Thomas Baber Esq., 1739 to 1825.

A photograph of a portrait of Thomas Baber, now lost.

Thomas Baber was born at Warrington in Lancashire on December 28^th 1739[i].  Thomas appears to have been born at the house of his mothers family the Vaudry’s.

His father Thomas Draper Baber had married Barbara Vaudry daughter of Edward Vaudry of Warrington[ii]

Thomas had a brother Edward born on May 26 1746, and three sisters, Diana, Charlotte and Mary. Mary was the last born on September 25 1754.

In 1756 Thomas was apprenticed to John Piece, Attorney of Chancery Lane.[iii]

Note giving the dates of Edward & Mary’s birth dates.

On the 3^rd of February 1758 Thomas was admitted  to the Society of the Inner Temple.

In 1766 Thomas Draper Baber inherited his father John’s property at Sunninghill.  The property appears to have been heavily mortgaged, as three parchment mortgages signed by John Baber and Thomas Draper Baber were attached to John’s will.

The will left the books and furniture to Thomas Draper Baber, and sums for the maintenance of Peregrine, John and Charlotte.  Trustees were appointed to hold parts of the estate for them unless Thomas Draper Baber could pay off the sums of £2500 and £6500. The books went in a sale in 1766, and it appears that the estate passed from the families hands on the 8 June 1769, when it was sold to Jeremiah Crutchley.

The cover of a document confirming Thomas admittance to the Inner Temple.

At some point before 1775, Thomas married Elizabeth Berriman[iv].

The reverse of the document detailing Thomas Baber’s admittance to the Inner  Temple. Showing the various fees payable for admittance. 

By 1775 Thomas appears to be living at Slingsby in Yorkshire, because on “August 22^nd in the Parsonage house at Slingsby in Yorkshire” Henry Hervey Baber was born[v].  Over the following years Elizabeth was to have a further four boys.  Thomas Hervey Baber was born on 29 September 1777[vi], William on 13 October 1778, James Hervey Baber on the 25 July 1780, and John born on 3 March 1783.

In 1780 the family moved from Slingsby to Stamford in Lincolnshire.[vii]  Where the family lived until 1782.  The elder boys Henry and Thomas were boarded at Mr Broughton’s School in Stamford.

By 3 March 1783 the family had moved to Leather Lane, for this was where John the last boy was born.  However tragedy followed very shortly afterwards, as on 14^th March 1783, William died.

In 1784 Henry and Tom came up to London to their parents house for the first time from their school at Stamford.  On 24 June Mrs King, Elizabeth’s sister died.[viii]

A list of the birth dates for the children of Thomas Baber,

            Thought to be in his handwriting.

During July 1792 Thomas and his eldest son Henry traveled to Great Chesterford, and stayed for two days, during which time the Rev’d John Baber died.  John had been Thomas uncle.

On the 15^th June 1794 at the age of 86 Barbara Baber, Thomas mother died.  In the previous November Thomas gave his son the Guinea which Barbara Baber had presented to Henry as an infant.

Signatures of Thomas Draper Baber and Thomas Baber

Thomas appears to have had a difficult marriage, because in 1794 Henry aged 19 recorded:

“Father & Mother parted Sept. 9^th.  Mov’d to No 9 Gt Shire Lane Sept 16”.[ix]

Henry went up to All Soul’s College Oxford in April 1795, and records a visit by his father on November 3^rd.  His mother appears to have been living in Greenwich because Henry records traveling to visit her in the following year: -

“Went to my Mother at Greenwich March 25 returned to Oxford April 9 (1796)”

This was also the year in which Thomas Hervey Baber set out for India sailing in the Albion, Captain Timbrel to Bombay.

James left Woolwich on August 5^th 1797 Woolwich[x].  Henry visited Greenwich on July 30, returning to Oxford on September 1.  James was appointed cadet in the East India company’s service at Madras.

Thomas a writer was finding his feet rapidly in India.  On the 7^th February 1798, Henry records that:

“Father hears from Tom a Letter dated Bombay August 1797   about the same receives a letter which came overland enclosed (by great favour) with the government dispatches, requesting his consent to marry a Mrs Cameron (wife of a major Cameron who was lately killed in an excursion down country) she is not 18 the daughter of Mr Fearon of Edinburgh – 7 niece of Mr Douglas of Fitzroy Square London  -- She had been married to the Major about a twelvemonth.

