george jackman

 

Subject Name :    George Jackman (b 1826 – d 1906)                 

Researchers :        Julia Browne and Mike Brock

 

George Jackman was a grandson of the founder of one of the most important and innovative plant nurseries in 19th Century England.  Although George’s condition meant that he was unable to be involved in the family business, he worked on his cousin’s farm for over 20 years before spending the rest of his life in the Guildford Union Workhouse.  

George was born in about 1826 in Woking, the third son of John Jackman and Elizabeth née Shurlock.  They had married in 1821 at St Peter’s Parish Church, Woking, where George was baptised in June 1826 1, 2.

George was only a few months old when his father died in July 1826 3.  This left his mother Elizabeth with three small children – John, William and baby George. 

Jackman’s Nurseries

George’s father John had been a nurseryman. He was the son of William Jackman, who opened a plant nursery in St. John’s, Woking, in about 1810 4, 5.

William Jackman, the founder of the nursery business, and grandfather to the three brothers John, William and George, died in 1840 6.  His will specified ‘… and amongst John, William and George the three children of my late son John Jackman deceased the same sum of thirty-five pounds to be equally divided amongst his said three children …’. This money would not made available to them until George, the youngest, had reached the age of 21 7

The nursery business itself was willed to the boys’ uncle George. It became known as ‘George Jackman & Son’, gaining an excellent reputation throughout the country and further afield.  Along with his ‘Son’, also called George, the pair proved to be expert in raising clematis. So much so, that they had one named after them in 1859, the purple-flowering ‘clematis jackmanii’ which is still a hugely popular variety 8.

George’s mother dies

Back in 1841, the Census showed John, William and George’s widowed mother Elizabeth living in the Kingfield area of Old Woking with John, aged about 18, and George, 15 9. The boys’ brother William was working as an agricultural labourer living with his father’s eldest brother ‘nurseryman’ William Jackman in Hook Hill, Woking 10

Just two months after the 1841 Census, the boys’ mother Elizabeth died in August, aged 47 11.

What happened to her orphaned sons immediately after this is not known, as no further record of George and his brothers has been traced until the 1851 Census. 

George, now about 25, was an unmarried agricultural labourer living in Bisley, Woking, with his widowed 70-year-old aunt Sarah Steptoe, recorded as a ‘landed proprietress’ 12.  With them was Sarah’s son Stephen, 34, who was running the 8-acre farm (probably as a plant nursery) which his mother had inherited on her husband’s death 13

George’s brother William was doing well. He was a farmer of 9 acres employing two labourers, married with three small children, living in Hook Hill, Woking 14.  John, the eldest of the three brothers, passed away from ‘phthisis’ (tuberculosis) just under five months after the March 1851 Census, aged 28 15.

George remained living and working with his cousin Stephen at the farm/nursery in Bisley.  Stephen married in 1853, the year before his mother, George’s aunt Sarah, passed away 16, 17.  Stephen and his wife had four children before his wife died in May 1860, followed just a few weeks later by their two-year-old daughter 18, 19, 20.

The 1861 Census showed George to be 35, unmarried and working as a ‘carter’, transporting goods by horse and cart, on Stephen’s farm 21

The Guildford Union Poor Law Half Yearly Accounts, still in existence for 1864 to 1871 only, revealed that George was receiving some assistance from Union funds 22.  The record for the six-month period ending on Lady Day (25th March) 1864 showed that George was given a pair of shoes to the value of 16 shillings (£0.80) as he was, in the blunt language of the time, noted as an ‘imbecile’.  It may be that George required special shoes, as this amount was far more than normal shoes or boots would generally cost 23.  Further amounts for shoes for George were recorded in 1866 and 1867, with each entry stating that he had a ‘weak intellect’, although it does seem that his cousin Stephen trusted him with tasks on his farm.

Stephen remarried in 1867, and George continued to live with his cousin for several years 24, 25.

