Vital Statistics
John Pinsent: 1799 – 1870 GRO1041 (Tallow Chandler in London and Confectioner in New York)
Mary Ann Todd: 1799 – 1874
Married: 1821: London
Children by Mary Ann Todd:
Elizabeth Pinsent: 1822 – 1896
Thomas Pinsent: 1823 – 1825
William Pinsent: 1825 – xxxx (Confectioner, New York, U.S.A.; Married 1) Clara E. T. Unknown and 2) Louisa Unknown)
John Pinsent: 1826 – 1914 (Confectioner, New York; Married Sophia Jane Fisher)
Family Branch: Devonport
PinsentID: GRO1041
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John Pinsent was the eldest son of Thomas Pinsent by Elizabeth Pridham, his second wife. He was born in Newton Abbot and was just one year old when his grandfather, Mr. John Pinsent, a wealthy “soap boiler” from Moretonhampstead and the unquestioned patriarch of the Pinsent family died in October 1800.
Thomas and his father had unresolved issues – possibly because the former had had an illegitimate daughter Maria Pinsent (John’s elder sister) before he married John’s mother. Mr. John Pinsent was a committed Baptist and this could well have offended his sensibilities. At any rate, when he prepared his will, Mr. John by-passed his younger son (John’s father, Thomas) and left the bulk of his not-inconsiderable fortune to his eldest living grandson, Thomas Pinsent, who was John’s older half-brother. Little John was, however, legitimate, and his grandfather saw fit to leave him “sixty guineas in gold” – should he come off age. Not every child did in those days. John’s three younger brothers had yet to be born and they, of course, got nothing! By by-passing his son, Mr. John ensured that the bulk of his estate went to Thomas’s first family. The second was effectively cut out.
Thomas Pinsent was a “tallow chandler” (“salesman”) in Newton Abbot when his father died and left his “soap” and “tallow” boiling business to (Thomas’s elder brother) John Pinsent. He ran it for a few years but died in 1804. Thomas seems to have had no interest in taking over the business when his brother died and it was sold to an erstwhile apprentice. Thomas; however, gave up his own sales outlet and moved to “Greenhill” farm, in Kingsteignton with his second wife, Elizabeth (née Pridham). The farm, had been in the family since 1780 or earlier. How it came into the family, I am not sure but Thomas may have acquired it from his brother, Mr. John Pinsent, when he died in 1804. Thomas’s own, legitimate son, Thomas Pinsent “junior” was just starting to build up a “drapery” business in Devonport so he was probably quite happy to let his father have the run of it if it had come to him. When his father died, Thomas Pinsent “junior” returned to Kingsteignton and took over the family farm.
John Pinsent grew up at “Greenhill” farm with his sister Maria and his younger brothers William Pinsent, Charles Pinsent and George Pinsent as they came on the scene. Their mother, Elizabeth, died in 1821 and Thomas was left with a relatively young family to look after. It is not clear how they were brought up, but it must have been obvious to them that there would be no place for them in Newton Abbot when their half-brother reclaimed his inheritance. For whatever reason, John and his siblings all left the county.
Maria Pinsent married Roger Yeo in 1814 and went out to Australia. With the help of their father, meanwhile, her brother John, set up in business as a “wax and tallow chandler” in Ratcliffe Terrace, on the Goswell Road in London (London Directories). He inherited the “sixty guineas in gold” left him by his grandfather in October 1821 and married a girl called Mary Ann Todd shortly thereafter. She was from Barningham, in Yorkshire (now County Durham), and her brother was a “cheese-monger” who also worked in London. John and Mary Ann had a daughter, Elizabeth Pinsent in 1822, and then three sons, Thomas Pinsent, William Pinsent and John Pinsent in 1823, 1825 and 1826 respectively. Their first-born son died in 1825, but the others survived. It must have been a busy household: “Mr. Pinsent (“Tallow Chandler”) corner of Powell Street West and Goswell Street Road” advertised for a, “active young woman” as a “nursemaid” to look after his young family in 1827 (London Times: 11th June 1827) and for “cook” for the household in 1829 (London Times: 3rd February 1829).
John’s brother-in-law, William Todd, was, as previously noted, a “cheese-monger” and John’s brother Charles Pinsent (coincidentally or otherwise) took up the trade when he, too, arrived in London. Charles married Mary Fullick in Hanover Square in 1833. John’s youngest brother, George Pinsent, also came up to London where he became a “tailor.” George married Elizabeth Leatt – although I am not sure when or where. Their other brother, William Pinsent seems to have taken to the sea as he was a “mariner” when he married Margaret Sayle in Liverpool in 1835.
