Lancelot, my son, was born Nov. the 29th, 1661, between seven and eight of the clock in the morning, at Cockermouth, upon the Lord’s Day”. 

Lancelot was baptized 30 November 1661 at All Saint’s Congregational Church at Cockermouth where his father was the ordained minister.  One year before Lancelot’s birth, George Larkham was discharged from preaching in public at All Saint’s Church by Sir George Fletcher, Sheriff of Cumberland.  Labeled a Nonconformist[v], George Larkham maintained a religious following in Cumberland and continued to preach in secret.  With the Act of Uniformity of 1662, George Larkham and his father (Lancelot’s grandfather) Thomas, were ejected from the Church of England.

As a result of his father’s plight, Lancelot’s family moved frequently during his early years. By 1663, the family was living in Papcastle, to the northwest of Cockermouth, shortly thereafter moving further west to Broughton.   When Lancelot’s father learned there was a warrant out against him, he left on his own for Broughton Tower in Lancashire, some forty miles to the south; then “to Booth, to my Aunt Sandy’s house,” and then “to Gomersal, to my Aunt Pollard’s”.  By September of 1663, George Larkham was joined in Gomersal by his wife, Dorothy, and one of the boys (perhaps Lancelot, who was at that time the youngest child in the family; about twenty months old).  Shortly thereafter, George Larkham was found by his pursuers and was “imprisoned in York City, for Five Weeks space, upon account of his Nonconformity”.

In 1668, the Larkham family returned to Cumberland.  Due to the Five Mile Act[vi], George Larkham was prohibited from venturing within five miles of Cockermouth, so the family settled at Egremont.  Lancelot’s father began once again holding church meetings “at the house of Sister Hutton, Hemshill” and “at the Hall at Tallantire; but under great threatenings”.  By 1669, the Larkhams moved to Tallantire, where, despite being within the prohibited area of the Five Mile Act, George Larkham began holding church meetings at his home.  The church met in private in this manner for the next several years.

Living with Condy Relatives in Tavistock, 1671 

Around 1671, young Lancelot, about nine years of age, was sent to live with his uncle and aunt, Daniel and Jane (Larkham) Condy in Tavistock, Devonshire.  In a letter to his brother-in-law, George Larkham wrote:

 Brother Condy,

Yours of the 26th of June, received July the 23rd. I rejoice that you received my last, with the enclosed to my child.

“Touching my son [Lancelot] with you, it is not my ambition to make him a scholar, except his genius lead him that way. I give you thanks that you deal truly with me in the business of his capacity. I shall not discourage the lad; let him fancy his own employment, and I will do my best for him. In the mean time, I should desire, if you think fit, that he learn to write a good hand, and to cast accounts; that so he may be fit for an employment.  This trouble may be imposed, possibly, upon my friend, Austin.”

This letter provides a unique insight into Reverend George Larkham's view of his young son's interests and intellectual capability. Perhaps Lancelot's choice of trade and lifestyle factored into the statement Reverend George Larkham later made of his son in his will.

Apprenticeship to John Howard of London, ca. 1676 - 1683

            Approximately March 1676, Lancelot was placed into an apprenticeship with the prosperous upholder, John Howard (sometimes spelled Haward) of London.  Lancelot probably was 14 years old at the beginning of the apprenticeship, as this was the standard age for starting an apprenticeship.  It's not clear exactly what John Howard's trade was, as upholders were typically represented by various trades, including the manufacture and sale of upholstered goods, cabinet makers, undertakers, soft furnishers, auctioneers, and valuers, however he left a sizable estate in his will, probated 11 Mar 1727. An article on his grandson, John Howard [III] the philanthropist and prison reformer, stated "Howard's father [John Howard II] was an 'upholder' who made his living catering to the needs of the wealthy for fine furnishings" (Chapman, 2013).  Houston wrote that John Howard [II] was "the upholsterer and dealer in tapestries and oriental carpets of that name at 'The Talbot'." It seems likely that John Howard I (to whom Lancelot Larkham was apprenticed) did the same type of work as an upholder.

 Included in the Court Minutes Book of the Upholders Company of the City of London is the following entry, noting the completion of the apprenticeship of Lancelot Larkham when he was twenty-one years of age:

1683 60. Marty Lanc: Larkham free.

