The Farmer Family

English: occupational name from Middle English, Old French ferm(i)er (Late Latin firmarius). The term denoted in the first instance a tax farmer, one who undertook the collection of taxes, revenues, and imposts, paying a fixed (Latin firmus) sum for the proceeds, and only secondarily someone who rented land for the purpose of cultivation; it was not applied to an owner of cultivated land before the 17th century.

Farmery means a worker in or dweller by the infirmary. The infirmary would originally have been part of a monastery.

I will start the Farmer family with Robert Farmery, up until a few weeks ago I thought my name was Farmer, but I have just found out the family name should be Farmery. Robert was born in Tickhill nr Doncaster in 1700 and died at Tickhill in 1759, he was a cooper.  In 1722 he married, I am not sure if this is correct I have got to check it out but I think he married a Misericordia Brewerton. They had 4 children, Robert born 27 Feb 1726, Charles b 10 Dec 1729 and his twin brother Thomas, then another Thomas born 1732.

Robert's son Robert married Ann Lockwood 23rd Jan 1749, Ann was daughter of Joseph Lockwood a paper maker. Robert and Ann had five children, Mary b 19th April 1753 in Tickhill also Thomas b 1754, Ann b 1756 and John/Joseph 1764, Sarah b 1772.

Joseph married Ann Sharp on 21st May 1789in Tickhill, they had 9 children, George b 1790, Susannah b 1793, John b 1798, Robert b 1800, Sarah b 1803, Ann b 1805, Martha b 1808 and finally Ruth b 1812.

Robert was a collier and he married Hannah Battison on 8 th Nov 1824 at Wath. They had 8 children, Joseph born at West Melton in 1825 and buried 4th Jan 1827 at Wath, Henry b 1827, John b 6th Sept 1829, Thomas b 1832, Jane b 1834, William b 1836, Moses b 1838 at Wentworth, he emigrated to America in 1864 and died on the 3rd April 1896 at Lawrence Stark, Ohio, he was killed by a runaway railway wagon. There last son was called Aaron b 7th June 1841 at Elsecar. In 1880 he emigrated to Pennsylvania with his son Robert and family. Robert and Hannah (Battison) died within 2 weeks of each other. Robert died aged 41 on December 1841 at Reform Row Elsecar of Thyphus fever and was buried 26Dec 1841 at Wath, Hannah died aged 36 on 12 Jan 1842 of decline and was buried 14th Jan at Wath. Henry my GrGrGr Grandad was the informant on both death certificates aged only 13 years old.

Henry married Ann Goodison in 1846 and they had 7 children Mary, Joseph, Ellis, Sam, Tom, Robert and Elizabeth

Ellis was a coal miner, and was born in 1853, at Wath nr Barnsley in Yorkshire. He married Emily Beach 16th November 1872 at Brampton Bierlow. They had a son Thomas, a son William also a coal miner and Moses and a daughter Rose Emma. Ellis remarried in December 1893  to Mary Fletcher after Emily had died. At the age of 48 Ellis was a coal miner hewer below ground, and his son Moses was a waggon shunter at the pit top aged 23. At the time of the 1901 census they had had a son called Ellis. Thomas was a boarder at the home of William H Poppleton his wife Elizabeth and son Willie. William Poppleton's wife Elizabeth was Gertrudes sister. William was a coke oven filler and Thomas was a Engine driver in the coal mine. He was living at 16 Barnsley Road, Platts Common, Hoyland, Barnsley. Thomas was married at the church of St Peter at Hoyland on January 11th 1903 to Gertrude Stenton  my Grandad Joe was born at 16 Platts Common, on the 11th December 1902.  Thomas and Gertrude went on to have more children including, Edna, Renie, Grace, Marion, Gladys, Maud, William, Roy and Jack and Ellis. Thomas moved around a bit with his job, and he moved to Askern nr Doncaster. That is where Renie was born. Thomas probably moved to Askern to work at the pit there. They then moved around again, from one pit to another. Joe went to work at the pit with his dad, but also had a job with a butcher in Askern, I think he really wanted to be a butcher, but his dad persuaded him, he would be better off working down the mines, something I think he always regretted.

Joe married Elizabeth Wass and they had three children, Gordon, Brian and Roy. The whole Farmer family moved to Thorne to work at the pits there, that is where Gordon was born at Corona Drive in 1932. When Gordon was around one year old Joe went with his dad and brothers and sisters to Deal in Kent, to work at Betteshanger pit. Joe then sent for Elizabeth and Gordon. Elizabeth got a train to London on her own with a one year old baby and she was terrified. They moved into a rented house and all lived together. When Gordon was around four years old Joe came back to Hatfield, with Elizabeth and Gordon, and stayed in someone's front room while they found a home. One day Elizabeth was taking Gordon for a walk and came across some new houses that were been built for rent, she put her name down for one and got one .  Brian and Roy were born in Hatfield. Gordon went to work for a local builder, until he was called up for National Service in 1950/52 to Egypt. He was in the Royal Army Service Corps driving lorries up and down the Suez Canal with supplies. When he came out of the army he went back into the building trade. His brother Brian went to work on a farm and Roy worked on a farm for a while but then followed in his brothers footsteps and became a Plasterer. Brian died in 1982 but Roy is now living in Australia.

During the second world war Thomas came back to Yorkshire with all his family, he stayed in Yorkshire until he retired then went back to Kent where he stayed until he and his wife Gertrude died. Renie, Marion and Ellis also moved back to Kent. Maud moved to Nottingham, Grace went to Australia with her husband, Jack moved to Balby nr Doncaster and Roy and William still live near Doncaster, Gladys lived not far from Joe in Hatfield. Joe worked at Hatfield Main colliery as a overman until he retired.

He then got a job as a van driver for Cooplands bakers for 10 years. My Grandma was a housewife after she was married, but before that she worked in service for years. She has worked in Grassington in the Yorkshire Dales, Scarborough, at a boys school, on a farm at Ulley in South Yorkshire and in Leeds for a man that invented a miners safety lamp (not Davy) but I need to do more research on that story.

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