The Story of John & Abigail Sayce's Offspring

Submitted by John Sayce

January 1st 1835 would have been a cause of much celebration for everyone living in Bishops Castle. The previous year’s harvest had been good, as 1834 had been the warmest on record since records started in 1733 – a temperature not beaten until 1949. In Westminster, slavery had been finally abolished in the British Empire.

Another kind of record was set as Great Britain had had 4 different prime ministers in a year and the Houses of Parliament were burnt down! In Church St., John and Abigail Sayce had every reason to celebrate as well - it was their golden wedding- an event almost unheard of when life expectancy was around 45 years.

John was born in Bishops Castle in 1752 and probably attended the school established there by Mrs Morris in 1737. It catered for both boys and girls who learnt reading, writing and arithmetic with the girls getting additional training in sewing and needlework. Abigail was brought up in nearby Clun. They were married in 1785 when John was 33 years old and Abigail 29. Six children, 3 boys and 3 girls were born between 1786 and 1801. As with many families at that time, they had lost one girl, Sarah when she was two months old and another Ann who died in 1830 aged 42 years.

As the new year started, they could have been surrounded by a daughter and 3 sons; Morris, John and William. Susannah, their daughter remained unmarried, and lived with her parents until their deaths. Afterwards, she seems to have stayed with various relatives and friends until her death in 1873. As many as 16 grandchildren might have attended the celebrations as they all lived within a 25- radius of Bishops Castle. An additional 12 grandchildren were born in the following years, with the last one, Florence, dying more than a hundred years later!

John appears to have been very actively involved in town life being appointed a Bailiff of the Corporation of Bishops castle in 1827, when the local newspaper declared that ‘last week a sumptuous dinner was given by Lord Clive on quitting the role of Bailiff when John Sayce was sworn into office’ The Corporation had been established by charter in Elizabethan times and allowed 12 burgesses to run the town together with a Bailiff and Recorder mile who were responsible for administering justice. John had been a burgess for many years and seems keen to ensure that his sons were part of the chosen few with all three sons elected as Burgesses between 1804 and 1823.

The Corporation was responsible for administering justice and even had its own prison cells below the Town hall. However, this system was subject to corruption as Bishops Castle returned 2 MPS to parliament and was known as a ‘pocket’ borough being in the pocket of the local nobility. Lord Clive was the son of Clive of India and most of the town was beholden to them for work and preferment. There was only 1 known Burgess at this time that refused to take their bribe for votes. In 1830 at the age of 78 John describes himself as the ‘Recorder of Bishops Castle’ which says much about his position in local society.

We know nothing about the house they lived in in Bishop’s Castle but we do know a lot about Church St. which was the main street in the small town of 2,000 people. They certainly won’t have been short of a drink as they had 6 public houses and 3 beer sellers as neighbours! John and Abigail were retired and living off their own savings. In 1791, the Universal British Dictionary tells us that Bishops Castle has 4 gentlemen, 2 clergy, 3 physics and 3 attorneys. There are 30 different traders mentioned – drinking seems to be of utmost import with 17 people being noted as maltsters or publicans / victuallers. This is also a world of some prosperity as there are 8 butchers and 3 grocers and chandlers. As you might expect all the building and working trades are mentioned, but interestingly one’s appearance seems to rank highly for the residents. The town has 3 shoe-makers, 2 haberdashers, 2 mercers, 2 milliners, 2 glovers, a stay-maker and a wig manufacturer. And one land surveyor – John Sayce!

Just a year later Abigail died, and on her tombstone, she is described as the amiable and beloved wife of John. Not long afterwards, he moved with Susannah from Bishops Castle to Weir Cottage on the border with Wales. They moved there as it was just a quarter of a mile from his son John, and family who were living on a farm at Skyborry. We can get some idea of John’s cottage from a rental notice placed by Morris and William Sayce in the Hereford Journal newspaper dated January 1832

A Comfortable COTTAGE, called The Weir containing a Parlour, Kitchen, Back-kitchen, and four Bed-rooms, with other Conveniences ; also Stable, Cowhouse, Garden, and three Acres of good LAND, pleasantly situated on the Banks of the River Teme, commanding a beautiful prospect, and within half mile of the Market Town of Knighton.

Trade directories of the time show that John and his sons were classed as part of the gentry. Indeed, in the 1841 census, John and Susannah had a servant living with them, a state of affairs that all 3 sons were used to throughout their lives. We are lucky to still have a copy of a letter that John Sayce senior wrote on October 16th 1841 in beautiful copperplate handwriting.

