Ramsgate Wesleys
'Mariner Fishermen'
The pedigree of Westleys from Devon is Samuel Westley (1662-1735) married Susannah Annesley, their son Samuel ‘Sammy’ Westley (1690-1739) then Bartholomew Westley (born about 1720 at Tiverton in Devon) his son Bartholomew (baptised 29 Sep 1746 Seaton and Beer in Devon) whose son Bartholomew (baptised 5 Apr 1778 at Seaton and Beer) wed Maria Sanders in 1798, their son Timothy Bartholomew Westley (born at Brixham and baptised 21 Mar 1811 at Seaton and Beer) married 19 Mar 1836 Ann Sibthorp Jackson at St Lawrence in Ramsgate, Kent.
Timothy Bartholomew Westley resided June 1841 in Leopold Place and in April 1861 at 6 Liverpool Terrace in Ramsgate; his occupation in 1850 was fisherman; from 1852 to 1861 he was a mariner, his fishermen sons were Henry John ‘HJ’ Wesley born in 1850 at 15 Liverpool Terrace and George Augustus Timme Wesley born in 1852 at 6 Liverpool Terrace in Ramsgate with residence in 1899 to 1901 at 9 Percy Road, Ramsgate.
Timothy Bartholomew Westley’s elder brother (a fisherman) Samuel (1800-1867) married in 1827 Margaret (Mary) Brown at Dover, but died in Ramsgate. Their younger sisters, Mary Ann Rhoda Westley (b. 1815) married (spouse unknown) in 1840 in Thanet and Agnes Susannah Westley (b. 1817) wed Charles Renals in 1842 at Ramsgate. Two siblings Henry Sanders Westley (b. 1802) and Sarah Westley (b. 1798) stayed at Seaton and Beer.
Our grandfather William Wesley married Mary Ann Setterfield 27 May 1890 in St Lukes Church, Ramsgate and resided in 1900 at 4 Gertrude Terrace, Castle Road, and in 1911 at 2 Liverpool (Leopold) Villas at Leopold Street, Ramsgate; his workshop was in Percy Road, Ramsgate. William was born 1867 in Luton, Bedfordshire, son of Joseph Westley from Paulerspury in Northamptonshire and Emma Bird; his sister Elizabeth ‘Lizzie’ wed James Boskett of Dunstable in Beds, at St Lukes in Ramsgate on 25 December 1886.
James Boskett is listed as seaman age 16 on the vessel ‘Rippling Wave’ at Ramsgate in the 3 April 1881 census and we notion his connection with fellow fishermen Wesley and Setterfield enabled William and Lizzie to depart Dunstable for Ramsgate immediately after their father Joseph’s death on 13 February 1886 at Whittlebury in Northants. Mary Ann’s mother Ellen Maria Setterfield married fisherman John Henry Emery in April 1890 in St Lukes, Ramsgate. Aunt Lizzie aged 66 remarried Charles Hill on 21 December 1929 at St Lawrence in Ramsgate and died in 1945.
‘Between 1870 and 1890 the Ramsgate fishing fleet was at its zenith with boats from Devon ports, elsewhere Lowestoft, Deal and Rye using Ramsgate, resulting in huge catches. The arrival of a railway to Ramsgate in 1846 revolutionised marketing and transport of fish to London. Improved local fishmarket facilities ensued, bringing a golden era for Thanet fishermen, in part created by growing popularity of fish and chip shops, heralding the use of steam trawlers in 1919 and new trawling companies.’
‘The whole life of Brixham was for several centuries in fishing, shipbuilding, net making, and subsidiary trades. King Henry VIII’s church valuation Valor Ecclesiasticus of 1535 shows Brixham, Paignton and St Marychurch were all important fishing ports; Brixham remained the foremost fishing port in Devon until overtaken by Plymouth in the 1870s, collapsing in 1919. By the 1840s there were more than 270 vessels in the port of 20,000 tons in all, employing about 1,600 seamen’ - from Devon by historian W G Hoskins.
