Charles Martin and Francis Prickett
Parents
: William Martin and
Hanna Coalman
Robert and Jane Prickett
Charles Martin (b 1797 Twywell Northamptonshire, m Francis Prickett
1826 Islington Middlesex, d 1878
Castlemaine Vic)
Francis Prickett (b 1800 St Pancras Middlesex, d 1879 Castlemaine)
Charles Henry Martin (b 1827 Islington , m
Elizabeth Hitchcock 1853 Prahan Vic, m Hannah Anderson abt 1884
Ballarat, d 1908 Ballarat Vic)
Hannah Martin
(b
1829
Islington, m Thomas Farr 1849
Camden Town, London,d 1890 St Kilda)
Edwin Farr (b 1858 Ballarat, m Louisa Jane Briant 1884 Presb
Manse Ballarat, d 1943 Northcote)
Winifred Emma Farr (b 1890
Northcote, m Norman Thompson
1918 , d 1994 Preston)
Henry Martin (b 1832 Islington , m Elanor Maw
1853 Collingwood, d 1897 Balwyn Vic)
Louisa Martin (b 1833 Peterborough,
Northhamptonshire , m James Crump 1852 St Pancras, d 1904 Fairfield
Vic)
Charles Henry Martin (Hannah's Brother, above)
An excellent book by Len Martin chronicles his
life. It gives an insight into how big a change it must habe been
for all the Martins. Charles H came from urban Islington, but in
1855 he was teaching at Point Napean in a school with 13 pupils, a
dirt floor, and no Privies. (The inspector's reported plenty of
bushes available for privacy). Charles H was obviously verry well
educated, writing learned articles in the Australian Christian
Pioneer which included reference to the original Greek of various
bible passages. Charles H had a strong religious commitment, which
was also evident in the wider family. He spent his prime working
years in Ballarat. Worth a read even if you are not a Charles H
descendant.
Link
Charles Martin's Will
Glenis Crocker searched
the Victorian Public Records for his will.She could not find it,
but found an application for Probate by his daughter Louisa Crump,
as sole executrix, on 6th of July 1903.
This is nearly 26 years after his death. She explains in her
submission that she only found she had a problem when she tried to
sell Charles' house in Wimble St Castlemaine. Louisa had
apparently just moved to 12 Tremerry St Abbotsford, after living
in Wimble St till then. The will itself is not available, as
Louisa successfully applied to have it removed from file
Francis Prickett's origins
Death certificate gives no maiden name, but
gives her age as 78 on 13 June 1879
Marriage certificate gives maiden name as Prickett (1826 Islington
Middlesex)
LDS only has one christening of Frances Prickett, daughter of
Robert Thomas Prickett and Jane Maria (Saint Botolph Without
Aldersgate 26 Apr 1800) - confirmed by an extract of the entry
LDS only has one marriage of Robert Prickett, to Ann Salte
(Tottenham, 4 Jul 1798)
LDS has no death/burial entries for Jane/Ann Prickett, but LDS is
not good at deaths
Robert Thomas Prickett in his will (1805/6) nominates his
wife Sarah and daughter Frances as his only beneficiaries
1851 Census (31 Mar)
St Pancras (38
Goldington North St)
Age
Occupation
Where Born
Charles
MARTIN
Head
52
Master
Butcher
Twibil, NTH
Frances
MARTIN
50
St
Pancras,
MDX
Henry
MARTIN
19
Islington, MDX
Louisa
MARTIN
17
Peterborough, Northhamptonshire
Thomas
FARR
Head
27
Carpenter
Southgate, MDX
Hannah
FARR
21
Islington, MDX
Alice
L
FARR
3
months
St
Pancras,
MDX
(all living in number 38)
Twibill is probably Twywel, NTH
General Notes
Frances' father was an
upholsterer who lived at St Martin's Le Grande in the city of
London (information provided by Frances on a census form conducted
on 5th November, 1831). However, he may also have been a steam
boat owner on the Thames, as this is the information provided by
James Crump on the death certificate of Frances when she died at
Castlemaine in 1879. It is possible that James was wrong in the
information that he provided - but it is also possible that both
are correct and that he changed occupations. The Prickett family
appears to have been fairly well off.
