Illustration Christine Fuller
I came across the following published in the Norwich Mercury of the 2nd July 1856:
WATTON
On Wednesday before Hon. B.N.O. De Grey & R. Dewing Esq., James Skitmore, James Crisp and William Skitmore were charged with wilfully damaging trees at Great Ellingham.
Ordered to pay the costs, 3s 9d [three shillings and nine pence] each
Newspapers
The above case brought before the Magistrates in Watton caught my eye. There is usually plenty of information about our ancestors who were eminent or involved in community life. However, there is less about the ‘everyday lives’ of ‘everyday people’.
Newspapers are an excellent source for family and local historians. It is possible to find details of various events held in local towns and villages. Reports of all kinds of cases brought before the various courts (for example civil, magistrates and assizes), also appear in newspapers. Having said that, there can also be reports of good deeds and positive happenings.
The Three Offenders
I believe the three males involved in the damage of trees at Great Ellingham may well be the following.
James & William Skitmore
The 1851 census captures brothers James and William Skitmore with their parents and siblings living at Anchor Lane, Little Ellingham. James is then 12 and William is 8. At the time of the offence, they would have been 17 and 13 respectively.
The brothers are the children of Rockland born farm labourer James Skitmore and his Dereham born wife Charlotte.
James Crisp
The same census finds 10 year James Crisp with his parents and siblings at Town Green, Little Ellingham. At the time of the court hearing, James would have been 15.
He is a son of Rockland born Thomas Crisp and his wife Mary.
Sources:
1851 census HO107/1823/139 & HO107/1823/145
2nd July 1856 Norwich Mercury