Daniel Tullett (1785-1861) and Ann Palmer (1788-1868)

Daniel Tullett (1785-1861) and Ann Palmer (1788-1868).
My 4th great-grandparents.

Daniel came from Newdigate in Surrey and was baptised at St Peter’s Church there on 1 May 1785. His parents were John Tullett and Sarah Charlwood.

He married Ann Palmer in the village on 22 October 1807. She was from Newdigate and was baptised on 15 March 1789 to parents Benjamin Palmer and Jane Hewitt. The couple raised a large family while he worked as a thatcher and agricultural labourer.

The magazines of the Newdigate Local History Society feature information on the Tullett family. Issues 41 and 42 carried a feature by Charles Thompson that noted that Daniel earned 8s 6d from the Overseers of the Poor for thatching Newdigate’s modest almshouses. Issue 86 elaborated – between 1796 and 1836 an old farmhouse on Village Street had been owned by the parish and divided into three tiny alms cottages for the poor. At one point they housed Daniel’s Wolf grandparents.

He moved the family away from the parish in the mid-1820s and settled in Rusper, a village in Sussex about three miles to the south. By 1841 Daniel was listed in the census as living in one of Rusper’s almshouses with his wife and a clutch of children. In 1851 they were in a cottage in Ifield Lane, in 1861 in Burnt House Cottage.

Daniel died in 1861 and was buried in Rusper on 4 December. Ann died in 1868 and was buried there on 7 January.

Their children were:

