elisha wyatt

Subject :            Elisha Wyatt (b 1799 – d 1885)

Researcher :      Margaret Rose

Merrow man’s moment of madness with axe

Elisha Wyatt’s seemingly quiet life as a farm labourer in Merrow came crashing down after he struck a neighbour with an axe following a dispute over access to the local well.

Elisha was born on 3rd May 1799 at Blewbury, Berkshire (now Oxfordshire), about 14 miles (23km) south of Oxford 1.  He was the youngest of probably 10 children of Edward Wyatt and his wife Elizabeth 2, 3. Elisha was baptised three days later at Blewbury’s St Michael’s Church.

In July 1815, when Elisha was 16, his father Edward died in Blewbury, but by then, Elisha may already have moved to Guildford, about 45 miles (72km) south-east of his home village 4.  One of his older sisters, Ann, had married James Luxford in Chiddingfold, Surrey in 1806 5. They settled in Guildford, so Elisha could have been living with them when he married Frances Etherington on 10th October 1820 at Guildford’s St Nicholas Church 6, 7.  Frances, about eight years older than Elisha, was the daughter of John and Sarah Etherington from Lurgashall, Sussex 8.

The couple did not remain in Guildford, as their first son William was baptised in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire in July 1822 9.  Elisha was noted as a labourer on the baptism record, but what circumstances had made Elisha and Frances move over 30 miles (48km) north from Guildford is not known.  A second son George was born in High Wycombe in about 1826, although no baptism record has been traced.

Elisha and Frances appear to have had no other children and by the time of the 1841 Census, were back in Surrey, living in Merrow Street, Merrow with their younger son George, an agricultural labourer like his father 10.  Their elder son William, also an agricultural labourer, had left home and was working for a farmer in Elstead 11. He married in Puttenham in 1845 and settled in Elstead 12, 13.  George married two years later in Merrow and stayed close by in Merrow and later West Clandon 14.

Little changed for Elisha and Frances over the coming years as they remained in Merrow Street, although Frances had taken on work as a charwoman by the time of the 1861 Census 15, 16.

‘Murderous Assault’

Elisha’s life, apparently heading quietly into his later years, took a shocking turn in September 1864 when, aged 65, he was arrested for attacking and injuring a woman with an axe 17. 

In his trial at the County Bench in Guildford, it was heard that Elisha (written as Elijah in newspaper reports) had had a running dispute with his neighbour Louisa Keil about her access to the local well which Elisha claimed was through his property 18. 

This came to a head on 22nd September when Louisa found that Elisha had driven posts into the ground to block her path to the well.  She told the County Bench that she went up to him saying: ‘Mr Wyatt, it is no use your doing that, I shall have a thoroughfare through the yard’.  Elisha responded: ‘If you touch it, I will cleave your arm’.

With Elisha issuing more threats, Louisa called for help from a woman who was working for her.  The woman, Diana Hill, put her hand one of the posts as she spoke to Elisha, and when she refused to take it away, despite further threats from him, Elisha struck her on the back of her neck with the rear of the axe, causing her to fall to the ground.  The doctor who examined Diana told the County Bench that she had sustained extensive bruising and had not regained the use of her left arm.

In his defence, Elisha said that the two women had threatened to ‘tear his eyes out’ so that he was ‘obliged to strike the woman’.

Despite his plea, the County Bench sentenced Elisha to 4 months with hard labour in Wandsworth Gaol for ‘aggravated assault’.  His record described him as 5 feet 6 inches (1.68m) tall, weighing 9 stone 6 pounds (69.9kg), with grey hair, blue eyes and a ‘fresh’ complexion 19.

With Elisha now in prison, the Guildford Union stepped in to give Elisha’s wife Frances, now 70, poor relief for ‘husband in prison’ which would’ve helped keep her out of the workhouse 20. After Elisha’s release at the end of January 1865, he returned to be with Frances in Merrow, although whether it was in the same home as before is not known *.

Final years

Before long, Elisha began to receive poor law relief himself, including help with medical bills, as Frances had become ill 21. She passed away in Merrow in November 1866 from ‘dropsy’ aged 74 22.

