Introduction

Robert Leach spent the first half of his life at Thorne Coffin, where he worked as a farmer. He later continued farming at West Coker and East Chinnock but retired in his late thirties. He then moved to Hardington, where he lived for about the next twenty-seven years.

He had eleven children. Two of his daughters married Abraham Partridge of Hardington Moor, and a third married William Dawe Taylor of East Chinnock. Another emigrated to Australia. His son, John Robert, and daughter, Ellen, never married.

Childhood

Robert was born at Thorne Coffin in about 1817 to John and Maria Leach. He had a sister, Anna Maria, who was about seven years older than he was.

His father died in 1824, leaving Robert 12 acres at Thorne Coffin on trust for him and the remaining interest in the rest of his property on the death of Robert’s mother (who did not die until 1862). His personal estate was valued at “under £300.”

Marriage

On 6 May 1839, Robert’s sister, Anna Maria, married John Bartlett, a farmer of East Chinnock. The couple settled at East Chinnock, where they ran the village school until John’s death in 1861.

On 25 July 1839, Robert married Ann Taylor at East Chinnock. A marriage settlement was created, as referred to in Robert’s will. Ann was the daughter of Thomas and Betsy of East Chinnock. Her father was a farmer, and her mother had died when Ann was about seven years old. Following their marriage, Ann joined Robert at Thorne Coffin, where he continued to farm for about the next ten years.

West Coker and East Chinnock

Around 1848 or 1849, Robert and Ann moved to West Coker, where their daughter, Ellen, was born in 1849.

By March 1851, they had moved to Sandhill, East Chinnock, living near Ann’s widowed father, Thomas Taylor. The 1851 census recorded Robert as a farmer of eleven acres employing one labourer, while Thomas farmed twenty-six acres.

An inheritance

In 1852, Robert’s uncle, Robert Leach of Stratton, Dorset, died. By his will, proved in 1853, he instructed his executors to invest £100 and pay the income to Robert for life, and then distribute the capital equally between Robert’s sons, John Robert and John.

Life at Hardington

Robert’s father-in-law, Thomas Taylor, died on 5 June 1855.[1] Following this, Robert retired from farming and moved to Hardington, where he and his family lived in North Lane. By this time, he had ten children, with an eleventh born at Hardington on Christmas Day 1857.

The household was quite busy, with eight children at home in April 1861 and five remaining at home ten years later. In the early 1880s, Robert and Ann shared their home with John Robert, Ellen, and Laura.

Probate matters

On 11 April 1861, Robert obtained probate of the will of his brother-in-law, John Bartlett. On 13 June 1879, the Taunton Probate Registry granted Robert the authority to administer the estate of his sister, who had died intestate, leaving an estate valued at “under £200.” Since his sister had no children, he may have inherited her entire estate.

Death

Robert died on 8 November 1883 at the age of 66, leaving an estate with a net value of £713-2s-1s. He left legacies of £20 each to his children, except for John Robert and Robert (who had benefited under the will of Robert Leach of Stratton). The remainder was to be held in trust for all eleven equally.[2] Ann passed away on 25 July 1885, at the age of 68.

Children

Robert and Ann had five sons and six daughters:

1839- Anna Maria Taylor (married Henry Westcott, a policeman and later railway guard, at Taunton St James in 1858; resided at Yeovil and later Bath; died in 1922);

1841- John Robert (never married; resided at Hardington most of his life, where he worked as a farmer and gardener; died in 1921);

1843 Julia Taylor (married Abraham Partridge, a baker, in 1869; resided at Hardington; died in 1908);

1844- Betsy Taylor (worked at Southampton as a domestic servant; married her first cousin, William Dawe Taylor, a butcher and later farmer, in 1871; resided at Dawe’s Farm, East Chinnock, and Marsh Farm, Hardington Marsh; died in 1905);

1846—Robert (married Mary Ann Vincent in 1872; resided at Compton Bishop and Axbridge, where he worked as a baker; died in 1929);

1848- Louisa (married Augustus Fox, an engine fitter, in 1872; emigrated to Australia in the mid-1870s);

1849- Ellen (never married; resided at Hardington; died in 1919);

1851- Albert Taylor (became a baker and later a dealer; married Sarah Ann Gould at Yeovil in 1876; resided at Chickerell, Tottenham, and Lambeth; separated from his wife by April 1911; returned to Hardington; died in the Taunton district in 1933);

1853- Edwin Taylor (worked as a baker’s assistant at Stoford, Langport, Fordington, and Dorchester; married Mary Jane Slade in 1890; worked as a builder’s labourer in his fifties and sixties; died at Dorchester in 1938);

1855- Frederick Alma (became a police constable at Glastonbury; whereabouts unknown after April 1881);

1857- Laura Bartlett (married Abraham Partridge in 1910; resided at Hardington; died in 1943).

References

[1] Taunton Courier and Western Advertiser, 13 June 1855, p.5.

[2] The will of Robert Leach, dated 22 May 1879, proved at Taunton on 27 May 1884.