"Att this Court Lancelot Larkham (Apprentice to John Haward) was Admitted into the freedome of this Company and accordingly sworn and paid iij6 iiijd for such Admission and gave x6 in lieu of plate."

It was customary for an apprentice of the Company of Upholders, after serving his time, to go before the Court of Assistants with his master to formalize his freedom. Following payment of a fee, the apprentice was made free of the Company. He was also granted freedom of the city of London following another ceremony before the Chamberlain. The new freeman then presented the company with ten shillings in lieu of "plate". If he wished to set up his own business, there was another payment to be made. (Walton, 1973). Lancelot was twenty-one years old when he was granted his freedom.  It's not clear if he set up business on his own  or continued to work with John Haward, as records for this time in London are scarce.

The Imprisonment and Deaths of Lancelot's Cousins, Thomas Miller and Thomas Larkham, 1685

The next two years must have been traumatic for Lancelot because he lived in London close enough to his older cousin, Tom Larkham to be aware of the series of unfortunate events that befell his first cousins, Thomas Miller and Thomas (Tom) Larkham. In May 1684, Lancelot's cousin Thomas Miller, following a tumultuous several years in the American colony of Albemarle, returned to England and was appointed customs collector, first in Poole and then in Weymouth.  In the latter appointment, Thomas Miller was accused of mishandling funds, removed from his office as customs collector, and imprisoned (Parker, 1991).  While he was in prison, Thomas Miller’s cousin, Tom Larkham gave £1,000  bond (worth $80,543 in 2023) as surety for his cousin.  Thomas Miller "died in prison indebted to the King", probably in the spring of 1685.  Because Tom Larkham gave surety for his cousin, he was arrested and imprisoned for the debt owed by his cousin Miller.  Tragically, Tom Larkham also died in prison, sometime between 21 June 1685 when he wrote his will and 16 October 1685 when his widow made her first petition to the Customs Commissioners to be discharged of the bond given by her late husband as surety for Thomas Miller.  

Tom Larkham’s will was proved 4 February 1686. He identified himself as a merchant of the parish of St. Martin Orgar in London and bequeathed "unto my cousin Lancelott Larkham the sonne of George Larkham of Cockermouth my Seald Ring which was left me by my grandfather."[vii]  This was "my ring which hath my seal in it" that Reverend Thomas Larkham (grandfather also to Lancelot Larkham) bequeathed to Tom Larkham in his will, written 1 June 1668 and proved 9 March 1669.

In Somerset County, 1686

On 27 October 1686, Lan: Larkham witnessed the will of John Comer, Sr. of Oake in the Diocese of Bath and Wells in Somerset County, England.  If this was Lancelot Larkham of Cockermouth, he would have been nearly twenty-five years of age.  Other witnesses to the will were John Larkham and James Jarman[viii].  In his will, John Comer, Sr. names his son, “John Comer of New England”, [ix]  who was the grandfather of John Comer, the Baptist minister who started the Six Principal Baptist Church in Rhode Island.  It may be significant that the descendants of Lancelot Larkham of Rhode Island (presumed grandson of Lancelot Larkham of Cockermouth), were members of the Six Principal Baptist Church.

John Larkham who witnessed John Comer, Sr.'s will with Lancelot was probably a cousin.  In 1685, John Larkham of Wells, Somerset County was arrested for taking part in the Monmouth Rebellion.  The rebellion was an attempt to depose King James II, who in February 1685 succeeded his brother Charles II as king of England, Scotland and Ireland. A group of dissident Protestants led by James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, eldest illegitimate son of Charles II, opposed James largely due to his Catholicism.

On 11 June 1685, Monmouth landed at Lyme Regis, where he was widely supported.  He planned to take control of the area and march on to London. In the next few weeks, his growing army of nonconformists, artisans and farm workers fought a series of skirmishes, however, his recruits were unable to compete with the regular army and failed to capture the city of Bristol. The rebellion ended with Monmouth's defeat at the Battle of Sedgemoor on 6 July 1685 (Clarke, 1985; Johnson, n.d.; Tincey, 2005).