Charles father was a farmer.
Louisa was christened in St Mary Magdalene,
Bermondsey. Subsequent Martin children were christened in St Giles
Cripplegate, and in the 1841 census both Crumps and Martins were
living around that area. (In fact, on census night, some of the
Martin children were down the road staying with the Crumps).
Families of James Crump, Charles Martin (Snr),
and Thomas Farr sailed from London in August 1854 on the
Aberfoyle, and arrived in Port Phillip in December 1854. The
shipping list gives passengers as
Charles
Martin aged 54, Joiner
Frances
Martin
53 (his wife)
Thomas
Farr
29 Carpenter
Hannah
Farr
24
James
Crump
24 Carpenter
Louisa
Crump
21
Alice
Farr
3
Sarah A
Farr
2
James H
Crump
1
Charles
Farr
2 mo.
We do know that the Crumps went to the
goldfield at Castlemaine, and the Farrs and the Martins went to
Ballarat. We believe there are still Crumps living in the
area.
The 1854 party were preceeded to Melbourne by Chales Henry Martin
(the eldest son- see above) in late 1852. Presumably the main
party came out on his recommendation.
The following material is from posters
prepared by Glenis Crocker for a Martin and Farr reunion she
organised in Ballarat
Contents
MARTIN AS A
SURNAME:
"OUR MARTINS"
EVIDENCE
FOR LINKING CHARLES MARTIN WITH THE TEETON/SPRATTON MARTINS:
EVIDENCE AGAINST THE LINK:
REASONS FOR
KEEPING AN OPEN MIND ON THE LINKS:
EVIDENCE
NEEDED TO PROVE/DISPROVE THE LINK:
FARMYARD AT TWYWELL.
HOMES OF
THE MARTIN FAMILY IN AND AROUND ISLINGTON
CENSUS
INFORMATION 30TH MARCH 1851
NON-CONFORMIST
CHAPELS IN LONDON
ISLINGTON TODAY (AUGUST
1977)
COMING TO AUSTRALIA
THE PRICKETTS
CHARLES MARTIN IN
CASTLEMAINE
Transcript of the Will of Robert Thomas Prickett, dated
August
1805.
See
Robert
Prickett's page
Transcription of the Will of Charles Richard Prickett dated 16th
January
1808,
See
Charles
Prickett's page
MARTIN
AS A SURNAME:
The surname Martin, although very common, is
thought to have its origins from a small group of immigrants to
England. They were predominantly merchants, dealing with
every stage of cloth and leather production from farm to export.
"OUR MARTINS"
The branch of Martins from which we appear to
be descended lived in a group of villages based around Teeton and
Spratton in Northamptonshire. (See map)
In the 1700s Martins were fairly mobile between villages, with
families appearing in a parish register and then no further
entries, with the same family then appearing elsewhere. The
surnames Dickins and Coleman (Coalman) sometimes appeared in
association with the surname Martin, and in some cases they
appeared and disappeared from Parish registers at similar times.
The particular branch from which we come, according to evidence
collected so far, was centred in Teeton. (See information
provided by Helen Millward)
This branch can be traced back to the 1600's, and earlier with the
assistance of a knowledge of Latin.
However, the direct link of these Martins with our Charles Martin
has been made by a process of elimination, which as yet is not
complete, and possibly will never be complete.
EVIDENCE
FOR LINKING CHARLES MARTIN WITH THE TEETON/SPRATTON MARTINS:
Charles Martin's death certificate lists his
place of birth as being Northamptonshire, while the 1851 Census
gives the village in which he was born as Twibil,
Northamptonshire. Lists giving all the Northamptonshire
villages and parishes of that time have no village of this name,
the closest sounding name being Twywell. Census details were
written down by the census collector going from house to house,
and so the village was probably written as he heard it, rather
than as it was spelt. His spelling of Farr as Fair lends
support to this theory. (The conclusion that the village was
Twywell was reached independently by two different family
researchers)
Twywell records show only one family of Martin living there in the
relevant period. William Martin from Teeton married Hannah
Coalman at Twywell in 1787. They had six children born in
Twywell, the last of whom, Charles, was christened on 27th
December1797. There are no further Martins in parish records
in Twywell.
