Thomas Bearman

Buried at Springfield Church, age 71. From handwritten memorial inscriptions of around 1867 held at CRO.

Left sizeable will, held at CRO Chelmsford. Catalogue D/ABW 129/1/36 - location HQ3C22C1. Dated August 1819 and proved 22nd July 1831.

“I Sarah Balls late of Springfield but now of Fraiting Hall in the Parish of Fraiting in the County of Essex Widow do make my last Will and Testament in manner following (that is to say / I do give and bequeath unto my Grand-daughter Sarah Elizabeth Bearman and Suzanna Bearman (the Children of my late Daughter Sarah Elizabeth Bearman deceased) the sum of two hundred and fifty pounds apiece of lawful money of Great Britain to be paid to them within six months after my decease in case they shall have then attained the age of twenty one years; but in case my said Grand-daughters or either of them shall not at the time of my decease have attained the said age, then I do direct her or their said Legacy or Legacies to be paid to her or them in immediately upon her or their attainment of that age with Interest thereon to be computed from the expiration of the said six months after my decease. I do also give and bequeath to my Grandson Thomas Frederick Balls (Son of my late Son Thomas Frederick Balls deceased) the sum of three hundred pounds of like lawful money to be paid to him within six months after my decease in case he shall have then attained the agge of twenty one years and if not then immediately upon his attainement of that age with Interest for the same to be computed from the expiration of the said six months after my decease. I give and bequeath unto Richard Haslar (the natural or reputed Child of my late Son Richard Warren Balls deceased) the Legacy or sum of One hundred and fifty pounds of like lawful money to be also paid to him within six months after my decease in case he shall have then attained the age of twenty one years and if not then immediately upon his attainment of that age and I do direct the Interest thereof in the mean time (which I intented to commence from the time of my decease) to be paid and applied by my executors herinafter named or the Survivor of them or the Executors or Administrators of such survivior for or towards his benefit maintenance and education and I emplower my said Executors upon the said Richard Haslar’s attaining a proper age to be placed out Apprentice to any Trade or profession to advance out of the said Legacy any sum not exceeding fifty pounds for that purpose And in case of the death of any or either of my said Grand-daughter Sarah Elizabeth Bearman and Susanna Bearman my said Grandson Thomas Frederick Balls and the said Richard Haslar before ....

“I give and bequeath unto my Grand-daughter Frances Balls Dawson ... my Daughter Judith Frances the wife of William Kendall Dawson of Fraiting Hall aforesaid Gentleman.”

Interestingly, no mention of grandson Thomas Bearman. Was Thomas Bearman not the son of Thomas Bearman coachmaker of Springfield. There was also no mention of Thomas Bearman her late daughter's husband who died in 1827 but who also had to sell his house and business not many years after writing this will.

Moved from Chelmsford the short distance to Springfield between 1785 and 1791 when his son Richard Warren was born. The rector recorded that he was patron of the 3 Cups. His long will confirms he was a victualer as well as confirming his children - the copy, unfortunately is not great...

Attached picture courtesy of http://deadpubs.co.uk/EssexPubs/Springfield/threecup.shtml

Thomas Bearman was a wheelwright, and father of Thomas Bearman, coach maker. Identified from the will of Victualler Charles Bearman in 1779.

Baptism record from seax, St Mary the Virgin, St Peter and St Cedd (Cathedral)

Marriage was signed in the presence of Thomas, Frances and Richard Balls

1911 description of grave at All Saints church Springfield (now unreadable):

Headstone, round top, lying flat. In memory of SARAH ELIZABETH [wife of Thomas Bearman] who died 9th October 1811 aged 37 [and infants who died young .. and above mentioned] Thomas who died 1(3) Sep (18_7) aged (59) years. From memorial transcriptions 1911.

From Springfield, Essex, Monumental Inscriptions, 1867, care of CRO:

In Memory of Sarah Elizabeth the Wife of Thomas Bearman who departed this life the 9 of Oct 1811 aged 37 years. Also of Four of their children who died Infants. Also of the above Thomas Bearman who died the 15 of Sept 1827 Aged 55 years.

Baptism record in Boreham for Thomas, son of Thomas and Susannah, born March 15, baptised 24th at Chelmsford Record Office. The birth date matches well with his grave inscription, see below. The place matches the will of Charles Bearman, victualer of Chelmsford his godfather see more below and attached images.

Thomas was identified initially from his son Thomas Bearman’s marriage certificate in 1845, where his occupation was given as a coach builder.

There is record of such coach building business in Springfield, near Chelmsford. Records held in Chelmsford, Essex Records Office:

Property of William Collings Wells of Chelmsford and Joseph Wells of Little Waltham.

D/DDw T178/14 1805-1833: Deeds of dwelling-house, workshops and smith's shop adjacent Chelmsford-Colchester road, Springfield. Including Abstracts of Title, 1718-1805; sale particulars, 1822 [refers to coachmaking business established on above property by THOMAS BEARMAN], and 1833; and fragment of membership card of Chelmsford New Temperance Association (established 16 November 1837), see D/DDw T179/15 for complete specimen.

