EDGECOMBEs of Worcester

[Alexander.]

I am researching my EDGECOMBE ancestors in Worcester.

The farthest I have got back is:
Thomas EDGECOMBE (b. c.1772; d. 5 Feb 1837, Worcester)
m. Elizabeth SMITH (b. c.1770; d. 1 Aug 1836, Worcester) (m. 4 Nov 1798, Claines)

Both death dates come from the newspaper Berrow's Worcester Journal, though I am still looking for burials for both of them.

They had (at least) three children: Harriet, Thomas (my ancestor), and William James - I have traced Thomas & William, but haven't been able to find anything on Harriet apart from her baptism in 1799 in Worcester.

I know Thomas was a bookseller, but little else - I'd like to find out anything about his business, etc. Also I was wondering how to go about finding if he left a will?

And most of all I'd like to find out Thomas's parent (& Elizabeth's, if possible, though I don't have much hope for finding the Smith family). There is a possible baptism in Gloucestershire for Thomas but I don't know whether that is correct, apart from being about the right date.

Thanks,
Alexander

[Nemo]

Hi Alexander

Thomas Edegcombe is mentioned in Margaret Cooper’s “The Worcester Book Trade in the Eighteenth Century published by the Worcester Historical Society in 1997. He was the son of a Tewkesbury bricklayer and was apprenticed to the bookseller William Smart on 18 February 1788 when he was 15. He completed his apprenticeship and therefore became a freeman, on 13 June 1795. This fits with the dob that you have of circa 1772. It should be possible to check that the father’s first name was John on the apprenticeship indenture, just to be sure that you have the right baptism in Tewkesbury on 10 May 1772.

If you also search in google books, Thomas senior is mentioned briefly as being in the book trade in 1819 in a “Working papers for an historical directory of the West Midlands book trade to 1850 -Volume 5” published by the Birmingham Bibliographical Society.

Pigot’s Directory of 1835 shows Thomas Edgecombe as a bookseller and toy dealer in College Street. Presumably the father and son were in business together.

http://www.historicaldirectories.org

I had time to have a quick look at wills for you at the County Record Office. Thomas Edgecombe senior  was a widower, bookbinder and stationer  when he died intestate “on about  5th February 1837”,  his sons Thomas Edgecombe, a  bookbinder of the parish of St Michael in Bedwardine (College Street would have been in that parish)  and William James  Edgecombe  of Worcester, a grocer, were granted administration of his estate. Unfortunately this type of document does not tell you how much a person left.

HTH
Nemo

[Alexander.]

Brilliant, Nemo! Thanks very much for your reply, and the time you spent looking for me at the county records office. I'm in the States so that wouldn't have been possible for me.

You've just about answered every question I had in my original post - and given me lots of leads to follow up. I had just about given up hope of getting any further back with the Edgecombes.

Can't thank you enough.

Regards,
Alexander