George Smith (1814 to 1854)

George Smith was a grandfather of Rose Bennett née Smith, the mother of Dorothy Bennett, who was the wife of Sidney Alfred Parsons.

George Smith was born in New Alresford in Hampshire, in central southern England, in 1814. His parents were William Smith and his wife Martha. George’s father William had also been born in New Alresford and worked for many years as a blacksmith at a coach factory in nearby Bishop’s Sutton. His mother’s family, the Gibbs’s of Ropley and Bishop’s Sutton, was probably related to the Gibbs families of Wield, Bentworth and Chawton one of whom, John Gibbs (1774-1887), worked for Edward Knight who was the wealthy brother of the author Jane Austen who provided the Austen ladies with a home in Chawton.

New Alresford is a pleasant market town some miles east of Winchester on the old main road from Southampton via Winchester to London. On the map Alresford and Winchester are underlined in red.

The town of Alresford is old and was mentioned in the Domesday Book, the record of the survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror after the Norman conquest. Over time two settlements developed: a rural village called Old Alresford, and the more developed small market town of New Alresford which lay just south of it around the main road. A fire on May Day 1610 destroyed most of the town and it was re-built over the following decades. Daniel Defoe wrote in 1734 — “The town is since that very handsomely rebuilt, and the neighbouring gentlemen contributed largely to the relief of the people, especially, by sending in timber towards their building”.

William Cobbett, in his well known book “Rural Rides in the Counties” published in 1830 wrote — “and over some pretty little hills to Alresford, which is a nice little town of itself, but which presents a singularly beautiful view from the last little hill coming from Abbotstone”.

George’s father William’s home was in West Street, near the centre of New Alresford, and on the main road. George grew up there.

While he was a young man George lived and worked in London for a while, staying with his sister sister Charlotte and her husband, Cornelius Knight who was a fruiterer. George worked as a baker. While he was living there, in Marylebone High Street, he married Eliza Oakley, who came from Ropley in Hampshire, just a few miles from Alresford. The wedding took place on the 12^th of May 1838. Charlotte and Cornelius Knight attended and acted as the formal witnesses.

George and Eliza made their home in New Alresford, where they lived at his baker’s shop on the north side of West Street. It was just a few doors from the Bell Inn which was the last major hostelry on the road from London to Winchester.

The Bell Inn, pictured to the right, still exists today.

George and Eliza’s first child was Frederick. He was born on the 22^nd of February 1839, and he would eventually become a grandfather of Dorothy Bennett.

George and Eliza had two more children - Charlotte, born in 1840, and Robert, who was born in 1844.

Eliza died in the autumn of 1850 leaving George to look after the three children. Young Frederick went to live with his uncle and aunt, Cornelius and Charlotte Knight, in London. The two younger children stayed in Alresford with their father and his unmarried sister, Hannah, moved in as housekeeper.

Less than four years later, George died, leaving his children as orphans.

George had not left a will and his father, William, was appointed as the guardian of the children and an administrator of his estate. The court’s judgement is below:

Administration of George Smith of New Alresford, 1854:
Know all Men by these Presents that We William Smith of New Alresford in the County of Southampton Blacksmith William Pewsey of the same place and William Pascoe of the same place
Whereas George Smith late of New Alresford aforesaid Baker died on the twenty third day of April One thousand eight hundred and fifty four a Widower and Intestate leaving three children him surviving namely Frederick Smith a minor of the age of fifteen years Charlotte Smith a minor of the age of fourteen years and Robert Smith a minor off the age of ten years And whereas Administration of all and singular the Goods Chattels and Credits which were of the said George Smith deceased hath been granted and committed to the above bounden
William Smith the natural and lawful Grand father and next of kin and the Guardian or Curator of the said Frederick Smith Charlotte Smith and Robert Smith until one of them shall attain twenty one years of age and for their use
Now the Condition of the above written obligation is such that if the above bounden William Smith do and shall make or cause too be made a true and perfect Inventory of all and singular the Goods Chattels and Credits of the said deceased which have or shall come to the hand possession or knowledge of him the said William Smith or unto the hand or possession of any person or persons for him and the same so made do exhibit into the Registry of the Consistorial Court of the said Lord Bishop at or before the last day of December next ensuing and the same Goods Chattels and Credits do well and truly administer according to Law And further do make or cause to be made a just and true account of the said Administration at or before the last day of June which will be in the year One thousand eight hundred and fifty five and all the residue of the said Goods Chattels and Credits which shall be found upon the said Account the same having been first examined and allowed by the Judge for the time being of the said Court shall deliver and pay unto such person or persons respectively as the said Judge by his Decree pursuant to the Act for better settling Intestate Estates shall limit and appoint
And if it shall hereafter appear that any last Will and Testament was made by the said deceased and the Executor or Executors therein named do exhibit the same into the said Court making request to have it allowed and approved accordingly if the said William Smith being thereunto required do render and deliver the said Letters of Administration approbation of such Testament being first had and made in the said Court Then this Obligation to be void or else to remain in full force and virtue