The Duke of Monmouth was beheaded for treason on 15 July 1685. Many of the rebels who fought with him were tried during the Bloody Assizes, led by Judge George Jeffreys, and were condemned to death or transportation (Clarke, 1985).  John Larkham was transported, and delivered to Sir William Stapleton at Nevis Island in the West Indies (Defoe, 1716). It seems unlikely that this is the same John Larkham who witnessed John Comer, Sr.'s will with Lancelot a year later, however he may have been related to Lancelot and John Larkham. It also may be significant that Lancelot was recorded as being in Somerset County one year after the Monmouth Rebellion took place. 

Slightly more than fourteen years passed in which no records have been found for Lancelot Larkham.  It seems likely he must have lived in London, where he began with his trade, because events later in his life (discussed below) took place in London.  He may have become a merchant as his cousin Tom Larkham had.

The Death of His Father, Reverend George Larkham, 1700

Reverend George Larkham died 26 December 1700 when Lancelot was thirty-nine years of age.  Reverend Larkham’s will, written 10 January 1699 and proved 17 March 1700, made the following bequest to Lancelot and his son, Thomas: 

Itm My will is and I doe hereby bequeath to my Son Lancelot for a Legacy Ten pound;

Itm to his Son Thomas (my Grandchild) Ten pound, To be due for him; in order to his bringing up to some trade; And I hope his parents will not defraud him &c.

One can only speculate as to why Reverend George Larkham made this statement about Lancelot and the mother of young Thomas.  Reverend Larkham appears to be concerned about the responsibility of Lancelot and Thomas' mother in raising Thomas.  Whether this had to do with Lancelot's profession, or the character of Lancelot and Thomas's mother, or both, is unknown.  No record has been found to identify Thomas’s mother, nor has a record of Thomas’s birth been found.  It is evident from an apprenticeship record for Thomas (discussed below) that he was probably born in in 1697, so he was probably about eighteen months old when his grandfather, Reverend George Larkham, wrote his will on 10 January 1699.

The Death of Lancelot Larkham and His Infant Daughter, 1707-1709

The Society of Genealogists holds a burial record at St. Mary's Church, Battersea, for a "Hide's nurse child", Mary Larkham, daughter of Lancelot, who was buried on 28 July 1707 (Society of Genealogists, 2020). This is actually the combined records of two concurrent registers for St. Mary's Church, Battersea.

This information comes from one record in a register of Births, marriages and burials  from St. Mary's Church, Battersea.  This record identifies Mary Larkham as Hide's nurse child (abbreviated as "N.C." in the records).  This record has been digitized by Ancestry.com and can be found by searching Ancestry's database for London, England, Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812.

The second record, identifying Mary as the daughter of Lancelot Larkham, comes from a contemporaneous register of St. Mary's Church, Battersea, which has not been digitized and is only available through the London Metropolitan Archives.

These records indicate that Lancelot was paying a woman of surname Hide in Battersea to care for his infant daughter, Mary. In A Study of Nurse Children, 1550-1750, Gillian Clark notes that nurse children are "children sent away from the parental home to be reared by another family", usually in an arrangement where the child's parents pay for the care of their child.  Clark notes the practice was found principally in the City of London and its outer suburbs. The National Institute for Genealogical Studies defines the term,

"A nurse child was one sent out to a woman paid to care for it, either by wet-nursing a baby, or dry-nursing an older infant, the latter term formerly meaning a child up to age 7. It was very popular amongst the middle and upper classes, although it was also used for foundlings, for example those from the Foundling Hospital and Christ’s Hospital in London. Those living in crowded cities would typically send their children to the far healthier countryside for their first three years or so. "

It's possible that Lancelot was widowed at this point and found it necessary the hire a woman to care for his infant daughter.

Just over two years later, the records of St. Olave parish, Bermondsey, Surrey, England included the burial record of Lancelot Larkham on 21 September 1709[x]. 

Review of the burial records of St. Olave parish show a large number of burials in September and October 1709.  In September 1709, 66 people were buried at this parish, and in October 1709, 61 people were buried at St. Olave parish.  The primary causes of mortality in 1709 London were "fever" (3,461 deaths), consumption (3,040 deaths), smallpox (1,024 deaths), and typhus (118 deaths).[xi], so disease was probably the explanation for such high death rates in St. Olave parish. If Lancelot Larkham, who was buried at St.Olave parish on 21 September 1709, was Lancelot Larkham of Cockermouth, he would have been nearly 48 years of age. 

