Introduction

Joseph Delamont was a skin collector and later a dairyman at Hardington Moor. His only granddaughter, Louisa Saint, married Joseph Partridge, with whom she ran the Royal Oak Inn.

Birth

Joseph was born on 31 March 1792 at Hardington, the son of Lewis and Elizabeth Delamont.[1] His father was a sailcloth weaver who died the year after Joseph’s birth.

Marriage

On 11 April 1814, Joseph married Mary Harris at Hardington. She was born at Leigh, near Yetminster.

Married life at Hardington

Joseph and Mary lived at Oil Moor, possibly at the Royal Oak Inn or in what would later become known as the Royal Oak Inn.  In June 1841, Joseph was a skin collector, and by March 1851, he had become a dairyman.

They had one son, Benjamin, who tragically died from tuberculosis on November 18, 1838, at the age of 23. [2] Their only daughter, Harriet, married Abraham Saint at Hardington on 6 April 1839.

On 25 January 1850, Joseph sold the fee simple of a flax pit to Abraham for £6. The plot was number 93 on the parish tithe map.[3]

Death

Joseph died on 9 February 1859 at the age of 66, from a long-standing asthmatic complaint.

Death of daughter and son-in-law

Joseph’s daughter, Harriet, and her husband, Abraham, soon followed, both dying young due to chronic illnesses related to liver disease and gastrointestinal issues.  Harriet died on 21 June 1859 at the age of 42, and Abraham died on 18 February 1860 at the age of 48.[4]

Mary’s later life

Abraham and Harriet had one daughter, Louisa, born in 1840. On 7 February 1860, shortly before Abraham’s death, Louisa married Joseph Partridge.

In April 1861, Mary lived with Joseph and Louisa. By April 1871, she lived with Joseph Marsh, her late husband’s nephew. Mary died on 27 December 1872, at the age of 84.[5]

 References

[1] Hardington baptism register.

[2] Death certificate of Benjamin Delamont.

[3] Indenture dated 25 January 1850.

[4] Death certificates of Abraham and Harriet Saint.

[5] Western Gazette, 3 January 1860, p.5.