William Oaten (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks #5)
William Oaten’s family had lived in what is now known as the Taunton Deane district of Somerset for generations, however, this young man moved beyond the confines of his parish, county, and even country, over the course of his life.
He was the eldest son of Joseph Oaten and Elizabeth Toller, and was baptised at the All Saints church in Trull on July 16th 1809.2 Whilst his parents stayed in Trull for the remainder of their lives, William went further afield and was working as a servant in Sidmouth, Devon when he met his future wife.
William Oaten and Harriet Bolt were married after banns on September 4th, 1832 at the parish church in Sidmouth, Devon.3 Their first child, William, was baptised four months later at the same church.4
Their movements are not clear for a number of years, at least not until his wife gave birth to a daughter, Harriet, in Boulogne, France in 1840.6 Whether or not they had other children between 1833 and 1840 is unknown.
The Oaten family returned to England by 1841, where William was occupied as a servant in Walcot, Bath, Somerset.7
William Oaten, 30, male, M.S. [Male Servant], born in Somerset
Meanwhile, his pregnant wife and their two children, William and Harriet, were living in the nearby area of Lansdown.8
There are four known children of William and Harriet (Bolt) Oaten:
- William Oaten (born Sidmouth, Devon, ca. 1833)9
- Harriet Oaten (born Boulogne, France, 1840)10
- Elizabeth Oaten (born Bath, Somerset, 1841)11
- Martha Oaten (born Bath, Somerset, 1843)12
William spent most of his working life living apart from his family, as is shown in the various censuses. As a butler, he held a prominent position that required him to be available at the home of his employer the majority of the time. He did, however, work for several families over the course of his life, including William Macadam of Gay St,13 William Hudleston of Harley House,14 William Jervois of Porlland Place, 15 and Joseph Elliot of Marks Hall.16
It wasn’t until the 1881 census that we find William living with his family, and occupied as an inn servant. Whilst his children have moved out, he is now living with his wife and two of their granddaughters — William’s daughter Adeliza Oaten, and Harriet’s daughter Martha Rosa Chappell — at 4 Burlington Place, Lansdown, Walcot, Bath.
William Oaten, Head, Married, 71, male, Lodgings housekeeper Waiter [Inn Serv written over], born Taunton, Somerset
Harriet Oaten, Wife, Married, 68, born Sidmouth, Devon
Adeliza Oaten, Granddaughter, 23, Unmarried, Neeedlewoman, born Bath, Somerset
Rose Chappell, Granddaughter, 14, Domestic Servant General, born Bath, Somerset
By 1891, Wiliam was running a Lodging House on his own account. The family was still living at 4 Burlington Street in Lansdown, this time with their unmarried daughter Martha, and their granddaughter Adeliza.
William Oaten, Head, Married, 82, male, Lodging House Keeper, on own account, born Taunton, Somerset
Harriet Oaten, Wife, Married, 80, female, born Sidmouth, Devon
Martha Oaten, Daughter, Single, 48, female, working on own account, born Bath, Somerset
Adeliza Oaten, Granddaughter, Single, 30, Seamstress, on own account, born Disk [Diss], Norfolk
William died in his home at 4 Burlington Street on the March 14th, 1894, exactly one week after his wife’s passing. Their obituaries were published in tandem in the Bath Weekly Chronicle.19 William was 84 years old.20
Oaten-1894-obituary-BathSomerset.jpg)
However, it was what I discovered after doing my research about William Oaten that made me happiest. Whist visiting relatives in the autumn, I was scanning through various family documents, as you do, when I came across not just one, but two photos of William Oaten and his wife Harriet Bolt. One is an obvious photographic copy of the other.
After comparing other handwriting samples, I am quite certain that the writing on the reverse of the copy it that of William Christopher Chappell.
The copy reads:
William & Harriet Oaten
Died on March 14 & 7th 1887 [year incorrect]
Ages 84 & 81
Great Grandmother & Grandfather of Rosemary Chappell
The original photograph also had an interesting detail on the reverse:
This is an original obituary glued to the reverse of the photo, and based on the text it was printed in one of the local Bath papers, however not The Bath Chronicle — a digital copy of which appeared above. The obituary reads:
March 7th, at 4. Burlington-street, HARRIET, wife of WILLIAM OATEN, ages 81; also, March 14, at 4, Burlington-street, WILLIAM OATEN, ages 84, husband of the above.
I love it when family documents found after the fact validate my research efforts. And more than anything, finding a photo I never knew existed.
William Oaten is my husband’s 4th great-grandfather. Our ancestral line:
- 7. William Oaten (c.1809-1894)
- 6. Harriet Oaten (1840-1914)
- 5. William Christopher Chappell (1869-1941)
- 4. Rosemary Cecelia Chappell (1900-1985)
- 3. James Francis Walsh (1931-2001)
- 2. My husband’s mother (living)
- 1. My husband (living)
52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks is a blogging prompt started by Amy Johnson Crow at No Story Too Small. My stories will include both sides of our family, including collateral lines.
