Thomas Fawell - a 'gent', 'esquire'

[Matt62]

I discovered a few days ago that my 5x great-grandfather Thomas Fawell's father of the same name, was a 'gent' and had 'esquire' (esq.) after his name. I am curious: what do these titles actually mean? What would my 6x gg have worked as? I did a google search and it seemed to indicate that this had something to do with landed gentry and that my 6xgg would therefore not have worked but lived off tenancy. I have found Poll censuses in which he and his tenants are mentioned. I also think that he is possibly mentioned in this book on googlebooks, which is about farming:

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=ZvQhAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA3&dq=yarm+fawell&hl=en&sa=X&ei=1lCgU_aTK8_H7AaR9YD4DQ&ved=0CFQQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=yarm%20fawell&f=false

Since my Thomas Fawell (6xgg) outlived his son to get to 82 years of age, I think it likely that the TF referred to as an "old man" talking about cattle in the above link is him.

My 5x gg was born in 1785 in Yarm, Yorkshire and his father was born in the same village in 1759. I have found various documents relating to the family and was curious about what their social standing would have been, particularly since the younger Thomas (my 5x gg) was actually a surgeon and apothecary working in Leeds. His daughter Isabella Fawell married Michael Welch, who was a Tallow Chandler. His parents owned three premises in Clerkenwell. I was surprised to find that my 6x gg was a "gentleman" precisely because these professions seemed so, well, 'normal'. A surgeon seems to be a pretty normal middle-class profession and while I know little about the candle-making trade, even though Michael's parents seemed to be successful at their work I don't imagine that they would have been the type to marry into 'gentry'.

This leads me to wonder exactly what a 'gent' and 'esquire' was?

My 6xgg Thomas Fawell had a daughter called Isabella (like his son), who married a certain David Burton (Robinson) who inherited an estate called Cherry Burton in Yorkshire.

Incidentally, my Thomas Fawell's will is kept in the Burton Family archives at Hull University. Here is a link to it:

http://www.hullhistorycentre.org.uk/dserve/dserve.exe?dsqIni=Dserve.ini&dsqApp=Archive&dsqDb=Catalog&dsqCmd=show.tcl&dsqSearch=(RefNo=='U%20DDCB%2Fx1%2F31%2F29')

The description states:

Bequests to daughters Isabella Burton and Christiana Garbutt; David Burton of Cherry Burton, esq.; William Garbutt of Yarm, gent.; William Smith of Wood Close Lane, Leeds, cloth manufacturer; grandson George son of Thomas Fawell, dec'd.; grand - daughters Isabella Welch, Christiana Walker, Mary Myers Fawell, Charlotte Augusta Fawell and Ann Elizabeth Fawell (daughters of T.F.); Elizabeth Fawell, widow of son Robert F.: Yarm, Stockton, East Hartburn and Preston, co. Durham. Personalty (including books and pictures): Codicil 25 August 1840

I also found the record of the 1812 marriage settlement between his daughter Isabella and the aforesaid David Burton:

http://www.hullhistorycentre.org.uk/dserve/dserve.exe?dsqIni=Dserve.ini&dsqApp=Archive&dsqDb=Catalog&dsqCmd=show.tcl&dsqSearch=(RefNo=='U%20DDCB%2Fx1%2F31%2F29')

i) David Burton Fowler of the Inner Temple and of Yarm, esq. ii) Thomas Fawell of Yarm, esq iii) David Robinson of Yarm, esq. great-nephew of D.B.F iv) Isabella Fawell of Yarm, spinster, daughter of T.F v) Hon. David Erskine of Holme Bush Lodge, co. Sussex and Charles Weatherill of Lincolns Inn, esq. vi) Fowler Hicks of Silton and William Walker of Brunswick Square par. St. Pancras, co. Mdx. esqs.: prior to marriage of D.R. and I.F.: for her marriage portion of £5,000: manor, capital messuage and estate of Cherry Burton

I can also link to a fire insurance policy that he took out on his property for £600:

http://www.londonlives.org/browse.jsp?id=persName7fire_1785_1787_156_139817&div=fire_1785_1787_156_139817#highlight

As an aside, how much would £600 have been in the 18th century in terms of insurance?   