  • Isaac Tullett (1810-1883), my 3rd great-grand uncle. Isaac spent a lot of his life in trouble with the law and died gruesomely on the railways.
  • Daniel Tullett (1812-1869), my 3rd great-grand uncle. Daniel was baptised on 22 March 1812 at St Peter’s Church in Newdigate, Surrey, and married Lydia Wickens at St Mary’s in Rusper on 22 April 1833. She came from the village, where she was baptised as illegitimate on 28 August 1814 to her mother Mary Wickens. The couple lived in the village for some years and raised a family, while Daniel worked as a gamekeeper, but at some point after the 1841 census they moved to Berkshire as the 1851 census showed them living in the parish of Aldermaston at Aldermaston Lodge. Daniel was now a head gamekeeper at Aldermaston Court and newspapers of the period, such as the Windsor and Eton Express of 3 October 1857, reported on the granting of his game licence. He worked for Daniel Burr, who’d bought his Aldermaston estate in 1849 after a fire had destroyed the previous mansion. Burr, whose family estate was in Herefordshire, commissioned a new building. Lydia died in December 1863 and was buried on 1 January 1864 in Rusper. Daniel died on 4 June 1869 and was buried back in Rusper on the 9th. Their children were:
    • Lydia Tullett (1840-1902) was baptised in Rusper, Sussex, and married gardener Edmund Wheeler in his home county of Berkshire in 1859. They lived in Bray, Berkshire, for a while but moved to Egham in Surrey with their son and later lived in Merstham, Surrey. Edmund died in 1898 while publican of the Hand in Hand pub in Betchworth, Surrey. His son took over and Lydia lived there with him and his family, dying in 1902.
    • Daniel Tullett (1842-1854). He was baptised in Rusper and died in Aldermaston.
    • Margaret Tullett (1846-1902) was baptised in Rusper, Sussex, and married gamekeeper Henry Collins in Surrey in 1875. I’ve not traced them further.
    • Thomas Tullett (1847-1929) was baptised in Rusper, Sussex, and became a gamekeeper like his father. However, he returned to Rusper from Berkshire and married farmer’s daughter Jane Worsfold in 1868. They had a family and Thomas worked for a time as a farmer before returning to managing game and moving to Capel in Surrey. Jane died in 1932.
  • Amy Tullett (1813-1896), my 3rd great-grand aunt. Amy was baptised on 23 May 1813 at St Peter’s Church in Newdigate, Surrey, and married agricultural labourer Charles Worsfold at St John’s in Capel, Surrey, on 20 October 1834. He had been baptised in Capel on 13 August 1806, his father being William Worsfold. Amy and Charles settled in Capel and raised a family but later moved to Dorking and then Holmwood. Charles died in 1884 and was buried at St Mary’s in Holmwood on 28 May. Amy died in 1896 and was buried there on 25 January. Their children were:
    • Olive Worsfold (1835-1907) was baptised in Capel, Surrey, and married agricultural labourer George Rice in Holmwood in 1856. They raised a large family and lived mostly in Capel. George died in 1919.
    • Harriet Worsfold (1837-????) was baptised in Capel, Surrey.
    • Amy Worsfold (1838-1900) was baptised in Capel, Surrey, and married carman and Londoner Robert Wells in Waterloo, South London, in 1860. They had children and lived in the Lambeth area before moving to Camberwell. Robert changed jobs and worked as a furniture dealer and house agent as well as rate arrears collector for Camberwell. Amy died in 1900, Robert in 1912.
    • Susan Worsfold (1840-1900) was baptised in Capel, Surrey, and married Richard Henry Duley in nearby Holmwood in 1859. He worked as an architect’s clerk and draughtsman and the family lived at various addresses in south London. Susan died young in 1880, Richard in 1898.
  • Solomon Tullett (1815-1860), my 3rd great-grand uncle. Solomon was baptised on 21 May 1815 at St Peter’s Church in Newdigate, Surrey, and married Surrey-born minor Mary Palmer in Rusper, Sussex, on 4 November 1840. He was in trouble not long after, being jailed for 21 days in 1842 as the Morning Post of 7 January reported. The court heard that his brother Isaac (above) had organised the theft of a bed, a clock, a quilt and other property from a farm at Newdigate and had persuaded his brothers to join him. Isaac was sentenced to six months in the House of Correction. Solomon worked as an agricultural labourer and settled in Rusper with Mary, raising a family. However, she died in 1866 and was buried in the village on 18 February. Solomon died in 1887 and was buried on 13 July. Solomon’s known children with Mary were:
    • John Tullett (1841-1896) was baptised in Rusper and married Elizabeth Mitchell Knight there in 1871. He worked as an agricultural labourer and had several children. His wife died in 1891.
    • James Tullett (1843-????) was baptised in Rusper in 1844.
    • An Esther Palmer / Tullett was shown living with the family, baptised in Rusper around the time of the couple’s marriage in 1840. Mary Palmer was the sole parent on the record but it’s possible that Solomon was the father. Esther married agricultural labourer Mark Jenkins, lived with her family in Rusper and died in 1909.
  • Stephen Tullett (1816-1849), my 3rd great-grand uncle. Stephen was born on 14 December 1816 and baptised on 12 January 1817 at St Peter’s Church in Newdigate, Surrey. He married Mary Ann Sturgess on 15 January 1840 at Rusper in Sussex. Mary came from Surrey and was baptised in Capel on 25 October 1818 to bricklayer John Sturgess and his wife Amelia. Stephen and his wife settled in Rusper and had children while he worked as an agricultural labourer. The 21 July 1846 edition of the Surrey Advertiser reported that Stephen had been committed for trial at the County Sessions for stealing tares from a field worth about 8d, a crime that eventually earned him a sentence of two months in prison. At the Petty Sessions in Horsham he had denied the charge, claiming he had no animals that would eat the crop, and attempted to provide an alibi but the bench sent him for trial regardless. Criminal registers also showed a Stephen Tullett being jailed for larceny for three months at the Sussex Sessions on 8 April 1847, and the likelihood is that this is the same person given his age. I’ve found no other details in the newspapers about this conviction. Stephen died young in 1849 and was buried in Rusper on 29 April that year and Mary Ann clearly struggled bringing up a family on her own, the 1851 census noting that she was living in the village as a pauper on parish relief. But 10 years later she had a lodger and was doing some work as a tailoress. In 1871 and still in Rusper she was living with a grandson, three lodgers and working as a dressmaker. She died on 23 March 1881 at Lambs Green, Rusper, according to the West Sussex County Times of 26 March 1881 and was buried in Rusper on 27 March. Stephen and Mary Ann’s children were:
    • Amelia Tullett (1840-????) was baptised in Rusper and later went to work as a cook in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. She married baker William Alliss there in 1861 and 10 years later the couple were running the Railway Hotel in Broadstairs, Kent, living there with their children. William died in 1877 and Amelia remained at the pub. She may have remarried in 1881 but I’ve not been able to trace her further.
    • Rebecca Tullett (1842-????) was baptised in Rusper and working as a servant in Dorking in 1861 but where she went after is a mystery.
    • Sarah Tullett (1844-1892) was baptised in Rusper and worked as a servant in Warlingham, Surrey. She married Charles Pearson, a labourer, in Tonbridge, Kent, in 1866 and had children with him. They went on to live in Gillingham, Kent, and Twickenham and Kingston in what’s now South West London.
    • Henry Tullett (1847-????) was baptised in Rusper.
  • Olive Tullett (1818-1893), my 3rd great-grandmother. Her second marriage was to William Wheatland.
  • Joshua Tullett (1820-1860), my 3rd great-grand uncle. Joshua was born on 24 April 1820 and baptised on 4 June that year at St Peter’s Church in Newdigate, Surrey. Joshua was jailed for 21 days in 1842, as the Morning Post of 7 January reported. The court heard that his brother Isaac (above) had organised the theft of a bed, a clock, a quilt and other property from a farm at Newdigate and had persuaded his brothers to join him. Isaac was sentenced to six months in the House of Correction. On 7 May 1848 Joshua married Emily Tully in Rusper, Sussex. She came from Ockley in Surrey, where she was baptised on 5 November 1826 to parents James and Elizabeth Tully. She had a daughter, Elizabeth, illegitimately the year before her wedding and had more children with Joshua, who worked as a labourer and shoemaker in Rusper. He was in trouble with the law again, as the Brighton Gazette of 1 October 1857 noted. On this occasion he was fined £3, with the alternative of a week in prison, after being convicted of brutally assaulting wheelwright John Branch in Rusper. He died a few years later and was buried at St Mary’s in Horsham, Sussex, on 19 February 1860. Emily remarried at St Mary’s on 9 September 1872, her new husband being farm labourer and widower John Burrage. However, they were already living together in Horsham a year earlier at the time of the census although she was listed as a servant. This may have been cover for cohabiting and, indeed, Emily gave birth to several children in the 1860s who were probably his – John, James, Edwin and Charles. The family continued to live in Horsham and, according to newspaper reports (eg West Sussex County Times 23 December 1892), John later became the landlord of the Haven beerhouse in the town. Emily died in 1913. John had died in 1898. Joshua’s children with Emily were:
    • Susannah Tullett (1849-1925) was baptised in Rusper and married butcher William Tribe in Brighton, Sussex, in 1875. They remained in the town and raised a family. William died in 1896.
    • Charlotte Tullett (1852-1935) was baptised in Rusper and married Horsham native Alfred Dinnage in the town in 1875. They lived their lives in Horsham and raised a large family while Alfred worked as a farm labourer and stockman. The West Sussex County Times of 2 August 1919 noted that the couple had seen five of their sons serve in the First World War, four in the army and one in the navy. Alfred died in 1928.
    • Joshua James Tullett (1854-1886) was baptised in Rusper and worked as a general labourer. He hanged himself in August 1886 in stables behind the Nelson Arms in Horsham, according to an inquest reported in the West Sussex County Times of 14 August. His mother Emily told the court that she had not been on speaking terms with him for two years but the man who found the body said that Joshua had lodged with him previously and had spoken of killing himself when out of work and unable to pay his bills. He had taken the remarks as a joke.
    • Stephen William Tullett (1856-1868) was baptised in Rusper and often appears in the records as William.
    • Arthur Edward Tullett (1858-1863).
  • John Tullett (1821-1847), my 3rd great-grand uncle. John was born on 2 November 1821 and baptised on 13 January 1822 at St Peter’s Church in Newdigate, Surrey. I suspect he was the man buried on 20 January 1847 in Rusper, Sussex. His address on the record was given as Burnt House in Rusper, where his relatives were resident for some years.
  • Cain Tullett (1824-1884), my 3rd great-grand uncle. Cain was born on 5 July 1824 and baptised on 22 August at St Peter’s Church in Newdigate, Surrey. He moved to Rusper with his parents and worked as an agricultural labourer but he was occasionally in trouble with the law – the South Eastern Gazette of 15 December 1846 noted he was fined 30s at Reigate Petty Sessions for setting a wire to try to catch pheasants in Charlwood, Surrey. On 12 June 1863 he was sentenced to a month in Wandsworth Prison for stealing a purse, along with another man, from a woman in Horley. Cain never married and lived mostly at home with his father but in 1871 he was a pauper at the Horsham workhouse, and 10 years later was still there. Notes on the census records suggest he had, in the shocking terminology of the time, been an imbecile since birth. He died in the workhouse in 1884 and was buried in Rusper on 26 April.
  • Mary Tullett (1825-1881), my 3rd great-grand aunt. Mary was born on 5 October 1825 and baptised on 4 December at St Peter’s Church in Newdigate, Surrey. She married agricultural labourer Henry Vaughan, son of labourer John Vaughan and his wife Mary, in Rusper, Sussex, on 17 May 1846 and were living in the village in 1851 but what happened to them later is unclear as there was a shoemaker Vaughan in the area at the time also married to a Mary.
  • Edward Tullett (1830-1907), my 3rd great-grand uncle. Edward was baptised on 28 February 1830 at St Mary’s Church in Rusper, Sussex. He remained in the village for most of his life, never married and worked as an agricultural labourer. He was buried in Horsham on 29 June 1907.
  • Jane Tullett (1831-1833), my 3rd great-grand aunt. Jane was baptised on 15 June 1831 at St Mary’s Church in Rusper, Sussex, and buried there on 20 March 1833.

Sources: BMDs, Census and other records at Ancestry.co.uk, Findmypast.co.uk, Familysearch.org. British Newspaper Archive, titles mentioned in text. Newdigate Local History Society. Aldermaston estate via Wikipedia.