George enters Guildford Union Workhouse

At some stage between 1871 and 1881, George left Stephen’s farm for the Guildford Union Workhouse.  There are no records to show when or why this happened, but the 1881 Census confirmed George as an inmate 26.  His cousin Stephen, at 65 some ten years older than George, was still running his farm with his wife and son 27. The farm had increased from 8 acres in 1851 to 34 acres, so maybe caring for George had become too much for them.  The only other immediate relative of George who could possibly have taken him in was his brother William.  He, at this time, was fully involved as a farmer and nurseryman back in Hook Hill, Woking, and along with his wife and three adult children, he also had his 94-year-old mother-in-law living with him 28

It seems certain that George spent at least 25 years in the Guildford Union Workhouse, before passing away there on 13th July 1906 aged 81, from old age 29, 30.  On the death certificate, his occupation was recorded as ‘gardener (not domestic) of Woking’, acknowledging his family connection to the George Jackman & Sons Nursery, which was still flourishing in the 20th Century after almost 100 years in business.

George’s funeral also showed the strength of his bond with the Jackman family.  The Guildford Union Workhouse register showed that ‘friends’, a term which included relatives, made the arrangements for George’s burial on 18th July at St John’s Church, Woking, where his brothers John, in 1851, and William, in 1887, had also been laid to rest 31, 32, 33, 34.

Jackman’s Nursery business remained in family hands until 1967, when the business was sold 35.

 

April 2021, updated January 2025

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 Ancestry.co.uk unless otherwise specified