‘Brixham men introduced deep-sea trawlers to Ramsgate in about 1820 for winter fishing in the North Sea, as Brixham-owned boats were already operating out of Dover and Sandwich. The Ramsgate fishing fleet peaked between 1870 and 1890 with boats from Devon and Channel ports using its Harbour, but declined with the Great War of 1914-1918 and use of steam trawlers to Ramsgate in 1919, also over-fishing of its grounds and the foreign dumping of fish in huge quantities at its London market. The trawling fleet left Ramsgate in the 1920’s for Brixham in Devon and Milford Haven in Pembrokeshire.
Crew Lists from the Public Records Office for the period 1867 to 1905 for Ramsgate detail the large cohort of vessels and crewing, variously Wesley, Setterfield, Emery, Hurst and Watson family as owners, master, skipper, mate, 2 hand, apprentice etc. While their genealogy confirms intermarriage, it is clear they were mutually supportive through earlier bonding or kinship e.g., the Setterfield family has roots back to1620 at Wingham in Kent, but most likely originated in Devon.
On information furnished by the Maritime Museum of Ramsgate for 1838-1839 and 1842-1843 Timothy and Samuel Wesley were masters of the ‘Betsey’ of 18 gross tons operating from Sandwich, the ‘Two Sisters’ a 40 gross ton smackat Ramsgate and the ‘Royal Diadem’ of 26 gross tons registered at and operated from Ramsgate. H. Wesley is shown as owner of ‘Idalia’ also of shares in the ‘A& JW’ each of 28.43 tons built at Rye in 1896.
Henry John ‘H.J’ Wesley is listed in the 1881 census as living at St Lawrence, in 1866 apprenticed on the ‘Champion’ to his father, master Timothy Wesley, and in 1904 owned the smack ‘AJ&W’ crewed by ‘A. Setterfield’ (Alfred William Setterfield) who crewed the ‘Diamond Cross’ with ‘Ted’ (Edward Thomas) Setterfield, which brothers are 4th cousins to our grandmother Mary Ann Setterfield.
We find ‘Granny’ Mary Ann Setterfield’s is further related to crew: Thomas Hurst was her marriage witness; John Henry Emery her step-father; John Emery her step-brother; Charles William Setterfield and James Setterfield are her uncles; John Setterfield and Henry George Setterfield are her 2nd cousins; Frederick George Setterfield is her 3rd cousin - see spreadsheet: Thanet smacks.xls.
Frederick George Setterfield and Henry George Setterfield were co-owners of smacks ‘Ismene’ and ‘Idessa’ in 1905. Henry’s brother is John William Setterfield who was master of the ‘Majestic’ and the Brixham-registered ‘Anticipator’ at Ramsgate between 1881 and 1904.
Charles William Setterfield and James George Setterfield crewed the smacks ‘Alice’ and ‘Sparkling Sea’ between 1867 and 1874; Mary Ann’s granduncle William Thomas Watson was master of the ‘Lord Napier’ in 1881; his son James owned the smack ‘Little Wanderer’ in 1905, while W T Watson owned the smack registered ‘R8’ about 1881 at Ramsgate Harbour. John Henry Emery has a brother fisherman Frederick George Emery, who was mate on a vessel “Hibernia” in 1881 at Ramsgate.
Our great-grandmother Ellen Maria Setterfield, married on 2 April 1890 a fisherman John Henry Emery, widowed from his 1st wife Agnes, father of Elizabeth born 1876 and John Henry Emery born 1878, his son John Emery in 1902 was a 2nd hand on the smack ‘Idessa’ of 25 tons at Ramsgate, owned and skippered by Frederick George Setterfield. John Emery married Ellen’s niece Emily Louisa Setterfield, daughter of her brother Charles William Setterfield and Emily Price, in 1901 at St Lawrence.
Henry Ernest Setterfield master mariner born about 1847 at Ramsgate, the great-grandson of William Setterfield and Elizabeth Foastal, is apparently a close relative of Charles Setterfield master mariner fisherman born 1850 who married Emily Price but the link not established. Parents of Frederick George and Henry George Setterfield also are missing but assumed to belong to the same line as John William Setterfield, fishing skipper, born about 1850 Eastry, whose children were born at Ramsgate 1872-1880.
Samuel Wesley born 1825 married 1868 at Plymouth and Henry Wesley born 1815 married 1838 at Totnes in Devon seem directly related to this group.