EVIDENCE
AGAINST THE LINK:
This baptism makes Charles 1 year older than
evidence from the 1851 Census in London, from the shipping
records, and from his death certificate.
His mother on his death certificate was listed as Hannah Pricket,
which was then corrected to Hannah Dickins.
REASONS FOR
KEEPING AN OPEN MIND ON THE LINKS:
* There was only one family of Martins in
Twywell at the relevant time.
* The mother's Christian name was Hannah and she had a son Charles
at about the right time.
* Although Dickins was recorded as Charles' mother's maiden name,
it was only after a correction had already been made, indicating
uncertainty.
* James Crump, who filled in the forms, was about ten years out in
the ages of children listed (including his wife), suggesting some
element of unreliability. Around this time he was retired on
the grounds of ill heath from his job as station master of
Castlemaine.
* Dickins/Dickens of Ravensthorpe were close family friends of the
previous generation of Martins (see Wills), but a search of
Ravensthorpe and adjacent parish and chapel records has not
yielded a Hannah Dickins/ Dickens who lived to adulthood, born
between 1750 - 1785, and therefore of an age to be the mother of
Charles. James Crump may have mistaken a known family friend
name for Charles' mother's maiden name, or if Hannah outlived
William Martin, she may have remarried a Dickins/ens.
EVIDENCE
NEEDED TO PROVE/DISPROVE THE LINK:
* A death certificate for one of his brothers
or an unmarried sister giving parent details.
* Elimination over time of other explanations by searching as
widely as possible through adjacent Parish records
* Finding original documents, eg the marriage certificate of
Charles & Frances which may give parent details, or an old
Family Bible. Church parish registers do not give this
detail.
FARMYARD
AT TWYWELL.
This yard is still known
as Martin's Yard, even though no Martins have lived in the village
within memory. The original farmhouse no longer exists.
Note: The slaughterhouse at Castlemaine, Victoria, was listed in
the rate collector's book of 1858 as Martin's Yards
On an account sent by Thomas Farr to Charles
Martin, for carpentry work done at his residence and at the Dana
Tt. School, note the address is 29 Eyre st, which appears to have
been the address of Thomas’ business, in 1871.
HOMES OF
THE MARTIN FAMILY IN AND AROUND ISLINGTON
The Martins, Farrs and
Crumps are known to have lived at a variety of locations in and
around Islington. Census records, and the birth records for
the first three children of Hannah and Thomas Farr (Alice Farr,
Sarah Farr, and Charles Farr,) and for James Harry Crump, the
first son of Louisa and James Crump show that the family was based
in the area around Islington from the time of Charles Martin’s
marriage to Frances Prickett..
CENSUS
INFORMATION 30TH MARCH 1851
Charles Martin is listed a being born
in Twibil or Twivil, Northamptonshire. A list of old
villages and their Parishes gives Twywell as the only likely
village. Remember that the scribe for the census had to
write down unfamiliar names in many dialects. He didn’t go
too well on Thomas Farr and family either, who were living in the
same house. (Wrote it down as Fair, which may give some idea of
the broad accent.)
NON-CONFORMIST
CHAPELS IN LONDON
The non-conformist chapels
were very prolific in the Islington area. Some of these,
such as Park Chapel, were privately owned. Park Chapel,
which at one stage was attended by the Martins, was owned by
Baptist Noel, who was the sixteenth child and eleventh son of Sir
Gerard Noel-Noel. He had begun training to ‘read for the
bar’, but changed his mind and became a minister in the Church of
England. He was very involved with social issues of the time
and in 1848 broke away from the Church of England to become
a Baptist preacher. He was baptised by immersion in the John
St Baptist Chapel, and was its minister there until his
resignation in 1868.
