Merryweather – John and Grace Broadway

John and Mary had only two sons. John born first was baptised at Mere on the 13 June 1753 the same day as his sister Mary. He was to inherit Deanes farm and the Ł100 left to him by his father, this sum to be paid to him on his majority, and then only if his mother thought fit. This would have been ca.1774, a fateful year for England (and for some of our family's other ancestors as will later be seen), when Lord North was Prime Minister under King George III and rumblings of discontented colonists in America were becoming more threatening.

John established himself in Mere parish from the top of whose nearby ancient Castle Hill one can see three Counties, looking down at the boundaries of Dorset and Somerset. Behind march the great smooth downs and at the foot lies the old town of Mere, (now shielded with a by-pass), and beyond its street lie mile upon mile of green with hills rolling into the horizon.

Far removed from the mainstream of national life the timeless rhythm of seasonal work on the farm went on. But one notable happening was on the 2 February 1765 when John was about 12 years old. John Ford was found drowned in a pond at Mere Park; perhaps the lad fell through the ice when skating. The Coroner recorded a verdict of Accidental Death presenting an account for his fee of Ł1.13.6d [Ł1.67] for the 18 mile journey he had made to hold the inquest.¹
Later, John was looking for a wife, and he found one in Dorset and married her on the 23 October 1780 at St. Mary's, Motcombe. She was Grace Broadway, probably a twin, baptised at Motcombe on the 10 February 1749 and daughter of a yeoman William and Frances. Witnesses at the wedding were all Broadways - Henry, Patience and Lydia.

It may well be through his links with the Broadways that John came in contact with the Methodist movement which was slowly gathering strength in the West country. John and Charles Wesley had started their work of evangelism in 1738 and as their influence spread, small groups of converts established themselves. One of Dorset's earliest Methodist chapels, and perhaps the first in a village was built at Motcombe in 1774 on a site still occupied by Methodists. The land was sold by a farmer for Ł3 to a trust comprising yeoman Henry Broadway and six other villagers, and two outsiders, one of whom was John Merryweather.

So many people were becoming stirred up and joining the Methodists that the Motcombe parish priest grew alarmed and began to preach against them with 'sermons ... filled with invective'. One Sunday he became rather agitated when reading the prayers, and after climbing into the pulpit was unable to utter one word of his sermon. He told the congregation to wait, went outside and paced about in the churchyard before returning to the pulpit. Again he was unable to read his sermon, became even more confused, and eventually gave up. He was so mortified that he left the neighbourhood and never returned.² John Merryweather must have known about these happenings in Motcombe, a village less than three miles from where he lived and may have witnessed some of them. His children's baptisms have not been traced which may mean that they took place at the Motcombe Methodist chapel whose records seem not to have survived.

John had a long life. A yeoman and evidently a man of some local prominence he is shown in the Land Tax Assessment of 1794 as owner and occupier of Bushayes farm. What happened to the freehold of Deanes farm is not known but his land holdings ensured that he was able to vote in elections, and his name appears in the Wiltshire Poll book of 1818 which shows him as a Freeholder of Mere town. Records show that five times between 1798 and 1817 he was appointed to the unpaid post of Waywarden, or Surveyor of Highways as it was also known, a task imposed by the Justices of the Peace on local landowners who were chosen by rotation. As a Waywarden he would be obliged to survey the parish highway three times each year and to organise the statute labour that was provided by landowners to repair the roads, or else collect any commutations. In 1822 he was liable for six days labour but there would have been no requirement for him to perform it personally; those who had the means were able to pay others to do it, providing local employment at the same time.

Another unpaid appointment he had was that of Overseer to the Poor, a thankless task which operated under the Poor Law Act of 1601. Accounts of Overseers show how different parishes attempted to cope with the problem of poverty, giving relief or punishing vagabonds and beggars and sending them back to their own parishes. Overseers were in an impossible position as they wrestled with the dilemma of not being too harsh to the genuinely needy, nor too lenient lest they encouraged paupers to apply for relief. Three times John, with other local worthies, was required to be Overseer for the Woodlands Division of Mere, in 1802, 1803 and finally in 1812.

In 1821 he received an allotment of land³ under the Enclosure Acts and although enclosure drove the poor from off the common land, in some cases awards were an exchange of existing rights to graze animals in return for a fixed portion of land. But there is no doubt that much hardship resulted from the effects of these enactments.

