Researching James Baxter, Apprentice Haberdasher, of 18th Century London`

In an earlier blog I wrote about my ancestor George Baxter, who claimed his Freedom of the City of London by patrimony in 1807, through the Haberdashers’ Livery Company. I mentioned at the time his father, James Baxter was also a member of this Company.

James Baxter had married Elizabeth Dixon, by Banns on 29 July 1766, at St Augustine’s, Watling Street, London. They had a number of children, all of whom were baptised at St Faith’s-under St Paul’s. James Baxter died in 1802 and Elizabeth 1813.

It is important that I prepare before I go off looking for my James Baxter, as there are many James Baxter’s in London, and I do not want to go off on the wrong family, and claim ancestors that are not mine.

I knew from my research that there were three way to have Freedom of the City- by apprenticeship, patrimony and by purchase. I now needed to know more about the process, and what records there might be.

I found the London Metropolitan Archives had  very good information in their leaflet, No 14, ‘London, England, Freedom of the City Admission Papers, 1681-1925’, which gave me not only what I was looking for, but also listed the surviving records. These I could cross-check with those available on on-line subscription websites and published resources.

Another very good book I found was ‘My Ancestor was an Apprentice’, by Stuart A. Raymond, a publication of the Society of Genealogists, London.

Now, as I have worked and documented my family from the ‘known to the unknown’, I knew I would be looking for a ‘James Baxter’, who applied for the Freedom of the City of London, in a probable time period of one to ten years before his marriage, and it could be by patrimony, purchase or apprenticeship.

A search of the online subscription websites I found the following-

The Genealogist had transcriptions from Freeman and Burgess Books from various towns in England, and Findmypast had transcriptions from various occupational records.

Ancestry.com had two sets of records which I believed would be useful.- Freedom of the City Admission Papers 1681-1825 (Original records at London Metropolitan Arches) and Register of Duties Paid for Apprentices Indentures,1710-1811 (Original records at National Archives.)

I found several entries for ‘James Baxter’ on these websites, and listed all for further investigation.

On Ancestry.com , I found an apprenticeship record of a James Baxter, which was in the right time period, and other criteria, such as it was for a ‘haberdasher’ in London, led me to believe it needed further examination.

This scanned image of the original apprenticeship indenture at the London Metropolitan Archives, was for ‘James Baxter, son of James Baxter, late of Maidstone in the County of Kent, Threadman, deceased, dated 5 May 1758.’ He was apprenticed for seven years to Charles Wheatley, Citizen and Haberdasher of London. Calculating his age from his burial entry, James would have been born about 1740-41, and about seventeen years at the beginning of his apprenticeship. By the terms of this indenture he could not marry until completion of his apprenticeship. This would have been completed about 1765, and with his marriage the following year, fitted well.

This Indenture was clear, and a very good example of one at that time. However, it should be noted that it was important, that I not only print out a copy of the front of this document for further study, but also the reverse side.

This additional document scan is not indicated on the website, but can be found by using the → key to move onto the next document page. On the reverse side you will find the date of ‘duty’ paid for the indenture (1758), and the name of the warden of the Habberdashers’ Company, David De Lavan, who presented him on his application for Freedom of the Company (1764). This I was able to confirm from Company records.

It was also important that I researched the life of Charles Wheatley from his own apprenticeship, to his list of apprentices over the years. I could also confirm his place of residence from Tax records, which placed him in the area where James Baxter continued to live and work after his marriage. This helped to put James Baxter in the right time and place, and so confirmed I have the right family.

Note James Baxter’s family were from Maidstone, and through thorough research I found they had resided there for more than three generations.

On my recent visit to Maidstone I spent a very successful day at the Kent Archives and Library of Kentish Studies consulting the original Burghmote Minutes and Chamberlain Accounts for the town of Maidstone in the 17^th Century. I was able to find the details of two generations applying for the Freedom of the City. However, it should be noted the occupation of the family at this stage was ‘bricklayer’.

Our James Baxter’s uncles were apprenticed to their father, but James’s father was apprenticed to his mother’s side the family. Their claim to the Freedom of the City was by patrimony.

Having done extensive research on the Baxter families of Maidstone before I left on my trip, I was able to identify the streets they resided in, and the church they attended, so was able to take photographs of many medieval buildings, (above) and All Saints Church, (below) that would have been well known to our Baxter ancestors.