ISLINGTON
TODAY (AUGUST 1977)
NB. Numbers in Upper St are duplicated and
have probably changed since the 1820’s, so 134 Upper Street, the
place of birth of Hannah Martin, could not be positively
identified.
COMING
TO AUSTRALIA
Charles Martin and Henry
Martin sailed to Victoria in 1852. A letter of Commendation
written in England and held by Charles as an introduction in
Victoria was dated late July 1852. A search of shipping
records has not found conclusive evidence of their ship, the
search being made more difficult by the common names of henry and
Charles Martin. It is uncertain whether they sailed together
or independently.
A search of the Shipping Index of unassisted
passengers has yielded the following:
Chas J.
Martin on the ship Ballengiech, (also spelt Ballangeich)
arrived Dec 1852. (Checks of shipping showed it
arrived 7th Dec 1852 after sailing from Southampton 21st August
1852)
Henry Martin on the ship Ballengiech, arrived Dec 1852.
Henry Martin on this ship, and another Henry Martin on the
Athenian, Feb 1852, were marked on the index "* see passenger
problems folder". This has not yet been followed up.
A search of the passenger
lists for the Ballengeich showed Henry Martin was aged 20 and was
English, but a listing for Charles was not found. A more
careful search is needed. The age of Henry Martin matches.
Another ship, the Isabella, sailed from London
on the 31st July 1852, with only 36 passengers. This is a
date which matches precisely with other family information.
However, no Charles or Henry were on board. Instead, Edward,
Eliza and Mary Martin, English, aged 21, 23 and 21 years
respectively were on board. (Note: Nearly every ship
seemed to have Martins on board, so this is probably of no
significance.)
The migration of the rest of the family was
located far more easily, as they all came out together on the ship
"Aberfoyle" in 1854. The grouping together and the larger
number of names verified that the listing was ours.
The LaTrobe library in Melbourne in its Picture
collection has a photograph and a print of a sailing ship called
the Aberfoyle. Unfortunately it is not "our" ship, as it was
commissioned in the 1880's. Because of name changes to
ships, it is necessary to check with the Loyd's of London shipping
registers to trace name changes, to locate any paintings or
photographs of the Aberfoyle of 1854. This can be done in
the geneology section of the La Trobe Library. The LaTrobe
Library Picture Collection has an extensive range of sailing ships
which plied between England and Australia. These can be
accessed through Internet, so it is still possible we may be able
to come up with a picture of the Aberfoyle, although possibly
called by another name.
THE PRICKETTS
Frances Prickett was the
only known child of Robert Thomas Prickett, Upholsterer. She
was baptised in 1800 and her mother's name was recorded as Jane
Maria, surname not given.
Robert's Will, written in 1805 and proved in 1806, records his
wife's name as Sarah, but he specifically mentions his daughter
Frances by (name indecipherable). Robert, his brother
Richard, his father and another brother Charles all died within a
few years of each other, leaving only their wives and mother plus
children. (Hope it wasn't the cooking)
Robert died in 1806, Charles died two years later, his Will
recording that Richard had legitimate children and illegitimate
children by Prudence, known as Prudence Prickett. Charles
only had one surviving child, a daughter called Eliza.
Family Wills have not yet been explored fully,
but it appears that the Pricketts as a family were financially
comfortably off. It seems likely that Sarah remarried
another member of the Prickett family, possibly Paul, as their
first child was called Robert. Two Sarah Pricketts married
other Pricketts, but as Parish records have not yet been checked,
it isn't known whether one was a widow.
Some Prickett Wills were very complex, leaving income in
perpetuity to descendants. Pricketts marrying Pricketts may
have been a method of consolidating family finances, as it seems
to have occurred a number of times.
