Because he was buried in Lytchett Minster, for many years I believed that Thomas CHRISTOPHER was another son of William Trask Christopher (1741-1785) and Elizabeth DARK/DART (1739-1830) and born during the eight year period (1763 to 1771) when we loose track of the whereabouts of the whole family and know that they had more children, but now that more information is becoming available I think it is clear that he was in fact the son of James CHRISTOPHER (1732-1818) by his wife Holloway. I offer my apologies if I have unwittingly misled anyone in the past and I am as always happy to review the position if others can produce additional information. Because of this confusion over his lineage I will set out in detail below my current reasoning so that this can be challenged as new information comes to light:-
We are still hampered by the lack of any evidence of his existence prior to his marriage in 1792 and the only firm evidence of his age at all does not come until his burial in 1827 when he was said to be 65 years old. This would make him born circa Jan 1762 but as always when there is a lack of corroborative information there is no guarantee that this is accurate. I would normally work on a yardstick of 5 years either side of this date (i.e.1757-1767) but in this case between 1742 and 1774 there are only three known baptisms of a Thomas Christopher anywhere in Dorset. These are:-
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(1.1) Thomas Christopher bap 21st July 1761 at Cheselbourne only son of John Christopher (1734 -1804) and Elizabeth Trask (c1722 - d. between 1767-1785)
(1.2) Thomas Christopher bap 23rd Oct 1763 at Fordington son of James Christopher (1732-1818) by his wife Holloway (1736-1794)
(1.3) Thomas Christopher bap 3rd Jun 1768 at Blandford Forum the son of John Christopher (d. either 1782 or 1797) & Fanny Jones (d.1774)
Regarding 3. above we know very little about the heritage of this family except that his father John Christopher was probably baptised either in Wareham on 19th Dec 1745 or in Wimborne Minster 3rd Jan 1747. In both cases he was the son of a Thomas Christopher. John settled to live in Blandford Forum, his brides parish, before he married Fanny [Frances] Jones there on 16th Aug 1767. From their marriage and Banns record we know they were both single. Frances Jones was the daughter of John Jones baptised in the parish church at Blandford Forum on 12th June 1745. Thomas Christopher was the first of their three children and therefore named after his paternal grandfather. Two siblings followed Maria in 1770 and John junior in 1771. John Junior died the following year followed by Fanny (Frances) Christopher nee Jones in 1774. There are two further burials in Blandford Forum for a John Christopher - one on 7th July 1782 which I think is his father and one in Jan 1797 which I think is the son of a William Christopher and Mary King baptised at Blandford Forum on 14th Aug 1774. It's just possible that it's the other way around but the point is that his father died in Blandford Forum. I have no trace of Maria. Thomas appears to have migrated to live at Parkston in the parish of Kinson (which became part of Bournemouth in 1931) where he married Sarah Skeard on 30th April 1787. I know nothing else about them although a Thomas Christopher appears as a witness at a wedding in Kinson on 21st Aug 1820. With Thomas Christopher's baptism being 6 years after our target date and the known history of this family it seems a less likely candidate.
The following account of the life of Thomas CHRISTOPHER (1763- 1827) is therefore based upon option 2 above which appears to most closely fit the circumstances.
As far as can reasonably be ascertained therefore Thomas is the 3rd of 9 children of James CHRISTOPHER (1732-1818) by his wife Holloway and his heritage is fully documented and can be accessed via this link. Like his siblings Thomas was baptized at St George's church in Fordington on 23rd Oct 1763. It is possible that he was actually born in 1762 as his elder sibling John was baptised at St George's on 14th Sep 1761. His parents lived their whole lives in Fordington, so not only were all his siblings born there but his mother was buried there in 1794 and his father only went to live with Thomas's younger brother James in Upwey at the end of 1817 when he was 85 years old. The overseers of the poor for Fordington continued to pay weekly support for him until his death and paid for his burial at Fordington on 11th Nov 1818. All three of his sisters (that survived infancy) married in Fordington; Ann also died there, Mary died at nearby Stinsford and Elizabeth at Puddletown. His only surviving brother James as already stated settled at Upwey to live where he had 10 children between 1800 and 1826. Upwey is of course only 5 miles south of Fordington on the road to Melcombe Regis and Weymouth a total distance of 9 miles. Clearly a close knit family with the children living close by.
