Simeon’s story has unfolded slowly. Initially, all I knew was that he had been baptised at Dursley Methodist Church in March 1840, the son of Samuel and Rachel Wicks and, in the 1841 Census, was living with his parents in Forthay. They had married in St Martin’s in September 1839 so, with a bit of mathematics, Simeon had been conceived before then. Both Samuel and Rachel were recorded as minors on the marriage register, and both were illiterate, as they made a mark instead of signing.
By the time of the next Census, three more children had been born to the couple – Caroline, John Brinkworth (Brinkworth was Rachel’s maiden name) and Charlotte. Rachel and her four children were lodging at Bradley Green, Wotton under Edge.
In September of that year, the family emigrated from Liverpool to New York.
In the 1855 Census for Chatham, in New York State, Rachel and Samuel are living with Caroline and John, and have two more sons, William and Henry. The house next door is occupied by John Pitts, a farmer, his wife Charlotte, and Simeon, who is working as a servant to them. But more about the Pitts later.
In the 1860 Census for Chatham, Samuel (a farm labourer) and Rachel are living with seven of their children.
Rachel died in 1869 aged 46 (she had had eleven children). Samuel married almost immediately afterwards as, in 1870 he is living in Colfax, Iowa, with his new wife, Mary, and six of his children, and the family are still there in 1870, at the time of the next Census. He died in Panther, Iowa, in 1898.
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Back to Simeon. We last saw him working as a servant for John and Charlotte Pitt in 1855. In 1861, he was enlisted as a musician in the 20th Infantry, and fought in the Civil Way until he was mustered out in 1865.
Simeon married Catherine Shumway in 1868, and they had four children. The family were living in Clinton, Michigan, until Simeon died, in 1916, aged 76.
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So, who were John and Charlotte Pitts?
They were Samuel’s grandparents. We last came across them as John and Charlotte Brinkworth, Rachel’s parents. Rachel was born in 1823, and had two brothers, William, born 1827, and John, born 1830. All were baptised in St Martin’s, North Nibley, and John [Brinkworth] is recorded as being a labourer. However, when the three married, John was recorded as being a clothier.
Going back further, John Brinkworth, their father was baptised in 1798 in North Nibley, the illegitimate son of Ann Pitts.
In August 1839, a month before Rachel’s marriage, John ‘clothier and teazle dealer’ was declared bankrupt.
Cheltenham Journal and Gloucestershire Fashionable Weekly Gazette
15th April 1839
FIRE – On Thursday evening, the 28th ult., a fire broke out in the premises occupied by Mr Brinkworth, at North Nibley, which, with a large stack of teazles, were entirely consumed. Had not the Wotton under Edge Fire Engine been promptly sent to the spot, the loss of property must have been much larger. The premises were partly insured.
Teazles were used to raise the nap of high-quality cloth. To find out more, use these links.
The Teasel in the English Woollen Cloth Industry | Exploring Building History
Gloucester Journal
18th July 1840
TEAZLES TO BE SOLD BY AUCTION
By Mr W M Rickards
(Under a fiat of bankruptcy against John Brinkworth, North Nibley, teazle dealer.)
ABOUT TWO HUNDRED PACKS of best middling and small TEAZLES, in excellent condition, of the growth of 1835, 1836 and 1837 and DUTY FREE.
In the 1841 Census, John, and Charlotte are living in North Nibley, and John is recorded as being an agricultural labourer. In 1850, they appear in Chatham, New York State – with the surname Pitts. John and Charlotte are living with their eldest son William and his wife and two children. From then onwards they maintain the name Pitts. In the Census, it is recorded that John has real estate to the value of $7000.
Their second son, John, was living 10 miles away, at Four Corners, Canaan. He lived in New York State for the rest of his life.
Of course, one shouldn’t make assumptions, but, to me at least, it seems likely that John was escaping the law when he emigrated, perhaps burning his own property and running off with the insurance money.
In 1860, John (now John B Pitts) is farming in Dallas, Iowa, and is living there with Charlotte in the 1870 Census. He died in 1876, aged 79.
North Nibley One-Place-Study 