[stanmapstone]

Historically the term Esquire denoted an attendant to, or the son of a knight or lord, but later denoted a status above that of a gentleman, or men who were regarded as ‘gentlemen’ by birth, position, or education. it then became just a courtesy title.
Historically a Gentleman was a well born man above the rank of Yeoman, usually entitled to bear a coat of arms. It was assumed that a Gentleman did not do manual work and the term gradually encompassed all those in the professions. Generally speaking  a Gentleman, needed to do no paid work to support himself and did not rely on handouts of any sort from others, he would live off his investments.

Stan

[stanmapstone]

This is one site for the conversion of money http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/currency/
There are others mentioned at http://www.ex.ac.uk/~RDavies/arian/current/howmuch.html

Stan

[Ruskie]

I think the term 'gent' is open to interpretation. One of my lines was a sailor for most of his life, was illiterate when he signed his indenture, but claimed his occupation was 'gent' on his daughter's marriage certificate. Maybe big noting himself.

However it seems you have a lot of evidence to back up the fact that your Thomas may have been a gent, though I don't think it follows that he was landed gentry - perhaps just a man of some means. I always thought that esq meant that someone owned property, but I'm sure that there is plenty on the internet about the origins and meaning of the term.

I'll leave this for others more knowledgeable to give you a proper reply but this might help with your other query:

As an aside, how much would £600 have been in the 18th century in terms of insurance?

http://www.measuringworth.com/ppoweruk/

[Matt62]

This is one site for the conversion of money http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/currency/
There are others mentioned at http://www.ex.ac.uk/~RDavies/arian/current/howmuch.html

Stan

Thank you Stan, very helpful information 

[stanmapstone]

In 1790, £600 0s 0d would have the same spending worth of 2005's £33,618.00 http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/currency/

Stan

[stanmapstone]

There was nothing to stop anyone putting "Gentleman" on a marriage certificate. In a case in 1862 Mr. Justice Willes stated that: A gentleman is described in law as a person who has no occupation. i.e. In legal documents used as the designation of a socially respectable person who has no specific occupation or profession.

Stan

[Matt62]

I think the term 'gent' is open to interpretation. One of my lines was a sailor for most of his life, was illiterate when he signed his indenture, but claimed his occupation was 'gent' on his daughter's marriage certificate. Maybe big noting himself.

However it seems you have a lot of evidence to back up the fact that your Thomas may have been a gent, though I don't think it follows that he was landed gentry - perhaps just a man of some means. I always thought that esq meant that someone owned property, but I'm sure that there is plenty on the internet about the origins and meaning of the term.

I'll leave this for others more knowledgeable to give you a proper reply but this might help with your other query:

As an aside, how much would £600 have been in the 18th century in terms of insurance?

http://www.measuringworth.com/ppoweruk/

Thank you Ruskie, again excellent info especially about the person in one of your lines who called himself a gent yet was a sailor and illiterate. Perhaps the term was very wide in meaning?

[Jos Search]

Hello
I'm aware that this is quite an old post but I thought I would reply just to say that I too am related to the 2 generations of Thomas Fawell. In fact I live in Yarm and as well as knowing the town very well, the house I live in is still on land the at came down from the Fawell line and my grandmother grew up on a farm that they bequeathed to her grandparents. In addition I used to work at Preston Hall Museum and did a lot of work on the connection between the Fawells and Burton Fowler family of Cherry Burton and Preston. I am quite willing to share wha I know but it is easiest for me to do this in old 'snail-mail' from - so if there is a secure way for us to exchange addresses I will gladly do so

Jo