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More Research on our George and Mary Brayne Baxter Family in London

As promised I continue my research preparation for my trip to Britain.

I have mentioned in  former blogs I am preparing to visit Britain in a few weeks to attend a Family History Cruise with Unlockthepast on board the Marco Polo. Full details of this Conference Cruise can be found at www.unlockthepastcruises.com/‎

After the cruise I plan to spend a few days in London at various archives and libraries researching and getting copies of documents that have not been catalogued or scanned, in the hope of finding more information on some of our families..

I have stated in former blogs my maternal ancestor Thomas George Baxter b 1816 was transported to Sydney on board the Roxburgh Castle as a convict in 1832.

I have spent considerable time researching not only the life of Thomas George as a child, but also his parents, George and Mary Brayne Baxter, and their circumstances. Although Thomas George was termed an ‘errand boy’ on his convict indents, we do know that his father was a ‘bookbinder’, as it is recorded on Thomas George Baxter’s, death certificate, as well as his church baptism entry and those of his siblings.

In the London Directories of the early 19^th Century, George Baxter is listed as a ‘bookbinder’.

For many years a coloured print called ‘The York Mail Leaving”,has hung on my wall . It is a picture of a London Street, with a stage coach in the foreground. There in the middle of the picture is ‘Baxter Bookseller’” shop. I always wondered if it was connected to our Baxter family. Was it possible to find out.?

As a ‘bookbinder’ is an occupation of the ‘book trade’ one could assume that the father, George Baxter might belong to the the guild usually associated with the trade, which is the Stationer’s Guild.

A brief history of this Guild can be found at

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worshipful_Company_of_Stationers_and_Newspaper_Makers

The Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers (usually known as the Stationers’ Company) is one of the Livery Companiesof the City of London.

In 1403, the Corporation of London approved the formation of a Guild of Stationers. At this time, stationers were either text writers, lymners (illuminators), bookbinders or booksellers who worked at a fixed location (stationarius) beside the walls of St Paul’s Cathedral.” Booksellers sold manuscript books, and later printed copies thereof produced by their respective firms for retail..

“Printing gradually displaced manuscript production so that, by the time the Guild received a Royal Charter of Incorporation on 4 May 1557, it had in effect become a Printers’ Guild. In 1559, it became the 47th in City Livery Company precedence…..l. During the Tudor and Stuart periods, the Stationers were legally empowered to seize “offending books” that violated the standards of content set down by the Church and State…”.

“The Stationers’ Charter, which codified its monopoly on book production, ensured that once a member had asserted ownership of a text (or “copy”) no other member was entitled to publish it. This is the origin of the term “copyright”. Members asserted such ownership by entering it in the “entry book of copies” or the Stationers’ Company Register..

Stationers’ Hall is at Ave Maria Lane near St Paul’s Cathedral. The building and hall date from circa 1670. “

On the subscription websites of The Genealogist,  Findmypast  and Ancestry.com there are numerous indexes and documents associated with apprenticeships, Freedom of the City, taxes and rates of the City of London. There are many references to the Baxter surname, and several George and James, some of whom were in the time period of interest for our family. There were even some Baxter’s belonging to the Stationers Guild.

It was time to make a list of all those who could have a possible link, and investigate each one, until I believed that they had no connection. This step takes much time searching all available records.

One of those I investigated was Gilpin Baxter of Hertfordshire, who was apprenticed to William Tricketts a “Citizen and Stationer of London”in 1733. On the completion of his apprenticeship he became a member of the Stationer’s Guild and had the Freedom of the City to trade. He had bookshops in Cornhill, and Leadenhall Street. He also had a number of apprentices including- Richard Sheppard, 1761; Dan Forster, 1766; Benjamin Barons, 1773; John Clarke, 1777 and Samuel Gardener in 1781. Gilpin Baxter married Rachel North. Unfortunately he suffered a change of fortune and was declared bankrupt. He appears to have returned to the family seat in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire where he died in 1795.

By using clues in the my picture on the wall such as the Temple Bar, and businesses, which I traced through directories and tax records, I can confirm that the shop ‘Baxter Bookseller’, is that of ‘Gilpin Baxter’. However is he connected to our family?

In a former blog I wrote about how I was able to establish that George Baxter’s parents were James and Elizabeth Baxter (nee Dixon). This I was able to confirm from parish register’s of St Faiths, near St Paul’s Cathedral in London. Their address was Ivy Lane, off Paternoster Street. In his will written in 1796, James Baxter’s occupation was given as ‘claspmaker’, another connection to the book trade.

