John Simon Purchase was a hostler, aged 17, at Hardington Moor in 1861. A census official added the word ‘Groom’ to the census record.

John Simon Purchase was born at Ansford, Somerset, on 16 June 1844. His parents, Thomas and Grace Purchase, had moved from Hardington to work in a weaving factory, and Thomas and his family returned to Hardington in about 1846 to live near Broadstone. By 1861, they had moved to Hardington Moor.

On 4 March 1863, John appeared at Yeovil County Petty Sessions, accused of assaulting Charlotte Frampton, but he got off when his future wife, Emily Bartlett, gave him an alibi.[1]

On 17 June 1865, John’s family faced a tragic event when his mother hanged herself for a bedpost.[2]

In December 1865, at Hardington church, John married Emily Bartlett, a weaver’s daughter. By this time, John was probably working as a farm labourer, which remained his occupation for the rest of his life. John and Emily set up a home at Barry Lane, but by April 1876, they had moved to East Coker.

At least three more moves followed. In April 1891, they lived at Perrins Hill Cottages, Tintinhull; in March 1901, their residence was a four-roomed house at Chilthorne Domer; and by December 1907, they were back in Tintinhull, living in Queen Street.

Emily died in December 1907 or early January 1908, aged 63; John died in 1909, aged 67. Both were laid to rest at Tintinhull.

Their son, Robert George Purchase, served as a policeman with the Metropolitan Police before retiring to Chilthorne Domer. Their youngest son, Arthur John Purchase, was a farmer at Gentle Farm, Tintinhull, for many years.

References

[1] Sherborne Mercury, 10 March 1863, p.2.

[2] Western Gazette, 23 June 1865, p.5; Sherborne Mercury, 27 June 1865, p.8.