An intriguing history of the Miner family on Combe Down

by Michael Miner

This is from my family research and summarises the people in the Miner family on Combe Down. Those who lived on Combe Down for all or a part of their lives are written in blue.

Miners have lived at:

• 1 and 2 Bramley Cottages, Claverton Down
• 1 Green Cottages, Combe Down
• 1 Miner’s Cottages, Monkton Combe
• 2 Quarry Rise, Combe Down
• 2 Upper House, Combe Down
• 3 and 4 North Cottages, Combe Down
• 3 Park Avenue, Monkton Combe
• 4 Isabella Place, Combe Down
• 5 Tyning Place, Monkton Combe
• 8 DeMontalt Place, Combe Down
• Brunswick Place, Combe Down
• Byfields Place, Combe Down.
• Edward Cottage, 5 Tyning, Combe Down
• Edward Cottage, Belle Vue, Monkton Combe
• Farrs Lane, Combe Down
• Pearl Cottage, Monkton Combe
• Tinsmith Shed, Avenue Road, Monkton Combe
• Upper House, Laura Place, North Road, Combe Down
• West Upper House, Monkton Combe

Isaac Miner and Sarah Tavinor

They were married in Bradford-on-Avon in 1795. Records show that they were living in Westwood, Wiltshire in the late eighteenth century.

Isaac and Sarah had ten children:

1. Mary (b 1797) married James Purnell (1810) in Trowbridge, Wiltshire in 1833. Mary may have been married before because on her marriage banns it states that she was a widow. They had 3 children.
2. Isaac (1797-1805) died at the age of eight.
3. Jacob (1798-1883) married Louisa Akehurst who was born in Pevensey, Sussex in 1803. She died in Bath, Somerset in 1890. There is no record of their marriage date or how she came to Bath. Jacob and Louisa had one son: Philip 1844-1870. Philip married Jessie MacDonald, who was born in Scotland (1838) at the Bath Registry Office in 1869. Jessie was a Ladies Maid. She died in Bath, Somerset in 1901 aged sixty-two.On the 22 March 1820, Jacob was caught with his friend Samuel Mundy in Monkton Farleigh, Wiltshire by a gamekeeper (Ruben Mills) and was later fined for possessing a hare. They were fined £5 which was a lot of money back in those days. Jacob was a Tinsmith and lived at Park Cottages in 1871 and at Tinsmith Shed, Avenue Road, Combe Down in 1881.
4. Anthony (1799-1805) died at the age of six.
5. Hannah (1800-1802) died on the in 1802 aged two.
6. Abraham (b 1803) married Ann Young in Bath, Somerset in 1828. Ann was born in 1799 and died in Bath, Somerset in 1837. They had one son who was also called Abraham and he was born in 1835; he was working in Monmouthshire as an Apprentice Mason in the 1851 census which was a year before he sailed to America with his father. After Ann died, Abraham married Charlotte – who was born in Bath around 1800. In the 1851 census they were living at 1, Beechen Cliff Fields in the district of Lyncombe and Widcombe. In 1852, records show that they all set sail on the “Guy Mannering” ship to New York.
7. Isaac (1809-1883) married Eliza Chivers at Southstoke Church in 1827. Isaac and Eliza had 8 children.
8. John (1812-1890) married Elizabeth Rumble at St James Church, Bath in 1834. John and Elizabeth had seven children and lived at 8, DeMontalt Place, Combe Down which is opposite Combe Down Church. Elizabeth was born around 1810 and died in 1847. John then married Ann Perkins, daughter of James Perkins, on the 18 July 1849 in Bath. Ann was born in 1824 at Odd Down, Bath and died in 1880 in Singleton, NSW, Australia.
9. James (b 1814) No details found.
10. Thomas (1814-1884) married Elizabeth Chivers at Southstoke Church in 1833. Elizabeth was born in Widcombe, Bath in 1811 and died in 1883. Neither Thomas nor Elizabeth could write their names and signed with a X. Chivers was sometimes spelt Cheves. It was probably spelt this way on the marriage certificate because of the fact that Thomas and Elizabeth couldn’t write, so it was possibly left to the person filling out the form to how it was spelt.

