Esau Venn the Farmer: 1841 - 1924

Esau Venn - the third Esau Venn in our tree - was born on 21 November 1841, the eldest child of William and Elizabeth Venn, who were living in Bishops Lydeard. He was born shortly after their first wedding anniversary and a week after William's 22nd birthday.

Three weeks later, on 11 December 1841, Esau was baptised at St. Mary's, Bishops Lydeard. In both the record of this and on his birth certificate, William is listed as a miller. However, we do not (yet) know exactly where in the parish they were living.

Esau spent most of his childhood at Middle Tarr, Lydeard St. Lawrence, which his father farmed from about 1844. He had two younger sisters and six younger brothers. On the 1861 census he is listed as working on the farm, aged 19.

St Mary's Church, Bishops Lydeard

© Copyright Martin Bodman and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/56106,

On 22 August 1864, Esau, aged 22, married Jane Langdon at the Holy Trinity Church, Taunton. Jane was the eldest of the children of James and Ann Langdon who farmed Milltown at Clatworthy, about five miles away from Tarr.

It is not known why Jane and Esau chose to marry in Taunton. Esau's parents had also married in Taunton inexplicably, but at a different church; Holy Trinity was only consecrated in 1842 and was not in the best part of town. The witnesses to the wedding were George and Louisa Amery. George was a first cousin to Esau, about three years older; Louisa was his wife.

Holy Trinity Church, Taunton

© Copyright Nick Chipchase and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1301506

Esau and Jane returned to Lydeard St. Lawrence after their marriage. Esau witnessed the marriage of Sarah Jane, his sister, at Lydeard St. Lawrence Church 13 days after his own wedding. His eldest daughter, Mary was baptised there nine months later.

Eighteen months after that, the second daughter of Esau and Jane, Lydia, was baptised at Brompton Ralph. At this time, Esau and Jane are listed as living at Pitsford Hill. This is a hamlet within a mile of Tarr, along the road towards Clatworthy.

Sometime between 1866 and 1871, Esau and Jane moved to Beer Hill Farm in Churchstanton on the Blackdown Hills. Sarah Jane and her husband, James Addicott, also were there, farming Luddery Hill, the farm next door. However, in 1871 James and Sarah Jane emigrated to the US. As yet, Esau has not been found on the 1871 census, I believe he was accompanying his sister and family on the first part of their journey into the great unknown.

Brompton Ralph:Pitsford Hill from the south-west

© Copyright Martin Bodman and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/132921

Esau and Jane remained at Beer Hill for approximately 30 years. In that time they raised their ten children, six girls and four boys. It is believed that there was an eleventh child who died young at some point but no record has yet to be found.

Not much is known of their life at Beer Hill. It is quite a remote part of the country. However, it falls right in the area of the Blackdown Mission, which was lead by Esau's brother, Ephraim. This must have brought them some local notoriety. One imagines that they were also meeting house attendees themselves - certainly at least several of Esau's children continued with Brethren and/or Baptist attendance in their adult lives. The nearest Mission meeting house seems to have been in either Bolham Water or at Stapley. Both were relatively close although both involved a climb.

Meanwhile, nearly all of Jane's family, including her parents, and four of Esau's siblings emigrated to the US, originally all to Ohio. There is evidence that the families on the two sides of the Atlantic kept in contact, indeed that two of Esau's daughters travelled to the US on a visit at the beginning of the 1900s.

Rainbow Lane, Churchstanton. This track divides Beer Hill Farm from Luddery Hill farm

http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/173487

On the 1901 census, Esau, Jane and some of their unmarried children were living at Ford Farm, Churchinford. Churchinford is still part of the parish of Churchstanton, if a little more nuclear than Churchstanton itself. Later, Mary Ann, their eldest daughter, seems to have continued farming Ford Farm with her husband, Jesse Banks.

It is a little confused exactly where Esau and Jane lived after 1901. Certainly they were also farming Lower Comeytrowe Farm just outside Taunton in this same decade, they appear there on the 1911 census. And it is also given as their address when they sign an affadavit in 1901, explaining why they did not register the birth of their son, Job in 1867 (because he was "a sickly child" and thought unlikely to survive - this may explain some why we can not locate the missing child). However, in 1904, one of Esau's employees was successfully prosecuted for stealing rabbits from the traps used by the man employed to catch the rabbits on Esau's land. Esau stood in his employee's defence in the court, to no avail. At this time, Esau is said to live at Churchstanton. Probably he owned both farms during this period.

Churchinford village "centre". The road to Ford Farm is the one passing the left side of the pub

http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/206368

On the 17 November 1923, Jane died, aged 78. By this time, she and Esau were living in Greenway Road, Taunton. The following September, Esau made a new will, dividing everything equally between his living children. He then died himself on 12 December 1924, at a nursing home in Taunton and was buried the following Thursday at West Buckland. There is no marked grave in the churchyard; however, I am not sure whether he was buried in the churchyard or in a chapel burial ground.

We know surprisingly little about Esau the man and, despite the number of photographs we have of the period, I can not find one that is definitely him. Anything that can be added to the portrait of this man would be very much appreciated.

Hymn Sheet from the funeral of Esau Venn