Another Prickett Will, that of John Prickett,
surveyor, relationship to us, if any, is unknown, is very
interesting because it mentions a Frances Prickett, and gives
detailed family relationships. Income from many properties,
farms and investments is left to a variety of children, sisters
and grandchildren, including a Frances Prickett, in perpetuity for
their LEGALLY begotten descendants only. (Perhaps a reaction to
Richard's excesses). It is 17 pages long, specifically
excludes Sons-in-law from using their wife's income to discharge
their debts, and mentions many people and places, two of which
overlap with the Will of Charles Prickett, (Frances' uncle,)
suggesting some links with our family. The writing looks
beautiful but is atrocious to decipher. The reading of the
Will would have taken ages. Sons-in-law would have been a
bit upset to sit for hours through its reading only to find they
weren't to touch their wife's money.
If ever deciphering this Will is finished, and
any links are discovered, the income from any inheritance only has
to be divided about 900 ways, on last count of the family tree.
Our Pricketts lived in London, but other
Pricketts lived in Yorkshire. Wills read to date show that
members of the same family were based in Yorkshire while others
were in London. Prickett, I believe, is a name associated
withYorkshire Milling .
Those Pricketts living in and around London in
the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries appear to have had
few associations with the Non-conformists, but were Church of
England. However, WW2 bombings took their toll of Parish
registers, here and in other parts of England. Some Parish
registers in central London were not released to the Church of
Latter Day Saints for copying, and so are not included in the IGI
index. The Wills, however, give us several Parishes to begin
the search for further links.
CHARLES
MARTIN IN CASTLEMAINE
harles Martin, Master
Butcher, lived in or near Castlemaine at the time of Cuthbert
Clarke. The Castlemaine Rate Records are incomplete in the
1850's and so we have been unable to identify Charles' precise
whereabouts in the late 1850's. However, in one rate
collectors book in the PRO Laverton for the year 1858, he is
recorded as the ratepayer on slaughtering yards, located at D4,
allotments 11,12,13 and 22,23,24, valued at 150 pounds (250?). The
survey maps show the location. He only appears to have been
there for one or two years, as the next year the rate collector
had crossed out Martin's Yards and written in pencil above it the
names of the owners as the Rate payers. Although he and his
wife lived in Castlemaine until their deaths, he does not appear
to be listed among the many small butchers in the Rate books for
Castlemaine , which makes me suspect that if he worked, he
continued to run a slaughterhouse.
In London, circumstantial evidence suggests
that he did not work as a retail butcher, but rather in the
slaughtering side. We have no knowledge of his whereabouts
prior to the slaughterhouse, or whether he actually worked the
slaughterhouse from the time of his arrival in Australia in 1854.
Five of the six allotments of the land were allocated to
J.Carmichael & R. Russell in 1857, the other in 1855 to S.
Ankrett. J. Bisset is adjacent to these.
I suspect that he established the
slaughterhouse when the land was still Crown land, and was then
forced off with the allocation of the land to others. The
other alternative is that he was given the task of establishing
the slaughterhouse by Carmichael and Russell in 1857, as there
were also butchers by the name of Russell. Once set up, they
then took over the task of running it. If this was the case, then
possibly he would have been operating similarly in the region
prior to this.
Local newspaper reports referred to
slaughtering occurring in the streets of the early goldfields, and
blood running down the gutters. The flies were a great
problem, and there was much concern. The location of Charles
Martin's slaughterhouse today is on the outskirts of Castlemaine,
with the Council Tip being located behind. There have been
some houses built on the area, facing the Maldon Rd, but these are
relatively recent. The area is basically "goldfields bush".
Ie, thin eucalypts, sparse groundcover, shale rock.
Facts Extracted from Glenis Crocker's
Database Notes (Possibly from Helen Millward)
Frances
Prickett
Funeral notice monday June 16 in The Mount Alexander Mail
The Friends ofn the late Mrsa.
FRANCES Martin are respectfully invited to follow her remains
to the Castlemaine Cemetery. The Funeral will leave the
residence of Mr Crump, Wimble-street, This Day at 2 o'clock.
GROSE & Odgers Undertakers
Charles Martin
Born in Twywell in 1797, the family left there when Charles was
three.
