Article - 5 John Bassett of Madron (1790- 1868)
1841
The family were living in Godolphin in Breage Cornwall according to the 1841 census, having moved there between 1829 and 1833.[i] Their residence, Blowing House Stamps was listed next to Godolphin house by the census enumerator.[ii]
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| Godolphin House © Copyright Ian Capper and licensed for reuse under creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0 http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2690537 accessed 1 July 2017 |
[To see what Godophin house looks like today have a look at this Youtube video https://youtu.be/cnB6eSoYAoE]
The 1841 census shows that the family still living together as a single unit with the children still at home. The children missing from the family home have been identified as dying prior to 1841:-
1. John Bassett (1814-1815).[iii]
2. Francis Bassett (1823-1839).[iv]
3. James Bassett (1833-1833).[v]
4. Samuel Bassett (1838-1839).[vi]
The entry in the 1841 census provided the following details[vii]
Parish of Breage
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||||
Place
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Names
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Ages
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Profession or Trade
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Born in County
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Blowing House Stamps
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John Bassett
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50
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Tin Miner
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Y
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Martha Bassett
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45
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Y
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||
William Bassett
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25
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Tin Miner
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Y
|
|
John Bassett
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20
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Tin Miner
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Y
|
|
Ann Bassett
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15
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Dressing tin
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Y
|
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Martha Bassett
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12
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Dressing tin
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Y
|
|
James Bassett
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8
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Y
|
||
Jenifar Moffatt
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15
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Dressing tin
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Y
|
|
John Bassett and his family were probably working in the local mines, the "Cornish Bal of Balwest". The Cornish term ‘bal’ or ‘ball’ means “a group of mines working in close proximity to each other. Balwest derived its name from the treasure house of the Godolphins, which as early as 1540 was employing 300 persons. In the Godolphin bal group were Great Work, Wheal Reeth, Wheal Breage, Bal an Dreath and Balwest, the most westerly of the group."[viii]
John and his two sons, William and John, were working as tin miners underground. The younger two girls were working as “Dressing tin”(sic) [Tin dressers]. Women who worked above ground in the mines and were commonly known as Bal maidens.
During “The Royal Commission for Inquiring into the Employment and Condition of Children and Young Persons in the Mines of Cornwall and Devonshire” in 1841 by Charles Barham the following was reported:-
“a large number of boys are … working at the surface between 9 and 10 years of age, and that this reaches its maximum between 12 and 13: afterwards it gradually lessens, whilst the number employed underground steadily increases. The girls on the other hand are not very numerous until they are more than 11 years old, and their number goes on increasing till they reach 16, when it remains stationary.” [ix]
John’s youngest child, James, had not yet begun working in the mines and so would have spent his days assisting his mother with the household chores and running errands.
1851
The family were still living in Breage in 1851 but had moved to Godolphin Moor.[x] Three of the older children had married and moved out of the family home, just after the 1841 census:
1. William Bassett married Martha Moffatt on 10 July 1841 in Breage[xi]
2. Ann married Stephen Davey on 26 December 1842 in Breage.[xii]
3. John married Catherine Davey on 10 May 1843 in Breage[xiii]
Only the younger two children remained at home. John (now aged 60) is no longer working underground but above ground as a Tin Dresser, probably due to his advancing age.
