Introduction

Samuel Ewins was the son of a Devon farmer. He worked as a dairyman in Devon and Somerset until his late thirties or early forties, when he moved to Hammersmith, where he found work as a gardener and later as a groundman. Two of his sons became schoolmasters, and one of his daughters married a schoolmaster.

Early life

Samuel was born at Hemyock in 1856, the third of five children born to Samuel and Elizabeth Ewins. In April 1861, his father was a farmer of 96 acres.[1] By April 1871, the family had moved to North Farm, Stockland, where Samuel senior farmed 230 acres.

Life as a dairyman

When Samuel junior married Sarah Ann Clarke of Blackhayes Farm, Yarcombe, on 28 February 1878, he gave his occupation as dairyman.

By January 1880, he was a dairyman at Halstock. He probably moved to Hardington in early 1881, where he worked as a dairyman at Townsend, assisted by two servants: Eli Goff and Elizabeth Strode. By September 1884, he was at Odcombe; by April 1890, he was a dairyman at Roadgreen, Colyton.

Inheritance

Sarah’s mother, Nancy, died at Yarcombe on 24 November 1888, leaving an estate valued at £590 9s. Sarah may have been a beneficiary under her will.[2]

Life in London

In his late thirties or early forties, Samuel gave up work as a dairyman and moved to London. By March 1901, he was a domestic gardener, living at Wormholt Farm, Uxbridge Road, Hammersmith, London. Five of his children still lived at home, while his eldest son attended a Church of England male training college at Cheltenham prior to becoming a schoolmaster.

The family retained links with Devon as in 1902, Samuel’s daughter, Annie, married Francis Henry Clarke from Yarcombe, who worked as a farm bailiff.

In April 1911, Samuel was a groundsman living at 28 Wilton Road, Shepherds Bush. His son William was also a groundsman.

Over the next six years, the remaining four children married and left home. Pamela married a clerk, and Ursula married a schoolmaster. William continued his work as a groundsman, while Sidney became a schoolmaster at Parkstone School in Poole.

In June 1921, Samuel was an independent groundsman living at 68 St Elms Road, Hammersmith and working at Wormholt Farm.

Death

Sarah died in the Brentford area in 1927 at the age of 69. Samuel died on 26 April 1933 at the age of 76, leaving an estate valued at £266-6s. His last address was Dublin House, Greenford Road, Greenford, Essex.

Children

Samuel and Sarah had three sons and three daughters. According to the 1911 census, they had a seventh child who probably died in infancy.

References

[1] The 1861 census recorded the four-year-old Samuel as a visitor on the farm of his father’s brother, Robert Ewins, at Clayhidon.

[2] National probate calendar.