Jesse JOY (1791-1862) - #50 (52 Ancestors)

Theme: Naughty      |     Images: Click on many to enlarge

In the continuing spirit of the holidays, how could I not write about someone with a name like Jesse JOY?  And with a name like that, who would suspect him of being naughty? But names can be deceiving.  In his defense, his first discretion may not have been intentional.  It was hard to find relatives with a “naughty” paper trail.  Stories about those who were only guilty of minor pranks or misdemeanors are well hidden or have not survived.  So I had to dig deep.​

I found Jesse in a branch of Terry’s tree that I haven’t visited in a while.  He’s not a direct ancestor, nor is he even a blood relative.  Jesse was Terry’s 4-times-great uncle by marriage, who married Catherine GOUGE, sister of Frances GOUGE and Matthew Thomas ROBSON, Terry’s 3-times-great grandparents.  Both Catherine and Frances GOUGE were daughters of Robert GOUGE and Frances HART who were Terry’s 4G grandparents.  They were married in Newington in northern Kent, England on 24 Nov 1778 (just west-northwest of Sittingbourne on the road west to Chatham).  “Catharine" was born on 13 Jan 1794 in Kingstown.  There was a larger town of Kingsdown on Kent’s east coast, north of Dover and south of Deal, but Catherine's Kingsdown was a rural community about 3 or 4 km south-southeast of Sittingbourne. So they didn’t go far.

Locations for Jesse JOY and Catherine GOUGE, Kent, England
Google Earth custom map - click to read

Catherine's husband Jesse JOY was christened farther south in Headcorn, Kent on 15 Jun 1791, the son of Robert JOY and Winifred WOOD.  Jesse and Catherine were married on 3 May 1814 in Borden, also near Sittingbourne (about 2km to the southwest).  By 1826 they were living in Bearsted (near Weavering on the eastern perimeter of Maidstone) where he worked as a saddler and rope maker. When his father died in 1828, Jesse inherited £80 and was co-executor of the estate along with his brother Thomas JOY and brother-in-law John MANNERING.  He continued to live in Bearsted.​

By 1841, Jesse age 50 and Catherine age 45 were living in Bearsted with two apprentice saddlers, another lodger and five of their children: Frances 20, Henry 19, Ellen 16, Jess Jr 10 and Eliza 7.  Their daughter Emma had already moved out and later married Samuel Wesley Copleston in 1845.  Their daughter Jane was born in 1827 but I have yet to find what happened to her. From land records in 1842, Jesse owned “Old cottage” and pasture land at Cross Keys and also rented one "Invicta Villas”, an orchard and other plots of land at Mill Hill Bearsted.  The 1847 City Directory and Poll Books say he was a saddler living on Bearsted Street.  All this seems fairly straightforward and even prosperous, with nothing to cause alarm.  

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Jesse JOY in jail in Maidstone Kent, 1849
The London Gazette published 17 July 1849, issue 20999, page 2283

So why did I say that Jesse was naughty?  In July 1849 there is a short notice in the London Gazette stating that "Jesse Joy, late of Bearstead, near Maidstone, Kent, Saddler, Harnessmaker and Farmer — In the Gaol of Maidstone.”  Oh no!  Reference was also made to the "Court for Relief of Insolvent Debtors.  Saturday the 14th day of July 1849.  Orders have been made, vesting in the Provisional Assignee the Estates and Effects of the following Persons:  On their own Petitions.” Unfortunately it doesn’t tell us how Jesse became bankrupt.  Perhaps he had a stretch of bad luck, or reduced business due to increased competition for his services, or mismanaged his funds and became overextended.

There are two further notices in the London Gazette regarding this.  The first was published a week later on 24 July 1849:

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Pursuant to the Acts for the Relief of Insolvent Debtors in England.
The following Prisoners, whose Estates and Effects have been vested in the Provisional Assignee by Order of the Court for Relief of Insolvent Debtors, and whose Petitions and Schedules, duly files, have been severally referred and transmitted to the County Courts hereinafter mentioned, pursuant to the Statute in that behalf, are ordered to be brought up before the Judges of the said Courts respectively, as herein set forth, to be dealt with according to Law:
Before the Judge of the County Court of Kent, holden at Maidstone, on Tuesday the 7th day of August 1849. …
Jessee Joy, of Bearsted, near Maidstone, in the county of Kent, Saddler, Harnessmaker, and Farmer

Jesse JOY, Insolvent Debtor's Court dividend settlement, 1850
The London Gazette published 23 July 1850, issue 21120, page 2076

Then a year later on 23 July 1850, a final notice was posted from the Insolvent Debtor’s Court relating to dividends awarded to his creditors "Of three shillings and fourpence, to the creditors of Jesse Joy, late of Bearsted, near Maidstone, Kent, Saddler, &c.  No. 71,380 C."

He and his family seem to have weathered the storm because the 1851 census lists  Jesse age 59 living on Bearsted Street with his wife Catherine 57, children Jesse R 19 saddler, Eliza C 17, their married daughter Emma Copleston 31, grandson William Copleston and a saddler’s apprentice.  He was back in business and had a second chance to earn a good living.

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Holy Cross Church, Bearsted, Kent, England
Courtesy of Google Maps.

Sadly in 1857 there is further record of Jesse JOY, this time in the criminal registers for Westminster, Middlesex. He was brought to trial at the Adjourned General Sessions on 30 Nov 1857, found guilty of embezzlement and sentenced with eight months  imprisonment. It’s hard to know if Jesse took money out of need to survive or out of greed and a wish to do better.  But in doing so he broke the law. This was another even harder blow for his family, friends and associates to absorb.  This was beyond “naughty”.

In 1861 Jesse was back with his family in Bearsted, still listed as a saddler and harness maker.  He was 69.  Only his wife Catherine and unmarried daughter Eliza were at home along with a boarder who happened to be a collector of poor rates.  Hopefully there wasn't a conflict of interest with his landlord. Their daughter Eliza died later that year, and the following year in Dec 1862, Jesse passed away at the age of 71.  He was buried on the 13th in Bearsted, where Catherine joined him in 1869. ​ His life had not lived up to his name.
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"52 Ancestors" is a reference to the "52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks" challenge I am participating in.  
Reference the No Story Too Small blog by genealogist Amy Johnson Crow for more details.  
It is giving me  the much needed incentive to write and publish my family stories.