Excise officers

[newburychap]

Hi Newbury Chap

I've just found your posts about Excise Officers, and wonder if you could suggest how I could take forward my research?

I'm trying to find out about William Bate, who was named as an Officer of Excise, of London, in his father John Bate's will dated 1796. I found a reference to a William Bate in the National Archives Customs index as entering the service in 1836 - too late for my William Bate, but I thought he might be a relation and I was in London anyway so I visited TNA to look him up. (I completely relate to your 'three documents at a time' frustration!)

He doesn't seem to have been a relation of my William Bate, however, and one of the advisers there said I probably wouldn't find any relevant records as early as the 1790s: but there are references in your posts to Officers of Excise much earlier than the 1790s. Can you advise where I might pursue my search?

The other slightly confusing thing about my William Bate being an Officer of Excise is that the evidence indicates that he was a Catholic, and I thought Catholics were barred from public office until the 1820s ...

Scranpot

It's been a long time since I visited this thread - sorry for the long delay in responding!

Catholicism was, in theory, a bar to many occupations, but many a blind eye would be turned as long as they 'proved' their allegiance to the Established Church by turning up at a service once a year or so.

The chap I researched left the excise in the 1720s - I found several references to him in the Excise Minute Books at Kew.  However, I did not find all of his career moves - not his joining, apprenticeship, in fact nothing until he is appointed as Supernumery at Windsor.  Then they document his demotion from Officer at Windsor to Supernumery at Reading, then he moves as Officer from Wallingford(IIRC) to East Ilsley, then he resigns having decided to go to the dark side and run a pub.  So several steps have been missed, or I missed them in the indexes to the books, or they didn't index his name.  I think I went through the entired period he was at Windsor (not long) to see if I could find his promotion to Officer, without success.

So, if you are able to spend time at Kew I would recommend trawling through the Minute Books, starting at 1796, when you know he is an exciseman and moving forward and backward in the hope of finding him.  Perhaps the advisor is right and there are few names recorded in the 1790s - but I wouldn't trust them to the extent of not having a look for myself! 

If I had a spare year to commit to it (I don't) an overall name index of the Minute Books would be a worthwhile exercise.

[Matt62]

I didn't notice this thread before.

My 5th great grandfather Michael Welch was an excise officer according to the 1851 census and his son's death certificate. Previously he had been a Tallow Chandler, Confectioner and Potter. He lived in Leeds with his wife and family in the 1841 census, by 1851 he was a widow in Edinburgh.

I am unsure as to when and where he became an excise officer. Does anyone know where I might find records?

[Scranpot]

Thanks Newbury Chap! (I don't check threads very often either ...)

I've also been pointed to a useful site - the BHS project. This has a list of grades of Excise Officer, which seems as though you might have had something to do with it: thanks for this too, if so.

By 1814 my William Bate is described in his aunt Ann Bate's will as a Supervisor, of Ratcliff Highway, so presumably he is working his way up the careerladder. Though from what I can gather Ratcliff Highway was a not very salubrious part of the East End. I'm a bit daunted by the prospect of trawling through all the minute books at Kew, but that seems to be the only way forward - I can't find any unambiguous record of him after 1814. Hey ho.

Scranpot

[JustinL]

I thought I'd just chip in here too, so that I'll notice any developments.

Samuel Wilkinson (b. 1790 Nottingham) was also an Excise Officer from about 1815. By 1837 he was a supervisor and by 1851 he described himself as retired.

His service started in Henley-in-Arden, where he fell for and married the teenage daughter of a local alehouse keeper. By 1820, he and his family were in central Birmingham. From the late 1820s to his death, they lived in Walsall.

Justin

[floraflossieflo]

Hi Justin, interesting that Samuel stayed in one place so long.  My ancestor never seem to have stayed so long in one place.  I reckon it must have been hard at times, travelling around by horse, needing pistols to protect themselves, as I've no doubt they were not popular, as well as facing all the other risks of travellers.  My ancestor George Penny, spent time in Birmingham between 1835 and 1837 - quite possible they knew each other, though I don't know if there was more than one office in Birmingham.

[JustinL]

Hi,

I can only estimate the duration at each location from his marriage (1815) and the births of his nine (!!) known children between 1817 and 1838 (with a mysterious gap between Apr 1822 and Jun 1829).

Before reading this post, Samuel was little more to me than a name. I find it so interesting that the career in the excise office is so well documented, and that I gain a much deeper understanding of their lives. I readily conjure up a vision of a lone armed rider, plodding through rural Warwickshire. By shear coincidence my ex-sister-in-law lives in Henley, so I know the area.

According to The Excise Officer's Manual, the five Birmingham districts were in the Lichfield Collection and comprised 31 divisions. That must have required a lot of staff.

It is indeed interesting to speculate that our ancestors may have been aware of one another.

Justin

[newburychap]

Hi scranpot - the BHSProject page on the excise is indeed a great summary - but nothing to do with me!

Matt62 - you need to check the Excise Minute Books at Kew - but only if he was an Exciseman in England or Wales.  If it was in Scotland you may have a problem, their staff records were burnt at some time in the C19th.  http://www.nas.gov.uk/guides/customs.asp

[LucyDescendant]

Can anyone help with information about my great great great grandfather William Lucy? He was an inland revenue officer in Cornwall in 1867 aged 28 and his occupation is listed as excise officer in 1871, still in Cornwall.  In 1881 he is a supervisor of inland revenue in Herefordshire. I can't access many records as I live in Sydney Australia. Any help would be much appreciated!

[HeatherLynne]

Sorry Lucy I can't help you but thank you very much for posting on this thread, I hadn't seen it before and it's very interesting.

My great x 4 grandfather and also his father were Salt Duty Officers on the south coast near Southampton around 1771. Both were named Thomas Rassell and I found them via two bastardy bonds naming the younger Thomas as father of two ladies' children in early 1771.

The younger Thomas was a Salt Duty officer at Fawley and must have been under 21 I think in 1771 as his father is also named on the bastardy bonds. His father was a Salt Duty officer at South Hayling.

Does anyone have any links or information about this particular branch of Excise please?