Fanny Bartlett was the wife of John Troke the illegitimate son of Mary Troke. No Bastardy Bond exists to identify John’s father. It has been suggested that it could have been someone with the surname Head, the name Fanny and her children were to adopt later. The most likely candidate to be the father is Henry Head, son of John Head and Mary Gillingham, of Blackwater who was baptised in Christchurch in 1769 and was the same age as Mary. What became of Henry is unknown but he was still alive in 1815 as he is named in his father’s will.
After John’s death Fanny moved in with his aunt, Lydia Spencer, her lodgings being paid for by the parish until 1835. The Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834 did away with Outdoor Relief which, for the able bodied, was replaced the workhouse. By 1841 Fanny was living with Lydia’s brother and my great (x4) grandfather Henry Troke.
Solomon was a ruffian and poacher turned gamekeeper. He first went to prison for poaching when he was 15 years old. Throughout the 1850s and the early 1860s he was convicted of poaching and assault on numerous occasions. By 1864 he had accumulated 14 convictions. He had one further conviction for breach of the peace the following year after which his court appearances were as a witness in the prosecution of poachers. Although Solomon had poached on his land Solomon was well thought of by the Earl of Malmsbury and he was a pall-bearer at the Earl’s funeral in 1889.
As a young man Solomon Troke used the alias Head. Eventually Solomon, Ellen, their half-brother Henry and mother Fanny used the name Head exclusively.
Solomon’s story is well known and popular in the Bournemouth area even to this day (see the Dorset Echo’s article Poacher turned head gamekeeper Solomon Troke which includes photographs of him) but whilst researching my family history I uncovered some facts that I have not seen reported anywhere else. I have recorded these in the timeline for Fanny and her family given below. The timeline does not include details of Solomon’s convictions as these are well documented elsewhere and I am more interested in the intra-family relationships.
| Year | Event |
| 1798 | Fanny Bartlett born in Howe, Kinson. |
| 1816 | John Troke and Fanny Bartlett married at Holdenhurst on 5 December. |
| 1818 | Son Henry baptised at Holdenhurst on 4 Jan |
| 1820 | Daughter Mary Ann Bartlett baptised at Holdenhurst on 19 Mar. |
| 1824 | Daughter Martha* baptised at Holdenhurst on 22 Feb. |
| 1828 | Son John baptised at Holdenhurst on 3 Aug 1828. |
| 1829 | John Troke Snr died and buried on 11 Jan in Christchurch. |
| 1830 | Mariage Banns read for Fanny and Charles Troke, a cousin of John, in July/August but no marriage took place. |
| 1831 | Solomon Troke baptised at Holdenhurst on 8 May. No father’s name given and Fanny is stated to be a widow. This is 9 months after the Banns between Fanny and Charles were read and would suggest that Charles was the father. |
| 1836 | Birth of Ellen Troke in Holdenhurst sometime during April/May. Father unknown. Some sources believe that Charles was also Ellen’s father (no evidence). |
| 1837 | 3rd January – Charles Troke sentenced to 6 months for stealing some fowls. |
| 1838 | 14th July – Charles Troke married Mary Cook. His brother-in-law, John Burridge, was a witness. Charles and Mary’s daughter Anna Kezia was born a year later. |
| 1841 | Fanny, John**, Solomon, Ellen and Henry Troke (father of Charles) were living in Mordon (present day Moordown). |
| 1845 | 12th March – Charles Troke found ‘not guilty’ of stealing hay. The prison register where he was held pre-trial states he had 5 children which would preclude Solomon and/or Ellen as his children. Mary Ann Troke married Henry Burridge (son of Elizabeth Troke and John Burridge) on 27 Apr in Christchurch. |
| 1847 | September 5th – Ellen was baptised as Ellen Head. |
| 1851 | Fanny Troke, widow, was a nurse living with Charles Gaulton and his family in Muccleshell. Charles was a relation of Fanny’s. Solomon Troke, agricultural labourer, was living in More Down. Ellen Troke, a Sunday scholar, was living next door with their Aunt Lydia Spencer (recorded as Spincer). While Fanny and her children were calling themselves Head others still referred to them as Troke. Henry Troke married Sarah Pelley in Holdenhurst on 30th August. |