Lancelot's burial at St. Olave Church indicates he lived in Bermondsey, perhaps in the vicinity of Tooley Street where the church was located.  In the late 17th and early 18th century, Bermondsey was the location of manufacturing and warehouses along the banks of the Thames River. If Lancelot was still engaged in the trade for which he apprenticed, perhaps he was dealing in the import of furniture, carpets and tapestries, and was centered at a warehouse in this district. This too may have been one of the ways in which young Thomas Larkham was introduced to maritime trade.

Thomas Larkham's Guardianship by Deliverance Larkham and His Apprenticeship

Less than one year after Lancelot's death, a 1710 apprenticeship contract was signed by Deliverance Larkham, of Exeter, Devonshire, England (son of Reverend George Larkham of Cockermouth), placing his nephew, Thomas Larkham into an apprenticeship with the tailor, Samuel Cole of Exeter (Society of Genealogists, 2000). 

This contract provides fairly solid evidence that Lancelot Larkham of Bermondsey was Lancelot Larkham of Cockermouth, son of Reverend George Larkham. It may also indicate that Lancelot Larkham's wife predeceased him, perhaps some time before July 1707 when their baby daughter, a "nurse child" in the care of the Hind family, was buried. Following Lancelot Larkham's death in 1709, custody of his son, Thomas, would have gone to Lancelot's next surviving relative, which was his older brother, Deliverance. 

Considering Deliverance Larkham was a bachelor clergyman in Exeter with probably limited capability of raising a pre-teenaged boy, it's not surprising he placed Thomas into an apprenticeship, which was an accepted way for teenaged boys to learn a trade in 17th and 18th century England.  Lancelot Larkham of Cockermouth/Bermondsey was himself apprenticed to the upholder John Howard of London between 1676 and 1683.  Perhaps significantly, this practice was followed when Thomas Larkham of South Kingstown, Rhode Island died. His son Lancelot was also placed into an apprenticeship.

If the apprenticeship of young Thomas ended on his 21st birthday, which was customary, and considering the length of the apprenticeship was eight years, which is one year more than the standard term of apprenticeship, it's likely that Thomas was thirteen years old on 10 July 1710, which would place his birthdate at 10 July 1697. He would have been about eighteen months old when Reverend George Larkham named him in his will. Of note, the £10 Deliverance Larkham paid for Thomas Larkham's apprenticeship was the exact amount Reverend George Larkham bequeathed to his grandson "in order to his bringing up to some trade". 

Endnotes

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[i] According to Britannica Online Encyclopedia, www.britannica.com , Cockermouth is a “town (parish), Allerdale district, administrative county of Cumbria, historic county of Cumberland, England, situated where the River Derwent emerges from the mountains of the scenic Lake District and is joined by the River Cocker. The community grew under the protection of a Norman castle, now modernized as a private residence. The 19th-century English Romantic poet William Wordsworth was born in Cockermouth, and his house in the main street is preserved by the National Trust. In addition to acting as the service centre for an extensive farming area, the town benefits from tourist traffic attracted to the Lake District. Pop. (2001) 7,877.”

According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cockermouth_(UK_Parliament_constituency) “Until the Great Reform Act of 1832, the[borough] constituency consisted solely of the market town of Cockermouth in Cumberland. It first returned members to the Model Parliament of 1295, but its franchise then seems to have lapsed until 1641, when the Long Parliament passed a resolution (15 February 1641) to restore its ancient privileges.”  The right of election in Cockermouth was vested in the burgage tenants of the borough, of whom there were about 300 in 1832. Cockermouth was considered a pocket borough, with the vast majority of the voters being under the influence of the Lowther family.

At the time of the 1831 census, the borough included just over 1,000 houses and had a population of 4,536. The Reform Act expanded the boundaries to bring in the neighbouring parishes of Eaglesfield, Brigham, Papcastle and Bridekirk, and part of Devonby, increasing the population to 6,022 and encompassing 1,325 houses. This made the borough big enough to retain both its members. However, in the next wave of reform, introduced at the 1868 general election, one of Cockermouth's two seats was withdrawn, and in 1885 the borough was abolished altogether, although the name was transferred to the surrounding county constituency.

