By the time he was 23 he had met and married his wife, Harriett Lock, and moved to the fast growing town of Leamington Spa where he was able to find various short lived jobs - as shown on the baptism records of his children - a servant, a milkman and a labourer. The following year, 1831, their first child was born, a son, who they named after his father Joseph to mark the fact that he was their first born male child. Over the next 15 years they had 5 more children - Harriet, James, Elizabeth, Charlotte and Ann.
In the 1841 census the family were living in Thomas Street, Leamington Spa and Joseph snr was still working hard as a labourer to look after his growing family. Joseph jnr is now 8, his sister Harriett is 6, brother James 3 and baby Elizabeth is 1. However on the day that the census was recorded, little Harriett is not at the family home, but was staying about 20 miles away with her grandparents, Joseph Kibler and his wife Mary. At the time her mother was expecting her 5th child so maybe she called upon the grandparents for help. Eight year old Joseph jnr was probably already a lively child, too boisterous to send to his elderly grandparents whereas a little girl of 6 was likely to be far less trouble. Baby Charlotte was born at the start of 1842 followed a couple of years later by another daughter, Ann, in 1845. At this point their mother Harriet was 40 and had 6 children. Good fortune provided Joseph with a chance to work as a butcher and move to accommodation above the shop at 11 Lansdowne Road, just round the corner from their previous address, and the family stayed here for the next 30 years, until Joseph’s death in 1876 aged 68.
Joseph must have started working in Lansdowne Street some time before 1848 because he is briefly mentioned in a local newspaper item reporting that a John Martin was brought before the courts for stealing a loin of mutton valued at 2s 6d, the property of Joseph Shearsby.
“Prisoner pleaded guilty and was committed to trial at the next Quarter Sessions.” Another snippet from the local paper in 1850 tells us about his charitable efforts to support the poor and needy in his community by providing a Soup Kitchen. Benefactors would buy tickets to distribute to the needy entitling them to a bowl of soup and bread ensuring that the money given is not spent on items other than those which were intended - an age old problem that still continues today.
In this simplified tree you can see Joseph snr and his wife Harriet at the top with their 6 children in blue below them. The known spouses and grandchildren are on the lines below, creating the Shearsby family of Joseph jnr, the Salmon family of Harriet jnr and the Goodall family of Elizabeth. The spouses and children of James, Charlotte and Ann have not yet been fully researched.
In the 1851 census the oldest daughter, Harriet, now 16, was still not living at home but was instead living in Cross Street, just a few minutes’ walk away, working as servant in household of James and Esther Williamson (Tailor and Dressmaker) who have a baby less than 1 year old. The other children, Joseph jnr, James, Elizabeth, Charlotte and Ann, were all at home and young James, although only 13 years old, was listed as a baker - possibly doing some kind of apprenticeship in the nearby Baker’s shop.
By now Joseph jnr is 19 and also working as a butcher, probably with his father, but had recently been in trouble with the police for trespassing, stealing vermin traps and poaching. He was taken to court and his misdemeanours were written up in the local papers. Luckily for him his father was able to bail him out but he was sent to trial at the Quarter sessions and at the trial he and his accomplice were sent to jail for two months.
Many changes took place in the Shearsby family over the next decade. In 1854 the eldest daughter Harriet married William Salmon (a local brewer) and Joseph jnr married Emma Griffith. In 1860 the two families had a joint baptism for their daughters - both named Harriet Emma! The baptism register shows both families living in King Street but the census the following year shows the Shearsby family in nearby Clemens Street.
Harriet and William Salmon went on to have 7 children and Joseph and Emma Shearsby had at least 2 children who they named after Joseph’s parents - Joseph and Harriet. There may have been as many as 6 more but these have not yet been verified.
The second son, James, appears to have moved away from the area and become a painter, decorator and paper hanger. There is some unverified evidence that he was married twice and had at least 6 children. So by the early 1860s, the boys in the family had all left home leaving Joseph snr and his wife Harriet still living at the butcher’s shop with their two younger daughters, Elizabeth and Charlotte. It is not clear where 16 year old Ann might be, possibly living nearby working as a house servant. In 1861 Elizabeth was married to Edward Goodall and went on to have at least 3 children, Charles, Frank and Lillie - more about these in a later story.
