Introduction
James Ewings began his working life as a traditional craftsman in his home parish of Brampford Speke near Exeter. After using this skill to find employment in London and later Bristol, he transitioned to working on the railways, where he remained for the rest of his life. After postings at Peckham and Exeter, James became a porter at Copplestone Station on the Exeter to Barnstaple branch line. By November 1877, he was a signalman at Topsham. He served as a signalman at Hardington Marsh from about 1889 to 1893 before returning to Topsham, where he died in 1900.
Childhood at Brampford Speke
James was born at Brampford Speke, Devon, in about 1835, the first of three children born to John and Sarah Ewings.[1] His father was a farm labourer.
In March 1851, James was an apprentice cordwainer lodging at Brampford Speke with his master, Henry Staddon.
Bootmaker in London and Bristol
By June 1858, James was a bootmaker living in Hanover Place, London. On 17 June 1858, he married Julia Austin at St George, Hanover Square. According to the marriage register, she was a spinster, aged under 21, from St Augustine, Bristol, the daughter of John Austin, a land surveyor. The 1851 census shows her living with her parents in Whitmore Lane, Cardiff, where her father, John Austin, worked as a provision merchant.
By April 1861, James and Julia lived at No. 1 Barnstable Cottages, Horfield, a suburb of Bristol, where James continued his work as a bootmaker. Their first child, Sarah Annie Maria Ruth, was born in Bristol towards the end of 1861.
Peckham
James probably joined the railway soon after 1861. In June 1863, their second child, Mary Isabella, was born in Peckham.
Exeter
Their third and fourth children, John James and Harry Napier, were born in Exeter in 1865 and 1868.
Down St Mary
Their fifth child, Vennetta Alberta, was born at Down St Mary, Devon, on 17 August 1870. By April 1871, James was a railway porter, and their address was Porter’s Cottage, Copplestone, Down St Mary.
Their oldest child, Sarah, died in 1874, aged 12.
Topsham
Their sixth child, Rosaline Jane, was born at Topsham on 8 November 1877.
Their third child, John James, died in 1877, aged 12.
By April 1881, James was a railway signalman, and the family resided at 13 Victoria Place, Topsham.
Hardington
From about 1889 to 1893, James and his family lived in one of the railway cottages at Hardington Marsh.[2] The 1891 census recorded James as a railway signalman. At that time, their youngest child, Rosaline, was still at home, while their daughter, Mary, was married but living with them. Their daughter, Vennetta, was in domestic service in Torquay, and their son, Harry, had also left home.
Death
After leaving Hardington, James and Julia returned to Topsham, where he continued to work as a signalman. They lived in Upper Chapter Street, about a 15-minute walk from Topsham Station. By early 1899, James began showing symptoms of Addison’s Disease, an endocrine disorder that causes fatigue, weakness and weight loss. He succumbed to the disease on 16 June 1900 at the age of 65.
Julia’s later life
By March 1901, Julia lived with her married daughter, Mary Amor, in Mantle Street, Wellington. In April 1911, she lived with her married daughter, Vennetta Cheeseworth, at 45 St Edmunds Road, St Mary Church. Julia was still there ten years later. She died in the Newton Abbott area in 1921, aged 81.
Children
James and Julia had two sons and four daughters. Their son, Harry Napier Ewings, was the stationmaster at East Tisted in Hampshire from 1903 to 1926.[3]
References
[1] James’s sister, Maria, married William Gitsham, a malachite worker, in 1858 and settled in Torquay; his sister, Ann, married Richard Major Hunt, a butcher, in 1861 and emigrated to Australia.
[2] Hardington voters’ lists.
[3] Hampshire Telegraph, 12 March 1926, p.4.
