Guyana and Box: Links to the Browning and Pocock Families Jane Browning October 2020
The link between Box and Guyana started in 1799. This was the date of the first in a series of letters by Thomas White to his Olman relatives in Box, written while he was living in Guyana. The letters have been passed down in my family but their significance was not previously known.
My great grandfather, Thomas White came to Box probably by the 1830s. He was certainly here in 1848, as the Kelly’s Directory shows, although I believe it was much earlier as the 1839 Survey of Ditteridge by the Guardians of Chippenham Union shows land tenanted by John Olman crossed out and Thomas White inserted. The land John Olman occupied was Slades Farm and an area called Parsons Tining (possibly enclosed land belonging to the vicar which may be the Glebe land referred to in Francis Allen’s 1626 map). Thomas appears to have followed his aunt Susannah Olman (nee White) to Box to help at Slades Farm, which was owned by the Northey family, but which her husband, John Olman, was running. Thomas had been born about 1812 at Broomfield, near Taunton, in Somerset, where his father William, was farming at Stream Farm. William was Susannah’s brother. There were two other brothers, Henry and Thomas.
History of Guyana
Christopher Columbus was the first European to see the coast of Guyana in 1498 on his voyage funded by the Spanish government. Walter Raleigh travelled up-river in the country in search of gold in 1596 and wrote an account of his adventures entitled The Discovery of Guiana. He returned again in 1617 but his claim of abundant gold was not substantiated, only spawning the story of the imaginary El Dorado. Various British adventurers looked for gold or established short-lived plantations in the country in the seventeenth century but for two centuries the country was held as a Dutch colony which at times welcomed British settlers such as in 1746 when British plantation owners came into the Demerara region and became so numerous that they virtually took control of the area.
This changed in 1781 when Britain accused the Dutch of supporting the American rebellion and declared war on the Dutch Republic, referred to in Britain as the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War. As well as fighting the American forces in the War of Independence and those of Revolutionary France, Britain declared war on countries assisting them, including the Dutch Republic. It mostly consisted of attacks on Dutch colonial settlements, including the Battle of Dogger Bank (pictured), in an attempt to cut off supplies from reaching the American insurgents. The Dutch navy was in decline and was comprehensively beaten by a nascent Britain Royal Navy.
My great grandfather, Thomas White came to Box probably by the 1830s. He was certainly here in 1848, as the Kelly’s Directory shows, although I believe it was much earlier as the 1839 Survey of Ditteridge by the Guardians of Chippenham Union shows land tenanted by John Olman crossed out and Thomas White inserted. The land John Olman occupied was Slades Farm and an area called Parsons Tining (possibly enclosed land belonging to the vicar which may be the Glebe land referred to in Francis Allen’s 1626 map). Thomas appears to have followed his aunt Susannah Olman (nee White) to Box to help at Slades Farm, which was owned by the Northey family, but which her husband, John Olman, was running. Thomas had been born about 1812 at Broomfield, near Taunton, in Somerset, where his father William, was farming at Stream Farm. William was Susannah’s brother. There were two other brothers, Henry and Thomas.
History of Guyana
Christopher Columbus was the first European to see the coast of Guyana in 1498 on his voyage funded by the Spanish government. Walter Raleigh travelled up-river in the country in search of gold in 1596 and wrote an account of his adventures entitled The Discovery of Guiana. He returned again in 1617 but his claim of abundant gold was not substantiated, only spawning the story of the imaginary El Dorado. Various British adventurers looked for gold or established short-lived plantations in the country in the seventeenth century but for two centuries the country was held as a Dutch colony which at times welcomed British settlers such as in 1746 when British plantation owners came into the Demerara region and became so numerous that they virtually took control of the area.
This changed in 1781 when Britain accused the Dutch of supporting the American rebellion and declared war on the Dutch Republic, referred to in Britain as the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War. As well as fighting the American forces in the War of Independence and those of Revolutionary France, Britain declared war on countries assisting them, including the Dutch Republic. It mostly consisted of attacks on Dutch colonial settlements, including the Battle of Dogger Bank (pictured), in an attempt to cut off supplies from reaching the American insurgents. The Dutch navy was in decline and was comprehensively beaten by a nascent Britain Royal Navy.