We have furthermore, Robert Wesley born 1836 and William James Wesley born 1830 at East Stonehouse, Plymouth, married 1854 Plymouth, another William James Wesley born 1826 married 1851 at Totnes and a William Wesley born 1827 Brixham in Devon, which may share common ancestry with the above Samuel and Henry and widen relationships to include the Thanet births, pending ancestral details to link them.
Timothy Bartholomew Westley resided June 1841 in Leopold Place and in April 1861 at 6 Liverpool Terrace in Ramsgate; his occupation in 1850 was fisherman; from 1852 to 1861 he was a mariner, his fishermen sons were Henry John ‘HJ’ Wesley born in 1850 at 15 Liverpool Terrace and George Augustus Timme Wesley born in 1852 at 6 Liverpool Terrace in Ramsgate with residence in 1899 to 1901 at 9 Percy Road, Ramsgate.
Timothy Bartholomew Westley’s elder brother (a fisherman) Samuel (1800-1867) married in 1827 Margaret (Mary) Brown at Dover, but died in Ramsgate. Their younger sisters, Mary Ann Rhoda Westley (b. 1815) married (spouse unknown) in 1840 in Thanet and Agnes Susannah Westley (b. 1817) wed Charles Renals in 1842 at Ramsgate. Two siblings Henry Sanders Westley (b. 1802) and Sarah Westley (b. 1798) stayed at Seaton and Beer.
Our grandfather William Wesley married Mary Ann Setterfield 27 May 1890 in St Lukes Church, Ramsgate and resided in 1900 at 4 Gertrude Terrace, Castle Road, and in 1911 at 2 Liverpool (Leopold) Villas at Leopold Street, Ramsgate; his workshop was in Percy Road, Ramsgate. William was born 1867 in Luton, Bedfordshire, son of Joseph Westley from Paulerspury in Northamptonshire and Emma Bird; his sister Elizabeth ‘Lizzie’ wed James Boskett of Dunstable in Beds, at St Lukes in Ramsgate on 25 December 1886.
James Boskett is listed as seaman age 16 on the vessel ‘Rippling Wave’ at Ramsgate in the 3 April 1881 census and we notion his connection with fellow fishermen Wesley and Setterfield enabled William and Lizzie to depart Dunstable for Ramsgate immediately after their father Joseph’s death on 13 February 1886 at Whittlebury in Northants. Mary Ann’s mother Ellen Maria Setterfield married fisherman John Henry Emery in April 1890 in St Lukes, Ramsgate. Aunt Lizzie aged 66 remarried Charles Hill on 21 December 1929 at St Lawrence in Ramsgate and died in 1945.
‘Between 1870 and 1890 the Ramsgate fishing fleet was at its zenith with boats from Devon ports, elsewhere Lowestoft, Deal and Rye using Ramsgate, resulting in huge catches. The arrival of a railway to Ramsgate in 1846 revolutionised marketing and transport of fish to London. Improved local fishmarket facilities ensued, bringing a golden era for Thanet fishermen, in part created by growing popularity of fish and chip shops, heralding the use of steam trawlers in 1919 and new trawling companies.’
‘The whole life of Brixham was for several centuries in fishing, shipbuilding, net making, and subsidiary trades. King Henry VIII’s church valuation Valor Ecclesiasticus of 1535 shows Brixham, Paignton and St Marychurch were all important fishing ports; Brixham remained the foremost fishing port in Devon until overtaken by Plymouth in the 1870s, collapsing in 1919. By the 1840s there were more than 270 vessels in the port of 20,000 tons in all, employing about 1,600 seamen’ - from Devon by historian W G Hoskins.
‘Brixham men introduced deep-sea trawlers to Ramsgate in about 1820 for winter fishing in the North Sea, as Brixham-owned boats were already operating out of Dover and Sandwich. The Ramsgate fishing fleet peaked between 1870 and 1890 with boats from Devon and Channel ports using its Harbour, but declined with the Great War of 1914-1918 and use of steam trawlers to Ramsgate in 1919, also over-fishing of its grounds and the foreign dumping of fish in huge quantities at its London market. The trawling fleet left Ramsgate in the 1920’s for Brixham in Devon and Milford Haven in Pembrokeshire.