Tom’s first appointment (upon his arrival at B’by was assistant to the Secretary in the Private Department.”

On the 23 March 1798 James sailed for Madras in the Good Hope East Indiaman Captain Hilton.

In August on the 24^th Thomas received a letter from Tomas his son in India to say that he had married Mrs Helen Cameron in the previous January on the16th.  Soon afterwards Thomas was appointed Assistant in the Revenue Department at Callicut.

In September 1798 Elizabeth Baber moved to Mrs Horrox’s New Cross Deptford.  On the 16^th December 1798 Henry was ordained at Buckden in Huntingdonshire.  He traveled down to Deptford to visit his mother on Wednesday 20^th December before traveling to Oxford to read Morning Prayers at St Clements – Oxford for the first time.

Thomas son John was elected Scholar of Pembroke College Oxford in September 1799 after attending Abingdon School.

Thomas appears to have been living at Newbury by this time.  He also appears to have reached a rapprochement with his wife, for in March 1800 Henry records: -

“March.

My Mother removed from London to Newbury ---“

John left England in 1802 for India as a Cadet for Calcutta, sailing in the Duchess of Buccleugh.

Henry visited his parents in January 1803 to recover from illness.  During his two week stay he visited the Richard’s who were his mothers sisters family, who were living nearby.  He returned again for Christmas 1804.  In 1805 he stayed in Newbury with his parents from 10 July until 20 July.  The family lived at North Park which was by 1880 the Vicarage.  After a trip to Wales and Bristol, he returned again spending part of September from 20 to 28^th at Newbury, during which time he dined with his father at Sir Robert Kingsmill’s at Sidmonton in Hampshire.

This visit may be related to Henry’s next entry in October, when he record’s: -

Oct 11^th  Obtained consent from Mr Smith to pay my addresses to his daughter.”

In August 1808, the first of Thomas grandchildren arrived from India.  He arrived in England on the 14^th August and traveled down to Newbury on the 29 August..

Thomas eldest son Henry married Ann Smith daughter of Harry Smith Esg, a partner of Child’s Bank on 28 January 1809 at St James’s church Clerkenwell.  At the following Whitsuntide Henry and Ann spent a week at Newbury.

In 1825 Henry recorded: --

“April My Father died at half past 9 O'clock this morning.”

In 1873 Harry Baber, Thomas Grandson wrote to John Stillman Parish Clerk of Newbury seeking information on the burial place of Thomas Baber.  The Baber’s had had a family crypt under the church at Sunninghill, and in 1827 Edward Baber is recorded as being buried there, however in the period from about 1825 to 1827 the church at Sunninghill was being restored.

Stillman wrote: -

                                                            Newbury

                                                            June 3^rd 1873

Reverend Sir,

                        I beg to inform you that Thomas Baber Esq’r was interred by permission in a vault in the nave of Newbury Church on the 15^th day of April 1825          to be removed to the family vault at Sunninghill Church which church at that time was undergoing restoration thus the reason for being interred at newbury Church this information I obtain from our Burial Register – but from enquiries I have made of an old man 83 years of age he told that it was never remove’d from Newbury Church & that Thomas Baber Esq  live’d in the same House that is now the Rectory & that he was a Gentleman of Independent Means & very much respected.

I can depend on this information for he is a man that I often go to & I pay him a small fee & I find it very useful to me.

I forgot to say that my informant help to carry your friend to Newbury Church any further information that you may want I should be happy to supply you as far as I am able.

                        I Remain

                        Reverend Sir

                        Yours Truly

                        John R Stillman

                        Parish Clerk.

The article above represents my knowledge of Thomas Baber to date.  I would very much like to be able to fill in more details particularly relating to his career.  If you are aware of ways to finding information on the legal cases he was involved in, or have details of the Vaudry or Berriman families, or of what he was doing in Slingsby or Stamford I would be very pleased to hear from you.  My email address is nicholas.balmer1@ntlworld.com

I would like to acknowledge the assistance given to me in preparing this article by Joe and Vera Baber.