Introduction

Joseph Haggett farmed on a small scale at Hardington from the 1820s to the 1840s. After the death of his first wife in 1842, he moved to Wareham and Poole, where he became a cattle dealer. In 1853, he married a young woman from that area and moved to Yeovil. In the early 1860s, he had to cope with the death of his second wife and permanent separation from their daughter.

Birth

Joseph was born at Hardington in about 1806, the third of five children born to John and Jane Haggett. His father, John, was a sailor who died in November 1821 at the age of 53.

First marriage

On 18 September 1827, Joseph married Susan Garrett at Hardington. Since Garrett was a common name at East Chinnock, Susan may have come from there.

Occupations

Joseph occupied a position between that of a labourer and a farmer. The baptism record for his first child on 17 July 1828 describes Joseph as a farmer; however, the baptism records for his next three children refer to him as a labourer. The 1841 census describes him as a farmer.

In 1843, Joseph owned about 22 acres. He occupied a house in the High Street, which was later occupied by the village blacksmith, along with about one acre of land. The remaining land was occupied by John Whebby and Nelson Leach, while Joseph also occupied half an acre owned by Lord Ilchester.

Residences

In June 1841, Joseph and his wife lived in the High Street with their four children. Joseph’s mother, Jane, and her unmarried sister, Dorcas Apsey, also resided in the household. A fifth child was born later that year.

Susan’s death

Joseph’s first wife, Susan, died on 29 May 1842 from water in the chest, at the age of 39.[1]

Following her death, the three older sons probably left home, while the two younger children were taken in by relatives. By March 1851, the youngest child, Henry, was living with his aunt, Jane Haggett.

Inheritance

In 1846, Joseph was a beneficiary of the will of his maiden aunt, Dorcas Apsey. He inherited two orchards named Marsh Orchards at Hardington Marsh with his brother, Thomas, as tenants in common and one-third of the residue of her estate.[2]

Debt

A court case of 1849 hints at a family dispute regarding liability for a debt.

On 18 January 1849, at Yeovil County Court, Joseph was summoned to explain why he had failed to comply with an order made twelve months earlier to pay a debt. Initially, his solicitor claimed that Joseph was due to receive some money from the sale of family property. However, another solicitor, Mr Batten, who was aware of this sale, denied that Joseph would have any money from it. He said Joseph’s mother would receive some of the proceeds and that he (Batten) would ensure it was applied for her use. Joseph argued that his mother and aunt had contracted the debt and that they should pay it. A solicitor named Vining sided with Joseph, stating that the parties involved had been his tenants, and from what he knew of the circumstances, he thought the debt should be paid out of the property. Nonetheless, the judge ordered Joseph to pay a debt within a month or face imprisonment.[3]

Move to southeast Dorset

Following his wife’s death, Joseph moved to southeast Dorset. In March 1851, he was a cattle dealer staying at the Nelson Arms, North Street, Wareham.

Second marriage

While living in Dorset, Joseph met Sarah Trent, a young single woman who was twenty-six years his junior. She came from Corfe Castle, where her father worked as a clay cutter. Joseph and James married at St James’s Church, Poole, on 21 November 1853.[4]  Joseph and Sarah both recorded their address as Paradise Street (a street near the quay). Sarah signed the register with a mark.

Witness in the Isles Lane case

In March 1860, Joseph gave evidence in a court case concerning the legal status of Isles Lane, East Coker.  He said that he had driven carts through the three times a week for ten years, and recalled the East Coker hayward impounding animals of his that had strayed into the lane.[5]

Move to Yeovil

By April 1861, Joseph and Sarah had moved to Church Yard, Yeovil. After initially working as a porter, Joseph later became a County Court Bailiff.

Birth of a daughter

In 1861, after seven and a half years of marriage, Sarah became pregnant. On 7 April 1862, she gave birth to a daughter named Adelaide. Sarah, who had pre-existing heart disease, developed anasarca (swelling) soon after the birth. This prompted Joseph to send his wife and child to Hardington to be cared for by his sister, Elizabeth Bartlett, the wife of John Bartlett. Knowing her health was failing, Sarah may have exhorted Elizabeth to continue looking after Adelaide should Sarah die. She might have even encouraged Elizabeth and her husband to emigrate to Australia with her daughter, which could explain Adelaide’s unusual name.

Sarah died on 29 May 1862 and was buried at Hardington on 1 June.^[6] Unable to care for Adelaide himself, Joseph probably accepted that she should remain with Elizabeth. Adelaide was baptised at Hardington on 7 September 1862.

The following year, on 30 May 1863, the Bartlett family set sail for Australia with the one-year-old Adelaide Haggett. Joseph may have bid them farewell at Plymouth, knowing he would never see his daughter again. Tragically, the child never even reached Australia, dying at sea from measles on 4 July 1863.^[7]

Joseph’s later life

By October 1861, Joseph was a County Court Bailiff. It was quite a hazardous occupation, and he was assaulted while performing his duties in October 1861 and October 1866.[8]

By April 1871, Joseph was lodging at an inn in Wine Street, Yeovil.

Death

Joseph died in May 1871 at the age of about 64.[9]

Children

Joseph and his first wife had four sons and one daughter:

Circa 1827-William John (a farm labourer at Bere Regis in March 1851);

Circa 1829- George Apsey (became a farm labourer at Pendomer; died in 1907);

Circa 1831-Thomas (at home in June 1841);

Circa 1834-Susanna Caroline (a house servant in the household of Henry Stickland of Hardington in March 1851);

1841- Henry (lived with his aunt, Jane Haggett, in March 1851).

References

[1] Death certificate of Susan Haggett.

[2] The will of Dorcas Apsey, dated 19 May 1843, proved at Wells on 10 February 1846.

[3] Sherborne Mercury, 20 January 1849, p.3. The newspaper report does not give an address for the defendant, but the circumstances suggest he was the Joseph Haggett of this article. However, another man named Joseph Haggett also lived at Hardington. Born around 1800 at Lillington, Dorset, he was a farm labourer, and it is unlikely that his mother was a party to property sales conducted by Yeovil solicitors.   

[4] Salisbury and Winchester Journal, 26 November 1853, p.3.

[5] Bridgwater Mercury, 21 March 1860, p.3.

[6] Death certificate of Sarah Haggett. She probably died at John Bartlett’s home, as he was present at her death and registered her death.

[7] Registers of Births, Marriages and Deaths at Sea, 1844-1890. This record, the Hardington baptism register and the Assisted Immigrant Passenger Lists refer to Adelaide as Adeline, suggesting that the family had softened the name. The Spitfire arrived at Port Jackson on 24 August 1863.

[8] Taunton Courier and Western Advertiser, 30 October 1861, p.5; Sherborne Mercury, 9 October 1866, p.8.

[9] The Civil Registration Death Index and Holy Trinity burial register record his age as 63, but he was at least 64.