What can you learn from a grave monumental inscription?
I recently took a walk around Oxenton, GLS churchyard. I hadn't visited this tiny village with its handful of houses to visit the church - I had gone to photograph one of the properties but on arrival I didn't feel that this was appropriate in a society that values it's privacy. Whilst strolling around the outside of the church building I came across a chest tomb to William Tyler Chandler, so duly photographed it as you can see below. Back home I wondered just how much could I find out about William Tyler Chandler and his family, from the internet with just the information from the monumental inscription engraved by the mason.
From the inscription we can ascertain that he was
1786: William Tyler born 10 August 1786 to parents Samuel & ELizabeth [nee Roberts] who also had John 1788 and Samuel 1794. [IGI and online transcript]
1798: Samuel Chandler owned property, occupied the same, and was assessed for land tax value £1 12s [Ancestry.co.uk]
1803: Samuel Chandler, master baker and maltster paid duty on an apprentice, who was his son William. [Ancestry.co.uk]
1805: Samuel left will [ref 1805/119 Gloucestershire Archives] his occupation being a baker [Gloucestershire Archives Genealogical database]
1808: William married Hannah Attwood at Teddington, WOR on 28 July [IGI]
1811: William owned a house and land his own occupation therefore entitled as a freeholder to vote [which was cast in favour of Dutton] [Ancestry.co.uk]
1834: On 6 December William Chandler was buried aged 25, eldest son of William and Hannah - see second photograph above.
1835 elected to the Board of Guardians for the Tewkesbury Union, representing Oxenton. [British Newspaper Archives]
1839: William Tyler Chandler buried on 18 February 1839 age 52. He left a will [ref 1839/130 Gloucestershire Archives] occupation farmer. [Gloucestershire Archives Genealogical database]
Post his death the family continues in Oxenton as we see in the 1841 census
Hanna Chandler age 60 Miller, born out of GLS
Richard 20 independent born GLS
John 20
Ann 15
Neighbour 14
William 5
Elizabeth 10
separate household within the same building:
Eliza Roberts 25 ind
Thomas 3
1847
William Tyler Chandler buried 2 September age 11 [grandson of William and Hannah]
1851 Teddington, WOR hamlet in parish of Overbury
Hannah 69 farmer employing men, born Teddington, WOR
Thomas --wood, brother 76 yeoman
Thomas Roberts, gson, 13 scholar
3 servants living in
next property is
John Chandler 32 farmers bailiff, born Oxenton
married with 3 ch, 1 serv
1852
9 January William buried age 2
1861
Neighbour 34 married living in Cleeve, farmer with 3 children
1863: Hannah buried 28 March age 82
1873: Richard Chandler owned 4 acres 3 6 rental valued at £34 15s [Survey of Owners of more than 1 acre of Land]
With a trip to the local archives it is of course possible to add much much more detail to this family group. I suspect that in this case the wills would give a large amount of information, after all it would appear that there was plenty of property to leave. As an important member of local society he may well have been a church warden or overseer and there may be documents in the Oxenton 'parish chest' ledgers. The parish registers themselves may give more information than is actually on the indexes used to compile the above. The Tewkesbury Board of Guardians minutes may mention him although he was only on the committee for a very short time before he died - would there be a brief acknowledgement/potted biography of him in the minutes following his death. Maybe I will find a few minutes or so on my next archives visit to see what I can add, just to show what is available out there.
From the inscription we can ascertain that he was
- of Oxenton
- a yeoman
- had a wife, Hannah
- and died in 1839 aged 52
1786: William Tyler born 10 August 1786 to parents Samuel & ELizabeth [nee Roberts] who also had John 1788 and Samuel 1794. [IGI and online transcript]
1798: Samuel Chandler owned property, occupied the same, and was assessed for land tax value £1 12s [Ancestry.co.uk]
1803: Samuel Chandler, master baker and maltster paid duty on an apprentice, who was his son William. [Ancestry.co.uk]
1805: Samuel left will [ref 1805/119 Gloucestershire Archives] his occupation being a baker [Gloucestershire Archives Genealogical database]
1808: William married Hannah Attwood at Teddington, WOR on 28 July [IGI]
1811: William owned a house and land his own occupation therefore entitled as a freeholder to vote [which was cast in favour of Dutton] [Ancestry.co.uk]
1834: On 6 December William Chandler was buried aged 25, eldest son of William and Hannah - see second photograph above.
1835 elected to the Board of Guardians for the Tewkesbury Union, representing Oxenton. [British Newspaper Archives]
1839: William Tyler Chandler buried on 18 February 1839 age 52. He left a will [ref 1839/130 Gloucestershire Archives] occupation farmer. [Gloucestershire Archives Genealogical database]
Post his death the family continues in Oxenton as we see in the 1841 census
Hanna Chandler age 60 Miller, born out of GLS
Richard 20 independent born GLS
John 20
Ann 15
Neighbour 14
William 5
Elizabeth 10
separate household within the same building:
Eliza Roberts 25 ind
Thomas 3
1847
William Tyler Chandler buried 2 September age 11 [grandson of William and Hannah]
1851 Teddington, WOR hamlet in parish of Overbury
Hannah 69 farmer employing men, born Teddington, WOR
Thomas --wood, brother 76 yeoman
Thomas Roberts, gson, 13 scholar
3 servants living in
next property is
John Chandler 32 farmers bailiff, born Oxenton
married with 3 ch, 1 serv
1852
9 January William buried age 2
1861
Neighbour 34 married living in Cleeve, farmer with 3 children
1863: Hannah buried 28 March age 82
1873: Richard Chandler owned 4 acres 3 6 rental valued at £34 15s [Survey of Owners of more than 1 acre of Land]
With a trip to the local archives it is of course possible to add much much more detail to this family group. I suspect that in this case the wills would give a large amount of information, after all it would appear that there was plenty of property to leave. As an important member of local society he may well have been a church warden or overseer and there may be documents in the Oxenton 'parish chest' ledgers. The parish registers themselves may give more information than is actually on the indexes used to compile the above. The Tewkesbury Board of Guardians minutes may mention him although he was only on the committee for a very short time before he died - would there be a brief acknowledgement/potted biography of him in the minutes following his death. Maybe I will find a few minutes or so on my next archives visit to see what I can add, just to show what is available out there.
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