‘If thou barest slight provocations with patience, it shall be imputed unto thee for wisdom; and if thou wipest them from thy remembrance, thy heart shall feel rest, thy mind shall not reproach thee’ - A quote from the Economy of Life published in 1758. If only his son John junior had paid attention to these words!

Nine months later in June 1842, John (aged 90 years) died with the death certificate stating that it was due to decay of the arteries. We lose track of Susannah until the census in 1851 when she is living with her brother William in Abergavenny. She dies in 1873 in Clun. John and Abigail would have known that all 3 sons, after growing up in Bishops Castle, had successfully launched into well paid work, married and started families. Morris and William remained close, both living in Kington, Herefordshire and working together in partnership for many years as surveyors and engineers. Later on, they became involved in civic affairs. Their other son, John and family seemed to have taken a different course in life.

JOHN (junior)

How did John end up living on the farm at Skyborry? We know that John married Margaret Morris in July 1817. She was born and brought up with her brother James on the farm owned by her father Richard Duppa, until his death in 1818. He wrote a will in January 1817 appointing Margaret as his executor and bequeathing Skyborry, the farm and cottages to her. Subsequently, she and John had 4 children; Richard born in 1818, Susan Anne born in 1820, Robert born in 1821 and Margaret in 1829. Unusually for parents of this age, all their off-spring grew into adulthood. The first glimpse we get of John’s character is from a cutting from The Times and several London and provincial newspapers in May 1825.

We know that the Mr Jones referred to in this report is Michael Jones of the neighbouring farm, Panpunton, who we will meet again. Given the lack of a local police force, it is perhaps no surprise that local citizens in 1828 formed ‘The Knighton Association’…...’ for the prosecution and bringing to justice of all persons committing felonies and offences upon or against our respective persons or property’ – and two of the signatories? Mr Jones and Mr Sayce!

John and Margaret’s daughter Susan Anne was married in 1838 when she was just 18 years of age and needed her parents’ permission. This was extremely young for a woman and maybe speaks of how she wanted to leave her parents’ domain. Interestingly she married a farmer, John Smith from Calver Hill outside Kington- where her cousins, uncles and aunts were living and could offer support. We lose contact with the Smiths but do know that Susan was deceased by 1875. If the court in London had hoped that John would ‘restrain his violent conduct in future’ they were sadly mistaken. The Shrewsbury Chronicle of August 1845 carried a short report of an incident in November 1844.

John didn’t exactly help his own case. Witness Thomas Tudge said that a few days after the attack, he had met John in the Chandos arms, Knighton. He stated that ‘the defendant had a stick in his hand and said to the witness “this is the stick, Tudge, that I gave it to the damned rascal with” Cross-examined in court by an attorney, John said then said that Sam Hotchkiss ‘wanted to ride over him and he gave him a good trashing; he deserved it much harder and if he had had a larger stick, he should have had it’. John’s lawyer must have addressed the jury with a certain foreboding but ‘urged on them the impossibility of a little man like the defendant attacking Mr Hotchkiss who was a man large enough to make a New Zealand Chief’. ‘The jury only adjourned for a few minutes before returning a verdict of guilty.

John’s friends weren’t going to let it rest there. No, they put an advert in the local paper saying they were going to hold a dinner in honour of John after he had finished his sentence! So, a local Journalist reported that

‘A large party, comprising most of the agriculturists in the neighbourhood of Knighton, and many other influential resident gentry, dined together on Saturday last the 30th ult. at the Chandos Arms Inn, on the occasion of their presenting Mr. Sayce with a piece of plate in testimony of their continued respect for him, notwithstanding the late proceedings instituted against him by Mr. Samuel Hotchkiss for a common assault…..A very excellent dinner and dessert were provided, and during its discussion the company were enlivened by the Clun brass band…..The Chairman then rose to propose the health of their guest, Mr. Sayce, to whom he wished long life and prosperity. (Hear, hear, and applause.) They would drink his health as a good husband and a good father, a kind neighbour, and an excellent agriculturist, and he presented him with the tankard he held in his hand more as a token of their respect than for its intrinsic value……..Mr. Sayce rose and said he wanted words to express the feelings which overpowered him; he felt highly honoured by that day’s proceedings, and was grateful for the kindness that had been shown him, which he could never forget’

There were numerous toasts drunk and more and more speeches as the evening drew on!. ‘It was Mr. Green's opinion that the proceedings against Mr. Sayce had been characterised by too much personal malignity………Morris Sayce rose and said, that seeing the advertisement of that day's meeting, called to his recollection that he had a brotherly feeling,—he felt proud to see the company that had assembled to honour his brother…….The Chairman then proposed the health of Mrs. Sayce, which wished to drink out of the tankard, and after speaking highly of her amiable qualities, said that whatever were their feelings over that cup, the feelings of Mrs. Sayce were of a far higher nature.‘ Having started at 3pm, the dinner finished at 11!

