Edwin Newman
1803 - 1885
Outline Edwin's Life:
Edwin was born in 1803, and was educated at Sherborne School.
John Harden, Secretary of the Old Shirburnian Society confirmed in Nov 2003
that Edwin attended the school around 1815 and sent five of his sons there between
1837 and 1844. (The three youngest sons were presumably educated at Rubgy School
where Edwin's father (Edwin) and uncle
(Francis) were schooled.)
Edwin's father was the younger brother of Francis
Newman who, just a few years before Edwin's birth, had absconded to the
USA after squandering the family's fortune. Perhaps as a consequence of this,
Edwin became the first in his family to take up a profession outside of the
Church, and the first to start his own business - a law firm subsequently known
as Newman Paynter & Co, having its head-office
in Edwin's home at Hendford Manor, Yeovil,
Somerset. [See separate page for the story of
the firm.]
According to Marion Paynter,
Edwin bought Hendford Manor in 1840. She recalled that it was "a large
Georgian house that he made additions to soon after he bought it. It is now
a local authority office, and the fine old stable block (is now) a museum".
However baptismal records for Edwin’s children (as sent to me by Jennifer
Day in August 2002) suggest that Edwin moved to Hendford sometime between the
baptism of Charlotte on September 3 1833 (when he was recorded as a Solicitor
living in Vicarage St, Yeovil) and the baptism of Joseph Jekyll on January 28
1835 (when Edwin was recorded as a Solicitor of Hendford).
The 1851 census index for
Yeovil shows "Caroline Newman" living
with Edwin (21), William
(19), Arthur (7), Rowland
(5) and Henrietta (2). She is described
as "wife of Edwin Newman esq., solicitor, now of the Temple, London".
Edwin's first wife was Charlotte not Caroline,
but such errors in census records were not uncommon. [Note - it is possible
that the words "now of the Temple, London" applied to Edwin's eldest
son Edwin, who was then an articled
clerk, but it seems more likely that the note was added to explain Edwin's absence
from Yeovil at the time of the census.]
Edwin may have owned a home in London at this time, since his
youngest child and only daughter, Henrietta
(born in 1847), is said to have spent time in London in her youth. Her daughter
Edith Paynter recorded that her mother lived
in a house overlooking Hyde Park where she used to ride as a child. Later she
was married at St. George's Church, Hanover Square in London in 1868 which further
suggests that Edwin had a London home at that time. Perhaps he owned the house
at 19 Bolton Street, Mayfair (in
the parish of St. George's, Hannover Square, and less than a mile from Hyde
Park) where his eldest son Edwin's
family was living in 1861 [see census
record].
The census records for 1861,
1871 and 1881
show Edwin living in Yeovil. [Note - the only evidence that he might have
had a London office comes from the 1851 census
which appears to describe him as "solicitor, now of the Temple, London"
- see above].
Those present at Hendford at the time of the 1861
census were: Edwin himself and his wife Charlotte
and their sons Edwin (then a solicitor
aged 32) and Charles Octavius
(19, undergraduate). [Note: I have not yet located Henrietta in the 1861
census, when she would have been 14 years old.]
In 1868, Edwin travelled to Alnwick in Northumberland to purchase
Freelands - a story recounted in my notes about
his daughter Henrietta and his son-in-law (later step-son) Henry
Augustus Paynter.
The 1871 census shows Edwin at home at Hendford, Yeovil, with
Charlotte and their youngest son Rowland, who was then the Officiating Minister
at Lufton. Edwin is described as "Attorney at Law".
A few months after the death of Charlotte
in 1876, Edwin married Catherine Augusta
Paynter, widow of Francis Paynter. The
marriage took place in the remote village of Brompton Ralph in west Somerset
not far from Exmoor, the marriage ceremony perhaps being performed by Joseph
Jekyll (sister of his late wife) who
was at the time Rector of Hawkridge and
Withypool some 15 miles to the west.
At any rate, the marriage resulted in
Henry Augustus Paynter becoming not
only Edwin's son-in-law, but his step-son as well. Ian Caldwell once speculated
that Edwin might have married Catherine out of kindness, since it was rumoured
that her first husband Francis was bankrupt at the time of his death and may
have left her destitute. [Note: it has always been thought that Francis
Paynter was Edwin's partner in the family firm, but it now seems quite probable
that the partnership was set up between Edwin and James
Bernard Paynter after Francis's death.]
In November 1876, Edwin was presented with a large black mantelpiece
clock by some grateful clients. [This clock is now in my possession - see
Law Firm page.] My father told me that the clock was given as a retirement
present to Edwin, however its inscription makes no mention of his retirement.
