Few for Clarity, This Narrative Should Be Read In
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Few For clarity, this narrative should be read in conjunction with the pedigree chart showing the ancestors of Frederick William Few. The main concentration of the Few surname is in the Chesterton district of Cambridgeshire however there is another noticeable cluster in and around Devizes in Wiltshire.1 The ancestral Fews belong to this second group and they lived close to the Hampshire/Wiltshire border for several generations. There is nothing convincing in the surname dictionaries about the meaning of the name.2 Early spelling variations of the name include Feu and Phew. Distribution of the Surname Few William Few The earliest confirmed ancestors in the Few line3 are 4x great grandparents4 William Few and Hannah Smith, who were married on the 12th of October 1781 at Great Bedwyn in Wiltshire. Neither could sign their name and the witnesses were John Cole and Thomas Batten.5 Many believe that William was the William Fue baptised on the 11th of April 1752 at Tidcombe, Wiltshire, the son of Daniel and Ann Fue née Hore.6 Although St. Mary’s, Great Bedwyn ages at burial are notoriously 1 The Surname Atlas Archer Software (2003). 2 Cottle, Basil, The Penguin Dictionary of Surnames Penguin 2nd edition 1978. Lower, Mark Anthony, A Dictionary of Surnames Wordsworth Editions Ltd. 1860. Reaney, P.H., A Dictionary of Surnames Routledge and Kegan Paul (1958). 3 An earlier generation of Smiths is known. Other Few brides also have lines that go back one or two generations further. See below. 4 The relationships are described in terms of John David Few’s relationship. If you are a child, niece or nephew, or child of John’s cousins, you will have to add a great each time. Grandchildren and great nephews need to add two greats. 5 Marriage register of St. Mary’s, Great Bedwyn, Wiltshire via www.ancestry.co.uk. 6 Baptism and marriage registers of St. Michael’s, Tidcombe, Wiltshire via www.ancestry.co.uk. inaccurate, William’s age at burial does suggest a date of birth of 1758-1759.7 What can’t be ignored however is the baptism of a William, the son of George and Margaret Few of Savernake Park, on the 6th of April 1760, at Wootton Rivers, Wiltshire,8 which is just six miles away. This is closer to the date of birth suggested by William’s burial entry; also William’s eldest child was named George. Unfortunately, it has not been possible to trace the future of the wrong William Few, which might have helped with elimination. approx. 5 miles Map Created using Genmap™9 The Smith Family 5x great grandfather John Smith married Elizabeth Shipway in Marlborough, Wiltshire on the 7th of May 1741.10 The surname Smith is a widespread one and is an occupational 7 Burial register of St. Mary’s, Great Bedwyn, Wiltshire via www.ancestry.co.uk. 8 Baptism register of St. Andrew’s, Wootton Rivers, Wiltshire via www.ancestry.co.uk. 9 www.archersoftware.co.uk/genmap01.htm. 10 Index to marriages of St. Mary’s, Marlborough, Wiltshire via www.findmypast.co.uk. surname with a clear meaning. Shipway The Children of John and Elizabeth Smith probably means one who lives by the née Shipway of Great Bedwyn, Wiltshire sheep way, or drovers’ road. It is principally found in Gloucestershire and Mary baptised 26 December 1743 Wiltshire. John baptised 25 August 1745 Thomas baptised 25 September 1749 John and Elizabeth Smith had seven Elizabeth baptised 15 December 1751 children baptised in Great Bedwyn.11 John William baptised 28 March 1755 was probably buried on the 17th of March Hannah baptised 24 September 1758 178712 and Elizabeth, as ‘widow Smith’, on George baptised 23 May 1762 the 7th of February 1790, both at Great Bedwyn.13 Farming on the Wiltshire-Hampshire Borders14 This area is made up of chalk downs and loamy river valleys. The climate is generally benign but the area is noted for its ‘cold, sharp air’,15 that sometimes led to soil erosion and crop damage. Farms were generally small and situated near a water supply. Typically, they had an adjacent cattle yard, stabling, granary, pigsty, pond and three barns, so that different grains could be threshed separately. Farmers often owned several farms and lived in one farmhouse, letting the others to their labourers, meaning that those that were tenanted were often in poor repair. Leases tended to be short and commenced on Lady Day, the 25th of March. Corn was usually kept in barns, rather than constructing hayricks. Barns were wooden structures, on stone foundations and had thatched roofs. As the eighteenth century came to a close, threshing machines were being introduced. These were very efficient but fewer labourers were required, leading to a shortage of employment. By 1830, following an agricultural depression and a series of bad harvests, the plight of the labourers led to protests known as The Swing Riots, during which threshing machines across the south of the country were destroyed under the auspices of the mythical Captain Swing. Two hundred and fifty two Wiltshire labourers died in these riots and over a thousand were transported. One of the farms that was targeted was that of John Fulbrook in Hippenscombe, when a three hundred strong mob smashed the windows and entered the farmhouse.16 This farm is an isolated one, which is perhaps why it became the focus of a protest. 