Introduction

Joseph Genge spent his early married life at Hardington Moor, where he worked as a sawyer. He later moved to the centre of the village, where he established a shop and engaged in small-scale farming. Following the death of his sister in 1881, he entered the Yeovil workhouse, where he remained until his death in 1897.

Birth

Joseph was born at Hardington in 1807, the second of eleven children born to John and Jane Genge. His father, John, was a weaver who later became a farmer. He died in March or April 1840 at the age of 63, leaving a will that was proved at the Prerogative Court of Canterbury.[1]

Marriage

On 24 September 1840, Joseph married Ann Slade at Hardington. Ann was the daughter of John and Betsy Slade.

The 1840s

The 1841 census shows Joseph and Ann living at Hardington Mandeville with their seven-month-old son and John’s widowed mother, Jane. Their son died the following year.

The tithe survey of 1843 recorded John as the occupier of a house and garden at Hardington Moor, numbered 96 on the tithe map.

During their time at Hardington Moor, Joseph worked as a sawyer, probably working with John Watts, at least initially.

On 25 April 1843, Ann’s father, John, died from a ruptured blood vessel.[2] His death may have sparked a family dispute regarding the living arrangements for Ann’s mother, Betsy, and youngest sister, Fanny. Tensions may have escalated as on 3 May 1844, Joseph was fined 20s and costs for assaulting his mother, Jane.[3] Following this incident, Jane moved out to find a new home near the church, while Betsy and Fanny moved in with Joseph and Ann.

The 1850s

In March 1851, Joseph and Ann lived at the Moor with Betsy and Fanny. By 1858, Fanny had left home, while Betsy died in May 1859.

After his mother’s death in 1855, Joseph inherited “that plot of grown in the Moore” under his father’s will.[4]

The 1860s

By April 1861, Joseph and Ann had moved close to Hardington Church, and Joseph was a grocer. In April 1869, he was appointed as one of the parish overseers.[5]

The 1870s

In April 1871, Joseph was a shopkeeper and farmer living in the High Street. He is listed as a shopkeeper in trade directories of 1861, 1866 and 1872.

From 1867 to 1880, he rented a house and land from Lord Portman.[6]

In November 1878, Joseph was fined £1 6s, including costs, for having inaccurate scales. The newspaper account of the case described him as a grocer.[7]

Ann’s death

Ann died from heart disease on 24 September 1880 at the age of 64.[8]

Joseph’s later life

By April 1881, Joseph was a farm labourer living with his widowed sister, Harriett Haggett, at Hardington Moor. She died later the same year, at the age of 77. In April 1891, Joseph was a pauper inmate of the Union workhouse, where he died in April 1897, at the age of 89. His mother had also died there in 1855.

Children

Joseph and Ann had only one child, John, who died in 1842 at the age of two.

References

[1] The will of John Genge, dated 8 March 1840, proved in London on 5 May 1840.

[2] Death certificate of John Slade.

[3] Sherborne Mercury, 4 May 1844, p.3.

[4] The will of John Genge, dated 8 March 1840, proved in London on 5 May 1840.

[5] Western Gazette, 9 April 1869, p.8.

[6] Guardian Valuations.

[7] Western Gazette, 8 November 1878, p.6; Southern Times and Dorset County Herald, 9 November 1878, p.7

[8] Death certificate of Ann Genge.