Pafford Part Two

My Family

Matters

The Pafford/Mills Family

Part Two

In part one of the Pafford/Mills story, we left James Pafford/Mills at the end of 1816, newly married to Mary and on board Prince in Portsmouth Harbour. He was still attached to the hulk in 1818 when their first child, George Thomas Pafford, was born and baptised (For naval records, James might now be registered as James Mills, but when his first children were christened - and buried - he clung to his surname Pafford.)

Where did James and Mary live? According to the parish record of the baptism of George Thomas, at the end of May 1818, the family were at Dock Row, Portsea, which was near the Dockyard, as the name implies. By the summer of 1819, according to the Pay Books of HMS Sapphire, James and Mary had moved to the enclave known as Portsea Dockyard ‘New Buildings’, (specifically to Sharps Buildings) where their second child, James was born. (This area and its environment are described at this link: New Buildings.) In 1820 and 1824, the family were still anchored at New Buildings but when Thomas, was baptised, they had relocated to Strong’s Buildings, which were situated almost on the shore line of Portsmouth Harbour.

Just above the baptismal entry for Thomas Manly Pafford in the parish register, another child with the given names,Thomas Manly, is recorded. One might think that this is an erroneous double entry, but in fact it is the note of the christening of Mary Pafford’s nephew’s baptism. Thomas Manly Hambley’s parents, James and Maria, were also living in New Buildings, at Gravel Lane.

After leaving Prince, by 1822 James was on board the 36-gun Lacedemonian (launched; 1812, disposed of; 1822) as one of its seven-man crew. His pay had decreased slightly to £5 2s 11d a quarter. When this ship was taken out of commission, James was transferred to what was to be his last ship, the 74-gun, 3rd Rate Pembroke. He served on her until 27 March 1836 when she was ‘in dock’ with a four-man crew. He remained an Able-bodied Seaman. Thereafter, the crews of ships in Portsmouth Ordinary are listed by the vessels on which they served, not in ‘Portsmouth Ordinary’ ledgers. I have not found James listed after 1836 and as shown in the census of 1841, he was no longer a mariner, but a labourer.

James’ occupation in 1824 was described as an, ‘Extra Master’. This created some confusion. I was told that this term specifically referred to a highly qualified mariner who had passed examinations and had the ear of a ship’s captain when working the ship. This information did not sit well with what I knew about James, who was probably illiterate - marking not signing when he married six years earlier. Indeed, in 1822, as his wage of little more than £5 a quarter, when compared to the gunner’s wage on the same ship (£12 10s), it is clear that his was not an exalted rating. Possibly, the expression, ‘Extra Master’ in his case, refers to his position on board a ship ‘in ordinary’ in contrast to a vessel that was under command.

The early married life of James and Mary Pafford/Mills

The children of James and Mary Pafford/Mills

James Pafford/Mills

Mary Hambley

m 25 Dec 1816

George Thomas Pafford

bap. 31 May 1818 St Mary’s Portsea

buried 15 August 1830

James John Pafford

bn 28 July 1819

bap. 5 November 1820 St Mary’s Portsea

Thomas Manley Pafford

bap. 29 Aug 1824,

St Mary’s, Portsea

Eliza Pafford (Mills)

bap. 20 Sept 1829

St Mary’s, Portsea

Thomas Pafford (Mills)

bap. 16 Jan 1823 St John’s, Portsmouth

buried 26 Jan 1823

Mary Ann Pafford Mills

bn 1835c

died 8 June 1841

James and Mary Pafford/Mills from 1841

The 1841 census shows the family as living at East Street, Portsmouth Point. But this information was a little clouded as the family were recorded as Miles. However, there were sufficient signs (for example the proximity of Mary’s sister and husband, John and Susanna Lemmon) that this was an error. The confirmation that these were indeed my ancestors was the death of Mary Ann Pafford Mills two days after the census was taken as her residence was noted on the death certificate as East Street - she was shown as Mary Miles (6) in the census.

Mary Ann died of inflamation of the bowel. This was probably caused by either ulcerative colitis or Chrohn’s disease. The symptoms include abdominal pain and diarrhoea. The informant of the death was Susanna Lemmon.

By 1841, James was no longer a mariner but a labourer - probably a dock labourer. Perhaps their move from New Buildings was prompted by Mary’s desire to be near her sister, Susanna, and the opportunities for work around the Camber harbour. Ships’ cargos were constantly being loaded and off-loaded here. However, this work could be dangerous. Bulky, heavy goods were swung about and man-handled. In 1864, a dock labourer, John Williams was working on board the Hannah Childs which was moored at Town Quay. He died after falling down into the vessel’s hold. Even boarding boats was hazardous: planks, only 18 inches wide, spanned the gap between the quayside and the vessels which required ‘perfect equilibrium’ to cross. A fisherman, Henry Lingward, died in 1964 simply because he fell off a plank. Factor in a weighty load, and a crossing became even more unsafe.

James Mills - Camber Bridge Keeper in 1851

In 1851, James and family were still living at East Street. The census details suggest that next door, or maybe in the same building, were John and Susanna Lemmon. James was now the Camber Bridge Keeper. With a flourish the enumerator added that he was also a pensioner and that his was a civic appointment.