 

[ii] From http://www.dover.lib.nh.us/DoverHistory/sketchofdover.htm: In 1640, Mr. Thomas Larkham, a native of Lyme, in Dorsetshire, who had been a minister at Northam, near Barnstable, England, came to Dover, and "the people were much taken with his public preaching, he being of good parts and well gifted; but not being able to maintain two ministers, they resolved to cast off Mr. Knollys and embrace Mr. Larkham; whereupon Mr Knollys, making a virtue of necessity; gave place."

"Mr Larkham suddenly departed from Dover, in 1641," and "returned to England, and was settled in the ministry at Tavistock, in Devonshire, from whence he was ejected by the Uniformity act, 1662. He died in 1669, aged 68 and had all the character, in his latter days, of a man of great piety and sincerity."

 

[iii] According to Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames with Special American Instances by Charles Wareing Endell Bardsley, the name Lancelot “was very common in Cumberland and N. England generally for many centuries.”

 

[iv] The Journal of George Larkham from History of the Congregational Church, Cockermouth : being selections from its own records.

 

[v] http://www.britannica.com defines a Nonconformist as “any English Protestant who does not conform to the doctrines or practices of the established Church of England. The word Nonconformist was first used in the penal acts following the Restoration of the monarchy (1660) and the Act of Uniformity (1662) to describe the conventicles (places of worship) of the congregations that had separated from the Church of England (Separatists). Nonconformists are also called dissenters (a word first used of the five Dissenting Brethren at the Westminster Assembly of Divines in 1643–47). Because of the movement begun in the late 19th century by which Nonconformists of different denominations joined together in the Free Church Federal Council, they are also called Free Churchmen.”

 

[vi] The Five Mile Act or Oxford Act, is an Act of the Parliament of England (17 Charles II c. 2), passed in 1665 with the long title "An Act for restraining Non-Conformists from inhabiting in Corporations". It was one of the English penal laws that sought to enforce conformity to the established Church of England. It forbade clergymen from living within five miles (8 km) of a parish from which they had been banned, unless they swore an oath never to resist the king, or attempt to alter the government of Church or State (The '16 Charles II c. 2' nomenclature is reference to the statute book of the numbered year of the reign of the named King in the stated chapter. This is the method used for Acts of Parliament from before 1962).

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Mile_Act_1665)

 

[vii] This was Tom Larkham, grandson of the Reverend Thomas Larkham of Tavistock.  His father, also Thomas Larkham, died February 14, 1648, and his mother, Mary Covert Larkham, died sometime thereafter, leaving Tom an orphan.  Rev. Thomas Larkham raised Tom and has many entries in his diary about his grandson, beginning April 1650.   In his will, proved 4 February 1686, Tom Larkham bequeathed “unto my cousin Lancelott Larkham the sonne of George Larkham of Cockermouth my Sealed Ring which was left me by my grandfather.” In his will,proved March 8, 1669, Reverend Thomas Larkham bequeathed “To Thomas Larkham my grandson my best silver bowle and my ring which hath my seal in it…”

 

[viii] The IGI lists a Jas. Jerman, christened 04 JUN 1626 at Norton Fitzwarren, Somerset, England.

 

[ix] From:   The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Volume LIV, April 1900, Whole Number 214, Gleanings Among the English Archives  By J. Henry Lea, Esq. P. 193Will of John Comer sen^r of Oake in Diocese of Bath and Wells, and County of Somsett:, yeoman, weake of body. Dated 27 October 1686.

To sonne John Comer of New England £10 and to sonne George Comer now in London £10, both in one month after decease of my wife Dorothy. My Sonne William Comer of London Residuary Legatee and Exor. Wit : James Jarman, Lan: Larkham and John Larkham. Pro. at London I June 1689 by Exor. P. C. C. Ent.76.

 

[x] London Metropolitan Archives, Saint Olave, Bermondsey, Composite register: baptisms, marriages, burials, Jun 1685 - May 1716, P71/OLA, Item 012

[xi] Appleby, Andrew B. “Nutrition and Disease: The Case of London, 1550-1750.” The Journal of Interdisciplinary History, vol. 6, no. 1, 1975, pp. 1–22. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/202822. Accessed 11 Nov. 2022.