Introduction
John Eastment was a farmer at Hardington in the early nineteenth century. He later moved to Gillingham, where he died in 1842.
Birth
John, the first child of Roger and Edith Eastment, was born at Hardington in about 1776.
Marriage
On 23 May 1815, John married Hester Apsey at Hardington by licence. Hester was the daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Apsey and the sister of Dorcas Apsey.
In her will dated 19 May 1843, Dorcas Apsey referred to leasehold lands held with her sisters, Jane Haggett and Hester Eastment, widow.[1]
Occupation
John was a farmer until 1830.
Inheritance
In 1818, John inherited one shilling from his uncle, Dennis Eastment.[2] This uncle may have believed that leaving John a single shilling would prevent him from challenging his will in court.
In 1821, John was his mother’s sole executor. She left him her interest in a house and orchard called Toby’s Plot at Hardington Moor and other personal estate, which she was entitled to under her husband’s will or otherwise.[3]
Parish offices
In 1828, John was a churchwarden and tithingman.[4]
Witness
John witnessed the wills of William Strode on 8 November 1824 and Elizabeth Bartlett on 16 August 1828.
Gillingham
On Thursday, 15 April 1830, an auctioneer named Wainwright held a sale of live and dead farming stock at John’s farm at Hardington Marsh because John was quitting.[5]
John and Hester had one daughter, Tamar, born in about 1818. In 1839, she married Henry Stickland in or near Shaftesbury. The 1841 census shows John and Hester living with Henry and Tamar at Wavering Lane, Gillingham.
The Hardington tithe survey recorded John as the occupier of two small plots and a house and garden (number 421) owned by the Earl of Ilchester and two small plots owned by John Whebby. The house and garden were in Swins Lane.
Death
John died at Gillingham on 14 September 1842 at the age of 67. An inquest was held at which the jury returned a verdict of death by the visitation of God.[6] John’s body was taken to Hardington for burial.
Hester’s later life
Between April 1848 and April 1850, Hester returned to Hardington with her daughter, son-in-law and their children. She died of old age at Hardington on 2 June 1854 at the age of 78.[7] Although her burial is not recorded in the Hardington burial register, this omission is probably due to a clerical error.
Children
John and Hester had a daughter, Tamar, who married Henry Stickland.
References
[1] The will of Dorcas Apsey, dated 19 May 1843, proved at Wells on 10 February 1846.
[2] The will of Dennis Farnham of Hardington, yeoman, dated 3 June 1815, proved at Wells on 30 March 1818.
[3] The will of Edith Eastment, dated 14 September 1820, proved at Wells on 5 March 1821.
[4] Hardington jury lists.
[5] Sherborne Mercury 5 April 1830 p. 4.
[6] John Eastment’s death certificate. The inquest was not reported in the local newspapers. The death certificate recorded his occupation as a yeoman, which suggests he was still active.
[7] Hester Eastment’s death certificate.