John Miner and Elizabeth Rumble

John Miner was the son of Isaac Miner and Sarah Tavinor. He was born in 1812 in Westwood, Wiltshire. John died in Brindley Park, Merriwa, New South Wales on the 30 August 1890.

He had married Elizabeth Rumble, on the 27 January 1833 at St James, Bath. She was born in West Lavington, Wiltshire and died in Bathwick, Bath in 1847.

John then married Ann Perkins, daughter of James Perkins, on the 18 July 1849 in Bath. Ann was born in 1824 at Odd Down, Bath and died in 1880 in Singleton, New South Wales.

Around 1854, John sailed to Australia to set up a home for his family. At that time, he only took his sons William (1836) and Edward (1840) with him to Australia.

After John had set up a home, Ann went out to join John in Australia leaving England on the 8 December 1856, arriving in Melbourne on board the “Rhea Sylvia” ship on the 10 March 1857, they then continued onward to Sydney on board the “Wonga Wonga” ship and arrived there on the 17 March 1857, a journey of three months. Ann came out with Alfred and Elizabeth from John’s first marriage and Mary Jane, George Samuel and James Joseph from their marriage.

John and Elizabeth had seven children:

John Miner and Ann Perkins

John’s second marriage was to Ann Perkins. Five years after marrying Ann, John set sail to Australia.

John Miner and Ann Perkins had thirteen children.

1. Alfred Miner (1843 – 1907) was born in Monkton Combe and died in Newcastle, New South Wales. He married first in 1865 Sarah Stott (1847 – 1876). She was born in Ireland. He married secondly Eliza Poile (1861 – 1913). She was born in Australia.
2. Mary Jane (1850-1922) was born in Monkton Combe. She Married Richard P. Lee who was born in 1840 and died in 1907. They were married in Merriwa, New South Wales in 1888. This was Richard’s second marriage. Mary and Richard had two children.
3. Samuel Perkins Miner (1851-1851) was born in Monkton Combe and died within the first year.
4. George Samuel (1852-1877) was born in Monkton Combe and died in Singleton, New South Wales aged 25.
5. James Joseph (1855-1934) was born and died in Singleton, New South Wales aged 79. Joseph Thomas (twin to Henry Joseph) was born in Australia, and married Eliza Ann Clark (1861-1929) in 1882 in New South Wales. James Joseph, in 1887, became postmaster at Cassilis (village next to Merriwa.) He planted the many Radiata Pines Trees in Cassilis. Some are still standing. Joseph was living in Cassilis at the time his father, John, died but he was living in Moss Vale, Robertson in 1917 when his son Cedric Jerome was killed on the Somme, France. James Joseph and Eliza had five children.
6. Henry Joseph (1858-1947) (twin to Joseph Thomas) was born in Singleton, New South Wales and married Mary Ann MacDonald at Patrick’s Plain, New South Wales in 1887. Mary was born in 1866. Henry was Mayor of South Singleton in the years 1891, 1895-1897, 1901, 1904-1906. He was also on the board of Singleton Hospital. Henry was a Blacksmith and opened his Blacksmith’s shop in John Street, Singleton in July 1888. Mary died Sept 1947. Henry and Mary had seven children.
7. Joseph Thomas (1858-1937) (twin to Henry Joseph) was born in Singleton, New South Wales and married Eliza Ann Clarke (1851-1929) at Wollombi, New South Wales in 1882.She had been born in Langport, Somerset.
8. Lucy Ann (1859-1859) (twin to John Francis), died at birth or within the first year.
9. John Francis (1859-1923) (twin to Lucy Ann) was born in New South Wales and married Matilda Magarity at Muswellbrook, New South Wales in 1889. Matilda was born in 1868 and died in 1945. John and Matilda had ten children.
10. Thomas Aaron (1861-1862) (twin to Josiah Edwin) died aged one in 1862.
11. Josiah Edwin (1861-1862) (twin to Thomas Aaron) died aged one in 1862.
12. Lucy Ann (1865-1954) was named after Lucy Ann who died in 1859. She married John Bernard Doyle (1858-1927) in Singleton, New South Wales in 1889. They had ten children.