It is not known what John was like; whether harsh and grasping or benevolent towards his less fortunate neighbours, many of whom were Merryweathers,⁴ probably with common ancestor. Striving to shun a romantic view of history and a picture of an unchanging, idyllic countryside may be difficult, but it was the poor who bore the sorrows and who made the greatest sacrifices in this age of industrial and agricultural revolution. John was buried at Sedgehill 8 April 1828, but his Will was drawn up on the 8 March 1827.⁵

In the name of God Amen. This is the last Will and Testament of me John Merryweather of Mere in the County of Wilts Yeoman which I make and ordain whilst I am of sound and disposing mind and understanding ... .
I give to my dear Wife Grace so much of my household furniture as she may choose to take ... also one annuity of Ł60 chargeable on my Freehold Estate called Bushais or Bushayes in the Parish of Mere ...
I give the same Estate to my son Edward Merryweather his heirs and assigns for ever ... . Rest Residue and Remainder of my Estate and Effects to Edward ... .
I appoint my son Edward to be Executor.
J Merryweather.

[Witnesses]; Francis Harding, Hindon Wilts, Draper. Jas. Richardson, Clerk to Mr. Millet., Chas. Millet, Chicklade, Wilts. Att[orne]y.

Edward was unable to assume the Executorship as he died shortly after his father. The Will then became technically invalid so Edward's wife Sarah became the Administratrix following the grant of Letters of Administration with Will annexed at the Principal Probate Registry, London on the 19 January 1829. It is not known what became of Grace, but we can safely assume that she died before the end of June 1837.
John and Grace had five children but as already noted, their baptisms are untraced.

Sophia Merryweather was baptised at Wimborne 29 September 1781 and married 16 January 1801 at Bath Abbey, Somerset a bachelor William Godwin of Gillingham, with witnesses Mary Godwin and Mary Munfield. The register shows that both parties were resident in the Abbey precincts in the middle of the city (so they probably lived in a nearby house - possibly with Mary Godwin who could be William's mother or sister). Perhaps this arrangement avoided the need for the expense of a special licence. As the marriage took place so far away and no Merryweather signed the register, William Godwin may not have been welcomed into the family. This speculation is confirmed by a reference to him in the Will of Frances Broadway, Grace's mother, written 5 July 1804:⁶

Also I give and bequeath unto my daughter Grace Merryweather the sum of two hundred pounds but upon the express condition that William Godwin her Son in Law do & shall within six months next after my decease release or surrender all further claim to the messuage and lands belonging to me within the Manor of Motcombe as well as pay the costs I have incurred in defending my title to the same and it is my Will and I hereby direct that in case the said William Godwin or those claiming under him shall neglect so to do the said legacy shall not be payable but be considered as lapsed.

The marriage is noticed in the Gentleman's Magazine, which might indicate a subsequent reconciliation, especially as they are both mentioned on the family tomb after Sophia died on the 26 February 1810, aged 28.

John Merryweather came next, born around 1783 and he would have inherited but he died 23 July 1810 aged 27 and was buried at Sedgehill four days later.

Mary Anne Merryweather was baptised 11 June 1786 at Wimborne and married at Mere by licence on the 29 February 1808 Henry Collins junior of Yeovil, Somerset. Henry, the son of Henry Collins and Elizabeth née Winsor (who had married by licence at Broadway, Somerset on the 26 December 1775), had been baptised at St. John's, Yeovil 28 September 1786. He was the elder brother of Sarah Collins who was to marry Mary Anne's brother, Edward.
Mary Anne died on the 17 April 1814, so continuing the tragic series of early deaths, her body being buried in the family churchyard at Sedgehill 26 April 1814.

Edward Merryweather

The Sedgehill family tomb records that the couple had another daughter, unnamed, so she must have died before baptism.

¹ R F Hunnisett, Ed. Wiltshire Coroners' Bills 1752-1796. WRS., Devizes 1981.
² Barry J Biggs, The Wesleys and The Early Dorset Methodists. Woodsorrel Publications, Gillingham, Dorset 1987.
³ R E Sandell, Ed. Abstracts of Wiltshire Inclosure Awards and Agreements. WRS., Devizes 1971.
⁴ One such family has been charted from a Joshua born ca.1747 and whose progeny numbered some 44 people spanning five generations up to Paul Merryweather born in 1851. More recent members of this family were Mr Reginald Merryweather, MRCS, and his brother a former Director of Sealink the cross-Channel ferry company. In 1997 and 1999 links were made with two other of Joshua's living descendants.
⁵ PROB11/750 Will and Admon Jan 31 1827.
⁶ PROB11/450 proved 1806.