Furthermore, if the theft of the firm's funds by the head clerk in 1880 (as
recalled by my father - see the Law Firm page) left
Edwin short of money, then he must still have had a pecuniary interest in the
firm. The 1881 Yeovil census
describes Edwin (then 77) as a solicitor, so it seems probable that he was still
working then.
Staying with Edwin at 12 Hendford in 1881 was his grand-daughter
Charlotte (Lottie) Newman (born
at West Lydford, and then 23 years old). Also living there was a butler, housemaid,
cook and kitchen maid. The gardener next door might well have worked for him
too. His second wife Catherine
had died the year before the census.
When he died, Edwin left an estate of £31,189 4s 2d
- a substantial sum in those days. Ownership of Edwin's Yeovil house, Hendford
Manor, passed to Catherine's youngest surviving son James
Bernard Paynter, who by then was a partner in the law practice. Edwin's
will divided up the bulk of his estate between seven of his surviving children,
their widows or children - those being:
- His eldest son (Edwin's) widow Sophie,
- George's daughter, Charlotte (Lottie),
- His oldest surviving son Walter,
- His son Charles
Octavius,
- His son Arthur,
- His youngest son Rowland
and
- His only daughter Henrietta.
His son Joseph's widow
collected "five thousand pounds …. on a Policy of Assurance …..
on the life of … her late husband", while Henrietta
appears to have been given an extra £2000 as a special concession (it
is always said she was the spoilt one!) . William
was left nothing, so presumably he had predeceased Edwin and died without issue.
Step-son James Bernard
Paynter was empowered to purchase "any part of Edwin's real and personal
estate at any sale or sales thereof at public auction or by private contract
…." which presumably prompted him to purchase Hendford
Manor from Edwin’s estate.
Executors of the will were his eldest surviving son Walter
Newman, and his step-sons Henry Augustus
Paynter and James Bernard Paynter,
both step-sons being solicitors. It is odd that Edwin did not nominate his other
son, Charles Octavius, who
was also a solicitor, to be an executor.
________________________________________
A delightful story about the young Edwin survives in a letter
from his granddaughter Evelyn Newman written
to my father Harold Ernest Montague Newman written in 1945:
"Grandfather [Edwin Newman], as a young man, rode out
to the Rectory on business & as he entered the drive which sweeps round
to the front porch, he caught sight of a lady sitting in the window, back
to him with her arm out-stretched & he made up his mind she was to be
Mrs. Newman. She was the daughter of the Rector "Jekyll". I presume
they were married at West Coker. She bore him 10 or 11 children some died
in infancy. Henrietta - your grandmother
- was the only surviving girl - (the reason she was so spoilt). Of the boys
- my uncles - I've known Uncle Edwin (the eldest),
Uncle Joe, Uncle Charlie,
Uncle Arthur and Uncle Rowland
- and of course Father. He came in before Uncle Joe. Lottie's
father was, I think, "George".
Anyway, Father was "quintus" Newman at Sherborne school!!
The letter ends with a lovely description of old Edwin as
Evelyn herself remembered him from her childhood:
"I think you would have liked old Grandfather and he
would have appreciated you. He was very proud of Eddie
[Evelyn's eldest brother, Edwin Montague Browne Newman] and was very
good to him. Mercifully Grandfather died about a month before Eddie
was killed in the Sudan. It would have been a great blow to the old man. He
was such a fine upright old figure always dressed in beautiful Cwad(?) cloth
- black - with a fob, with his seals hanging. He had a big head, always wore
a topper, rather at the back of his head. He was much respected and loved
by all around him, townsfolk and country folk alike. I can see him now, walking
up the isle of St John's and on one occasion I think the Harvest Festival,
they had put a scrowl (sic) over the alter with 'sanctus sanctus sanctus'
on it. This upset Grandfather completely, and he kept on uttering 'Popery!
Popery!' as he stalked along. Feelings ran high in those days!"
Note: the sudden use of altar decoration
may have been associated with the revival of more ritualistic church services
associated with what was called the "high church" following on from
the Oxford
Movement of the mid 19th century that was famously led by Cardinal
John Henry Newman. No family connection has been discovered between the
Fifehead Newmans and the famous cardinal.
Updates: 27 Mar 2012- major
rewrite.
25 Aug 2009 - separate page created for Henry
Brown Newman. Brother (William) and sisters (Frances and Charlotte) added to
page.
12 July 2005 -
1861 census data added; reference to Edwin's "retirement" clock changed,
and references to 1881 census modified.
2 Feb 2005 - link added
to 1851 census page; correction of Edwin's name in 4th paragraph of "Outline
of Edwin's life"; clarification of note about "Now of the Temple,
London".