Photos of the auction in December 1822 are attached. Thomas bought the property in 1805 under mortgage, and it was returned to its original owner, Robert Greenwood (and others) in 1823 when Thomas must have hit hard times, or for some other reason needed to pay off his creditors.

Thomas and his father is mentioned in the Will of Charles Bearman, victualler of Chelmsford in 1779 - see attached images. He is described as Charles’ Godson and his father as a wheelwright from Boreham, Essex.

There were two other Bearmans, William and Anne who died in 1806/8 Springfield at quite an advanced age, who may be some relation.

In 1808 Thomas and his wife Sarah were listed as beneficiaries in her sister Rebecca’s will. The year afterwards and they were listed in Thomas Balls’s will (Rebecca’s husband). See Essex wills beneficiaries online at FMP.

Thomas was buried on 20th September 1827, aged 55 years and he was living in Chelmsford, according to the parish records for All Saints Springfield on microfiche at the CRO.

He was buried with Sarah Elizabeth who died on 9th Oct 1811 aged 37 according to the 1911 memorial transcripts. Their grave is now undreadable.

1911 description of grave at All Saints church Springfield (now unreadable):

Headstone, round top, lying flat. In memory of SARAH ELIZABETH [wife of Thomas Bearman] who died 9th October 1811 aged 37 [and infants who died young .. above mentioned] Thomas who died 1(3) Sep (18_7) aged (59) years. From memorial transcriptions 1911. There is probably a better record of this carried out in the 1860s, available at the Chelmsford Record Office (as yet unseen by me). He was in fact 55 according to the Parish records for his burial, on microfiche at the CRO. Square brackets mine, rounded ones on transcript indicating lettering was unclear in 1911.

Thos Bearman was witness to Elizabeth’s Brother’s marriage in 1804

From Springfield, Essex, Monumental Inscriptions, 1867, care of CRO:

In Memory of Sarah Elizabeth the Wife of Thomas Bearman who departed this life the 9 of Oct 1811 aged 37 years. Also of Four of their children who died Infants. Also of the above Thomas Bearman who died the 15 of Sept 1827 Aged 55 years.

Died of the Hooping Cough, denomination Anglican and buried 8th April 1809 according to National Burial Index on FMP

Thomas was a baker, who ended life quite wealthy. He married Catherine Boyd in 1845 and the record of this shows his father to be Thomas, a coach builder.

The censuses show him as born 1812-13 Chelmsford but his death record shows he was born 1811-12. However, no birth or baptism record has so far been found for him. The person most likely to be his mother died in October 1811 and his father was buried with her 16 years later - so it must be presumed that she died in child-birth or soon after, and that Thomas was born on or before October 9th 1811

There is record of a coachbuilding business with substantial 'genteel' residence in Springfield, near Chelsmsford Essex run by a Thomas Bearman (see attached images and the comments attached to Thomas his father), who married Sarah Elizabeth Balls in Cheltenham and had several children in Springfield.

FMP have his death as 6th May 1868, at St Thomas’s, Hackney citing National Burial Index.

Probate record dated 9 June 1868 showed Thomas leaving Effects under £4,000 to wife Catherine Bearman of 101 Mare Street as sole Executrix.

Christened about 29 Jan 1815, Old Church, Saint Pancras. On her death she left a Personal Estate of £562 14s. 5d. with Thomas Bearman sole executor.

Thomas “was brought up as heir to his father’s business and took it over when he was only 22. His father had taken a lot of care over his education and used to take him travelling, including a tour of Ireland during which he actually kissed the Blarney Stone. Under Thomas Bearman III the shop prospered as a high class bakery and confectionary. Hackney had many wealthy inhabitants at that time and Bearmans catered for what was called "the carriage trade". It was also his practice to serve lunch daily to a select group of customers in the back room of the shop. Some blue-rimmed Wedgwood soup plates from this room have been passed down in both my family and Kate’s family.

“He married Keturah Sandell on 3rd June 1873 and for the first five years of their married life they lived in rooms at Fremont Street, Hackney. By 1878 he was able to buy a fine big house, Melbourne House, 8, Tudor Road, Hackney. His mother continued to live over the shop until her death in 1888. By about 1894 he was able to sell the shop and retire and during the next few years came to acquire property all over London, as well as "Beach Crest" (bought in 1897) and "The Moorings" both at Deal and a house in Sandwich Market Place. A photograph of Beach Crest, as it is now, is at the top of the Contents page of this website.

“He was a noted numismatist, specialising in mediaeval English and Scottish coins. Bernard Roth's book "Ancient Gaulish Coins" was dedicated to him. When he died, his collection was sold for £600, a considerable sum in those days. His whole estate was left to a family trust, the Bearman Trust. The original trustees were his sons-in-law, Tom Stutchbury, Charlie Carrington and Edward Middlemiss, with Tom as Secretary. On Tom's death in 1941 his son Tom became Secretary. Among many other things, the Trust administered Beach Crest as a holiday home for the family until 1975, when they sold it to Frank and Florence Middlemiss. Also in 1975 Donald Bearman, the last Tenant for Life of the Trust, died and the Trust was then broken up and the assets distributed among the family.”

Frank Middlemiss’s online notes

Probate records show Thomas left £16,079 14s 1d.