Thomas was aged 28 when he married and we have no indication of his life up to that point. It is reasonable to assume that he would have followed his father as an agricultural labourer, probably working with him in Fordington Field from a very early age, but requiring an adult wage he would have sought work at the annual hiring fair held in Dorchester or one of the other local market towns. Later documentation suggests that he somehow migrated to Poole, and he must have worked there for a minimum of a year to obtain settlement in the town. Poole and Weymouth/Melcombe Regis are of course both ports so another possibility is that he may have been working on some of the coaster traders that regularly sailed along the coast.
at Melcombe Regis - 8th April 1792
Note:- It is perhaps important to explain that Melcombe Regis, Weymouth and Wyke Regis lie close together with modern day maps dominated by Weymouth. Here we are talking about 1792 when Weymouth was a tiny old seaport on the right bank of the river Wey, while the much bigger more bustling seaside town strung along the bay is Melcombe Regis. Weymouth did not even have it's own Anglican church until the 1830's so Wyke and Melcombe Regis provide all the parish records for this area.
Given the above family background it's not surprising to find Thomas Christopher's marriage as shown above at Melcombe Regis on 8th April 1792. Elizabeth Knight Furmage was baptised at Melcombe Regis on 19th Sep 1764 the daughter of Stephen FURMAGE (1736-1798) and Mary Knight (1739-1787).(1)
As was traditional their first child was baptised in the brides parish of Melcombe Regis at St Mary's church on 10th Feb 1793 and the parish register simply records this as 'Thomas s. of Thomas and Elizabeth Christopher'. The problem with this entry is that despite extensive research we have not been able to find any other reference to a son of theirs named Thomas, and if he did exist we know from a removal order against the family that lists their children and gives their age that he must have died prior to the date of the order on 20th Dec 1800 and this is further supported by the Overseers accounts at Fordington on 5th Feb 1797 which also refer to his family as being a wife and two children.
The removal order is crucial to our understanding of his family and although it is out of date sequence here I have chosen to display a copy of it below as it is necessary to refer to it.
I shall refer to this document again later, but for now it is clear that in 1800 they had two children; Ann aged 7 years (i.e. born about 1793?) and James aged 5 years (born about 1795). We have managed to trace Ann's life in full (see below) except for the absence of a baptism record. We know Thomas and Elizabeth had their children baptised as they next appear in St George's parish in Fordington when their son James Christopher was baptized on 4th October 1795. Clearly this is their son James referred to in the above document, and I think this raises the distinct possibility that the parish clerk at Melcombe Regis simply got it wrong and the baptism of 10th Feb 1793 should have been for their daughter Ann Christopher.
The next important documents to emerge about the family all come from the Overseers of the Poor Accounts for St Georges Church in Fordington, which are available to view on ancestry.com but have not so far (Sep 2017) been indexed and and therefore tortuous to locate. The five listed below in particular help us to understand what was happening to the family:-
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(1) Overseers of Poor Accounts dated 5th February 1797 (Image 509) This is a short listing of Overseers payments made to families of Militia men living in Fordington where the husband is serving in the Militia being assembled and trained at the barracks in West Fordington. The Overseers then reclaim these payments from the man's home parish. It lists:- Thos. [Thomas] Christopher - 3 present [i.e. his wife and 2 children] for 10 weeks paid 9 shillings.