A couple of years later Charlotte was married to a Haberdasher called John Fuge and they had at least 6 children but this has not yet been fully researched.
But for Joseph snr and Harriet, mixed with the pleasure of seeing their children married and the arrival of a steady flow of grandchildren, there continued to be trouble from their son, Joseph. Despite now being a married man with a young family, Joseph jnr was still getting into trouble with the law. Life must have been hard for his wife Emma, left to bring up the children and keep the household running.
In 1863 he was reported in the papers again, in court accused of assaulting his neighbours. The article began ‘ Joseph Shearsby. Kenilworth-street, was charged with threatening to kill Joseph Wood, picture frame maker, of the same street, on the 23rd instant,’ and latter continued ‘Joseph Wood said that, about three o'clock in the afternoon of the 23rd inst, defendant's wife came into his shop with a Mrs. Montgomery. A conversation took place about something he had said, and then defendant himself marched in, said he would kill him, struck him a blow with his hand, and then knocked him down with a chair. Witness called murder, when defendant, his wife, and Mrs. Montgomery ran out into the street. His hand was cut in the affray, and he was also bleeding from the mouth.’ Hardly out of jail for more than a few weeks and in July he was once again in trouble, this time for assaulting a police officer who was attempting to take him into custody after a fight with another man. The police broke up the fight and sent Joseph home but the other man wanted Joseph arrested and when the policeman went to his house, Joseph then assaulted him too. This is part of the local newspaper report
‘Freeman rapped [on the door], and on Shearsby answering, he told him he had come to take a into custody for assaulting Skelsey. Shearsby called to someone to bring him a gun, declaring at the time that he would blow Freeman's brains out. Freeman got his foot inside the door, forced it back, and a fierce conflict ensued, the officer using his staff until it split in two parts, and the prisoner fighting with a chair, and such other things a he could lay his hands on. While this was going on, and the wife and children were shouting murder, the other defendant, Chamberlayne, rushed into the house, kicked and struck the policeman, and ultimately they were both seen dragging him out of the house by the hair of his head’. This last crime resulted in a 2 month prison sentence and after this his name disappears from the records (and the newspapers) but later re-appears in some New Zealand records. At the moment more research is needed to verify whether this is the same man and whether he emigrated out of choice or was deported for his crimes. Could this be another chapter in the story? In the 1871 census Joseph snr was still living with his wife at the Butcher’s shop in Lansdowne Street, Leamington. Living with them were two of their grandchildren, Charles Goodall and Harriett Salmon (see tree above). Joseph snr died in 1876 and his passing was reported in the local papers. His wife, Harriet died the following year. His son Joseph jnr was 45 at the time and his grandson Joseph was about 20. I wonder if there were any more Josephs in the line.
2 Comments
25/1/2021 06:36:05 am
I do believe that we have ancestors in common. Frederick Charles Caesar was my great Grandfather and Frederick Augustus Caesar my Grandfather. He died before I knew him as I was born in 1958 but I do remember Daisy Caesar and Ruby Caesar as a child and heard of Percy Caesar through my Father Gerald Caesar. I was able to find your posts on Family Tree and became quite interested after Being contacted by John Munro who was Ruby Caesars grandson. My family moved to Canada in 1967. I remember Daisy Caesar quite well and last saw her around 1970ish when I was 13 and returned to England for a short time. I have been following you on Family Tree but I don't seem to be able to PM you....its a tricky site.
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Daryl
25/1/2021 10:35:21 am
How great to hear from you, Ray. We do indeed have a lot in common and I would love to share information with you. I even have a great photo of you, your Mum and your siblings with Ruby and Daisy at a birthday tea for Daisy!
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About MeI've always been interested in the Past Stories of my family and have recently found the time to delve deeper into the lives of the people who went before me. Previous Posts
1. Making a new start 2.The Qui Vives 3. From Ruby to Silver 4. A postcard and a passenger list 5. Louisa's story Part 1 6. Louisa's story - the second part 7. Three generations of Joseph Shearsbys 8. The Down-Under Adventures of Thomas and Catherine Skitteral Categories |