Photo credit to Martin Bodman, http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/88717 taken as part of the Geograph project colleciton. Used under Creative Commons CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Original image resized. ↩
“FreeREG”, indexed database, FreeREG (http://www.freereg.org.uk : accessed 19 May 2014), baptism entry for William Oaten, 16 Jul 1809, All Saints Church, Trull, Somerset, England. ↩
“Devon Marriages”, digital image and index, Find My Past (http://www.findmypast.co.uk : accessed 9 Nov 2014), Sidmouth, p.111, entry for William Oaten and Harriet Bolt, 4 Sep 1832; citing South West Heritage Trust and Parochial Church Council, “Devon Marriages”. ↩
“Devon Baptisms”, digital image and index, Find My Past (http://www.findmypast.co.uk : accessed 10 Nov 2014), Sidmouth, p. 198, no. 1579, entry for William Otton, 20 Jan 1833; citing South West Heritage Trust and Parochial Church Council, “Devon Baptisms”. ↩
Photo credit to “Touriste” (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons. ↩
Boulogne Episcopal Chapel (Boulonge-sur-Mer, Pas-de-Calais, France), Baptisms, 1839-1896, page 4, Harriet Oaten, 26 Jan 1840; index and digital image, The Genealogist (http://www.thegenealogist.co.uk : accessed 14 Feb 2014); citing The National Archives, Kew, “Boulogne Vol. 3: Baptisms”, reference RG33/39. ↩
“1841 England Census”, Somerset, Bath, population schedule, enumeration district 15a, parish of Walcot, page 4, line 12, William Oaten; index and digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 11 Dec 2014); citing The National Archives, London, “Census Returns of England and Wales, 1841”, class HO107, piece 970, book 15, folio 6, GSU roll 474610. ↩
“1841 England Census”, Somerset, Lansdown, enumeration district (ED) 12a, parish of Walcot, page 9 (stamped), family of Harriet Oates; index and digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 17 Jan 2015); citing The National Archives, London, “Census Returns of England and Wales, 1841”, class HO107, piece 970, book 213, folio 33, GSU 474610. ↩
“Devon Baptisms”, entry for William Otton, 20 Jan 1833. ↩
Boulogne Episcopal Chapel, entry for Harriet Oaten, 26 Jan 1840. ↩
BathBMD (http://www.bathbmd.org.uk : accessed 19 Jan 2015), birth entry for Elizabeth Oaten; citing Register Offices, Bath, Somerset, 1841, reference LNS/3/338. ↩
BathBMD (http://www.bathbmd.org.uk : accessed 19 Jan 2015), birth entry for Martha Oaten; citing Register Offices, Bath, Somerset, 1842, reference BEA/3/159. ↩
“1841 England Census”, Somerset, Bath, p. 4, line 12, William Oaten. ↩
“1851 England Census”, Somerset, Bath, population schedule, enumeration district (ED) 12, parish of Walcot-St Swithin, page 9, household 33, entry for William Oaten; index and digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 9 Dec 2014); citing The National Archives, London, “Census Returns of England and Wales, 1851”, Class HO107, piece 1943, folio 304, GSU roll 221102. ↩
“1861 England Census”, Somerset, Bath, enumeration district 14, parish of Walcot-St Swithin, page 14, household 83, William Oatin; index and digital image, Ancestry (
“1871 England Census”, Essex, Coggeshalls, enumeration district 2, parish of Great Coggeshall and Marks Hall, page 24, household 136, William Oaten; index and digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 11 Dec 2014); citing The National Archives, London, “Census Returns of England and Wales, 1871”, class RG10, piece 1696, folio 36, GSU roll 830743. ↩
“1881 England Census”, Somerset, Bath, enumeration district 15, parish of Walcot, page 24, household 198, family of William Oaten; index and digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 11 Dec 2014); citing The National Archives, London, “Census Returns of England and Wales, 1881”, class RG11, piece 2442, folio 53, GSU roll 1341588. ↩
“1891 England Census”, Somerset, Bath, enumeration district 40, parish of Walcot, page 1, household 7, family of William Oaten; index and digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 11 Dec 2014); citing The National Archives, London, “Census Returns of England and Wales, 1891”, class RG12, piece 1938, folio 53, GSU roll 6097048. ↩
“Deaths”, Bath (Somerset) Chronicle and Weekly Gazette, 15 Mar 1894, page 1, column 1; digital image, British Newspaper Archive (http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk : accessed 9 Aug 2014), Historical Newspaper Collection. ↩
BathBMD (http://www.bathbmd.org.uk : accessed 5 Feb 2015), death entry for William Oaten; citing Register Offices, Bath, Somerset, 1894, reference WL1/41/070. ↩
“Deaths”, Bath (Somerset) Chronicle and Weekly Gazette, 15 Mar 1894. ↩
“William and Harriet (Bolt) Oaten photograph, photograph by C.J. White, Bristol, Gloucestershire, England, undated; original privately held by Joan [surname witheld for privacy], [address for private use], Simcoe county, Ontario, Canada; digital scan held by author, scanned Sep 2014. ↩
"William and Harriet (Bolt) Oaten photograph, photographic copy, undated; photographic copy privately held by Joan [surname witheld for privacy], [address for private use], Simcoe county, Ontario, Canada; digital scan held by author, scanned Sep 2014. [The reverse is labelled with the names and death dates of the subjects, however the death year is actually incorrect as verified by BathBMD.] ↩
"William and Harriet (Bolt) Oaten photograph, William Christopher Chappell Collection. [The reverse side of the cabinet card has William and Harriet Oaten’s obituary pasted to it, unknown, undated clipping]. ↩
Copyright ©2015, Chriss Coleman