	Website of ALAN MERRYWEATHER

	*SHARE MY HARVEST* by Alan Merryweather CHAPTER 5. JOHN MERRYWEATHER and GRACE BROADWAY
	John and Mary had only two sons. John born first was baptised at Mere on the 13 June 1753 the same day as his sister Mary. He was to inherit Deanes farm and the Ł100 left to him by his father, this sum to be paid to him on his majority, and then only if his mother thought fit. This would have been ca.1774, a fateful year for England (and for some of our family's other ancestors as will later be seen), when Lord North was Prime Minister under King George III and rumblings of discontented colonists in America were becoming more threatening. John established himself in Mere parish from the top of whose nearby ancient Castle Hill one can see three Counties, looking down at the boundaries of Dorset and Somerset. Behind march the great smooth downs and at the foot lies the old town of Mere, (now shielded with a by-pass), and beyond its street lie mile upon mile of green with hills rolling into the horizon. Far removed from the mainstream of national life the timeless rhythm of seasonal work on the farm went on. But one notable happening was on the 2 February 1765 when John was about 12 years old. John Ford was found drowned in a pond at Mere Park; perhaps the lad fell through the ice when skating. The Coroner recorded a verdict of Accidental Death presenting an account for his fee of Ł1.13.6d [Ł1.67] for the 18 mile journey he had made to hold the inquest.¹ Later, John was looking for a wife, and he found one in Dorset and married her on the 23 October 1780 at St. Mary's, Motcombe. She was Grace Broadway, probably a twin, baptised at Motcombe on the 10 February 1749 and daughter of a yeoman William and Frances. Witnesses at the wedding were all Broadways - Henry, Patience and Lydia. It may well be through his links with the Broadways that John came in contact with the Methodist movement which was slowly gathering strength in the West country. John and Charles Wesley had started their work of evangelism in 1738 and as their influence spread, small groups of converts established themselves. One of Dorset's earliest Methodist chapels, and perhaps the first in a village was built at Motcombe in 1774 on a site still occupied by Methodists. The land was sold by a farmer for Ł3 to a trust comprising yeoman Henry Broadway and six other villagers, and two outsiders, one of whom was John Merryweather. So many people were becoming stirred up and joining the Methodists that the Motcombe parish priest grew alarmed and began to preach against them with 'sermons ... filled with invective'. One Sunday he became rather agitated when reading the prayers, and after climbing into the pulpit was unable to utter one word of his sermon. He told the congregation to wait, went outside and paced about in the churchyard before returning to the pulpit. Again he was unable to read his sermon, became even more confused, and eventually gave up. He was so mortified that he left the neighbourhood and never returned.² John Merryweather must have known about these happenings in Motcombe, a village less than three miles from where he lived and may have witnessed some of them. His children's baptisms have not been traced which may mean that they took place at the Motcombe Methodist chapel whose records seem not to have survived. John had a long life. A yeoman and evidently a man of some local prominence he is shown in the Land Tax Assessment of 1794 as owner and occupier of Bushayes farm. What happened to the freehold of Deanes farm is not known but his land holdings ensured that he was able to vote in elections, and his name appears in the Wiltshire Poll book of 1818 which shows him as a Freeholder of Mere town. Records show that five times between 1798 and 1817 he was appointed to the unpaid post of Waywarden, or Surveyor of Highways as it was also known, a task imposed by the Justices of the Peace on local landowners who were chosen by rotation. As a Waywarden he would be obliged to survey the parish highway three times each year and to organise the statute labour that was provided by landowners to repair the roads, or else collect any commutations. In 1822 he was liable for six days labour but there would have been no requirement for him to perform it personally; those who had the means were able to pay others to do it, providing local employment at the same time. Another unpaid appointment he had was that of Overseer to the Poor, a thankless task which operated under the Poor Law Act of 1601. Accounts of Overseers show how different parishes attempted to cope with the problem of poverty, giving relief or punishing vagabonds and beggars and sending them back to their own parishes. Overseers were in an impossible position as they wrestled with the dilemma of not being too harsh to the genuinely needy, nor too lenient lest they encouraged paupers to apply for relief. Three times John, with other local worthies, was required to be Overseer for the Woodlands Division of Mere, in 1802, 1803 and finally in 1812. In 1821 he received an allotment of land³ under the Enclosure Acts and although enclosure drove the poor from off the common land, in some cases awards were an exchange of existing rights to graze animals in return for a fixed portion of land. But there is no doubt that much hardship resulted from the effects of these enactments. It is not known what John was like; whether harsh and grasping or benevolent towards his less fortunate neighbours, many of whom were Merryweathers,⁴ probably with common ancestor. Striving to shun a romantic view of history and a picture of an unchanging, idyllic countryside may be difficult, but it was the poor who bore the sorrows and who made the greatest sacrifices in this age of industrial and agricultural revolution. John was buried at Sedgehill 8 April 1828, but his Will was drawn up on the 8 March 1827.