I now have a copy of Gilpin Baxter’s will, but there is no information, which would connect our family at St Faith’s. Nor in the apprenticeship records connected to Gilpin Baxter, were there any of his apprentices by the name of Baxter, Dixon or any surname known to be connected to our family.

I continued to research all persons on the my list, but found no connection to the Stationers’ Guild and our family.

It was time to look elsewhere. I went back to the Freedom of the City records on Ancestry.com where there was a ‘George Baxter’ who was granted the Freedom of the City with an approximate date of 1807-1808.

I have noted that in many on-line Baxter trees in Ancestry.com as well as other commercial sites this document appears to be attached to our family line, but no one has explained why they have attached this document. It appeared to me, it is just because it was there, and for no other reason.

I do not dispute that this record is connected to our family, but will now explain the research and how I know and can prove it is so. Note this is for the ‘Haberdashers’ Guild’ not for the ‘Stationers’ Guild.

I downloaded and printed out the scanned document referenced as from the London Metropolitian Archives. This document stated that ‘George Baxter, was son of James Baxter Citizen and Haberdasher of London, the claim was one of Patrimony, and he was presented by Warden Samuel Spence. There followed a list of signatures all of whom were Citizen’s and some Haberdashers. It was also notated with the address ‘Ivy Lane, Newgate Street and ‘Copy 1765- Born 1782.”

I found a similar document for “James Baxter, son of James Baxter “. I believe this James Baxter is the elder brother of our George Baxter. However I need to do more research on this document before I can claim it completely.

Another useful extract from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worshipful_Company_of_Haberdashers

“The Worshipful Company of Haberdashers is one of the senior Livery Companies of the City of London. The organisation, following on from the Mercers’ Company, another Livery Company connected with clothing and haberdashery, received a Royal Charter in 1448 and has records dating back to 1371

A haberdasher is a person who sells small articles for sewing, such as buttons, ribbons, zips and other notions such as pins and needles.

The Company ranks eighth in the order of precedence of Livery Companies; as such it is regarded as one of the “Great Twelve City Livery Companies”.

This Company has its own website at http://www.haberdashers.co.uk/. It has also commissioned two histories of the Company, by Ian Archer. I purchased the first of these called, ‘The History of The Haberdashers’ Company,” which was published in 1991. I found this publication invaluable for my research, particularly Appendix 1, which is a List of Masters and Wardens, 1582-1990. From this list I can confirm that Samuel Spence was a warden of the Haberdashers’ Guild in 1807.

Before we add this document to our family it is well to stop at this stage and ask ourselves have we followed the Golden Rule of Genealogy to confirm our research, that is moving from the known to the unknown.

We can confirm from other records including St Faith’s Baptism registers that James Baxter was born in 1770 and George Baxter 1782, as well that both were sons of James and Elizabeth Baxter (nee Dixon). The family’s address can be confirmed from burial and tax records. We know that the father James Baxter,deceased at this time, was a member of the Company because the claim is by ‘Patrimony. ‘Copy 1765’ refers to the father’s registration in the company registers.

I will explain more about James Baxter’s admission and membership of this Guild in a later blog.

Family members and others, please remember this research and blog are copyright to myself. If you wish to add this to your own family research either on-line or other forms of notes and publication please do the right thing and acknowledge my work.

I have been researching and writing for over forty years and have researched and written about many of my family lines, some back to the Middle Ages. I have always generously shared my research, but now find much of it has been ‘cut and pasted’ straight onto the ‘net’ under other peoples name.

Some of my published family book lineages have been keyed into large data bases and uploaded without one reference to where it came from. In this case it is not only my work that has been disregarded, but there is no acknowledgment of the many other family members and researchers who contributed to the publication, all of whom I named and acknowledged in the printed book.

Now all you ‘instant genealogists’ and new to family history research get into the spirit of the game, and acknowledge all those friends and family, who help you along this journey of discovering your ancestors. Remember Ancestry.com and other big sites can only point you in the right direction if someone has done the work and it has been put on their site, be it scanned documents or family trees. Or they have partnership arrangements with other archives, libraries and repositories to access their records. Do try to find out about the original depositor, author or owner of the records used. It takes many people and many records so that you can press a button and access ‘your family history’.

Please show you are at least a little grateful for this privilege.