Life for Elisha became even tougher. He spent 18 days in the Guildford Union Workhouse around 1868-69, and in late 1870/early 1871 received a small amount of poor relief for being ‘infirm, no work’ 23, 24.  The last record showed that he had moved to Merrow Common, but the April 1871 Census has no record of him being there or indeed anywhere else.  The most likely explanation for this is that he was simply missed by the enumerator.  Elisha was almost certainly living alone, so it would’ve been easy for this to happen.

The next record traced for Elisha is the 1881 Census, which showed him to be an inmate of the Guildford Union Workhouse as an 81-year-old widowed gardener 25. 

There are no other surviving poor law accounts, or any admission/discharge records for the Workhouse to show how long he had been there or where he had been living beforehand.  Both of his sons had passed away – his eldest William had died in October 1878 when he was thrown from his cart on his way home to his farm in Hankley Common, Elstead, while his younger son George had died from heart disease in Guildford’s County Hospital in May 1871 26, 27.

Elisha almost certainly spent the rest of his life in the Workhouse, passing away there on 29th January 1885, aged 85, from ‘decay of age’ 28.  He was buried at Merrow’s St John’s Church on 2nd February, like his wife Frances and their son George 29, 30, 31.

 

February 2023, updated April 2025

Editor: Mike Brock

*Maps of East and West Merrow in 1839 can be found on the Merrow Resident’s Association website   

Spike Lives is a Heritage project that chronicles the lives of inmates, staff and the Board of Guardians of the Guildford Union Workhouse at the time of the 1881 Census.  The Spike Heritage Museum in Guildford offers guided tours which present a unique opportunity to discover what life was like in the Casual/Vagrant ward of a Workhouse. More information can be found here

References

Note :  the source is FindMyPast.co.uk unless otherwise specified. Names are as spelled in original documents.