Thomas Miner and Elizabeth Chivers

Thomas who was born in Westwood, Wiltshire, married Elizabeth Chivers at Southstoke Church in 1833. According to the 1851, 1861 and 1871 censuses they were living at 1, Miner’s Cottages, Osbourne Place, Monkton Combe.

Thomas and Elizabeth had 12 children:

1. Thomas (1834-1875) was born in Monkton Combe. He married Eliza Hodges (1836-1905) at Holy Trinity Church, Combe Down in 1853.
2. Henry Thomas (b.1836) was a scholar at the age of 5.
3. Edwin (b 1839) was in the 1841 census aged 2.
4. Edward (b 1841) married Jane Styles at Bath Registry Office in 1881.
5. Charles (1841-1889) married Sarah Stiles at Bath Registry Office in 1869. Sarah was born in Bath around 1840. Charles and Sarah were living at 1, Green Cottages, Combe Down in the 1871 census.
6. Solomon (b 1843) was last noted in the 1851 census aged 7.
7. Louisa (1845-1924) married George Dixon (1846-1927) at Holy Trinity Church, Combe Down in 1885.
8. James William (1848-1902) married Rosa B Barnes at Holy Trinity Church, Combe Down in 1881. She was born in 1855 and died in 1923. According to the 1891 and 1901 census records, James was a butler at Mathern and St Pierre, Monmouthshire. James and Rosa had five children.
9. Ellen (1) (1850-1851) was born in 1850 and died in 1851 in Monkton Combe.
10. Ellen (2) (1852-1931) married William Porter at Holy Trinity Church, Combe Down in 1871.
11. Mary Ann (1) (1854-1854) was born and died in 1854.
12. Mary Ann (2) (1856-1891) married John W Batchelor at Holy Trinity Church, Combe Down in 1878. According to the census of 1871, Mary may have been working in London as a servant at that time. John and Mary had a daughter Louisa (1880-1949) who married George William Pothecary (1880-1954) who lived on Combe Down and had 3 children who also live on Combe Down.

James William Miner and Rosa B Barnes

1. Ada Barnes Miner (1879-1960). She married Cecil W Knight who was born in 1880. They were married at Holy Trinity Church, Combe Down in 1908. It is likely that Ada was born out of wedlock because in the 1881 census Ada was living with Thomas and Elizabeth Miner (Chivers) aged one. This was a year before her parents James and Rosa were married. Ada died in Kent.
2. William J. Miner (1883-1884) died aged one.
3. Rosa Louise Miner (1885-1963), was working as a telegraphist in 1901 and married Frederick Frankling (1884-1938) at Southstoke Church in 1909. They are both buried at Monkton Combe cemetery. Rosa Louise and Frederick had 3 children. Two of them Kathleen Julia Rosa Frankling (1910-2001) and Eileen Bertha Violet Frankling (1913-2002) lived on Combe Down for at least a part of their lives.
4. Violet Maude Miner (1890-1958) married Francis G Fishlock (1896-1964) in 1917 at Holy Trinity Church, Combe Down. Violet was a teacher. They both died in Trowbridge.

Thomas Miner and Eliza Hodges

Thomas and Eliza had thirteen children:

1. Esau/Esan/Esaw (b 1852) last noted in the 1871 census when he was working as a quarry labourer at Combe Down aged 14.
2. Thomas (1854-1854) died within the first year.
3. Violetta (b 1855) was working as a servant at the age of 16 for the Bishop family in Monkton Combe. She married John Jackson in London on the in 1874.
4. Fanny (1858-1909) married William Hancock in Bath, Somerset in 1878. William was born in 1857. They had five children.
5. Elizabeth Ann (1860-1933) married Joseph C Gould who was born in 1857 and died in 1928. They were married at Thomas a Beckett Church, Widcombe in 1880. Elizabeth and Joseph had ten children.
6. Emily Minnie (b 1862) a laundress at the age of 18. She married George Aldridge in Folkestone, Kent in 1887. In 1891 they were living in Hertfordshire.
7. Mary Louisa (1864-1914) was a servant. She married Theodore Minty who was born around 1865. They were married at Holy Trinity Church, Combe Down in 1910.
8. William Frank (1866-1918) like the rest of his siblings was born in Combe Down. He married Alice Russell (1868-1940). They were married in Bath in 1891. They had five children. Henry Thomas Miner (1892-1942), Lillian Louise Miner (1893-1912), Violet Alice Miner (1895-1976), Ivy Gwendoline Miner (1903-1976). Ivy Gwendoline married Francis Priseman (1892-1983) in Bath in 1927. They had one child.
9. James Frederick (1867-1950) was my grandfather and he married Maria Rolfe at Bath Registry Office in 1890. My grandmother was born in Devizes, Wiltshire in 1871 and died at 1, Bramley Cottages, Claverton Down in 1966, this was my family home. They had thirteen children.
10. Solomon (1869-1894) was born in 1869 and died at the Royal United Hospital Bath at the age of 25 in 1894. On his death certificate it states the cause of death as being inflammation of the kidneys. Solomon married Ellen Rolfe, my Gran’s sister, in 1889. They had three children.
11. Thomas Edward (1871-1930) was born in 1871 and died in Greenwich, London in 1930. Thomas married Sarah J Deverall in Greenwich in 1900. Sarah was born in Combe Down in 1871 and died in 1935. In the 1901 census, they were living at Chislehurst, Bromley, Kent. In the 1911 census they were living in Greenwich East, London. Thomas was a plasterer’s labourer. They had three sons. Before he married Sarah, Thomas fathered a son – Edward – with his brother’s widow.
12. Cornelius (1872-1896) was a polisher and died at the age of twenty-three from “Pulmonary Tuberculosis”. He was living at Belle Vue Cottage, Combe Down at the time of his death in 1896.
13. Dorcas (1875-1963) was a laundress and married Alexander Campbell Lillie (1871-1939) a Scot in 1898.

James Frederick Miner and Maria Ann Rolfe

They had thirteen children:

1. Annie Marie (1891-1979) married Francis William Henry Denham (1888-1934) at Wesleyan Methodist Church, Bristol in 1914. They had one daughter, Nancy, who was born in 1915. Francis was a “Carter” which is a carrier of goods by a horse drawn wagon.
2. Frederick (1893-1895) died aged two.
3. Florence Eliza (1894-1930) married Sylvenus Robert Mitchell in Unbridge, Ontario, Canada in 1925 Sylvenus was born in 1899 in Colerne, Wiltshire and died in Canada in 1992.
4. Solomon (1895-1895) died within the first year.
5. James Frederick (1896-1972) married Janet Headrick Smellie (1897-1959). After Janet died, James married Elizabeth Chant in Wales in 1964. She was born in Wales in 1893. In the 1911 census it lists James as a gardener/labourer.
6. Edith (1898-1945) was born in 1898 and died in 1945. She married Herbert Brownbridge at Holy Trinity Church, Combe Down in 1922. They lived and died in Gloucestershire.
7. William Charles (1901-1972) married Phyllis Evans (1912-1978) in Bath, Somerset in 1942. They had one daughter.
8. Ellen Louisa (1903-1999) married Edward George Parrott (1902-1991) in Bath, Somerset in 1928. They had one daughter, Peggy, who was born in 1929.
9. Thomas David (1905-1988) married Ivy Matilda Farthing in Frome in 1952. Ivy was born in Frome in 1909 and died in 1971. They lived at 109 High Street, Chapmanslade.
10. Hilda (1907-1924) died at the age of seventeen.
11. Albert Frank (1909-1985) was my father. He married Gladys Ivy Baker (1905-1984) at St Luke’s Church, Wellsway, Bath in 1933. They both died at the Royal United Hospital, Bath.
12. Samuel George (1911-1987) married Phyllis Perry (1914-1978) at Holy Trinity, Combe Down in 1936. They had one son.
13. Arthur Ernest (1913-1918) died at the age of five from Gastritis, Jaundice and Toxaemia Convulsion. He was living at Upper House, Combe Down, Bath at the time of his death.