The entry in the 1851 census provides the following details[xiv]
Parish of Breage
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Ecclesiastical District of Godolphin
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|||||
Place
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Names
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Relation to the head of family
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Condition
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Ages
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Profession or Trade
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Born in County
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Godolphin Moor
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John Bassett
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Head
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Mar
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60
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Tin Dresser
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Madryn Cornwall (
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Martha do [ditto]
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Wife
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M
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57
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Paul Cornwall
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||
James do [ditto]
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Son
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U
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16
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Tin Miner
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Breage Cornwall
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Martha do [ditto]
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Dau
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U
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22
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Tin Dressing
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Breage Cornwall
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|
 |
| "OS Map name 069/SE." Map of Cornwall. Southampton: Ordnance Survey, 1868-1896. British History Online. Web. 1 July 2017. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/os-1-to-10560/cornwall/069/se. (the yellow star marks the possible location of Godolphin Moor, the families location in 1851.) |
1861
By 1861, all the children had moved out of the home. Their daughter Martha married James Rowe on 4 October 1851 in St Erth, Cornwall.[xv] Their youngest child James’ location has not been established yet, but it is thought that he might have already migrated to Australia. The ageing couple is now living next door to their daughter-in-law Martha Bassett nee Moffat and her children in the small village of Fraddam in Gwinear, Cornwall. Their son William (Martha Moffatt's husband) has already gone to Australia. John 70 years of age is still working as a tin dresser at the mines.[xvi]
The entry in the 1861 Census provides the following detail[xvii]
Parish of Gwinear
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Hamlet of Fraddam
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|||||
Place
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Names
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Relation to the head of family
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Condition
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Ages
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Profession or Trade
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Born in County
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Fraddam
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John Bassett
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head
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mar
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70
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Tin dresser
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Cornwall, Madron
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Martha
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Wife
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mar
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65
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Cornwall, Paul
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||
This is the last time that we find John & his wife Martha in an English Census.
Next Week (Article 6) I will try to locate John Bassett’s adult children in the censuses.
Previous Articles in this Series - John Bassett of Madron, (1790-1868)
Article 1 - Who is John Bassett?