Link with Guyana
Most of Thomas White’s letters were addressed to his sister Susannah in Overstowey, Somerset, where the family were then farming. I do not know why he was living in Guyana, but he kept in touch with the family, the news in the letters being mainly about the bad conditions in Guyana at the time and news of west country families that he gleaned whilst out there; there seems to have been a diaspora of west country men in Guyana at the time.
His letter of 1812 was written to Susanna at Slades farm. She had married John Olman in 1810 at Overstowey at which time John was said to have been of Box. In 1822 they were recorded at Slades Farm and by 1841 they were at Head Farm, (was this also Slades farm?) which was next to Box Mill on the census. Thomas, aged 20, was an overseer on the farm at that time. The 1812 letter gives insight into the communications between England and its overseas territories. The letter was sent via the ship Elizabeth Capes Landerick via London and an old friend John Gill who kept a public house, the Black Boy, at New Staines. The ship was going to turn around and sail back to Berbice, Guyana, and Susannah was tasked to send by return two or three good old cheeses via John Gill whose brother-in-law was chief mate on the ship.
A letter of 1817 mentions the hard times in Guyana a severe dry season in response to Susannah complaining of hard times back in Wiltshire. Thomas described his holding in Guyana as a nice little farm of a thousand Acres with upwards of a Hundred head of cattle on it, mentioning: An ox of 3 years old is worth about £25 to the Butcher. The last letter is dated 1822. I do not know the details of Thomas’ death. He was always mentioning his wish to visit the family in England, but I have no evidence that he did.
Life in Box and the Pocock family
The Pocock family and the wider Browning family interconnect twice. John Olman died in 1846 and by 1851 Susannah was living with her niece, Lucy Pocock (nee White), Thomas’ sister, at Whitley. Lucy had married Samuel Pocock, one of the large farming families in the area, in Bridgewater in 1841. I understand that in 1826 Lucy’s brother-in-law, Harry Pocock was farming at Sheylor’s farm, Ashley. By 1851 his brother Jacob Pocock was at the farm working 179 acres and employing 9 men. Jacob died in 1878.
Four of Jacob’s unmarried children, Frederick, Harry, Frances and Eliza continued farming there until at least 1881, having moved on by 1891. In 1891 Frederick and Frances were living at Box Mill. In 1892 Frances became George Browning’s second wife. This seems complicated, but Thomas White, with whom I started off this story, married Jane Tyley of Colerne and their daughter, Jane Elizabeth Tyley married Walter Browning. Walter was a nephew of George Browning.
Conclusion
Why did my ancestor Thomas White go to Guyana? He doesn’t appear to have been a military man although most sailors at that time were press-ganged into the British navy and some did jump ship when they reached dry land. What we do know is that Thomas was literate and ended up farming there. Probably he sought adventure and to make his fortune; possibly he believed the stories of gold in El Dorado. We do know that he was one of the Georgian founders of the British Empire with the positive and negative moral factors involved in that. He probably used slave labour to do the agricultural work as most of the sugar plantations in the country were based on African slaves.
He probably played a part in restoring stability after peace was restored by the 1783 peace treaties, the Treaty of Paris and the Treaties of Versailles. Britain had lost the war with America and control of Guyana was left with the Dutch Republic in return for peace with America, French and Dutch states. Relations between the British settlers and the Dutch government continued to be problematic, especially when the Dutch Republic sought to raise taxation on plantation owners holding more than 25 slaves. Proposals by the Dutch West Indies Company for the administration of the area weren’t agreed and the company’s charter was allowed to expire in 1792. The country was definitively allocated to Britain by the Congress of Vienna 1815.
Most of Thomas White’s letters were addressed to his sister Susannah in Overstowey, Somerset, where the family were then farming. I do not know why he was living in Guyana, but he kept in touch with the family, the news in the letters being mainly about the bad conditions in Guyana at the time and news of west country families that he gleaned whilst out there; there seems to have been a diaspora of west country men in Guyana at the time.
His letter of 1812 was written to Susanna at Slades farm. She had married John Olman in 1810 at Overstowey at which time John was said to have been of Box. In 1822 they were recorded at Slades Farm and by 1841 they were at Head Farm, (was this also Slades farm?) which was next to Box Mill on the census. Thomas, aged 20, was an overseer on the farm at that time. The 1812 letter gives insight into the communications between England and its overseas territories. The letter was sent via the ship Elizabeth Capes Landerick via London and an old friend John Gill who kept a public house, the Black Boy, at New Staines. The ship was going to turn around and sail back to Berbice, Guyana, and Susannah was tasked to send by return two or three good old cheeses via John Gill whose brother-in-law was chief mate on the ship.
