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The Will of Ruth Eleanor Purvis, 1846

13/08/2018 by Northumberland Archives

Probate

of the will of

Mrs. Ruth Eleanor Purvis, deceased

Dated 18^th May, 1846

This the last will and Testament of me Ruth Eleanor Purvis of Alnwick in the County of Northumberland widow of Samuel Purvis late of the same place Grocer and Tallow Chandler deceased I give and devise and bequeath unto my two sons William Clark Purvis and Henry Taylor Purvis their Heirs and Executors and Administrators all of my real and personal Estate whatsoever and wheresoever upon trust in the first place to pay thereof all my just debts funeral and testamentary expenses and expenses of obtaining probate of this my said will and incident thereof and in the next place to pay and satisfy the Legacies herein after bequeathed I give and bequeath unto my son Samuel Purvis the sum of one hundred pounds I give and bequeath unto my daughter Frances Jane Wilson the sum of one hundred pounds I give and bequeath unto my daughter Mary Athey the sum of ten pounds which with other sums of money which I have paid her husband Henry Athey I consider to be equal to the sum bequeathed to her brothers and Sisters I give and bequeath unto my Daughter Elizabeth Clark Morrison the sum of one hundred pounds and with respect to my son Edward Hutchinson Purvis having already done a great deal for his family I do not bequeath anything to him but recommend him to the kind consideration of my two sons William Clark Purvis and Henry Taylor Purvis to do for him what in their discretion they may think best. I direct the volumes of my Methodist Magazine to be equally divided amongst all my children and I give and bequeath all my wearing apparel to my Daughters to be equally divided amongst them and subject to the payment of the aforesaid debts expenses and legacies and personal Estate unto my said two sons William Clark Purvis and Henry Taylor Purvis their Heirs, Executors, Administrators and Assigns and in case either of my sons William Clark Purvis and Henry Taylor Purvis die in my lifetime then I give and devise and bequeath the share of him so dying unto the Survivor of them his Heirs, Executors, Administrators and Assigns I nominate and appoint my said two sons William Clark Purvis and Henry Taylor Purvis Executors of this will and testament

WINESS whereof I have hereunto made I publish and declare this to be my last will and testament in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty five

Ruth Eleanor Purvis

signed and declared by the testatrix Ruth Eleanor Purvis as and for her last Will and Testament in the presence of us who in the presence at her request and in the presence of each other have hereunto subscribed our Names and Witnesses

Gerard Selby – Sol’s Alnwick

Wm. Johnson, Clerk to Mr Selby

Effects sworn under £600

Testatrix died 4^th May 1846

Signed by Joseph Davison, Deputy Reg.

We would like to thank the volunteer who carefully transcribed this document. This particular item comes from a very rich sub-collection within the larger Dickson, Archer and Thorp collection, giving us a fascinating view of a bygone time.

Transported for Life: Northumberland to Queensland

07/08/2018 by Northumberland Archives

On the 28^th May 1831 a chilling notice appeared in the Newcastle Courant. It read:

“Whereas the Public Bridges in the County of Northumberland have been of late much injured and rendered dangerous by Persons maliciously throwing down the Battlements thereof, (particularly Alnwick Bridges,) the Magistrates, in Order to caution persons from committing such Offences give this public Notice, that by the 7^th and 8^th George the 4^th, Chap 30, any Person who shall unlawfully and maliciously pull down or destroy any Public Bridge, or do any injury with intent to render such Bridge, or any Part thereof, dangerous or impassable, shall be Guilty of Felony and subject to Transportation for Life. And the Magistrates give this further Notice, that they will prosecute to the utmost Extent any Person committing these malicious Offences.”

Robert Thorp’s chilling order, plastered on walls across the county.

The notice was given across the county by order of Robert Thorp, Clerk of the Peace.

This order was originally passed on May 17^th 1831 – ten days after John Thompson and Samuel Pringle had ‘wilfully’ destroyed a part of the battlements on Alnwick Bridge. The two men were convicted ‘full damages and costs’ for their destructive crime, and the threat of transportation hung above them. It seems highly unlikely that Samuel was sent away; as a man by the same name was still living in Fenkle-Street, Alnwick in 1839. Interestingly a John Thompson, aged 24, was transported to Sydney, Australia on a hulk called Georgina in 1831. He was sentenced to 7 and a half years; a substantially shorter sentence then the life promised by Robert Thorp.

Transportation was used by Britain’s law-keepers during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries as an alternative to imprisonment or hanging. Originally served to those who had committed serious felonies, transportation was also rolled out to political criminals (rioters) and thieves. Transportation to Australia first began in 1787, it provided a cheaper penal solution then imprisonment and also benefited the state by supporting the establishment of colonial outposts. Prisoners traveled to their new lives on huge hulk ships where the conditions were, unsurprisingly, terrible. Disease often broke out on-board, with cholera and typhoid being the most common, and many died before reaching their destination, often weakened by a four to six month long journey.

In the same year that Robert Thorp’s bloodcurdling notice was posted in the Newcastle Courant transportation was being used to punish other convicted Northumbrian criminals. Amongst whom were:

John Fletcher: found guilty of stealing 5lbs of mutton belonging to George Stevenson of Cramlington. He was sentenced to 7 years transportation.

George Turnbull: charged with stealing a ‘great coat’ belonging to James Tate of Alnwick. Mr Tate had hung his coat up to dry when it went missing, he later found it in the prisoner’s home. The prisoner claimed he had bought it the day before for 6s, but the jury found him guilty of theft. He was then sentenced to 7 years transportation but, as a repeat offender, a second charge of theft added another 7 years to his sentence.

William Kennedy and Peter O’Hara: convicted to life transportation for stabbing and cutting “officers of excise” (men who inspect customs and duties.)

We would like to thank the volunteer who carefully transcribed documents relating to the case of Thompson and Pringle.

Bibliography:

Victorian Crime and Punishment: 19th Century, Transportation (http://vcp.e2bn.org/justice/section2196-transportation.html)

Puzzling Photographs

03/08/2018 by Northumberland Archives

A group of mysterious nineteenth-century photographs were recently discovered within the Dickson, Archer and Thorp collection. They were found alongside a bundle of envelopes and a copper plate, both embossed with the letters J D C P. Following extensive research these mysterious initials are believed to have belonged to John de Camborne Paynter.

Born in 1845, John had previously resided at Clarence House, Penzance before moving to Belvedere Terrace, Alnwick. He worked as a solicitor’s clerk and, although widowed early in life, had two sons, Captain John de Camborne Stackhouse Paynter and Major William Patterson Paynter. For around twenty-five years he sat as Secretary of Alnmouth’s golf club and also acted as the churchwarden for St Paul’s, Alnwick. Upon his death he left a large sum of £23,658 to be divided between his children. He also made provision in his will for his long-term servant Jane Charters by ensuring a £50 annuity and furnished cottage.

Who the sitters were remains a mystery. Were these pictures the creative product of Mr J de C Paynter, whose name was found on both the envelope and copper plate? Or do these photographs depict Paynter’s own family members? Alternatively they may have been examples provided to Paynter by professional photographers, with the view for possible commissions.

The following images show the sides of the engraved copper plate, found alongside the pictures (REF: NRO 11343/B/DAT):