Birth
George Beckingham, the fifth child of John and Martha Beckingham, was born at Sutton Courtenay, Berkshire, on 16 May 1819. His father, John, was a farm labourer.
Move to Somerset and marriage
George had left home by June 1841 but has not been found on the census. Six years later, he may have moved to Somerset to work on constructing the Yeovil to Durston branch line, which began in 1847. It was hard, dangerous work, which claimed the life of at least one young man who was killed by an earthfall at Montacute in November 1847.[1]
After moving to Somerset, George met Elizabeth Edney, the daughter of a farm labourer, and they were married at Stoke-Sub-Hamdon by banns on 9 March 1848. Both of them signed the register with a cross.
Preston Plucknett and Yeovil
George and Elizabeth spent their early married life in or near Yeovil. Their first child was born at Preston Plucknett, and their next four at Yeovil. When their fourth child was baptised on 22 May 1854 and their fifth on 21 October 1855, their address was Vicarage Street, Yeovil, and George’s occupation was a labourer.
Theft of his watch and chain
On Sunday, 13 June 1852, a nineteen-year-old farm labourer named James Palmer stole George’s watch and chain as George slept under a hedge. George testified at the Bridgwater Quarter Sessions:
“I was at the Freemason’s Arms beer-house, at Martock, on the 13th inst. I left at about quarter past nine; I had a watch in my pocket, which I had seen shortly before I left; I went on the Yeovil road; it was very wet, and I lay down under a hedge to shelter myself and went to sleep; on waking I found my watch was gone, and the bottom of the watch pocket had been cut off; was not drunk, but had taken a pint or two of cider; I have since seen the watch with the constable.”
The judge sentenced Palmer to four months hard labour at Wilton Jail.[2]
Although the newspaper account of the theft does not refer to George’s occupation, he may have been at Martock because work on the Yeovil and Durston Railway was again in progress.[3] His link to railway work always persisted and was reinforced when Elizabeth’s sister, Eliza, married William Leyman, a railway labourer, at St John’s, Yeovil, on Christmas Day, 1855. George was a witness.
Hardington
By 5 September 1858, George was a railway labourer at Hardington.
On Thursday, 16 September 1858, George was caught stealing apples from an orchard at Pendomer beside the railway line where he worked. Although he told the court that two women working in the orchard had passed him the apples-an account confirmed by a fellow labourer named John Gough- the magistrates sentenced him to three weeks imprisonment.[4]
Stung by the severity of the sentence, George moved back closer to his childhood home.
Princes Risborough
By March 1860, George and his family had moved to Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire.
Thame
By April 1861, they lived in School Lane, Thame, Oxfordshire. George was a railroad labourer.
Wheatley
By March 1864, they lived at Wheatley, Oxfordshire.
Llangyfelach
By April 1871, they lived at Old Bridge, Llangyfelach, on the edge of Swansea. George and his sons, George, William and Henry, were all railway excavators.
Ten years later, George, his wife, and their youngest son were at the same address. George was 58 and a labourer by then.
Elizabeth’s death
Elizabeth died in May 1889, aged 65. Her last abode was Brynhyfryd, and she was interred at St Peter, Swansea.
George’s final years
By April 1891, George lived with his son, Samuel, at 50 Philip Street, Swansea. He suffered from rheumatism, and his son supported him.
George died in late December 1892 or early January 1893, aged 73.[5] His last abode was Hafod, and he was interred with his wife.
Children
George and Elizabeth had five sons and three daughters. Their youngest son, Samuel, became a Baptist minister.
References
[1] Dorset County Chronicle, 18 November 1847, p.4.
[2] Sherborne Mercury, 6 July 1852, p.3.
[3] Sherborne Mercury, 8 June 1852, p.2.
[4] Sherborne Mercury, 21 September 1858, p.5.
[5] The Civil Registration Death Index recorded his age as 70.
