Isaac Bottomley was born in 1776 at Soyland, West Riding of
Yorkshire, and baptised on 25 December 1776 at St Bartholomew, Ripponden, West
Riding of Yorkshire,[i] in a
landscape of cotton mills. On 20 October 1806 he married Mary Skeet at St Margaret of Antioch, Leiston, Suffolk.[ii]
Mary was born in 1784 at Bredfield, Suffolk and baptised on 4 April 1784 at St
Andrew, Bredfield, the daughter of James and Mary Skeet.[iii]
Isaac served in the 7th Regiment
of the Dragoons. He was admitted to the Royal Hospital, Chelsea on 30 August
1814 for treatment of a bad rupture he suffered while at exercise in the field.
He was noted as being born in Halifax, previously been a Cotton Weaver, 5ft 6in
tall, with light grey eyes and a fair complexion. The National Archives holds a
removal order for Mary:
·
Removal order; 7 Dec. 1815 Mary, wife of Isaac
Bottomley, Private in the Fifth Royal Veteran Battalion, with Ann and Sarah
their children, St. Peter to St. Mary Stoke, Ipswich FB101/G4/159
A
removal order would have been raised under the poor law Act
of Settlement and Removal. The Act allowed for the removal from a parish, back
to their place of settlement, of newcomers whom local justices deemed "likely
to be chargeable" to the parish poor rates.
Veteran battalions were raised to
assist the British Army in the fight against Napoleon. Between 1804 and 1820,
13 royal garrison battalions were raised, taking into service army pensioners
and invalids. These battalions worked in depots and stores doing mainly
administration and support work, which enabled the more able-bodied soldiers to
do the fighting. The 5th Royal Garrison Battalion was raised on 25 December
1802 on Guernsey. In 1804 it was renamed as the 5th Royal Veteran Battalion and
by 1805 had 7 companies on Guernsey and 3 on Alderney. The Battalion was
disbanded at Chelsea on 26 July 1814 but on 3 June 1815 3 companies of 11th
Royal Veteran Battalion, formerly stationed on the Isle of Man, were used to
form nucleus of new 5th Royal Veteran Battalion. This was finally disbanded in
June 1816 at Deptford.
The Ipswich Journal of 4 April 1885 carried an article about the 1821 census
and listed the occupiers of homes in the parish of St Mary Stoke including
Isaac.[iv]
In 1841 Isaac and Mary and two of
their children, Isaac and Susannah, were living on Stoke Street in the parish of St Mary
Stoke, Ipswich. Isaac senior was recorded as a
Labourer, whilst his son was a Shipwright.[v]
Ten years later they were living in Star
Lane in the Parish of St Mary Key, Ipswich. Isaac was recorded as a Chelsea pensioner signifying that he had
survived a term in the military and was now eligible to draw a pension in his
old age.[vi]
Isaac died on Monday 24 April
1854 at his home in Star Lane, Ipswich, aged
seventy-seven, of "Continued Fever". Mary Bailey was present at his death and this might be his
daughter Mary Ann.[vii] He was
buried on 30 April 1854 at St Mary Stoke, Ipswich.[viii] His wife, Mary, died in Ipswich in
1857 aged seventy-three[ix]
and was buried on 28 January 1857 in St Mary Stoke, Ipswich.[x]
Isaac and Mary had the following
children:
i.
Mary Anne Bottomley
was born on 20 July 1807 at Ipswich and baptised on 9 August 1807 at St Mary
Stoke, Ipswich.
ii.
Elkanah Bottomley
was born on 1 July 1810 at Ipswich and baptised on 22 July 1810 at St Mary
Stoke, Ipswich.
iii.
Sarah Bottomley
was born on 5 August 1814 at Ipswich, baptised on 28 August 1814 at St Mary
Stoke, Ipswich.
iv.
James Bottomley
was born on 19 December 1816 at Ipswich and baptised on 9 February 1817 at St
Mary Stoke, Ipswich.
v.
Eliza Bottomley
was born on 22 July 1818 at Ipswich and baptised on 16 August 1818 at St Mary
Stoke, Ipswich.
vi.