John and Mary Ann sold up and sailed for America in 1832. They arrived in New York on the “S.S. Wellington” on 26th September. On their arrival, John told the immigration officials he was a “soap boiler” who planned to settle in the United States (New York Passenger Lists: 1820-1957: Ancestry.com). He almost immediately applied for U.S. Citizenship. Interestingly, the couple took their seven-year old son William with them but left their ten-year old daughter Elizabeth and their six-year old son John behind! Perhaps this was because of their schooling. The children were left in the care of their uncle William Todd, the London “cheese-monger” whose true home was in Barningham.
Mary Ann (née Todd) brought her son William Pinsent back to England for a visit in 1836 and we find them returning to New York on the “S.S. Montreal” on 3rd January the following year. When the 1841 Census was taken a few years later, John Pinsent “junior” was a pupil ensconced at a school in Gainford, a village in County Durham. He would have been fifteen years old at the time so he may have stayed on in England to continue with his education; however, it begs the question as to why his brother, who was only a year older, was educated in America. Ships’ manifests show that Mary Ann Pinsent returned to England periodically to visit her family in London and Yorkshire, and to check up on her children. John Pinsent “junior” eventually rejoined his parents in New York and took out U.S. Citizenship in 1845. His sister Elizabeth, meanwhile, stayed on in England. I do not know why. She never married so marriage was not the reason.
In 1842, John Pinsent “senior” was caught up in the murder trial of James Low, a man accused of killing a farmer, Isaac Winans, at Rathay, near New York. Low deposed in Court that he had planned to buy a farm near Elizabethtown from Dr. Geo Chetwood and that he had gone there with“Pensant” to discuss terms. He said he hoped “Pensant” would “get the money to buy the farm.” What he meant by that I am not sure! The Doctor asked for $3,600 but as “Pensant” though that was excessive they parted company. Low later met Isaac Winans, a man whose farm was for sale, and he told a Mrs. Howarth at the place were he lodged that he and “Pensant” had “partly engaged to buy Isaac Winan’s place.”
A few days later, Low was seen hanging around Mr. Winan’s farm with his dog and a double barrelled shot gun – ostensibly looking for woodcock. No immediate suspicions were raised when shots were heard – as Low had told people that Winans had gone to New York to arrange for the transfer of the property. Nevertheless, when Mr. Winan’s body was found buried and his money belt was gone, and Low claimed ownership of the property, he became the principal suspect. The evidence suggested premeditation, so the jury brought in a verdict of “Guilty of Murder in the First Degree” (Pennsylvania Inquirer and National Gazette: 1st July 1842.)
When called to testify, John Pinsent “senior” said that he had been employed as a “customs house and shipping clerk” for the firm of “John B. Morewood & Co.” of 52 South Street in New York for the last four years. He had lived in New York for ten years and had two sons, the elder of the two (William) was a “clerk” aged 16 years and living with him in New York. The younger (John) was aged 14 years and lived in London. John said he was “secretary” of the “Odd Fellows” and had known Low about three and a half years; however, he had never discussed buying a farm with him and had never met him at Elizabethtown. Doctor Chetwood deposed that “Low asked him the price of my farm, and I said $4,000 but would take $3,800; never knew Pinsent till I was introduced to him on the first day of the trial” (New York Spectator: Saturday 23rd July 1842). It did not look good for Mr. Low.
American Census records show that John Pinsent “senior” switched from clerical work to making “soap” (if he ever did that) sometime in the 1840s and thereafter promptly changed to making “sweets”. He opened a confectionery at #350 Bowery but suffered an early setback when the jewelry store next door – at #352 – caught fire on 13th March 1848. The fire spread, and John lost his upper floor and roof to the flames. He also lost his stock-on-hand to water damage (New York Herald: 14th March 1848).
John was to be found living in the 15th Ward in New York with his wife, his son John Pinsent “junior” and three young servants when the census was taken in 1850. He was to become a well-known “confectioner”. The family’s shop at 350 ½ Bowery was at least memorable. Looking back at his childhood, the American novelist Henry James waxes lyrical about the treats available to a small boy of around ten years old: “Pynsent’s was higher up in the row in which Forest’s had its front – other and dearer names have dropped from me, but Pynsent’s adheres with all the force of the strong saccharine principle. His principle, at its highest, we conceived, was embodied in small amber-coloured mounds of chopped cocoanut or whatever other substance, if a finer there be; profusely lusciously endued and distributed on small tin trays in the manner of haycocks in a field. We acquired, we appropriated we transported, we enjoyed them, they fairly formed perhaps, after all, our highest enjoyment; but with consequences to our pockets – and I speak of those other than financial, with an intimacy; a reciprocity of contact, at any or at every personal point, that I lose myself in the thought of” (A Small Boy and Others: Henry James: University of Virginia Press 2011). He may have got the spelling wrong, but who can question his choice of treat? The fire was doubtless a blow to all the little boys in the neighbourhood.
At the time of the next, 1855, New York Census, John and Mary were living in a brick house in the 15th Ward. It was valued at $15,000, which was a considerable sum back then. Both of their sons had moved out but they lived with a servant and two “apprentice confectioners”, so John was clearly still active in the business.