11 Baptism register of St. Mary’s, Great Bedwyn, Wiltshire via www.ancestry.co.uk. 12 Burial register of St. Mary’s, Great Bedwyn, Wiltshire via www.ancestry.co.uk. 13 Index to burial register of St. Mary’s, Great Bedwyn, Wiltshire via www.findmypast.co.uk. 14 Most of the information in this section is taken from Davis, Thomas General View of the Agriculture of the County of Wiltshire Richard Phillips (1811). 15 Davis, Thomas General View of the Agriculture of the County of Wiltshire Richard Phillips (1811). 16 Vivash, Paul Family Loyalties in Wiltshire Family History Society Journal April 1998 pp. 45-46. Salisbury and Winchester Journal 10 January 1831 p.4 col. b. Labourers often struggled to support their families. Women might supplement the family income by spinning flax or silk at home, on a piecework basis. In the late eighteenth century, although enclosure was being advocated, much of the county was still implementing a common field system, whereby tenants were allocated small areas of arable land in common fields and their livestock ran on communal sheep and cow downs. Wheat, barley and oats were grown and fields would be left fallow every three or four years. By the nineteenth century, crops such as clover would be sown in rotation to enrich the soil. Potatoes and turnips were planted, the latter were predominantly used for animal feed. There were also apple orchards; these were used for eating rather than cider making, which was more common further west. Woods supplied different types of timber for a variety of needs. Its use as a fuel was being replaced by coal during the nineteenth century, especially as the canal and railway system opened up, making transportation easier. Wood was still needed in the construction of buildings and to make such things as furniture, tools, hurdles and clogs. Oak bark was used in the tanning process. Water mills were numerous but there were concerns that they adversely impacted on the water meadows that were important for irrigation. In the eighteenth century, sheep were kept for the manure they produced and for wool; meat was a secondary consideration. The manufacture of cloth and carpets was important to the local economy. By the 1800s, there was more emphasis on rearing sheep for meat. The Wiltshire Horned Sheep were then being replaced by breeds more common in Dorset and on the South Downs. The three major markets in Salisbury, Devizes and Warminster were thirty to forty miles away from Great Bedwyn. Salisbury was noted as the best cattle market in the south. It is likely that the market at Marlborough, which was much closer, would have been used by the farmers in the area where the Fews lived. Marlborough market was noted for its cheese, which was a speciality in the north of the county. The development of the canal and railway system opened up the market for farm produce. Great Bedwyn17 Great Bedwyn is a rural parish on the edge of the Savernake Forest. Originally a borough, by the time that the Few family are known to have been there, it had lost much of its status and was described in 1754 as ‘a poor town of farmers, maltsters, and publicans’.18 There were about fourteen inns or ale houses in the parish in the mid-eighteenth century. Fair days were the 23rd of April and the 15th of July and market day was a Tuesday. The is a large open area at the end of the main street, which may have been where the market was held. 17 For detailed information about the parish see www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/wilts/vol16/pp8-49. 18 Travels through Eng. of Dr. Ric. Pococke, ii (Camd. Soc. [2nd ser.], xliv), 157, quoted in www.british- history.ac.uk/vch/wilts/vol16/pp8-49. There were six hop yards in the parish and malting was a common trade. There were several schools, including provision for the teaching of poor children but the Fews do not seem to have benefitted from this. The Kennet and Avon Canal linked Hungerford and Great Bedwyn in 1799 and by 1810, it was extended to Devizes, with obvious implications for migration.