In April 1891, Henry Baker, aged 23, was a twine spinner living at Hardington Moor (his brother, Walter Baker, was also a twine spinner).

Early life at East Coker

Henry was born at East Coker in about 1867, the sixth child of Charles and Frances Baker.

His father, Charles, was born at West Coker; 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.

Henry’s father worked in the Coker weaving industry. In April 1861, he was a labourer in a sailcloth factory, a yarn sorter in April 1871, and a sacking weaver in April 1881.

Move to Hardington

By 1889, Charles and his family had moved to Hardington Moor, where they lived in a cottage owned by Thomas Guppy.^[1] In April 1891, Charles was a web weaver. He died in January 1895, aged 59 and was laid to rest at West Coker.

Early working life

Henry worked in twine and web factories throughout his working life. He was a twine labourer by the age of 14 and, ten years later, a twine spinner.

Marriage

On 1 April 1895, Henry married Susan Genge of West Coker. She was the daughter of Edward Genge, a farm labourer, and his wife, Maria.

Susan had an illegitimate son, Edward Henry, born in 1886. Susan’s mother, Maria, looked after him until she died in 1896.

Move to West Coker

Henry and Susan lived at West Coker.

Birth of a daughter

Henry and Susan’s only child, Ellen Mabel, was born at West Coker on 7 January 1897.

Wife’s death

Susan died in December 1899, aged 30.

Widowhood

In March 1901, Henry was a widower and web weaver living in Chur Lane, West Coker, with his four-year-old daughter, Ellen; his mother, Frances; his brother, Frank; and his stepson, Henry Genge, aged 15.

Henry’s mother, Frances, died in 1904, aged 73.

In April 1911, Henry was a girth web weaver living alone at Hew Hill, East Coker. His only daughter, Ellen, was a servant working in a house in St Michael’s Road, Yeovil.

Ellen married Frank Marsh in 1920, and by June 1921, Henry lived with them at Midlawns, West Coker.

In September 1939, Henry may have been an inmate in a public assistance institution in Yeovil, a place that provided care for the elderly and those in need. He died in about 1941, aged 73.

References

[1] Hardington voters’ lists; guardian valuation lists.