(2) Overseers of Poor Accounts dated 4th March 1798 (image 523) Thos. (Thomas) Christopher note in the accounts refers to him as a supplementary Militia Man, and ordered to Wimborne on 19th March 1798. His wife and 2 children still at Fordington therefore paid three weeks from that time. The reference to 'supplementary' means Thomas has volunteered to take the place of someone else selected by the Militia Ballot
(3) Overseers of Poor Accounts dated 19th March 1798 (Image 524) Thos. Christopher 7 weeks pay - wife and 2 children sum paid £1.1s.0d [Note there are many more entries like this as the family receive regular monthly payments]
(4) Overseers of Poor Accounts dated 31st Aug 1798 (image 538) This particular entry confirms that Thomas Christopher is a substitute for Robert Hoskins ; so costs would be reclaimed from him or the Overseers of his parish which was given as being Portland. As far as I can tell this is probably Robert the son of Robert Hoskins baptised in the nearby parish of Preston on 22nd July 1770. His name appears on the Militia ballot selection list for Preston & Sutton Pointz on the 15th day of January 1796 when he was described as a shepherd and 5' 6" tall. Robert Hoskins died on 14 Nov 1811 and was buried in Portland.
(5) Overseers of Poor Accounts dated 1st November 1799 Formally discharged from the Militia and paid up to the 1st Nov 1799.
1793-1797: When Thomas Christopher and Elizabeth Furmage married it had been only four years since the start of the French Revolution when the Bastille was stormed in Paris. Louis the XIV had been executed in 1793 when the reign of terror began under Robespierre and the French Government declared war on Britain. Napoleon Bonaparte married Josephine de Beauharnais in 1794 and defeated Austria in 1796 leaving Britain isolated. If we look at the Times Newspaper for 22nd Feb 1797 it has three accounts of the capture of French Privateers off the coast, and concern over “ immense preparations for the invasion of England all along the coast from Breast to Dunkirk”. Also a scare on February 20th that enemy transports had been sighted off “Beachy Head” which occasioned 8 men of war from the Royal Navy to set sail from Plymouth. Closer to home on 17th Feb 1797 a plot had been discovered by French prisoners of war held in Porchester Castle to escape. Porchester Castle overlooks Portsmouth Harbour and the tunnels they dug had nearly reached the outer walls when they were discovered. From “disappointment” the inmates rioted which meant “it was necessary to fire some ball into them” and during further riots on the Saturday a French sailor was shot dead. The biggest and most important National event however took place on 14th February 1797 when Nelson gained fame for his exploits at the battle of St Vincent when the British Navy defeated the larger Franco-Spanish fleet and Nelson was promoted to Rear Admiral.
Communication was also different particularly for the poor. The majority could not read so news of events in London and elsewhere was conveyed from the pulpit usually laced with the vicars own view. There was therefore a great deal of nervousness in Dorset with all this activity in the channel and it was not helped by mutinies in the British Navy at Spithead and Nore in 1797. To top it all on 22nd August 1798 a force of 1,100 French Soldiers landed in County Mayo to support a major rebellion in Ireland and the Militias across the whole of the South of England including Dorchester were mobilized. Each Parish had to supply able bodied men and raise extra rates to support the war effort for as long as there was an emergency. The barracks for the Dorset Militia was based in West Fordington and this led to many marriages of soldiers to locals girls both in Fordington, Dorchester and the surrounding area.
From the Fordington Overseers Accounts we know that Thomas volunteered to be a substitute for Robert Hoskins in 1796 so he was not selected that year in the ballot himself. Having volunteered he would then be exempt whilst serving in the Militia from subsequent Militia ballots. Many of these Militia returns have not survived, but Thomas was clearly mobilised and the part of the Dorset Militia he was attached to dispatched from Fordington Barracks to Wimborne on 19th March 1798. Militia lists recorded all males resident in the parish between the ages of 18 and 45 and were often copied from previous returns and then updated. Those with infirmities or poor with large families to support (typically 2 or more children) were then excluded and the rest went into a ballot to draw out the numbers required from that parish. The only returns to survive that list a Thomas Christopher however relate to the years 1798 and 1799 and both are not for Poole but for the parish of Lytchett Minster where he was to be buried in 1827.