In June 1855, John was elected “Manager” of the “Odd Fellows” (a fraternal charitable organization) so he must have been a merchant of some standing in the community. John and his wife returned to England in 1859. Presumable they came back to visit Mary Ann (née Todd’s) relations and their own daughter Elizabeth, who was still lived with them. They returned to New York on the “S.S. City of Baltimore”, which arrived arriving on 29th September. Interestingly, they traveled “main steerage class” not “saloon” – despite their financial success in America, John was still a frugal businessman! By then, both of his sons were married and they were starting to take over the “confectionary” business. New York City’s Directory for 1857 shows that John Pinsent “junior” was a “confectioner” living at #350 ½ Bowery, and John Pinsent (presumably “senior”) and William Pinsent were “confectioners” who lived at #217 Sixth Avenue, New York. As an interesting sideline, an item in the New York Daily Times (23rd May 1854) tells us that the Sixth Avenue site was also an agency for the sale of lottery tickets and cigars!
The Inland Revenue Service charged John for a license to trade at #370 Bowery, New York. A Class B. 56 License cost him $6.67 in 1863, but it had gone up to $10 by following year (IRS Tax Assessment Lists 1862 – 1918: Division 3, Collection District 6 Annual Lists 1862 – 1864).
John Pinsent and Mary Ann were living with William and his family when the Federal census was taken in June 1870. By then, William and John “junior” had pretty well taken over the running of the business. Their father, died a couple of months later (31st August) and John’s friends and relatives were invited to attend his funeral at the Church of the Memorial, on the Corner of Hammond Street and Waverley Pace on the following Sunday. The Members of “Warren Lodge” of the “Odd Fellows” met to pay their last respects to P. G. John Pincent, on the morning of the internment (New York Herald: 3rd September 1870).
John’s widow, Mary Ann, seems to have returned to England and spent her last few years living with her daughter Elizabeth and her Todd relations in Barningham. She died on 13th December 1874 and is buried in the village churchyard. Her gravestone reads: “Sacred to the memory of Mary, widow of John Pinsent of New York, & daughter of William & Isabella Todd, who died 13th December 1874, aged 75″.
As far as I am aware, Mary Ann’s daughter Elizabeth never went out to New York. She seems to have gone to live with her uncle William Todd, a “cheese monger,” as a young girl, and census records show that she stayed with him and other members of the Todd family throughout her life. However, for some reason, she was never formally recognized as being William’s niece. The census records show that she was a “visitor” in 1851, a “house-keeper” in 1861 and an “annuitant” in 1871 and 1881. Presumably her father had made financial arrangement for her in his will before he died.
Elizabeth travelled to Lagos on the west coast of Africa with the “Misses Todd” in 1890. Why, I have no idea. She was sixty-eight years old at the time. Meanwhile, while back in Barningham, she took part in local events and fundraisers with the Todd family. For instance, she helped out with a “Barningham Institute” sale in August 1869 (Teesdale Mercury: Wednesday 11th August 1869).
According to the Teesdale Mercury (14th April 1875), Elizabeth left Barningham in 1875. She sold off a substantial amount of “new and valuable” household goods that year and moved to Montablo Terrace, in Barnard Castle, in Durham. This was a poorly lit part of town and she signed on to a letter of petition to the local Health Board complaining that, as rate payers, they deserved the same level of service as other parts of town (Teesdale Mercury: 9th October 1878). It agreed. Meanwhile, in the 1880s, “Miss Pinsent” (Elizabeth), spent parts of several summers by the sea, in and around Redcar. Presumably the light was better there (Redcar and Saltburn-by-the Sea: Friday August 27th 1880)!
Elizabeth died in Barnard Castle in July 1896 was buried close to her mother in Barningham churchyard. There is an imposing pedestal to her memory inscribed “Erected in ever loving memory of Elizabeth Pinsent who died at Barnard Castle on 3rd July 1896, aged 74 yrs (4 line verse)“. The monument was, I imagine, erected by one of the Todds.
Family Tree
Grandparents
Grandfather: John Pinsent: 1723 – 1800
Grandmother: Elizabeth Puddicombe: 1719 – 1795
Parents
Father: Thomas Pinsent: 1754 – 1841
Mother: Elizabeth Pridham: 1763 – 1821
Father’s Siblings (Aunts, Uncles)
Elizabeth Pinsent: 1743 – xxxx
John Pinsent: 1745 – 1804
Mary Pinsent: 1748 – 1749
Mary Pinsent: 1751 – 1773
Thomas Pinsent: 1754 – 1841
Sarah Pinsent: 1759 – 1782
Male Siblings (Brothers)
Thomas Pinsent: 1779 – 1779
Thomas Pinsent: 1782 – 1872
John Pinsent: 1799 – 1870
William Pinsent: 1808 – xxxx
Charles Pinsent: 1812 – 1863
George Pinsent: 1814 – 1894
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