If chas Martin, apprenticed to Peter Howard in Newington is ours,
he was almost adopted as the indentures were to run till he was 21
years old. £10 fee. listed in apprentiship records in PRO Kew.
There is no further information until he marries Frances Prickett
in Islington, but he must have been apprenticed and by the birth
of his children he is a master butcher, resident first at 6
Brunswick Parade, White Conduit
Fields, Islington, when Charles Henry was born, and then
on Upper Street Islington when Hannah arrived. The residence
of the family when the other two children were born has still to
be checked. In 1841 they may be living at Long Lane, Bermondsey,
but the census records are badly damaged. Bermandsey Parish
Records show the baptism of Charles, Henry & Louisa July 6th
1834, Parents being Charles and Frances, Charles being a butcher
living in Long Lane. According to the 1851 census Louisa was born
at Peterborough.
At the time of the 1851 census Charles and his three younger
children are living at Goldington Street, Somer Town, just west of
the Midland main line. Hannah has married and her husband and
daughter form part of the household. The business in 1846
was in King Street Somer Town, which address has vanished without
trace, possibly under railway sidings. Charles Henry is living at
33 Lucas St, Commercial Rd, from which address he applied for
teacher training. In 1852 the two boys emigrate. Henry`s bed in
the family home is taken by Louisa`s future husband. The rest of
the family all followed the boys in1854 on the Aberfoyle to
Melbourne, disembarking at Geelong. They all went as
unassisted migrants
By 1859 Charles is running an abbattoir in tents on land probably
leased for the purpose at Castlemaine. The land for which
they paid rates covered 6 allotements. By 1862 the Yards
were split up and various people paid the rates. The Largest
payer being Russell. At the time of his death Charles owned a
house plot next door to the Crumps in Wimble Street Castlemaine.
Frances Martin is recorded as running a shop on the birth
certificate of a later grandchild.
James Crump paid £4 / 2 / 6 for the funeral with coffin &
mourning coach. Charles was buried in a public grave on Tuesday
17th September. The plot was purchased by James Crump at the
time of Frances death.
Funeral Notice, Tuesday September 17 in the Mount Alexander Mail
The Friends of the late Mr CHARLES
MARTIN are respectfully invited to follow his remains to the
Castlemaine Cemetery. The funeral will leave the
residence of his son-in-law, Mr Crump, Wimble-street, This
Day, at half-past Two o'clock.
Grose & Odgers, Undertakers
White Conduit House
had been a tea-house in 1811 for many years, with views over the
fields towards Hampstead, and Highgate. It's name derived
from an old stone conduit, erected 1641, built over a head of
water that supplied the Charter House by a leaden pipe. White
Conduit House had neat gardens surrounding a round pond and
arbours for sitting in, bowling green,,dutch-pin grounds.
About 1790 the field was used for cricket by the local gentlemen.
The house was spacious, contained a well toned organ, and also had
an ale and table brewery attached.
John Nelson, the History of Islington.1811
The Cattle Markets
John Perkins obtained in 1836 permission by
Act of Parliament to establishthe Islington Cattle Market, of
Essex Road. This was opposed by the Smithfield butchers, the City
and others. Perkins hoped to collect the cattle heading
east, and provided pens for 40,000 sheep, 7,000 cattle and 1,000
pigs. The site was entered through an imposing entrance arch
through a fourstorey entrance. The slaughtering operation did not
succeed, but the pens were used for overnight/ or longer
containment of livestock enroute to Smithfield. Perkins lost
£100,000. Smithfield was still overloaded for operations and
in 1855 the Metropolitan Cattle Market, between York Way and the
Caledonian Road was opened.
John Richardson, Islington Past.1988
Acknowledgements
Most of the material on the Martins comes
from Glenis Crocker, with help from Robyn Lawther and Helen
Millward. Glenis's material prepared for the Martin reunion she
organised has been quoted directly here. They have traced the
family back to the 16th century, by a lot of detective work on old
wills.
Also Len Martin produced an excellent book on Charles Henry
Martin, Hannah Martin's brother
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