  1. Elisha Wyatt 3 May 1799 Birth, 6 May 1799 Baptism Berkshire Archives; Berkshire Baptisms Index; Blewbury, St Michael & All Angels; ref D/P20/1/3
  2. Edward Wyatt & Elizabeth Rollins 9 May 1775 Marriage Berkshire Archives; Berkshire Marriages Index; Lambourn, St Michael & All Angels; ref D/P 79/1/11
  3. Mary Wyatt 30 Jul 1775 Baptism
    John Wyatt 19 Apr 1778 Baptism
    Ann Wyatt 1 Apr 1781 Baptism
    James Wyatt 22 Jun 1783 Baptism; 26 Jun 1783 Burial
    James Wyatt 3 May 1788 Baptism
    Elijah Wyatt 14 Mar 1790 Baptism
    Sarah Wyatt 7 Apr 1792 Baptism
    Elizabeth Wyatt 28 Sep 1794 Baptism
    Simon Wyatt 22 May 1797 Baptism
    Berkshire Archives; Berkshire Baptisms Index; Blewbury, St Michael & All Angels; ref D/P20/1/2 & D/P20/1/3
  4. Edward Wyatt 13 Jul 1815 Burial Berkshire Archives; Berkshire Burial Index; Blewbury, St Michael & All Angels
  5. Anne Wyatt & James Luxford 13 Jan 1806 Marriage Surrey History Centre; Surrey Marriages; Chiddingfold, St Mary; ref CHID/2/1
  6. James Luxford 1820 Occupier Surrey History Centre; Surrey Land Tax Records; Guildford, St Nicholas; roll 30; ref 992228 Ancestry.co.uk
    James, Ann Luxford 1841 England Census for North Street, St Mary, Guildford, Surrey; ref HO107; piece 1082; book 3; folio 45; page 32; schedule 487
  7. Elisha Wyatt & Frances Etherington 10 Oct 1820 Marriage Surrey History Centre; Surrey Marriages; Guildford, St Nicholas; ref GUN/3/2
  8. Frances Etherington 16 Oct 1791 Sussex Baptisms; Lurgashall, St Laurence
  9. William Wyatt 14 Jul 1822 Buckinghamshire Archives; Buckinghamshire Baptism Index; Bishop’s Transcripts; High Wycombe; ref D/A/T/225/9
  10. Elijah sic, Frances, George, Wyatt 1841 England Census for Merrow Street, Merrow, Guildford, Surrey; ref HO107; piece 1080; book 13; folio 6; page 9; schedule 2142
  11. William Wyatt 1841 England Census for Hankly, Elstead, Hambledon, Surrey; ref HO107; piece 1072; book 1; folio 5; page 2; schedule 7
  12. William Wyatt & Harriet Keene 3 Apr 1845 Marriage Surrey History Centre; Surrey Marriages; Puttenham, St John the Baptist; ref 7707/2
  13. William, Harriet, William Wyatt 1851 England Census for Village, Elstead, Hambledon, Surrey; ref HO107; piece 1597; folio 53; page 13; schedule 43
  14. George, Charlotte, Ellen Wyatt 1861 England Census for Village, West Clandon, Guildford, Surrey; ref RG09; piece 426; folio 81; page 15
  15. Elisha, Frances Wyatt 1851 England Census for Merrow Street, Merrow, Guildford, Surrey; ref HO107; piece 1594; folio 313; page 12; schedule 47
  16. Elisha, Frances Wyatt 1861 England Census for Merrow St, Merrow, Guildford, Surrey; ref RG09; piece 426; folio 120; page 11; schedule 56
  17. Merrow Murderous Assault 24 Sep 1864 West Surrey Times; page 3
  18. The Late Murderous Assault at Merrow 8 Oct 1864 West Surrey Times; pages 2 & 3
  19. Elisha Wyatt 1864 The National Archives; England & Wales, Crimes, Prisons & Punishment; Register of Prisoners; Wandsworth, Surrey; ref PCOM2; piece 245
  20. Frances Wyatt 1865 Lady Day (half year ending 23 March 1865) Guildford Union Poor Law Half-Yearly Accounts 1864-71; ref SHC BG6/33/1 Available at Surrey History Centre, Woking SurreyCC.gov.uk
  21. Elisha Wyatt 1866 Lady Day (half year ending 23 March 1866) – 1867 Lady Day (half year ending 23 March 1867) Guildford Union Poor Law Half-Yearly Accounts 1864-71; ref SHC BG6/33/1 Available at Surrey History Centre, Woking SurreyCC.gov.uk
  22. Frances Wyatt 21 Nov 1866 England & Wales Civil Registration Death Index; Guildford, Surrey; vol 2A; page 34 Digital copy from General Register Office GRO.gov.uk
  23. Elisha Wyatt 1869 Lady Day (half year ending 23 March 1869) Guildford Union Poor Law Half-Yearly Accounts 1864-71; ref SHC BG6/33/1 Available at Surrey History Centre, Woking SurreyCC.gov.uk
  24. Elisha Wyatt 1871 Lady Day (half year ending 23 March 1871) Guildford Union Poor Law Half-Yearly Accounts 1864-71; ref SHC BG6/33/1 Available at Surrey History Centre, Woking SurreyCC.gov.uk
  25. Elisha Wyatt 1881 England Census for Guildford Union Workhouse, Stoke Next Guildford, Surrey; ref RG11; piece 778; folio 92; page 5; schedule 3
  26. William Wyatt 28 Oct 1878 death, 18 Jan 1879 probate England & Wales Government Probate Death Index
    Elstead Fatal Accident 2 Nov 1878 Surrey Advertiser and County Times, page 3
  27. George Wyatt 5 May 1871 England & Wales Civil Registration Death Index; Guildford, Surrey; vol 2A; page 40 Digital copy from General Register Office GRO.gov.uk
  28. Elisha Wyatt 29 Jan 1885 England & Wales Civil Registration Death Index; Guildford, Surrey; vol 2A; page 56 Digital copy from General Register Office GRO.gov.uk
  29. Elisha Wyatt 2 Feb 1885 Burial Surrey History Centre; Surrey Burials; Merrow, St John; ref MER/5/1
  30. Frances Wyatt 26 Nov 1866 Burial Surrey History Centre; Surrey Burials; Merrow, St John; ref MER/5/1
  31. George Wyatt 9 May1871 Burial Surrey History Centre; Surrey Burials; Merrow, St John; ref MER/5/1
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