Thomas Phillips MARGRETT
Ancestral line as currently established: Thomas 1815, John 1771, Thomas 1732, Thomas 1711, ?....................Family Tree number 11
Born: 1815 in Rudgeway, Gloucestershire, England
Fifth of five children of -
Father: John Margrett, born abt 1771
Mother: Elizabeth Vernon
Thomas Married: 1849 in Cheltenham
Spouse: Peninnah (surname yet to be discovered)
Children: John, 1850
Elizabeth, 1852
Mary Ann, 1854
Sarah Jane, 1855
Thomas James, 1859
Died: 19APR1898, in Winchcombe, Gloucestershire, England
Farming is an occupation that can grant the possession of great wealth, but can also cause one to live a very frugal and hard life. A farmer can be in possession of a large capital value in the land and buildings but have little income in times of hardship. Alternatively, a profitable tenant farmer might own very little but have a comfortable life because of productive land or climate. But the mere fact that Thomas was aged 34 by the time he could marry, suggests a tough life.
Thomas Phillips Margrett's father worked 50 acres in the hamlet of Greet, just north of Winchcombe in Gloucestershire. Whilst we know nothing of his farming affluence, we can see him in the 1851 census, aged 80 like his wife. He was born 12 miles away in Deerhurst, south of Tewksbury but during his lifetime had come to Winchcombe to farm.
Obviously the farming in 1851 was done by Thomas who was then aged 32 and married to Peninnah, 29. The married couple and Thomas' unmarried younger sister are all living in the one household. Of uncertain date, a Tenements Map of Greet and Sudeley has three plots of land marked with John's name. It shows "Outside Ground" as 5 acres 2 roods, "Slingate" as only 1 rood, and "Bushey Ground" as having 6 acres 2 roods. Since these total just over 11 acres, he must have other fields in use in the locality of Greet and Winchcombe to be described in the 1851 census as having 50 acres.
By the time of the 1861 census, Thomas is described as the Head of the family, and it must be that both his father and mother have died. But the census says two interesting things. Their address is now "Gretton Road, Sudeley Tenaments, Winchcombe" which links with the map mentioned above. And the other thing of great encouragement is that Thomas is described as a farmer of 90 acres. Therefore his management of the farming after taking over from his father has increased the land he is working by 80%. After ten years they now have four children, the oldest of whom is John aged 11, and the youngest (at home on census day) is Sarah age 5. The fifth child, Thomas James had died before his first birthday.
In 1873 the eldest daughter of Thomas aged 21 got married to Robert John Duckworth, leaving her two younger sisters and elder brother living on the farm with their parents.
We have not yet traced the family in 1871, but in 1881 Thomas is now aged 66 and only farming 53 acres, but employing two local men and one boy in the process. His eldest child, John, is yet unmarried at the age of 30 and likewise his youngest child, daughter Sarah aged 24.
Then on Thursday 13th October 1887 his son, John, now aged 37 gets married to Frances Reeks at Sudeley Parish Church. His bride is also of the parish, the daughter of William Reeks the local plumber and she at the age of 31 has not been married before. At least, this family business looks safe for the future, and in 1891 we see son John living nearby with his wife and two children. (What we have of his story is on his page).
But in 1892, at the age of 42, John son of Thomas is killed in an accident. For both Peninnah and Thomas, both in their 70's, to suddenly see their only son taken from them must have been heart-breaking.
In a few years and on 19 April 1898 at Gretton Road, Winchcombe, Thomas dies leaving Peninnah aged just under 80 which means that she is with a farm she can't run. His executors are Mary Ann and Sarah Jane and they prove his estate at £321 (worth about £32,400 in 2012)
None of the life of Thomas Phillips appears to have been published previously before the above record was created.
None of the Margrett Magazines from 1986 to 2012 included any of his experiences and therefore those experiences were not previously recorded in the public domain through the magazines deposited at the British Library under the I.S.S.N. 0269-0284 in those years.