Birth

Joseph was born at Haselbury in 1868, the third child of William and Elizabeth Purchase. His father was a farm labourer.

Occupation

Joseph worked as a farm labourer throughout his life. The 1891 census recorded his occupation as a land drainer, a specialised form of farm work.

Marriage

In November 1895, Joseph married Emily Bartlett at Hardington. Joseph was about 26, and Emily was 31.

Wife

Emily was the daughter of Henry and Ann Bartlett. Her father, Henry, was a farm labourer.

Emily worked as a laundry maid at Montacute Vicarage when she was sixteen. She used her laundry skills to earn a living over the following thirty years.

On 14 March 1890, Emily gave birth to a daughter, Sarah Jane. In September 1890, she applied for an affiliation order against Robert Burt, a Hardington labourer, but was unsuccessful. The magistrates decided that the evidence against Burt was insufficient, probably because he had married another woman nine months earlier.[1]

Emily’s daughter was five when Emily married Joseph Purchase.

Residence

In March 1901, Joseph and Emily lived in a three-room house at Rydons Cottages.

Birth of daughter

On 23 November 1900, Joseph and Emily had a daughter, Ada Bessie.

Death

Joseph died in 1913, aged 44.

Emily’s later life

Following her husband’s death, Emily fell back on her washing skills, offering her laundry services from home.[2]

In 1920, Emily held a monthly tenancy of the western end of Rydons Cottages. She did not buy the cottage but instead moved to Hill End.

By June 1921, she was the cleaner at Hardington School, while her daughter, Ada, was a servant at Hardington Rectory. Her other daughter, Sarah Jane, was a married woman living at Odcombe.

In 1924, Ada married Edmund Reginald Gill, a farm carter, and they moved to the New Forest, taking Emily with them.

Emily died intestate at Boldre on 3 May 1957, leaving an estate valued at £128 1s.

References

[1] Western Gazette, 8 August 1890, p.6; 5 September 1890, p.6.

[2] Western Gazette, 10 October 1913, p.2.