The Symons Family: Part 4- A Family Home

 n the previous post in this series, I talked about William Elstone Peirce and his wife Mary Ann. She was the daughter of William Symons of Colthurst, Symons & Co, the Bridgwater brick and tile makers. Their story was intertwined with that of Midway House in Burnham on Sea. The company also played a large part in their lives, with William Elstone Peirce contributing to the patent of an important product.

The next generation

The next chapter in the story of Midway House is also the story of John Jeffries Toogood and his wife Blanche. Those of you who are particularly observant, may have noticed these names in the previous post. Blanche, the wife of John Toogood is mentioned in the will of Mary Ann Peirce. She inherited one of Mary Ann’s needlework pictures (“Weighing the Deer”). Blanche was indeed Mary Ann’s daughter with husband William Elstone Peirce and was born on the 24 September 1858, at Crossway Villa, North Petherton, Somerset.[1] Her birth certificate records that her father William was still a cabinet maker, although Crossway was also the site of a Colthurst, Symons & Co. brickyard where William’s brother-in-law John also lived and worked. Have a look at the previous post for more details about this.

Family tree for John and Blanche Toogood. © 2020 Shersca Genealogy.

Blanche Peirce was associated with Midway House for a number of years, as she lived there from the time her parents moved in, in 1875,[2] until at least 1881.[3] There seems to be a short gap for the first years of her marriage and then again from about 1901 until her death in 1915.[4] We know that her father, William, began as brickyard foreman, then manager when he moved to Midway House and finally a Brick and Tile Merchant’s Director by the time of his death in 1905. Perhaps Blanche’s husband was hoping for something similar eventually.

John and Blanche

This husband was John Jeffries Toogood. He was born on the 03 August 1840, in Huntspill, Somerset.[5] His parents were John Toogood, a yeoman, and Caroline, formerly Caroline Jeffries. When he married Blanche Peirce on the 07 April 1883, he was a farmer residing in Bridgwater and was seven years her senior.[6] So perhaps his marriage to Blanche was a social step up for John. It may be that he was looking for more financial security and as Blanche’s family were involved with a prominent Bridgwater trade, perhaps he thought he would get that. There is a strange family story about John. After his marriage, he supposedly went to New Zealand without Blanche and farmed sheep for six years. Unfortunately, the name John Toogood is pretty common, so I haven’t been able to say whether this story is true yet. I suppose it may go some way to explaining the gap between John’s marriage to Blanche and the birth of their first child, Grace in 1890.

It seems that the couple did not take over Midway House until 1897. From that year, John is the brickyard manager for Colthurst, Symons & Co. who is recorded in the local directories.[7] The 1911 Census is in agreement, but it also gives a clue as to how big Midway House was. Each household was required to write down the number of rooms in the house on that Census and John Toogood writes that Midway House had 8 rooms, excluding things such as bathrooms and sculleries.[8] With the children that are living with John and Blanche, Midway House is no longer merely the brickyard manager’s house, but a family home. There were seven Toogood children in total: Grace Darling, Muriel Doris Gwendoline, Ellen Mai, Cecil George, Ernest John, Vera Blanche and Leo Elstone.

The family letters

A whole set of letters were found when my maternal grandfather’s house was cleared about fifteen years ago now. My Mum and Aunty had persuaded my grandparents to move house and these letters were found in their garage. They are dated between 1921-1928 and are largely written from Midway House.[9] Sadly, by this time Blanche had passed away. It was rather an unfortunate coincidence that she died on the 09 September 1915,[10] in the same year as her mother Mary Ann (d. 05 April 1915[11]). From the content of some of the letters, Blanche’s death was keenly felt by the family, especially as John and Blanche’s daughter Muriel developed mental health problems and it seems that John was unable to cope with this.

John Jeffries Toogood and wife Blanche. Some in my family think the woman could actually be Blanche's mother Mary Ann. © 2020 Shersca Genealogy.

John wrote some strongly worded letters to Muriel’s husband Harry, telling him that Muriel was now Harry’s responsibility and not that of the residents of Midway House. As John and Blanche’s eldest daughter Grace was absent from the household from at least 1911 (she actually married her husband Albert Edward Bishop in 1916[12]), the role of woman of the house fell to younger sister Mai, which in turn would have impacted her life. This was due to Muriel’s health problems, as Muriel was the next eldest after Grace. Whatever our own thoughts about John Toogood’s attitude towards Muriel, we have to remember that times were different. Issues surrounding mental health were not often understood at the time and carried a large stigma too. John’s letters were also only a snapshot of what he felt. We don’t know what other conversations were had in the family.

None of the letters found concern business matters relating to Colthurst, Symons & Co. Perhaps this is not surprising as it seems that John Jeffries Toogood did not enjoy the same status in the company as William Elstone Peirce had. The final time that John was mentioned by name is in the directory of 1906.[13] From then on, it is only the house that is mentioned by name and not the person living in it.