| 1855 | Ellen Head married Stephen Marshall in Christchurch on 28th June. The marriage certificate records her father as Henry Head, a labourer, suggesting that Henry Troke may be her father. |
| 1856 | Edward Troke (son of Henry and brother of Charles Troke) employed as a gamekeeper to W. Holbech in Mollington. Solomon Troke alias Head married Ann Steel in St John the Evangelist, Holdenhurst on 3rd July. Ellen Marshall and Henry Steel were the witnesses. His father was not named but simply recorded as deceased possibly suggestive of a different father to Ellen. |
| 1858 | Solomon Head was living in Banbury, Oxfordshire by Q1 1858 when the birth of son Henry William was registered. He was an under-keeper to Mr Holbech on the same estate as Edward. Henry Troke’s wife Sarah died. Sarah Head was buried on 14th March. |
| 1859 | Henry Troke married Eliza Clear in Holdenhurst on 12th June. Solomon Head was living in Aberford, Yorkshire where the birth of his son George was registered in Q4. |
| 1861 | Solomon’s daughter Elizabeth was born in February in Aberford, Yorkshire. Elizabeth only lived for a few days. After her death the family returned to Moordown where, when the census was taken, Solomon Head was working as a gamekeeper. Fanny Troke was living with Stephen and Ellen Marshall in Moordown. Her occupation was given as ‘Gloves Knitter’. Stephen was a labourer in the pottery. Henry Head was an agricultural labourer in Throop. |
| 1861/2 | Stephen and Ellen Marshall moved to Tilehurst, Berkshire. |
| 1869 | Mary Ann Burridge died. |
| 1871 | Fanny Head was living with Henry and Eliza Head in Throop. She was still knitting gloves. Henry Head was a carter. Solomon Head was a gamekeeper living in Moordown. Stephen and Ellen Marshall were living in Tilehurst where Stephen was a Police Constable. |
| 1875 | Fanny died in March. Her death was registered as Fanny Head during Q1. |
| 1881 | Solomon Head was a gamekeeper living in Haddon Hill, Holdenhurst. Henry Head was a general labourer living in Moordown. Stephen and Ellen Marshall were living in Bradfield, Berkshire where Stephen was a Policeman. |
| 1886 | Henry Head died in May. His death was registered in Christchurch Q2. |
| 1889 | 22nd May Solomon Head was a pall-bearer at the funeral of James Howard Harris, 3rd Earl of Malmsbury in Christchurch. Malmsbury lived at Hurn Court and owned land at Blackwater. |
| 1891 | Solomon Head was a gamekeeper living in Haddon Hill, Holdenhurst. Stephen and Ellen Marshall were living in Easthampstead, Berkshire where Stephen was a Police Constable. |
| 1899 | Ellen Marshall died on 18th April and was buried at the United Reformed Churchyard, Throop. |
| 1901 | Solomon Head was a gamekeeper living at 13 Maccleshell Road, Winton. Stephen Marshall, a retired Police Constable, was living at 24 Stanley Road, Winton. |
| 1904 | Stephen Marshall died 31st May and was buried in United Reformed Churchyard, Throop. |
| 1911 | Solomon Head was a woodman living at 14 Nursery Road, Moordown. |
| 1920 | Solomon Head died Mar 19th and was buried at St John’s, Moordown |
*I have not been able to trace Martha after her baptism.
**I have been unable to identify John after 1841.
The Head family of Blackwater, Christchurch
The Head family were yeoman farmers and cordwainers and a cut above the labouring Trokes. Fanny seems to have been asserting her family’s connection to this more affluent family although only John’s children were actually ‘of the blood’.
Ellen Head was baptised just a year after Sarah Head became Administrator for the estate of her husband Henry, who had died intestate 12 years earlier. Coincidence or was there some sort of inheritance dispute going on? Sarah Head was a first cousin once removed of Fanny Luther who married Charles Troke the younger and my first cousin five times removed. Here is a family tree for the Heads of Blackwater.
If you want to research the Blackwater Heads further I recommend you visist the Hampshire Archives which has a number of documents (unseen by me) including:
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