The Bridge connected the sea-end of East Street and the Town Quay. Although more than eighty feet in length, the bridge spanned a gap of 54 feet and was in two halves which swung up and down to allow vessels access to and from the Inner Camber. It was surfaced with three-inch planking and carried a carriageway that was 9½ feet wide and footways, 3 feet 4 inches wide.

The Bridge was opened on 14 June 1843 as part of the improvements to the Camber. Its purpose was to provide a short cut between the areas of Portsea, Landport and Portsmouth Point with its ferries to Gosport and the Isle of Wight. Now, workers in the Dockyard who lived at Point did not have to follow the shore line to get to work. In 1860, it was noted that ‘the bridge was in a great thoroughfare and had immense traffic over it’. As well as horses and carts, oxen and other livestock were driven over the bridge.

The duties of the Bridge Keeper were to open the bridge and monitor the traffic that crossed over it. But, the bridge was also a focal point for trouble and disturbance. In October 1848, the Hampshire Telegraph directed ‘the attention of the police to the nuisance committed by the boys and crews of the potato vessels in the Camber who are in the constant habit of throwing potatoes at the passengers on the bridge...’. In January 1851, four boys were charged with pelting an agent’s clerk with ‘sprate and scud’ from the bridge as he passed underneath in a boat.

Then, in September 1854, two men were charged with assaulting John Wood who was engaged at the Camber Bridge. He was opening it when the defendants, who were labourers on colliers, knocked off his hat six times, hustled him and jumped down on him. All the while there was a crowd throwing stones and ‘otherwise annoying’ Wood. The Chamberlain added that these disturbances were continually being created on the Town Quay.

Perhaps, these complications of working on the bridge were the reason that, from 1852 to 1861, James was once again working as a dock labourer.

James and Mary Mills 1861 - 1879

In 1861, James and Mary were at 2 Beals Yard, Portsmouth Point, which was just off East Street. Almost predictably, next door, at No.1, were John and Susanna Lemmon. The families were apparently inseparable.

Ten years later, in 1871, James (now 78 years old) and Mary were still in the same immediate area at Point alongside the Inner Camber Quay. James was a (naval) pensioner. When Mary died on 11 December 1873, her address was given as 42 East Street, Point. (James and Mary may well have not moved since 1871 as many of the house along East Street actually backed onto the Inner Camber, see below).

By a happy stroke of serendipity, it is now possible to not only pinpoint where James and Mary were living, but also to provide a photograph of their home. This is how it came about: I was generally researching my family in 2009, when I saw some documents detailing improvements to the Inner Camber. These included a map which showed the dwellings around the south side of East Street. The houses were numbered and a key provided of who was living in each one. At No. 63 was James Mills and next door (No. 62) was John Lemmon. Their location may well explain why they were described as being at the Inner Camber Quay in the census of 1871. The map made it a simple task to now identify these houses from photographs. I think it likely that James and Mary died in this house.

When Mary died, James went out of his way to highlight the change in their surname by submitting two identical announcements in the Hampshire Telegraph of her passing: as Mary Mills and Mary Pafford. She was 77 years old and died of ‘senectus’ or plain old age. She and James were living at 23, East Street and James was described as a ‘wharf labourer’. The informant of her death was Harriet Mills, Mary’s daughter-in-law, of 21 East Street who was present at the death.

James (naval pensioner - ticket No. 826) died on 24 January 1879 from exhaustion brought on by the ‘chronic enlargement of the prostate gland’. He was living at 46, East Street and his age was given as 89 years old. Interestingly, the newspaper death notice described him as James Pafford and the death certificate was registered in this name, not Mills.

But, I was not totally convinced at first that this death was of my ancestor. Yes, the name and address (46 East Street) seemed feasible, but his age was recorded as eighty-nine when he was actually eighty-five and there were two other James Paffords baptised in 1789-90 in Portsmouth/Gosport (so much for Pafford being an uncommon name!). There was another stumbling block: the informant of James’ death was a ‘niece’, Harriet Seal, of 15, Havant Street, Portsea. I had no idea who she was!

Now, some detective work. I found Harriet Seal - a widow (aged 36, born Portsea) at Havant Street in 1881 . I then looked in vain at first for her marriage and therefore her maiden name. Then, the denarius dropped: although she was only thirty-six years old, poor, careless Harriet had lost two husbands. She had first married Reuben Smith in 1865 and then Henry James Seal in 1871. Harriet’s maiden name was Gillett - which rang a bell. Gillett’s had been living with Richard Lemmon of 3, St Mary’s Street, Portsea in previous censuses. I could now put it all together. Richard’s daughter, Elizabeth Lemmon married Richard Gillett in 1829 at Alverstoke. The couple had five children, including Harriet.

The connection with the Pafford/ Mills family was a little tenuous, however. Elizabeth Lemmon’s brother, John married Susannah Hambley. Susannah was Mary Pafford/ Mills sister and ‘neice’ is a catch-all description for a loose family relationship.

The exciting by-product of this trail was that it provides fairly convincing proof that John Lemmon had descended from Richard - an ancestry I had gone to some pains to rubbish with my Lemmon cousins when we met up a few years ago. After wiping some egg-dregs from my cheeks, I must allow my natural humility (?) to assert itself and tell the world that, on the basis of the information provided by a name on one death certificate, I now believe that my greatx4 grandfather was Richard Lemmon and will write his story elsewhere.