and Burstow).

References

[1] Birth registered Yeovil Q4 1837: Enoch Bartlett. No record of his baptism. Hardington’s banns book and the civil registration marriage index record his name as Enoch James Bartlett.

[2] The birthplace of James’s daughter, Agnes. Her birth was registered in the Yeovil district in Q3 1870. The 1939 register recorded her date of birth as 27 September 1881. While the year is not correct, it has been assumed that September is correct.

[3] James’s two youngest children were baptised at Hardington on 27 February 1873.

[4] 1881 census; voters’ list for 1888.

[5] His death certificate erroneously recorded his age as 53.

[6] Memorial inscription at Hardington Mandeville.