These two returns like a lot of records around this time raise as many questions as they answer. The return for 1798 was initially completed by George Best the tythingman for Lytchett Minster on 10th Nov 1798 and is recorded on ancestry.com under Cogdean Hundred in the Wareham division, with appeals to be heard at the Red Lion in Wareham on 19th Nov and the final list due for the ballot submitted on the 20th Nov. The entry we are interested in states 'Thos Christopher, Labourer. yes (i.e.has a wife) ditto (i.e. number of children) 5'6" (tall)'. Unfortunately for us Thomas's entry is at the top of page two and there was clearly at least one entry above it that has been cut off. Page one is complete so it is not carried forward from page one which means we are denied knowing how many children he had. If you look at page one there is a reason for exemption and a vertical line drawn down the page against all these names but one, that of John Davidge who has no excuse. Thomas's name on page 2 has no entry against it so he was left in the ballot whereas if we have the right man he should be exempt as already serving. This of course relies on the tythingman knowing where Thomas Christopher was and his current circumstances. In reality of course our Thomas has been in Melcombe Regis but this is not his place of settlement. It only mattered of course if your name was drawn at the ballot, hence the appeals process before the JP at the Red Lion.
The second return is completed by Richard Smith now Tithingman for Lytchett Minster, again for the Cogdean Hundred but now listed under the Wimborne Division? I suspect this is wrongly cataloged and should be in Wareham Division as before as the appeals are still to be heard on Monday 18th Nov at the Red Lion in Wareham - the final list is submitted for ballot on 19th. This listing clearly excludes 'volunteers' but Thomas's name is again left in? This shows he has a wife but no children and is now an inch taller at 5 foot 7". Clearly this listing has been recompiled not just carried forward from the year before and amended. A Thomas Christopher with a wife and no children might fit option 1.3 above more closely but I think it is clear that these returns must relate to the Thomas Christopher who dies in Lytchett Minster in 1827 and he is supposed to have been born circa 1762?
We do know from the Times newspaper for 1st September 1798 that His Majesties Frigate Arethusa of 44 guns arrived at Portsmouth from the coast of France on the 30th August and immediately sailed for Southampton river to embark the Dorset and Devon Militias. In all over 100,000 Militia men from the South of England were transported to Ireland but a decisive battle at Ballinamuck in County Longford that September
saw the surrender of the French army so the fighting was over by the time they arrived. Over 500 Irish were slain but another 1,000 escaped although there were reports of rebels being hanged in towns, which included Carrick on Shannon and and they were employed in keeping the peace and rounding up insurgents.
Fortunately the diary of a James Ryan who was a land surveyor and present in Carrick in 1798 has survived and is held in the Waterford County Museum. This records that the Dorset Militia arrived on 12th September 1798 and remained there until Michaelmas day [i.e. September 29th]. One of their tasks appears to have been to search Carrick for arms but they only appear to have located rusty old guns and swords. They were despatched to Fermoy and Kerrick, which are North of Cork, but were back in Carrick on Shannon by 22nd October.
For some time there were local uprisings or disturbances but only one is recorded involving the Dorset Militia and that was at Coolnamuck where a number of prisoners had been taken. Intelligence having been received that there was going to be trouble a Mr Jephson preceded with a force of Yeomen [cavalry] assisted by the Dorset Militia to Coolnamuck and took into custody seven persons on 6th September 1799. That night about 300 people assembled and during the ensuing disturbances another nine were taken into custody.
Things generally quietened down however and there was no longer a need for such large numbers so a lot of the Militia including the Devon and Dorset contingents returned to England in 1799. The Churchwarden accounts show that Thomas Christopher returned to Fordington and was discharged from the Militia on 1st November 1799.
All this time Elizabeth had been receiving 3/- a week but with the insurrection under control and the Militia disbanded the obligation on ratepayers to pay ceased. With such large numbers of men returning to England there was insufficient work locally so Thomas and his family sought support from Fordington Overseers. You could only claim poor relief however if your place of settlement was within the parish so the churchwardens formally examined Thomas and the result of their deliberations were recorded. They concluded that Thomas’s last place of settlement was Poole so a removal order was issued on 20 Dec 1800 returning him and his family to that parish. The removal order shown above specifically mentions Elizabeth his wife and children Ann aged 7 and James aged 5’ there is no mention of a son Thomas. There are two final entries in the Fordington Churchwarden accounts. One for relief paid to the family between 5th to 21st December amounting to 14s and 6d and expenses for the churchwarden taking Thomas and his family to Poole, which amounted to £3. 3s. 0d.
