1841 lookup please - I cant find it!

[DRH123]

Yeoman usually didn't actually own their land, just had a long-term lease. I'd never heard of Beek Mansion before. It could well be that the landowner lived there and Abraham at the farm. There was also a Beeks Mill and quite possibly other houses down there that are gone now.

It just occurred to me that you could ask about the Cold Ashton MIs in the Gloucestershire Lookup Request section. There's a good chance that someone there has a copy of Bigland.

David

[bitzar]

David

I didn't actually know what a Yeoman was so when I looked it up it said 'a farmer who owns his own land' compared to one who just farmed it?!

It seems Beek's Cottages now stand where the Mansion once was.

I will ask for a look up on roots chat regarding Cold Ashton.

Regards, Steven.

[DRH123]

I didn't actually know what a Yeoman was so when I looked it up it said 'a farmer who owns his own land' compared to one who just farmed it?!

It's often stated that way, but the evidence is against it. I've seen many wills of Yeomen and, although I haven't kept count, I think a large majority of them had leasehold or copyhold land, not freehold. If they had the freehold they usually called themselves Gentlemen. The key factor was that their interest in the land outlived them and so they needed a will to arrange the succession. Yeoman families often occupied a farm for many generations and treated it as if it was all theirs, even building a new house if they were doing well, but all along they were paying an annual rent to the landowner, and periodically having to renew the lease.

This system of land tenure died out in the 19th century. Some farmers managed to buy their land outright but many became annual tenants. They could be kicked out with just a year's notice.

David

[bitzar]

David

From memory, Abraham's will doesn't mention anything about land, only his livestock, grains, goods, and chattels. 

On another note.  David, do you know when Jane Stone (nee Fry) died.  I supposed it was in Bedminster.

Regards, Steven.

[BumbleB]

My apologies, David for this    Are you telling us that all the dictionaries are wrong?

Collins English Dictionary - a man who farmed his own land.
Concise Oxford Dictionary - a person qualified by possessing free land of 40/- annual value and who can serve on juries and vote for a Knight of the Shire ......
A Dictionary of Old Trades, Titles and Occupations - farmer who farmed his own lands.  He could serve on juries and had a vote.  ...
Oxford Dictionary - a man holding and cultivating a small landed estate, a free holder.

[DRH123]

My apologies, David for this    Are you telling us that all the dictionaries are wrong?

Certainly potentially misleading. It depends what they mean by "own", or what the reader thinks they mean. The wikipedia gives a more carefully worded definition, "In the late 14th to 18th centuries, yeomen were farmers who owned land (freehold, leasehold or copyhold)". In wills of yeomen I've seen, leasehold seems to be more common that freehold.

In the case of Abraham Stone, that would explain how he could be a yeoman but not appear on the list of owners of his farm.  Steven has observed that he doesn't actually mention land at all in his will, although he obviously farms as he does specify his livestock, crops and machinery. I don't know how that can be but I can think of a couple of possibilities. One would be that he had already given his estate (whether leasehold or freehold) to his successor. (In which case I suppose he would really be an ex-yeoman  .) Another would be that it was entailed in some way and he had no say in the succession.

David

[DRH123]

On another note.  David, do you know when Jane Stone (nee Fry) died.  I supposed it was in Bedminster.

I'm afraid not. I can't see any obvious candidates, for death or remarriage.

David

[bitzar]

Hello David

Wow, I'd forgotten how spectacular the Bath area was.  Stunning countryside!

So Abraham Stone's grave at Langridge from 1823 is still standing and readable.  It's a little bent over protecting it from the weather luckily.  I'm assuming the grave beside it is John Stone, which is unreadable.  I'm assuming this because the headstones are exactly the same shape.  On Abrahams's headstone it has a left and right side.  On the left side reads Abraham with son George underneath.  On the right side is blank.  I would probably assume his wife Mary is also interred there but no one ever got around to having her name added.  The graves are located beside all the Powney graves which many are in surprisingly good condition.  I saw Solomon there too.

Regards, Steven

[DRH123]

I've lived here all my life so I do tend to take it for granted. But it certainly looking good at the moment, with the fresh spring colours and the may just coming out.

That's great that Abraham's grave is still legible. All I could remember from the last time I looked around the graveyard was that most of the stones weren't.

If you stand in front of the church door and look straight across the valley there's a combe on the other side where a side stream comes down. The upper section on the right is wooded - called Bamfield's Wood on some maps but locally it's known as Abraham's Garden. The 1839 tithe map attaches that name to the lower half of the wood, which was then mostly cleared, some pasture and a small area of garden. It was part of the farm occupied by your Abraham's son William.  I have no other information, but can't help wondering if the name comes from your ancestor. Did he take up gardening in his old age?

David