Isaac Bottomley
was born on 1 March 1820 at Ipswich and baptised on 18 April 1820 at St Peter, Ipswich.
vii.
Susannah Bottomley
was born on 19 May 1822 at Ipswich and baptised on 2 June 1822 at St Mary
Stoke, Ipswich.
[i] Ancestry "West Yorkshire, England, Baptisms, Marriages and
Burials, 1512-1812," database(ancestry.co.uk : accessed 6 August 2017),
Baptism of Isaac Bottomley in 1776; West Yorkshire Archive Service; Wakefield,
Yorkshire, England; Yorkshire Parish Records; Old Reference Number: D21/2; New
Reference Number: WDP21/2; Baptism at St Bartholomew, Ripponden with Rishworth.
1776 Dec 25 Isaac of Elknah Bottomley Soyld
[ii] "England, Suffolk Marriage Index," database, Findmypast
(http://www.findmypast.co.uk/ : accessed 7 September 2018), Marriage of Isaac
Bottomley & Mary Skeet; Suffolk Family History Society. Marriage at St
Margaret of Antioch, Leiston and Sizewell, Suffolk, England. 20 Oct 1806 Isaac
Bottomley, of Dunwich. Mary Skeet, of Leiston.
[iii] "England, Suffolk Baptism Index 1538-1911," database, findmypast
(https://www.findmypast.co.u : accessed 7 September 2018), Baptism of Mary
Skeet; Baptism at St Andrew, Bredfield. 04 Apr 1784 Mary, of James & Mary
Skeet
[iv] The Ipswich Journal; digital images; The Ipswich Journal, 4 April 1885[Article about the
parish of St Mary Stoke]The Census in 1821 On taking this the names (or abodes)
of the then occupiers were given as follows:-...Bottomley, Isaac...
[v] Public Records Office, 1841 Bottomley, Isaac household (UK 1841
Census)
Dwelling: Stoke Street
Census
Place: St Mary Stoke, Ipswich, Suffolk,
England
Source: PRO HO107/1043/11 Folio 29B
Name Rel Con Age Birthplace Occupation
Isaac
Bottomley 60 Born N Labourer
Mary
Bottomley 55 Born Y
Isaac
Bottomley 20 Born Y Shipwright
Susannah
Bottomley 15 Born Y
[vi] Public Records Office, 1851 Bottomley, Isaac household (UK 1851
Census)
Dwelling: Star Lane
Census
Place: St Mary Key, Ipswich, Suffolk,
England
Source: PRO HO107/1800 Folio 028 Page
10
Name Rel Con Age Birthplace Occupation
Isaac
Bottomley Head Mar 74 Soyland, YKS Chelsea pensioner
Mary
Bottomley Wife Mar 67 Bredfield, SFK
Susannah
Bottomley Daur Un 28 Ipswich,
SFK [...]
[vii] Registrar of Births and Deaths,
Certificate of Death. (Issued by S R
Gooding Registrar for the District of Ipswich Sub-district of St Clement
Ipswich in the County of Suffolk). Twenty-fourth April 1854, Star Lane, St Mary
Key, Ipswich. Isaac Bottomley. Male, aged 77, gardener. Cause of death: Continued
fever certified. Mary Bailey present at death, Key Street, St Mary Key, Ipswich.
Registered 28 April 1854. Registrar: S R Gooding. GRO Death Isaac Bottomley,
volume 04A, page 358, Jun quarter 1854, Ipswich district; aged 77
[viii]
Federation of Family History
Societies, National Burial Index v3 (ISBN
978-0-9564721-0-6). 30 Apr 1854 Isaac Bottomley 77 Ipswich, St Mary Stoke
[ix] GRO Death Mary Bottomly,
volume 04A, page 367, Mar quarter 1857, Ipswich district; aged 73
[x] Federation of Family History Societies,
National Burial Index v3 (ISBN 978-0-9564721-0-6). 28 Jan 1857 Mary
Bottomley 73 SFK Ipswich, St Mary Stoke