Crew Lists from the Public Records Office for the period 1867 to 1905 for Ramsgate detail the large cohort of vessels and crewing, variously Wesley, Setterfield, Emery, Hurst and Watson family as owners, master, skipper, mate, 2 hand, apprentice etc. While their genealogy confirms intermarriage, it is clear they were mutually supportive through earlier bonding or kinship e.g., the Setterfield family has roots back to1620 at Wingham in Kent, but most likely originated in Devon.
On information furnished by the Maritime Museum of Ramsgate for 1838-1839 and 1842-1843 Timothy and Samuel Wesley were masters of the ‘Betsey’ of 18 gross tons operating from Sandwich, the ‘Two Sisters’ a 40 gross ton smackat Ramsgate and the ‘Royal Diadem’ of 26 gross tons registered at and operated from Ramsgate. H. Wesley is shown as owner of ‘Idalia’ also of shares in the ‘A& JW’ each of 28.43 tons built at Rye in 1896.
Henry John ‘H.J’ Wesley is listed in the 1881 census as living at St Lawrence, in 1866 apprenticed on the ‘Champion’ to his father, master Timothy Wesley, and in 1904 owned the smack ‘AJ&W’ crewed by ‘A. Setterfield’ (Alfred William Setterfield) who crewed the ‘Diamond Cross’ with ‘Ted’ (Edward Thomas) Setterfield, which brothers are 4th cousins to our grandmother Mary Ann Setterfield.
We find ‘Granny’ Mary Ann Setterfield’s is further related to crew: Thomas Hurst was her marriage witness; John Henry Emery her step-father; John Emery her step-brother; Charles William Setterfield and James Setterfield are her uncles; John Setterfield and Henry George Setterfield are her 2nd cousins; Frederick George Setterfield is her 3rd cousin - see spreadsheet: Thanet smacks.xls.
Frederick George Setterfield and Henry George Setterfield were co-owners of smacks ‘Ismene’ and ‘Idessa’ in 1905. Henry’s brother is John William Setterfield who was master of the ‘Majestic’ and the Brixham-registered ‘Anticipator’ at Ramsgate between 1881 and 1904.
Charles William Setterfield and James George Setterfield crewed the smacks ‘Alice’ and ‘Sparkling Sea’ between 1867 and 1874; Mary Ann’s granduncle William Thomas Watson was master of the ‘Lord Napier’ in 1881; his son James owned the smack ‘Little Wanderer’ in 1905, while W T Watson owned the smack registered ‘R8’ about 1881 at Ramsgate Harbour. John Henry Emery has a brother fisherman Frederick George Emery, who was mate on a vessel “Hibernia” in 1881 at Ramsgate.
Our great-grandmother Ellen Maria Setterfield, married on 2 April 1890 a fisherman John Henry Emery, widowed from his 1st wife Agnes, father of Elizabeth born 1876 and John Henry Emery born 1878, his son John Emery in 1902 was a 2nd hand on the smack ‘Idessa’ of 25 tons at Ramsgate, owned and skippered by Frederick George Setterfield. John Emery married Ellen’s niece Emily Louisa Setterfield, daughter of her brother Charles William Setterfield and Emily Price, in 1901 at St Lawrence.
Henry Ernest Setterfield master mariner born about 1847 at Ramsgate, the great-grandson of William Setterfield and Elizabeth Foastal, is apparently a close relative of Charles Setterfield master mariner fisherman born 1850 who married Emily Price but the link not established. Parents of Frederick George and Henry George Setterfield also are missing but assumed to belong to the same line as John William Setterfield, fishing skipper, born about 1850 Eastry, whose children were born at Ramsgate 1872-1880.
Samuel Wesley born 1825 married 1868 at Plymouth and Henry Wesley born 1815 married 1838 at Totnes in Devon seem directly related to this group.
We have furthermore, Robert Wesley born 1836 and William James Wesley born 1830 at East Stonehouse, Plymouth, married 1854 Plymouth, another William James Wesley born 1826 married 1851 at Totnes and a William Wesley born 1827 Brixham in Devon, which may share common ancestry with the above Samuel and Henry and widen relationships to include the Thanet births, pending ancestral details to link them.