This report must have inflamed the feelings of Samuel Hotchkiss as he immediately took to writing a public repost.

‘I had hoped that the decision of Lord Chief Justice Denman in my favour would have been sufficient to set the matter at rest with everyone who had any respect for the laws of the country……..The long list of squirearchy may lend those at a distance to suppose that the defendant Sayce was much respected by his neighbours, that he has been a most persecuted and injured man.’ Mr Hotchkiss further comments that most of the attendees were ‘composed of farmers at some distance’ rather than local people. ‘Is any man to be waylaid and in the most cowardly manner attacked, disabled and beaten at night and then when he seeks the protection from the law to have it publicly declared that he does it out of malice and revenge?... That a man guilty of one of the most atrocious attacks should be honoured by a public dinner……is in fact a premium upon him and holds out to others by adopting a similar mode of conduct, the hopes of a similar reward to hand down to posterity as a pleasing remembrance of their misdeeds’.

John and Margaret’s decision to move from Skyborry in 1848 gives us an insight into the wealth that they had managed to accumulate. Skyborry was an estate of ’400 acres of superior quality land with a farmhouse and buildings of superior order’, although the flyer notes that with ‘a moderate outlay the farmhouse may be made a desirable residence’! And who is making these statements, if not his brother Morris and nephew Edward Morris Sayce both of whom were land agents!

‘GREAT AND IMPORTANT SALE Of 129 Head of Cattle, 30 Horse, Mule, 2 Sows and 19 Pigs, the property of Mr. John Sayce, who has sold the Estate, and being about to retire from business, he has instructed EDWARD MASON TO ANNOUNCE THEM FOR SALE BY AUCTION…… The celebrity of Mr Sayce’s stock of cattle and horses have been such, for many years past, as to render any further remark upon them unnecessary, except that the cattle stock…are fully equal and in some respects superior to any ever before bred by him; and the young horses are of high promise as hunters and carriage horses being well-bred, of great size, fine of form and having grand action.’

We will never know if this notice is just a salesman’s hyperbole, but there are other reports that do suggest he was a good breeder of livestock. In 1836 ‘Friend of Agriculture’ from Ludlow writes ‘from a feeling that John Sayce’s exertions in bringing his stock to such perfection ought to be made public’. John was also a keen supporter of the Knighton Races regularly making a substantial contribution to the funds.

However, the statement from Mr Mason that John was about to retire from business turned out to wide of the mark! John, Margaret and their 3 adult children now moved to live and work on 2 farms next to each other in Quatt Malvern near Bridgnorth- a village about 40 miles distant. Was this an opportunity to make a fresh start? If so, John had a stark reminder of his unfinished business when he appeared before magistrates in 1849.

‘Mr. John Sayce, farmer, late of Skyborry, appeared to answer to a summons of Mr. Michael Jones, present surveyor of roads for Llanfair Waterdine. It appeared that there had been two legal meetings called…. for the purpose of hearing the surveyor's accounts read, and having them passed. Mr. Sayce, the retiring surveyor, did not attend either of them ; previous to Mr. Sayce leaving the neighbourhood, however, he called a meeting in the latter end of April to pass his accounts, and stated his expenditure to be £16-12-0d., which was objected to (by) the landowners present, on the grounds of it being an overcharge and no bills being produced to confirm the statement that the work had been executed. In consequence, the present surveyor applied to the Magistrates, who recommended he should employ surveyor, Mr Jackson of Clun, to value the work done by Sayce. Jackson's estimation was £6-I-3d. After the witnesses had been examined Magistrates ordered Mr Sayce to pay the balance of £9-14-10d and the expenses back to the present surveyor which he had entered in his books They reprimanded him for doing the team work and labour himself, the other inhabitants not having a chance of working on the highway and for not passing his accounts within 14 days of Lady day for which he had subjected himself to a heavy fine.’ There is a strong possibility that this Michael Jones was the neighbouring farmer whom he had challenged to a duel in 1825!