Article 2 - Looking for the Parents of John Bassett.
Article 3 - Living in the wake of family disaster
[i] FamilySearch, Baptism of James Bassett baptised in a private ceremony on 7 May 1833 Breage Church Register, Cornwall. Entry #648 p.116 "England, Cornwall Parish Registers, 1538-2010," database with images, Baptisms Breage Cornwall 1827-1839, Cornwall Records Office, Truro. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-6SRQ-HS5?cc=1769414&wc=3CB4-C6V%3A138123201%2C138287901%2C138291501. Accessed 14 April 2015. (image 60 of 140)
[ii] “1841 England Census” Database. Ancestry.com (www.ancestgry.com : Accessed 3July 2017), Entry for John Bassett (age 50), Blowing House Stamps, Breage, Cornwall; citing PRO HO107/ 136/3, folio 64, p.19; Helston registration district, Breage subdistrict, ED 7, household of John Bassett
[iii] FamilySearch, Baptism of John Bassett baptised 13 November 1814, Perranuthnoe Church Parish Register, Cornwall England, Entry #45 p.6 "England, Cornwall Parish Registers, 1538-2010," database with images, Baptisms Perranuthnoe Cornwall, 1813-1837, Cornwall Records Office, Truro; https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-DCP3-NBN?cc=1769414&wc=3CBC-DPG%3A138123201%2C140492201%2C138123203, Accessed 14 April 2015 (image 7 of 53); FamilySearch, Burial of John Bassett buried 17 March 1815 St Hilary Church Parish Register, Cornwall England, Entry 92 p. 12 "England, Cornwall Parish Registers, 1538-2010," database with images, Burials St Hilary Cornwall 1813-1845, Cornwall Records Office, Truro. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-XK5Q-L13?cc=1769414&wc=3CBH-BZ7%3A138123201%2C141471801%2C139429401. Accessed 14 April 2015), Image 9 of 105)
[iv] FamilySearch, Baptism of Francis Basset baptised 8 October 1823 Breage Church Parish Register, Cornwall England Entry #1101 p.138. "England, Cornwall Parish Registers, 1538-2010," database with images, Baptisms Breage Cornwall 1813-1827, Cornwall Records Office, Truro. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-6SRQ-WLX?cc=1769414&wc=3CB4-ZNL%3A138123201%2C138287901%2C138287902. Accessed 14 April 2015 (image 78 of 110); FamilySearch, Burial of Francis Bassett buried 2 October 1839 Breage Church Register Cornwall Entry #334 p.42. "England, Cornwall Parish Registers, 1538-2010," database with images, Burials Breage Cornwall 1836-1861, Cornwall Records Office, Truro. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9R79-9SMC?cc=1769414&wc=3CB7-RM7%3A138123201%2C138287901%2C138313201. Accessed 14 April 2015. (image 23 of 159)
[v] FamilySearch, Baptism of James Bassett baptised in a private ceremony on 7 May 1833 Breage Church Register, Cornwall. Entry #649 p.116 "England, Cornwall Parish Registers, 1538-2010," database with images, Baptisms Breage Cornwall 1827-1839, Cornwall Records Office, Truro. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-6SRQ-HS5?cc=1769414&wc=3CB4-C6V%3A138123201%2C138287901%2C138291501. Accessed 14 April 2015. (image 60 of 140); FamilySearch, Burial of James Bassett buried 18 May 1833, Breage Church parish register, Cornwall England, Entry #1263 p.158. "England, Cornwall Parish Registers, 1538-2010," database with images, Burials Breage Cornwall 1813-1836, Cornwall Records Office, Truro. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-6SR3-B2M?cc=1769414&wc=3CB7-RMC%3A138123201%2C138287901%2C138307101. Accessed 14 April 2015 (image 84 of 210)
[vi] Note a search was conducted on the FreeBDM for a Sammuel Bassett between Sep 1837 and Dec 1841 for the County of Cornwall, this was the only Sammuel to be found. It is possible that this is our Sammuel as we think he died before the 1841 Census. Will need to obtain the death certificate to verify. A wider search for all of England did show up a few more Sammuels however none seemed to be as likely to be ours as this one. "FreeBMD England and Wales, Civil Registration Index: 1837-1900" (The Trustees of FreeBMD [database online] Provo, UT: Ancestry.com, 2001.), Deaths; Quarter: Jun; Year: 1839; District: Helston; Vol: 9; Page: 74; GENUKI: St Hilary, Cornwall. (2017). Genuki.org.uk. Retrieved 20 June 2017, from http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/CON/StHilary
[vii] “1841 England Census” Database. Ancestry.com (www.ancestgry.com : Accessed 3July 2017), Entry for John Bassett (age 50), Blowing House Stamps, Breage, Cornwall; citing PRO HO107/ 136/3, folio 64, p.19; Helston registration district, Breage subdistrict, ED 7, household of John Bassett
[viii] Breage Resources Rootsweb, Mines in Breage/Godophin continued. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~althea/Mines_cont.html Accessed 1 July 2017
[ix] BPP 1842: Charles Barham The Royal Commission for Inquiring into the Employment and Condition of Children and Young Persons in the Mines of Cornwall and Devonshire, p.765 http://www.balmaiden.co.uk/1842.htm, accessed 1 July 2017.