⁵ In the name of God Amen. This is the last Will and Testament of me John Merryweather of Mere in the County of Wilts Yeoman which I make and ordain whilst I am of sound and disposing mind and understanding ... . I give to my dear Wife Grace so much of my household furniture as she may choose to take ... also one annuity of Ł60 chargeable on my Freehold Estate called Bushais or Bushayes in the Parish of Mere ... I give the same Estate to my son Edward Merryweather his heirs and assigns for ever ... . Rest Residue and Remainder of my Estate and Effects to Edward ... . I appoint my son Edward to be Executor. J Merryweather. [Witnesses]; Francis Harding, Hindon Wilts, Draper. Jas. Richardson, Clerk to Mr. Millet., Chas. Millet, Chicklade, Wilts. Att[orne]y. Edward was unable to assume the Executorship as he died shortly after his father. The Will then became technically invalid so Edward's wife Sarah became the Administratrix following the grant of Letters of Administration with Will annexed at the Principal Probate Registry, London on the 19 January 1829. It is not known what became of Grace, but we can safely assume that she died before the end of June 1837. John and Grace had five children but as already noted, their baptisms are untraced. Sophia Merryweather was baptised at Wimborne 29 September 1781 and married 16 January 1801 at Bath Abbey, Somerset a bachelor William Godwin of Gillingham, with witnesses Mary Godwin and Mary Munfield. The register shows that both parties were resident in the Abbey precincts in the middle of the city (so they probably lived in a nearby house - possibly with Mary Godwin who could be William's mother or sister). Perhaps this arrangement avoided the need for the expense of a special licence. As the marriage took place so far away and no Merryweather signed the register, William Godwin may not have been welcomed into the family. This speculation is confirmed by a reference to him in the Will of Frances Broadway, Grace's mother, written 5 July 1804:⁶ Also I give and bequeath unto my daughter Grace Merryweather the sum of two hundred pounds but upon the express condition that William Godwin her Son in Law do & shall within six months next after my decease release or surrender all further claim to the messuage and lands belonging to me within the Manor of Motcombe as well as pay the costs I have incurred in defending my title to the same and it is my Will and I hereby direct that in case the said William Godwin or those claiming under him shall neglect so to do the said legacy shall not be payable but be considered as lapsed. The marriage is noticed in the Gentleman's Magazine, which might indicate a subsequent reconciliation, especially as they are both mentioned on the family tomb after Sophia died on the 26 February 1810, aged 28. John Merryweather came next, born around 1783 and he would have inherited but he died 23 July 1810 aged 27 and was buried at Sedgehill four days later. Mary Anne Merryweather was baptised 11 June 1786 at Wimborne and married at Mere by licence on the 29 February 1808 Henry Collins junior of Yeovil, Somerset. Henry, the son of Henry Collins and Elizabeth née Winsor (who had married by licence at Broadway, Somerset on the 26 December 1775), had been baptised at St. John's, Yeovil 28 September 1786. He was the elder brother of Sarah Collins who was to marry Mary Anne's brother, Edward. Mary Anne died on the 17 April 1814, so continuing the tragic series of early deaths, her body being buried in the family churchyard at Sedgehill 26 April 1814. Edward Merryweather was born around 1790 and was to inherit the estate following the death of his elder brother John (see Chapter 7). The Sedgehill family tomb records that the couple had another daughter, unnamed, so she must have died before baptism. ¹ R F Hunnisett, Ed. Wiltshire Coroners' Bills 1752-1796. WRS., Devizes 1981. ² Barry J Biggs, The Wesleys and The Early Dorset Methodists. Woodsorrel Publications, Gillingham, Dorset 1987. ³ R E Sandell, Ed. Abstracts of Wiltshire Inclosure Awards and Agreements. WRS., Devizes 1971. ⁴ One such family has been charted from a Joshua born ca.1747 and whose progeny numbered some 44 people spanning five generations up to Paul Merryweather born in 1851. More recent members of this family were Mr Reginald Merryweather, MRCS, and his brother a former Director of Sealink the cross-Channel ferry company. In 1997 and 1999 links were made with two other of Joshua's living descendants. ⁵ PROB11/750 Will and Admon Jan 31 1827. ⁶ PROB11/450 proved 1806.