A letter of 1817 mentions the hard times in Guyana a severe dry season in response to Susannah complaining of hard times back in Wiltshire. Thomas described his holding in Guyana as a nice little farm of a thousand Acres with upwards of a Hundred head of cattle on it, mentioning: An ox of 3 years old is worth about £25 to the Butcher. The last letter is dated 1822. I do not know the details of Thomas’ death. He was always mentioning his wish to visit the family in England, but I have no evidence that he did.
Life in Box and the Pocock family
The Pocock family and the wider Browning family interconnect twice. John Olman died in 1846 and by 1851 Susannah was living with her niece, Lucy Pocock (nee White), Thomas’ sister, at Whitley. Lucy had married Samuel Pocock, one of the large farming families in the area, in Bridgewater in 1841. I understand that in 1826 Lucy’s brother-in-law, Harry Pocock was farming at Sheylor’s farm, Ashley. By 1851 his brother Jacob Pocock was at the farm working 179 acres and employing 9 men. Jacob died in 1878.
Four of Jacob’s unmarried children, Frederick, Harry, Frances and Eliza continued farming there until at least 1881, having moved on by 1891. In 1891 Frederick and Frances were living at Box Mill. In 1892 Frances became George Browning’s second wife. This seems complicated, but Thomas White, with whom I started off this story, married Jane Tyley of Colerne and their daughter, Jane Elizabeth Tyley married Walter Browning. Walter was a nephew of George Browning.
Conclusion
Why did my ancestor Thomas White go to Guyana? He doesn’t appear to have been a military man although most sailors at that time were press-ganged into the British navy and some did jump ship when they reached dry land. What we do know is that Thomas was literate and ended up farming there. Probably he sought adventure and to make his fortune; possibly he believed the stories of gold in El Dorado. We do know that he was one of the Georgian founders of the British Empire with the positive and negative moral factors involved in that. He probably used slave labour to do the agricultural work as most of the sugar plantations in the country were based on African slaves.
He probably played a part in restoring stability after peace was restored by the 1783 peace treaties, the Treaty of Paris and the Treaties of Versailles. Britain had lost the war with America and control of Guyana was left with the Dutch Republic in return for peace with America, French and Dutch states. Relations between the British settlers and the Dutch government continued to be problematic, especially when the Dutch Republic sought to raise taxation on plantation owners holding more than 25 slaves. Proposals by the Dutch West Indies Company for the administration of the area weren’t agreed and the company’s charter was allowed to expire in 1792. The country was definitively allocated to Britain by the Congress of Vienna 1815.
Timeline
1808 Ann Olman (John’s first wife) died aged 35 and was buried at Ditcheridge
1810 John Olman married Susanna White at Overstowey
1812 William White was baptised
1812 John Olman assessed for poor relief £3.8s.9d
1839 Survey of Ditteridge by overseers of poor showed John Olman as occupying Parsons Tining, land, and Slades Farm owned by the Northey family. Total holding 75 acres, 3 rods, 1 perch, gross estimated rental £65.8s.8d, rateable value £62.3s.3d. John’s name was crossed out and Thomas White inserted.
1843 John Olman wrote his will and leaving the remaining 16 years on the lease of Slades to James White and Joseph Lawrence the elder. Susannah and Thomas to be left to farm the land, with the ability to buy if they wished.
1846 John Olman died aged 74
1860 Susannah Olman died aged 79
1808 Ann Olman (John’s first wife) died aged 35 and was buried at Ditcheridge
1810 John Olman married Susanna White at Overstowey
1812 William White was baptised
1812 John Olman assessed for poor relief £3.8s.9d
1839 Survey of Ditteridge by overseers of poor showed John Olman as occupying Parsons Tining, land, and Slades Farm owned by the Northey family. Total holding 75 acres, 3 rods, 1 perch, gross estimated rental £65.8s.8d, rateable value £62.3s.3d. John’s name was crossed out and Thomas White inserted.
1843 John Olman wrote his will and leaving the remaining 16 years on the lease of Slades to James White and Joseph Lawrence the elder. Susannah and Thomas to be left to farm the land, with the ability to buy if they wished.
1846 John Olman died aged 74
1860 Susannah Olman died aged 79