[x] Ancestry.com. 1851 England Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA. Class: HO107; Piece: 1913; Folio: 245; Page: 14
[xi] FamilySearch, Marriage Banns of William Bassett and Martha Moffat, banns read 20, 27 June & 4 July 1841, Breage Church Register, Cornwall, England, Entry #16 p.4. "England, Cornwall Parish Registers, 1538-2010," database with images. Cornwall Records Office, Truro. Marriage banns Breage Cornwall, 1841-1888. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-6SR3-118?cc=1769414&wc=3CB7-YWB%3A138123201%2C138287901%2C138330201 : 14 April 2015 (image 5 of 201); FamilySearch, Marriage of William Bassett and Emma Moffatt married 10 July 1841, Breage Church Register, Cornwall. Entry 188 p.94. "England, Cornwall Parish Registers, 1538-2010," database with images. Cornwall Records Office, Truro. Marriages Breage Cornwall, 1837-1846. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-6SRQ-987?cc=1769414&wc=3CB4-C6J%3A138123201%2C138287901%2C138352501 : 14 April 2015 (image 97 of 219) & repeated at FamilySearch, Marriage of William Bassett and Emma Moffatt married 10 July 1841, Breage Church Register, Cornwall. Entry 188 p.94. "England, Cornwall Parish Registers, 1538-2010," database with images. Cornwall Records Office, Truro. Marriages, 1837-1848 Breage Cornwall. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GR7S-95ZF?cc=1769414&wc=3CB7-T3J%3A138123201%2C138287901%2C138357401 : 14 April 2015 (image 94 of 251)
[xii] FamilySearch, Marriage Banns of Stephen Davey & Anne Bassett, read 20, 27 November & 4 December 1842,. Breage Church Register, Cornwall. Entry 85, p.17/18 "England, Cornwall Parish Registers, 1538-2010," database with images. Cornwall Records Office, Truro. Marriage banns Breage Cornwall, 1841-1888. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-6SRQ-413?cc=1769414&wc=3CB7-YWB%3A138123201%2C138287901%2C138330201 : 14 April 2015 (image 12 of 201); FamilySearch, Marriage of Stephen Davey & Anne Bassett, married 26 December 1841, Breage Church Register, Cornwall. Entry #258, p.129. "England, Cornwall Parish Registers, 1538-2010," database with images. Cornwall Records Office, Truro. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-6SRQ-HTZ?cc=1769414&wc=3CB4-C6J%3A138123201%2C138287901%2C138352501 : 14 April 2015 (image 132 of 219)
[xiii] FamilySearch, Marriage Banns of John Bassett and Catherine Davey read 23, 30 April & 7 May 1843. Breage Church Register, Cornwall. Entry #109 p.22. "England, Cornwall Parish Registers, 1538-2010," database with images. Cornwall Records Office, Truro. Marriage banns Breage Cornwall, 1841-1888. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-6SRQ-H44?cc=1769414&wc=3CB7-YWB%3A138123201%2C138287901%2C138330201 : 14 April 2015. (image 14 of 201); Marriage of John Bassett and Catherine Davey, married 12 May 1843, Breage Church Register, Cornwall. Entry #276 p.138. "England, Cornwall Parish Registers, 1538-2010," database with images. Cornwall Records Office, Truro. Marriage Breage Cornwall, 1837-1846. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-6SRQ-MD1?cc=1769414&wc=3CB4-C6J%3A138123201%2C138287901%2C138352501 : 14 April 2015 (image 141 of 219)
[xiv] “1851 England Census,” database, Ancestry.com(www.ancestry.com : accessed 3 July 2017). Entry for John Bassett (aged 61), Godolphin Moor Breage, Cornwall; citing PRO HO107/ 1913, Folio: 245; Page: 14, Helston registration district, St Keverne subdistrict, ED 1b, household 48.
[xv] FamilySearch, Marriage of James Rowe and Martha Bassett married 4 October 1851, St ERth Church Register, Cornwall. Entry #220, p.110. "England, Cornwall Parish Registers, 1538-2010," database with images. Cornwall Records Office, Truro. Marriages St Erth, Cornwall 1837-1870, https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-DTL7-TH3?cc=1769414&wc=3CBC-2NL%3A138123201%2C141323201%2C141197201 : 14 April 2015 (image 112 of 252); England, Registrar General. Marriage Certificate for James Rowe and Martha Bassett, married 4 Oct 1851 St Erth, Cornwall; citing 4th Quarter/Vol 9/p 275 Penzance registration district: General Registry Office, Southport.
[xvi] Cornwall Census -1861 extract - extract for John & Martha Carbis, William Bassett & Martha Moffatt's family (Transcript of Piece RG 9/1575 - extract for John & Martha Carbis, William Bassett & Martha Moffatt's family Accessed through Ancestory.com via the LDS library).
[xvii] “1851 England Census.” Database, Ancestry.com(www.ancestry.com : accessed 3 July 2017) Entry for John Bassett (aged 70), Village of Fraddam, Gwinear, Cornwall, citing PRO RG 9/1585, Folio: 37, Page: 35; Redruth registration district, Phillack subdistrict, ED 6, household 143
