Introduction
John Griffin was born at Stockland, Devon and later moved with his parents to Abbott’s Hill Farm, Pendomer. He married Edith Genge in 1841 and, after several years at Pendomer, moved to Hardington Marsh by March 1851. Sadly, John contracted tuberculosis and passed away in 1855. Following his death, his widow, Edith, ran the New Inn at Chiselborough.
Birth
John was around 1813 at Stockland, Devon, the second of seven children born to John and Eleanor Griffin. He was also the older brother of Thomas James Griffin.
Pendomer
John moved to Abbott’s Hill Farm, Pendomer, with his parents sometime between 1827 and 1841.
Marriage
On 15 November 1841, John married Edith Genge, the daughter of Richard and Edith Genge of Hardington, at the Yeovil Registry Office. At the time, John was 28 years old, while Edith was eight years older.
Until at least 1847, John and Edith lived at Pendomer, where they had four children. Their only son, John Richard, died at three months old and was buried at Hardington on 7 March 1844.
Hardington
By March 1851, John and his family had moved to Hardington Marsh.[1] According to the 1851 census, he was a farmer of one acre. However, this small area would not have been sufficient to support his family, suggesting he had an additional source of income.
Death
Towards the end of his life, John suffered from tuberculosis, a serious and debilitating disease. This condition may have led his family to place him in the care of a nurse at Stratton, South Petherton. He died there on 13 May 1855 at the age of 42. His death was registered by Mary Holland, the wife of a farm labourer from Stratton.[2]
Edith’s later life
By 1859, Edith kept the New Inn at Chiselborough.[3] Running an inn as a widow would have been challenging, and for Edith to take on this responsibility at the age of about 50 suggests she had both resilience and prior experience. Perhaps she and John had previously run a beer house at Hardington Marsh.
Not everyone was pleased with the idea of having a female landlady, and Edith was forced to take legal action against one farmer who had made slanderous statements that attacked her character and that of her daughter, Mary Ellen. This action forced him to publicly retract his remarks.[4]
The local newspapers provide two glimpses of her time at the inn. On 2 May 1860, the Yeovil magistrates fined Edith £1 and costs for using defective weights and measures.[5] On 1 February 1867, they sentenced George Langdon, a labourer, to six weeks of hard labour for stealing a chicken from her.[6]
Edith initially ran the inn with her daughters, Mary Ellen and Susan.[7] Mary Ellen left the inn after her marriage on 24 January 1861, while Susan departed after her marriage on 1 April 1872. Edith left the inn sometime between the latter date and August 1878, after which her whereabouts are unknown.[8]
Children
John and Edith had one son who died in infancy and three daughters:
Circa 1842- Mary Ellen (married George Osborne, a stone mason and hamstone merchant, in 1861; resided at Norton-sub-Hamdon; died in 1897);
1843- John Richard (died in 1844);
1845- Sarah Ann (married William Herbert Groves, a wood carver, in 1868; resided at Chiselborough and St Pancras, London; died in 1887);
1847- Susan Elizabeth (married George Mudford, a carpenter, in 1872; resided at Chiselborough and Doulting; died in about 1919).
References
[1] John’s daughter, Mary Ellen, born c 1842, is not recorded on the 1851 census.
[2] Death certificate of John Griffin. Alternatively, the family lived at Stratton, and Mary Holland visited to care for him.
[3] Trade Directory.
[4] Sherborne Mercury, 16 November 1858, p.8.
[5] Bridgwater Mercury, 9 May 1860, p.8.
[6] Western Gazette, 8 February 1867, p.8.
[7] Edith’s daughter, Sarah Ann, was a housemaid at Yeovil in April 1861. She married in 1867.
[8] Western Gazette, 5 April 1872, p.8; 6 September 1878, p.6.