John Jeffries Toogood outlived his wife for a good few years and died at Midway House (called Half Way House), on the 26 May 1934. He was a retired Foreman of a Brickyard.[14]

Muriel's story

The story of John and Blanche’s daughter Muriel is particularly sad, as after she had her second child in 1923, she was admitted to an asylum in Gloucester and we are still not completely sure why. There are various theories surrounding post-natal depression or even schizophrenia. A memory of my great-aunt’s told of an ‘episode’ that Muriel had in a café long before her marriage. Her husband Harry had been born in Eastington (near Stonehouse) in 1881[15] and the couple were married at the Register Office in Gloucester in 1920 (it is still a mystery as to how they met!).[16]

Even sadder still, her eldest child (a daughter) grew up partly in Midway House and partly in Stoke-sub-Hamdon, Somerset, being looked after by Muriel’s sister Mai. Her second child (my maternal grandfather) grew up in an orphanage in Gloucester. It is something he rarely (if ever) talked about and so we still do not know much about that period of his life. To be honest, it has been emotionally daunting to think about too. From the letters found, other documents and family recollections, it seems that Harry was quite an absent father and perhaps did not possess the financial means or experience to look after either of his children during his wife’s illness. It was an illness she was perceived never to have recovered from as she spent the rest of her life in the asylum, dying in 1985.

Midway House, circa. 1920, with John Toogood and some of his family. © 2020 Shersca Genealogy.

This next chapter in the family’s life was not altogether a happy one, although the company and the house were still constant. Theirs is a story which reminds us that every family has difficulties as well as successes. As much as we research and learn, there is still going to be a certain amount that is lost to the passage of time. We must also not forget changing attitudes. Sometimes, as a genealogist I have to distance myself a certain amount. If I didn’t, I would not be able to report some of the sadder events a family has experienced. But these events are still a part of their history and these discoveries in my own family have really reinforced that statement. Even though they are hard to deal with, we would not be who we are without them.

Next time comes the final post in the series. Midway House sees its final Symons descendants and the company sees its final days.

Copyright © 2020 Shersca Genealogy

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[1] Births (CR) England. North Petherton, Somerset. 24 September 1858. PEIRCE, Blanche. Entry no. 92.

[2] Directories. England. (1875) The Post Office Directory of Somersetshire. London: Kelly And Co. p. 345.

[3] Census. 1881. England. Burnham, Somerset. PN: RG11/2418. FL 25. ED 9. p. 44. http://www.ancestry.co.uk : accessed 23 January 2018.

[4] Deaths (CR) England. Burnham, Somerset. 09 September 1915. TOOGOOD, Blanche. Entry no. 87.

[5] Births (CR) England. Huntspill, Somerset. 03 August 1849. TOOGOOD, John. Entry no. 258.

[6] Marriages (PR) England. Bridgwater, Somerset. 07 April 1883. TOOGOOD, John and PEIRCE, Blanche. Collection: Somerset, England, Marriage Registers, Bonds and Allegations, 1754-1914. http://www.ancestry.co.uk : accessed 25 January 2018.

[7] Directories. England. (1897) Kelly’s Directory of Somerset. London: Kelly’s Directories Limited. p. 160.

[8] Census. 1911. England. Burnham, Somerset. PN: RG14/14565. SN 212. ED 4. http://www.ancestry.co.uk : accessed 23 January 2018.

[9] Toogood family. Letters to Harry, Muriel and Leslie MORGAN. 1921-1928. Collection formerly owned by Harry MORGAN, originals now held by Nina Griffiths.

[10] Deaths (CR) England. Burnham, Somerset. 09 September 1915. TOOGOOD, Blanche. Entry no. 87.

[11] Deaths (CR) England. Bridgwater, Somerset. 05 April 1915. PEIRCE, Mary Ann. Entry no. 354.

[12] Marriages (PR) England. St. Matthew Moorfields, Bristol. 09 September 1916. BISHOP, Albert Edward and TOOGOOD, Grace Darling Collection: Bristol, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1935. http://www.ancestry.co.uk : accessed 08 July 2020.

[13] Directories. England. (1906) Kelly’s Directory of Somerset. London: Kelly’s Directories Limited. p. 166.

[14] Deaths (CR) England. Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset. 26 May 1934. TOOGOOD, John. Entry no. 174.

[15] Births (CR) England. Eastington, Wheatenhurst, Gloucestershire. 23 August 1881. MORGAN, Arthur Henry Lewis. Entry no. 233.

[16] Marriages (CR) England. The Register Office, Gloucester, Gloucestershire. 15 December 1920. MORGAN, Arthur Henry Lewis and TOOGOOD, Muriel Doris Gwendoline. Entry no. 134.