With the exception of his son James I can find no other reference to him or his family until Thomas dies in 1827. He is actually buried Uon 28 Jan 1827 in Lytchett Minster Dorset with a reported age of 65 but the parish registers record his place of residence as Longfleet Poole.
By this date only his son James was still alive and he was living in London having married in Marylebone 4 years earlier. If we are correct Lytchett Minster appears to have been his true place of settlement from before 1798 and it is therefore the place Thomas has to turn to for support if he needs it from the Overseers. His 2nd cousin Sarah Fancy was also a long term resident in Lytchett Minster at this time. Thomas died at the age of 65 at Longfleet but was buried at Lytchett Minster on 28th january 1827. Elizabeth lived to be 85 and died at the family home in Hertford Street in Portsea on 13th Jan 1850 the informant being her son James.
If the baptism for Thomas Christopher should have been for their daughter Ann they only had 2 children:-
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(6.1) Ann Christopher (1794-1854) probably baptised Melcombe Regis, on 10 Feb 1793 but recorded as Thomas Christopher by the parish clerk. She was aged 7 when the removal order was issued on 20th Dec 1800 moving the family from Fordington to Poole. She married aged 18 at Alverstoke in Hampshire on 12th Jan 1812 to John Langford (1793-1867). John had been baptised at St Mary's church in Portsea on 3rd Nov 1793 the 2nd of five children of William Langford (1755-1826) a shipwright by his wife Ann nee Setford (1756-1831). They raised a family of 8 children at Portsea between 1812 and 1829 with John working as a rope maker. Before June 1841 they were living in Hertford Street with Ann's mother Elizabeth who died there in 1850. The following year they moved to live nearby at 3 Wells Street. Ann Langford died from a disease of the lungs at the age of 62 at Stournton Street in Portsea on 28th Oct 1854. John Langford lived to be 73 and died in the Union workhouse at Portsea on 7th Jan 1867.
(6.2) James Christopher (1795-1866) baptised at St George's church in Fordington on 4th Oct 1795 he was aged 5 on the above removal order in 1800. He became a cordwainer by trade and married at St Marylebone in London to Elizabeth Welch (1799-1887) . After marriage they initially lived at Thayer Street St Marylebone but had moved by 1829 to live at Great Sutton Road in Clerkenwell in Islington. By 1839 they had raised a family of 4 children in London and were living ar No.1 George Street in St Marylebone with James still operating as a shoemaker but specialising in ladies shoes. His father having died in 1827 when his mother became ill in the late 1840's they moved to Portsea where she was living with his sister and brother-in-law John Langford. James was the informant of her death at his sisters house in Hertford Street. By then James and his family were established living on Commercial Road in Portsea and the 1851 census describes him as being a confectioner. By 1861 they had moved again to No. 217 Cannal Rd in Portsea and he had become a rate collector, the confectioner business now being run by his son Thomas and his daughter in law Helena. James died at Portsea at the age of 70 in the third quarter of 1866. Elizabeth nee Welch continued to live with her son Thomas and his wife at 22 Lake Road in Portsea and died at the age of 88 in 1st quarter of 1887. Their 4 children were:-
(6.2.1) Mary Ann Christopher (1824-?) Born on 15th Aug 1824 at Thayer Street in St Marylebone, London she was duly baptised at All Souls church in St Marylebone on 3rd April 1825. She lived with her parents until she 16 years old when she married James Andrews (b.1821) about Feb 1843. After marriage they had a daughter Sarah Jane Andrews (1851-1940) born in Jan 1851 at 6 Houghton Street St Clement Danes in London after which we have no more information.
(6.2.2) James Christopher (1826-?) Born on 12th May 1829 he was baptised at Saint James Church Clerkenwell on 28th June 1829. Became a shoemaker like his father and was single and still living in St Marylebone in 1851 so does not appear to have moved with the family to Portsea. No trace after that.