Signed by William Smith and William Pewsey
On the seventh day of July in the year of Our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty four

Administration of all and singular the Goods Chattels and Credits which were of George Smith late of New Alresford in the County of Southampton and diocese of Winchester Baker who died on the twenty third day of April a Widower and Intestate was granted and committed to William Smith the natural and lawful Father of the said deceased and the Guardian or Curator lawfully appointed of Frederick Smith a minor now aged fifteen year Charlotte Smith a minor now aged fourteen years and Robert Smith a minor now aged ten years the only natural and lawful Children and next of kin of the said deceased and for the use and benefit of them then said Frederick Smith Charlotte Smith and Robert Smith until one of them shall attain twenty one years of age he the said William Smith having been first duly sworn well and faithfully to administer to
And he also made oath that the Goods Chattels and Credits of the said deceased did not amount in value to the sum of One hundred Pounds as he verily believes.

William Pewsey, the other administrator of George’s estate, was the husband of his sister Eliza.

George’s eldest son Frederick, remained in London living with his uncle and aunt. The two younger children lived with their uncle and aunt, William and Eliza Pewsey, in New Alresford where they had a coopers shop and bakery.

In 1861, when he was twenty one years old, George’s son Frederick assumed control of the bakery shop in West Street. Later, George’s other son, Robert, also became a baker in New Alresford and had a shop in East Street.

Children of George and Eliza Smith

George and Eliza had three children. They were :

• Frederick, born 22^nd February 1839 in New Alrseford. While he was still in his early teens Frederick went to live with his Uncle Cornelious in London. Cornelious Knight was the husband of Frederick’s father’s elder sister Charlotte; he kept a fruit shop at no.52 New Baker Street in Marylebone. Frederick continued to live there after his father died in 1854 while his grandfather and Uncle William (Pewsey) looked after the bakery that his father had owned. When Frederick reached the age of twenty one he took over the bakery and ran it himself. Soon afterwards he married Charlotte Ann Light and a few years later he and his family moved to Winchester. Frederick and Charlotte had eight children one of whom, Rose, became the mother of Dorothy Bennett. A more detailed account of Frederick’s life can be read by clicking on this link.

• Charlotte, born in New Alresford in the spring of 1840. Charlotte was ten when her mother died and fourteen when her father died. After that she lived with her Uncle William and Aunt Eliza. (William Pewsey, who had married Charlotte’s father’s sister, was a cooper and baker with a shop in West Street, New Alresford.) After 1861, when she was just twenty one years old, nothing is known about her.

• Robert was born in New Alresford in 1844. After his parents died he and his sister Charlotte lived with their Uncle William and Aunt Eliza. Robert became a baker, married, and took over a shop in Alresford’s East Street. His wife was Eliza Barham who had been born in Orford in Suffolk and they married at St. John’s church in Paddington. Robert and Eliza lived in New Alresford for the rest of their lives and had six children. Robert died on the 14^th of May 1922.

Ancestors of George Smith

Parents
Father — William Smith, a coach-spring maker from New Alresford
Mother — Martha Gibbs, from the Gibbs family of Ropley and Bishop’s Sutton

Grandparents
Grandfather — William Smith
Grandmother — William’s wife Mary

Grandfather — (unknown)
Grandmother — (unknown)

Return to Dorothy Bennett’s Ancestors

You are free to make use of the information in these web pages in any way that you wish but please be aware that the author, Mike Parsons, is unable to accept respsonsibility for any errors or omissions.

Mike can be contacted at parsonspublic@gmail.com

The information in these web pages comes from a number of sources including: Hampshire County Records Office, Somerset Heritage Centre; Dorset County Records Office; Southampton City Archives; the General Register Office; several on-line newspaper archives; several on-line transcriptions of Parish Register Entries; and several on-line indexes of births, marriages and deaths. The research has also been guided at times by the published work of others, both on-line and in the form of printed books, and by information from personal correspondence with other researchers, for all of which thanks are given. However, all of the information in these web pages has been independently verified by the author from original sources, facimile copies, or, in the case of a few parish register entries, transcriptions published by on-line genealogy sites. The author is aware that some other researchers have in some cases drawn different conclusions and have published information which is at variance from that shown in these web pages.