Mystery newspaper article explaining Wilhelmina Milverton's past

 Mystery newspaper article explaining Wilhelmina Milverton's past

Sometimes mysteries within the branches of your family tree are solved by the most unlikely of sources.  The information contained within these sources comes in many different forms from newspapers to certificates. Recently a friend who had access to the British newspaper archives did a search for me and ended up with unexpected results. A court case had been turned up from 1861 Beaminster in Dorset. I wasn’t expecting such a court case, but it did provide some answers on a family member. The family member in question was Wilhelmina Milverton my 4^th great grandmother and the case was unexpected, which also involved her only son William Milverton.

The court case was something that would be unexpected as it was about false promises and deceit over a large period of time. The court case actually answered several questions about Wilhelmina that I had not known before. It explained why during that time period that she had not been married and the strangeness of the records in the birth of William. On the official record the father’s name had been removed in other words crossed out. It did raise more questions too. The court case in 1861 was about the promise to marriage under a special jury. The article is pure gold in regards to information about Wilhelmina’s family and the other person involved in the case, William Stickland a retired farmer.

The reason for the case had began 20 years beforehand, where there were intimate relations in 1846 that produced a child. There were promises of sending young William to school and there was the impression that the boy would be apprenticed to William the elder. There were promises of marriage and also excuses for not taking Wilhelmina as an honest woman. When others paid some attention to the young woman he would tell them she was promised to him with the intention to marry. During this time William was working at Axnoller Farm. In 1859, William signed a note explaining when the lease at Axnoller Farm expires he would take Wilhelmina as his wife. In 1861 he married a richer woman instead of Wilhelmina. The case did take another turn when Wilhelmina’s family were introduced and it was in 1840 or 1842 where William had met her parents at the tavern they owned called Swan Inn.

An interesting side not about Wilhelmina’s parents, John and Ann Milverton was they owned the Swan Inn in Beaminster until 1855 staying next door for around 2 years. Before they had married in 1817, John was a Master Blacksmith and worked at the King’s Arms Inn located in Cheddington. John did not ply his trade as Blacksmith while they owned the Swan Inn. This was a good little bit of information that I had not had before in the past.

The case did examine other family members about the relationship between the two and they all did say they were loving couple and had all been told William had intention to marry Wilhelmina. Notes according to the promises had been made that were supposedly been touched up as well were produced during the court case. The courtship had gone on for 16 years under the promise of marriage and was why the parents allowed it. At the end of the case the Jury could not really decide on an immediate verdict, but awarded the plaintiff damages of £150.

One day I will go back and have a closer look at the actual records instead of through a newspaper article that is if there are still records being held about this. It does provide a good insight into the time period and what can happen. It does provide information as to how trusting people can be to a simple promise. Wilhelmina did pass away in 1878 and William the younger did eventually move to New Zealand after he had married. On the marriage certificate it did state the name of the father and occupation was that of a farmer. I don’t know if this would have been a cloud over William’s head and if he was in contact at all. But it does make one of those very interesting stories that do crop up in research and can be unexpected.

Source:

 Taunton Courier, and Western Advertiser - Wednesday 31 July 1861