Solomon Miner and Ellen Rolfe

1. Fanny Violet (1890-1959) was born in 1890 at Edward Cottage, Combe Down. In 1910, she married Henry W Nobbs in Poole, Dorset. Henry was born in 1888 They had a son called Henry Walter John Nobbs who was born in August 1911 and died a month later in September 1911. In 1912 they had a daughter called Lillian Irene Nobbs who was also born in Poole. A year later, in 1913, they all emigrated to Manitoba Canada.
2. Arthur W (1892-1977) was born in Devizes, Wiltshire.
3. George (1893-1976) was born at Edward Cottage, Combe Down.
4. Edward (1899-1971). After Solomon died, Ellen had a child by his brother Thomas Edward Miner (1871-1930). He was born at 2, Quarry Rise, Combe Down.

Arthur and George were sent to Canada in 1903. Arthur and George are only noted in one British census in 1901. It recorded that they had already left their parents’ home and were living as boarders in Charsfield, Suffolk. The head of that household was a Mrs Eliza Mann (nee Nunn) a widow aged 31. Her deceased husband was Robert Mann 1866.

Members of her household in 1901 were her son William G. Mann aged 5, her father-in-law Jesse aged 65, George Miner aged 7 and Arthur aged 9. This was two years before they were shipped out to Canada in 1903.

When Arthur and George were sent to live in Canada in 1903 Arthur was 11 and George 9. At that time, a lot of young children were sent out to Canada as “British Home Children,” also known as “Barnardo Boys“. They sailed to Halifax, Nova Scotia on the “Canada” Ship.

Arthur and George on reaching Canada were sent to live with farming families but I’m not sure if they stayed together. I do know that they were living in Manitoba.

Arthur later married Sarah Church Ross on the 7 August 1916 in Coldwell, Manitoba. Sarah lists her birthplace as Scotland in 1898. Sarah’s Mother and father were Arthur 1864 and Martha Ross 1867. Sarah also had a brother Arthur 1892 and two sisters Elizabeth 1900 and Martha 1904. They were all born in Scotland except Martha 1904 who was born in Manitoba.

Arthur joined the Canadian Overseas Expeditionary Force in 1916 as a private and was lucky to survive the war. He died in Winnipeg, Manitoba on the 25 Dec 1977 aged 85. Arthur and Sarah had 5 children.

George was a life member of the Fort Frances Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion, and served overseas in France and England during WW1 with the 1st Canadian Expeditionary Force as a Staff Sergeant. Whilst back in England (probably on leave) in 1918, he met and married Nellie Watmore, at St Clements Church, Branksome, Poole, Dorset. On returning to Canada they had 5 children. In the 1970s there were about 17 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren living in Canada.

In the early years, George was a policeman at Highgate, Ontario, Canada, and then in the city of Winnipeg. In 1946 he moved to Fort Frances where he worked as a guard at the local jail. He was later appointed special constable, a position he held until his retirement. George, an honorary member of the Fort Frances Rotarians, will always be remembered there for his active participation in all Rotary projects. He will also be remembered for all the Santa Claus roles he played in the community for various service clubs, organizations, and families on behalf of himself and the Rotary Club. Fellow members’ of the Rotary club and many locals remember George for the work he did as a Rotary club member; come poppy day, he would be seen in the downtown area with his basket of poppies. Though he was in ill health for a number of years he still carried on. George passed away on Saturday 16 September 1976, at La Verendrye Hospital, Fort Frances, Canada. Nellie passed away on 1 April 1972.

Edward later moved to Poole in Dorset and this was the start of our family down there. Edward married Daisy Mabel White (1901-1980) at St Clements, Branksome, Dorset in 1926. They had two children.

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