Introduction
Samuel Purchase spent most of his life at Hardington, except for a brief period in Mosterton. He lost his mother when he was 13 years old. After working as a cowman for a short period, he became a railway platelayer, a job he held until his retirement. He married a woman from East Coker, whose mother was originally from Yorkshire, and they had five daughters together. He outlived his wife by 25 years.
Birth
Samuel was born on 4 October 1871 at Hardington, the second of nine children born to William and Elizabeth Purchase. His father worked as a farm labourer.
Death of mother
Samuel’s mother, Elizabeth, suffered from chronic asthma and heart disease. She died on 16 November 1884 at the age of 44, when Samuel was just 13 years old.
Mosterton
In April 1891, Samuel worked as a cowman at West Farm, Mosterton, where he lived as a servant in the household of dairyman Sidney Collier.
Marriage
On 22 July 1896, Samuel married Maria Louisa Helyar at East Coker. Maria’s father, John, was a shoemaker and postman, while her mother, Mary Noble, worked as a servant at Hardington Rectory before she married. Originally from Thorner, Yorkshire, she moved to Hardington with Mrs Vassall in about 1857.
Residence
Samuel and Maria established their home at No. 322 Broadstone, which was located at the north end of the block of three houses. In the 1920 estate sale, Samuel bought the freehold of their home.
Railway career
By March 1901, Samuel had become a railway platelayer and continued in that role until his retirement.
Death
Maria died on 21 April 1928 at the age of 54. Samuel died on 6 March 1953, at the age of 81, leaving an estate valued at £1,060-15s-6d.[1]
Children
Samuel and Maria had five daughters:
1897-Elsie Dora (married Horace Evelyn Cant in 1920; died in 1960);
1900- Margery (married Robert William Barnet in 1933; died in 1990);
1903- Hilda (married Archibald Leonard Blizzard in 1926; died in 1980);
1909- Gladys Evelyn (married George Ronald Horsman in 1937; died in 1988);
1915- Amy Kathleen (never married; died in 2000).
The will of Samuel Purchase
Sole executor: my daughter, Amy Kathleen Purchase of Broadstone, Hardington.
To my daughter, Amy Kathleen Purchase: all my property except my club money, which is to be divided equally between the said Amy Kathleen and my daughters, Elsie Dora Cant and Gladys Evelyn Dorothy Horsman.
Wit: Ralph Fitz James Sawyer, of Hardington Rectory, Clerk in Holy Orders.
Bertie Axe, Carpenter, Broadstone, Hardington.
References
[1] The will of Samuel Purchase, dated 2 August 1942, proved at Winchester on 31 December 1953.
