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Ancestors of William Sherring





SHERRING STORY

Somerset/Dorset large map

The book "A Dictionary of English Surnames" by P H Reaney & R M Wilson gives the origin of the "Sherrin", "Sherring" and "Sheering" as from Geoffrey de Sheringg 1327 FFEss (Feet of Fines Essex); Philip Sherren 1641 PrSo (Somerset Petition; John Sherring 1662-4 HTDo (Hearth Tax Return Dorset); From Sheering (Essex).

The Sherring Name: One suggestion is that the name derives from the Old English 'Sherwin' - "To shear the wind", that is, a fast runner.

The Sherrings in England: The family I am researching, appears to originated in Somerset and Dorset and can be found in the adjoining shires. - Since the mid 1800's the family has spread to Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

A Brief Outline of The Sherring Family

To date (2013), the earliest known family member is William Sherring was born in 1759, his family name is recorded as SHERREN in the marriage registration. In 1779 he married Susannah Taylor who was born in 1749, at Mudford, Somersetshire, the same village in which William had been born.

William and Susannah had four children, Mary in 1779, William in 1784, John in 1785 and. James in 1788. William died at the early age of thirty, possibly due to an accident in 1789 and Susannah subsequently married William Minchington in 1792.

In 1804 their son William married Ruth GENGE, who was born in 1781, at Hardington Manderville, Dorset. They had six children, Sarah 1804, James c1804, John 1805, Ann 1806, Robert 1807, William 1808.

In 1832 William's and Ruth's son William married Mary Ann FARMER (known as Ann - born 1811), in Yeovil, Somersetshire. They had ten children, Edward George 1834, Henry 1837, Joseph Farmer 1840, Mary 1841, Frank S 1845, George 1847, Frederick William 1848 (my g.g.grandfather)and Arthur Ernest 1850, and twins Elizabeth and Ellen Eliza in 1854. All the children were born at Ashington, Somersetshire, a small manorial hamlet, where William worked. William acted as the Parish Clerk for the period he was in Ashington. Ashington, in the 1800s, comprised nine dwellings housing the Manor workers, the Manor house and the Norman church. The hamlet appears to have changed little since the 1800s. William is recorded in the first English census of 1841, as a Cordwainer, that is a boot and shoe maker and it is possible that his father had him apprenticed, in order to learn the trade. William was buried in the adjoining village of Marston Magna in 1898 and his gravestone is still visible today in the churchyard.

It would appear that all the known Sherring males up to William (3), were employed as farm labourers. Prior to the industrial revolution it was accepted as the norm, that a son could only expect to continue at the same social class and work situation as his father and his grandfather before him. Generally, there was little hope of a person bettering themself, either socially or in their employment. From the mid 1400's The rural situation began to change throughout rural England, firstly because of the Enclosures Movement, that resulted in what was previously 'Common Land' being enclosed by the Lord of the Manor, in order to provide larger land holdings, initially for the grazing of sheep and later on for crops. This meant that people who had previously supplemented their income by farming the 'Common Land', found themselves unable to do so anymore and consequently found it difficult to exist on only the pittance provided by the master of the Manor.
Because the effects of the Enclosure Movement depended soley on whether the individual lords of the manor decided to implement the action within their Manor, the common land was not enclosed uniformally throughout England and the implementation of the Act extended over centuries. Consequently, it is difficult to ascertain if the Enclosure Movement had any affect on the Sherring families as agricultural labourers.
The words of Edmund Burke clearly show the lowly position of the average worker, "They must respect that property of which they cannot partake. They must labour to obtain what by labour can be obtained; and when they find, as they commonly do, the success disproportional to the endeavour, they must be taught their consulation in the final proportions of eternal justice", that is in heaven.

The second great change was the Industrial Revolution, this again had an uneven affect on the agricultural workers of Britain between 1780 and approximately 1810. The Industrial Revolution meant that farm workers were now able to find alternative work in towns where industries were being set up. In some cases this was a necessity, as the introduction of mechanical harvesting eliminated many rural seasonal jobs. Concurrent with the Industrial Revolution was the conduct of the Napolionic war and this initially affected rural Britain by increasing the demand for foodstuffs to feed the navy and army and secondly by reducing the pool of labour available to farmers. After the war in1815, farm goods prices were driven down by the reduced demand. Like all agricultural pursuits anywhere in the world, the weather played an important part in agricultural production and Britain suffered some very cold summers, when no crops were produced.

Four of the unmarried sons emmigrated to Australia, Edward George in 1858 and Frank S in 1866. He was sponsored by Edward. Arthur Edward arrived in Brisbane under an assisted migrant scheme in 1875 and finally Frederick William in about 1876. Edward and Frederick remained in Sydney and they were joined later by Arthur. Frank S settled in Goulburn, where he remained for most of his life. Arthur was a carpenter and the three other brothers all took up the bootmaking trade of their father.