But what about John and Margaret’s 3 grown up children who remained with them on their new farm at Lye Hall? Richard was the eldest with the 1851 census form showing that he was farming 2 nearby farms occupying 229 acres. Robert is recorded on the 1841 census as being a land surveyor like his paternal grandfather and then as a surveyor and civil engineer in the 1851 census. I can find no newspaper cuttings or references to him practising these trades which is unusual as he would almost certainly have had to advertise to gain work in a new location. However, a report from the Bridgnorth Magistrates court in June 1851 does suggest he was an employer. Robert was cited for assault – ‘Pat, who was in the employ of the defendant, to whom he became very abusive in consequence of some dispute having arisen in respect of wages and Mr Sayce threw him into a pool of water. Pat was rebuked for his abusive conduct towards his employer and the latter was fined 2s 6d. and 13s 6d costs for the cold water affair.’ Margaret would have been 19 years old when they moved and probably helped her mother in the home and farm.

The Sayce family had hardly settled down in their new farms, when a decision was made that would profoundly change the lives of all of them. The Staffordshire Advertiser carried an auction notice in February 1853, saying that Mr Sayce was selling up and moving, so offered his livestock of sheep, pigs and poultry for sale on the first day. Then the following day this household furniture was to be sold.

So where might the Sayce family be moving to less than 4 years after they uprooted themselves from Skyborry? The answer is to be found in the passenger lists of the S.S. Asia, a Cunard steamship, the largest ever built on the Clyde when it was launched three years earlier in 1850. This 2200 tons ship was luxuriously appointed with a degree opulence not often seen. It left London on March 22nd 1853 with the Sayce family on board and 4 months later at the start of August, she dropped anchor outside Port Philip in Victoria, Australia. We can imagine the passenger’s relief at having arrived safely after such a long and hazardous sea voyage. For some of the younger men, this seemed like an opportunity to enjoy themselves as seen in a contemporary report.

‘4 persons on Thursday left the ship ’Asia’ and went to Brighton in a boat. They stopped there that night and left in order to return to the ship at 9 0’clock on Friday morning. Owing to rough weather they could not reach the ship and continued beating about until 2pm when they were only 1 mile from St. Kilda; they attempted to run the boat up but in doing so they capsized and three of the four were drowned, notwithstanding that assistance was promptly rendered to them by Waddell and Francis, Mr. Mooney of the St. Kilda hotel and Doctors Van Weinholt and Holt. Dr Wilmot held an inquest on the bodies on Saturday, when a verdict in accordance with the above facts was returned. The name of the survivor is Alfred Jason, the names of the deceased were Robert Sayce, Capleton and Lampton.’

Just 8 weeks later on September 28th, the other 4 members of the family had a great reason to celebrate as 24-year-old Margaret Sayce married a physician living in Victoria named Thomas Annesley. The ceremony took place at Christ Church in Geelong, a location where both the Annesleys and Sayces settled down in to live in. He was 48 years old, having been born in 1805 in Portadown, Ireland. We know that he trained as a doctor in Ireland before emigrating in the 1850s. However, he was not on the same steamship as the Sayces! So why did the Sayce family emigrate as they undoubtedly had a comfortable life in Shropshire? We have no clues from the paper work, but there was a demand from the colonies for young women to be brides as there was a surfeit of men. Even so, it would have been unusual for John, Margaret and the 2 boys to have relocated as well to Australia.

Just over 9 months later in July 1854, Margaret and Thomas’s first child, Thomas junior was born in Chiltern, Victoria, a small pioneer settlement about 150 miles North East of Melbourne. By June 1856 they had returned to Geelong to live at Foymount in the Barrabool hills which is described as ‘a handsome two storey building on the main thoroughfare’. The local paper continues ‘Dr Annesley is a North of Ireland man and bears the reputation for being clever. His connection with the hills is not yet of a prolonged duration, but in his limited sojourn has won for himself a good opinion.’ Anne Elizabeth, their second child was born shortly afterwards in November 1856. The family were to remain at Foymount, set in 84 acres of land until Margaret’s death in 1882.

As for the other 3 members of the Sayce family? We have no confirmation of their living arrangements from 1853 until 1862, when Richard dies of chronic whooping cough in the home of his parents who were also living in the Barrabool hills. Perhaps John and Margaret would now have to chance to enjoy the company of their 2 grandchildren as they lived in such close proximity to each other. John was widowed in 1875, when Margaret died of dysentery and old age, at the age of 80. John Lived on for another 4 years dying when 88 years old, nearly the same age as his father. His death certificate states that he had had a paralytic seizure in 1877, meaning he would probably have needed care from his daughter and family.

Margaret Annesley died in 1882 at the relatively young age of 53 years having had ‘heart and lung disease’ for the previous 5 years. But, you ask, what about the Sayce ‘wealth’ mentioned in the 1845 court case? No sign of a will for either John or Margaret Sayce, but any monies they had would surely have gone to their daughter Margaret, who left the moderate sum of £510 in her own will!