  1. John Jackman & Elizabeth Shurlock 1 Nov 1821 Marriage Surrey History Centre, Woking; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Woking, St Peter; ref Wokp/3/4
  2. John Jackman 17 Nov 1822 Baptism
    William Jackman 19 Sep 1824 Baptism
    George Jackman 4 Jun 1826 Baptism
    Surrey History Centre, Woking; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Woking, St Peter; ref Wokp/2/2
  3. James sic (John) Jackman 9 Jul 1826 Burial Surrey History Centre, Woking; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Woking, St Peter; ref WOKP/5/1  Note :  all other records point to this entry being for John Jackman, mistakenly written as James on the burial register.
  4. Sarah Trigg 30 Dec 1779 Baptism, 16 Dec 1779 Birth
    William Jackman
    13 Jul 1783 Baptism, 20 Jun 1783 Birth
    James Jackman 18 Sep 1785 Baptism, 29 Aug 1785 Birth
    Mary Jackman 29 Dec 1787 Baptism, 23 Nov 1787 Birth
    Martha Jackman 6 Dec 1789 Baptism, 14 Nov 1789 Birth
    John Jackman 2 Dec 1791 Baptism, 21 Oct 1791 Birth
    Henry Jackman 9 Feb 1794 Baptism, 25 Jan 1793 Birth
    Richard Jackman 27 Feb 1796 Baptism, 27 Feb 1796 Birth
    Ann Jackman 16 Apr 1797 Baptism, 24 Mar 1797 Birth
    George Jackman 25 Mar 1801 Baptism, 3 May 1801 Birth
    Surrey History Centre, Woking; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Woking, St Peter; ref Wokp/1/2, Wokp/1/3
  5. The Jackmans ClematisontheWeb.org
    George Jackman Wikipedia.org
  6. William Jackman 27 Feb 1840 Burial Surrey History Centre, Woking; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Woking, St Peter; ref WOKP/5/1
  7. William Jackman 16 Sep 1840 Probate London Metropolitan Archives and Guildhall Library Manuscripts Section; reference DW/PA/5/1840; Will number 17
  8. Clematis ‘Jackmanii’ Wikipedia.org
  9. Elizabeth, John, George Jackman 1841 England Census for Kingfield, Woking, Surrey; class HO107; piece 1080; book 6; folio 18; page 28
  10. William, Millicent, William Jackman 1841 England Census for Hook Hill, Woking, Surrey; class HO107; piece 1080; book 7; folio 12; pages 15 & 16
  11. Elizth Jackman 13 Aug 1841 Burial Surrey History Centre, Woking; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Woking, St Peter; ref WOKP/5/1
  12. Stephen, Sarah Steptoe; George Jackman 1851 England Census for Riding Hill, Bisley, Surrey; class HO107; piece 1593; folio 572; page 15
  13. Sarah Trigg & Stephen Steptoe 6 Oct 1808 Marriage Surrey History Centre, Woking; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Guildford, Holy Trinity; ref GHT/2/1
    Stephen Steptoe 20 Nov 1840 Burial Surrey History Centre, Woking; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Bisley, St John the Baptist; ref BIS/4/1
    Stephen Steptoe 16 Dec 1842 Will (transcription) Bisley Manor Court Roll; Bisley History and Genealogy  SurreyLocalHistory.org.uk
  14. William, Jane, Henry, John, Milicent Jackman 1851 England Census for Hook Hill, Woking, Surrey; class HO107; piece 1593; folio 572; page 15
  15. John Jackman 27 Aug 1851 Death England & Wales Civil Registration Death Index 1837-1915; Guildford, Surrey; volume 4; page 157 Digital copy from General Register Office GRO.gov.uk
  16. Stephen Steptoe & Harriet Loveland 26 May 1853 Marriage Surrey History Centre, Woking; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Bisley, St John the Baptist; ref BIS/2/3
  17. Sarah Steptoe 30 Sep 1854 Burial Surrey History Centre, Woking; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Bisley, St John the Baptist; ref BIS/4/1
  18. Stephen Steptoe 11 Jun 1854 Baptism
    William James Steptoe 8 Jul 1855 Baptism
    Joseph Steptoe 22 Feb 1857 Baptism
    Sarah Steptoe 25 Mar 1859 Baptism
    Surrey History Centre, Woking; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Bisley, St John the Baptist; ref BIS/3/1
  19. Harriet Steptoe 19 Jun 1860 Burial Surrey History Centre, Woking; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Bisley, St John the Baptist; ref BIS/4/1
  20. Sarah Steptoe Apr-May-Jun 1858 England & Wales Civil Registration Birth Index 1837-1915; Chertsey, Surrey; volume 2A; page 27
    Sarah Steptoe 19 Jun 1860 Burial Surrey History Centre, Woking; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Bisley, St John the Baptist; ref BIS/3/1
  21. Stephen, Stephen, William Henry Steptoe; George Jackman 1861 England Census for Goodards Farm, Bisley, Surrey; class RG 9; piece 423; folio 59; page 7
  22. George Jackman, Woking, Bisley 1864 Lady Day; 1866 Lady Day; 1867 Lady Day
    Guildford Union Poor Law Half Yearly Accounts 1864-1871; ref BG6/33/1 Available at Surrey History Centre, Woking    Surreycc.gov.uk
  23. Paterson’s Gutta Percha Soled Boots and Shoes 20 Aug 1864 The Shoreditch Observer; page 4 FindMyPast.co.uk / British Newspaper Archive
  24. Stephen Steptoe & Martha Cheeseman 30 Jun 1867 Marriage Surrey History Centre, Woking; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Bisley, St John the Baptist; ref BIS/2/3
  25. Stephen, Martha, Stephen, William Henry Steptoe; George Jackman 1871 England Census for Russells, Bisley, Surrey; class RG 10; piece 806; folio 14; page 20
  26. George Jackman 1881 England Census for Guildford Union Workhouse, Stoke Next Guildford, Surrey; class RG 11; piece 778; folio 94; page 10
  27. Stephen, Martha, Stephen Steptoe 1881 England Census for Riding Hill, Bisley, Surrey; class RG 11; piece 770; folio 8; page 9
  28. William, Jane, William, Eli, Jane; Sarah Clayton 1881 England Census for Hook Hill, Woking, Surrey; class RG 11; piece 772; folio 111; pages 18 & 19
  29. George Jackman 1891 England Census for Guildford Union Workhouse, Stoke Next Guildford, Surrey; class RG 12; piece 560; folio 202; page 7
    George Jackman 1901 England Census for Guildford Union Workhouse, Stoke Next Guildford, Surrey; class RG 13; piece 605; folio 66; page 7
  30. George Jackman 13 Jul 1906 Death England & Wales Civil Registration Death Index 1837-1915; Guildford, Surrey; volume 2A; page 66 Digital copy from General Register Office GRO.gov.uk
  31. George Jackman 13 Jul 1906 Death Guildford Workhouse Deaths 1887-1914; ref BG6/38/1-2 Surrey History Centre, Woking Surreycc.gov.uk
  32. George Jackman 18 Jul 1906 Burial Surrey History Centre, Woking; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Woking, St John the Baptist; ref WOKJ/4/5
  33. John Jackman 31 Aug 1857 Burial Surrey History Centre, Woking; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Woking, St John the Baptist; ref WOKJ/3/1-2
  34. William Jackman 24 March 1887 Burial Surrey History Centre, Woking; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Woking, St John the Baptist; ref WOKJ/4/3
  35. George Jackman and Son of Woking, Nurserymen: Records Surrey History Centre, Woking; ref 1216 Surreycc.gov.uk / exploringsurreyspast.org.uk