(6.2.3) Thomas Christopher (1832-1917) Born on 14th May 1832 he was not baptised until 29th Sep 1839 at All Souls church in St Marylebone. He stayed with his family moving to Portsea with them and in 1851 was helping his father run their confectioners business. On 11th Dec 1856 he married Hellina [Helena] Augustus Draper (1834-1911) at St Mary's church in Portsea. They raised a family of 11 children but only 3 were still alive in 1911. I have so far only traced 7 of these as the others seem to have died in infancy between census returns. Helena died abt Aug 1911 and Thomas on 7th April 1917 whilst living at Chulin Leigh, 7 Outram Rd, Southsea, Hampshire with administration of his estate of just over £1,630 being granted to his married daughter Annie Augusta Carnt.
(6.2.3.1) Annie Augusta Christopher (1858-1927) Born at Portsea 1st quarter of 1858 she married a marine engineer and shipbuilder called Edwin Charles Carnt (1858-1915) in the 3rd quarter of 1880. She died 23rd April 1927 at St George Hanover Square in London when she was 69 years old leaving an estate of over £156,982.
(6.2.3.2) Helena Christopher (1859-1859) Born and died an infant in the 2nd quarter of 1859
(6.2.3.3) Frederick James Christopher (1864-1947) Born in 3rd quarter of 1864 he married at Portsea in 4th quarter 1887 to Adelaide Emma Sanders (1869-1948). They lived at Waterlooville and had a daughter Helena Beatrice Christopher (1889-1977) who married Sidney Horace Corner in the 3rd quarter of 1909 at Portsmouth. She died aged 88 Dec 1977. Frederick James died 20th Aug 1947 at the Hospital Winchfield Aldershot in Hampshire leaving a midest estate to his widow. Adelaide died on 2nd Dec 1948 when her address was given as 92 Stakes Hill Road, Waterlooville with administration of her modest estate going to her daughter.
(6.2.3.4) Minnie Lownes Christopher (1866-1947) Born in the 4th quarter of 1866 she married an Engineer in the Royal Navy called David Jackson Bennett (1860-1929) in the 1st quarter of 1886. David was a native of Fife in Scotland and the first of their 3 children David Christopher Bennett was born at Glasgow Lanark Scotland in 1887 and also became an Engineer Commander in the Royal Navy. His brother Norman was born 1890 at Portsmouth and sister Catherine Margaret in 1897 at Devonport. Minnie was living at 4th garden-mansion at Queen Anne's Mansions in St James London when she died on 10th Sep 1927 in the Empire Nursing Home Vincent Square in London leaving an estate of just over £5,513 to be administered by her eldest son. Her husband David died at the Haven, High Park Ryde, Isle of Wight on 13th April 1929 with administration of his estate of £1,350 granted to his daughter Catherine.
(6.2.3.5) Clara Louisa Christopher (1869-1869) Born and died an infant in the 3rd quarter of 1869
(6.2.3.6) Walter Harry Christopher (1872-1873) Born 4th quarter of 1872 at Portsea and died an infant 3rd quarter 1873
(6.2.3.7) Beatrice Christopher (1874-1881) Born 4th quarter 1874 at Portsea died aged 7 4th quarter 1881
(6.2.4) Ann Christopher (1839-1843) Born on 1st Dec 1839 at No. 1 George street in the parish of All Souls St Marylebone, died aged 4 in the 4th quarter of 1843.
Genealogical Notes:-
(1). Marriage 1792: Two research notes regarding circumstantial evidence recorded in case relevant if further information becomes available. (a) Thomas Christopher signed his name which as far as I can tell was the only one of his siblings able to do so? Perhaps a product of his time at Poole? (b) One witness is a Richard Green who I have not so far identified. Thomas's brother James and his wife Hannah nee White had a son named James alias George Christopher (1802-1858) who became a coast guard and married on 27th Dec 1830 to an Ann Green the daughter of a Henry Green by his second wife Mary nee Bryar. Her father Henry was previously married to Elizabeth Townsend who died in 1806. Henry appears to originate from Langton Herring near Portisham circa 1776 but I have not managed to prove any association with Richard Green.