Melior Joyce married the widower William Down in Winterborne Whitchurch on 19th August 1754. Both were recorded as being of the parish of Langton Long, Blandford. Soon after their marriage they moved to Charlton Marshall. William had a young son, also named William, by a previous marriage. The Church-Wardens and Overseers of the Poor of Charlton Marshal, fearing that the family would become a financial burden on the parish, requested a Settlement Examination to determine if William, his wife and son, had a legitimate right to residency there. The examination found that they did not and that William’s, and therefore also his wife’s and son’s, place of settlement was Holdenhurst in the County of Southampton. An Order for William Downe, Meliar his wife and William his son to be Removed from Charlton Marshal to Holdenhurst was issued on 22 October 1754.
Here is a transcript of the Removal Order which is held in the Dorset Archives:
To the Church-Wardens and Overseers of the Poor of the Parish of Charlton Marshal in the County of Dorset to convey, and to the Church-Wardens and Overseers of the Poor of the Parish of Holdenhurst in the County of Southampton to receive
THESE
Whereas Complaint hath been made by you the Church-Wardens and Overseers of the Poor of the said Parish of Charlton Marshal unto Us, whose Hands and Seals are hereunto set, two of his Majesty’s Justices of the Peace (whereof one is of the Quorum) for the County of Dorset aforesaid, That William Downe and Meliar his wife and William his son have lately intruded themselves into your said Parish of Charlton Marshal there to inhabit as Parishioners contrary to the Laws relating to the Settlement of the Poor, and are there likely to become chargeable, unless timely prevented – And whereas upon due Examination and Enquiry made into the Premises on the Oath of the said William Downe it appears to Us, and We accordingly adjudge, That the said William Downe Meliar his wife and William his son are likely to become chargeable unto the said Parish of Charlton Marshal and that the last legal Place of Settlement of the said William Downe Meliar his wife and William his son was and is in the Parish of Holdenhurst aforesaid.
These are therefore in his Majesty’s Name, to order and require you the said Church-Wardens and Overseers of the Poor of the Parish of Charlton Marshal aforesaid, That you or some of you do forthwith remove and convey the said William Downe, Meliar his wife and William his son from your said Parish of Charlton Marshal to the said Parish of Holdenhurst and them deliver to the Church-Wardens and Overseers of the Poor there, or some or one of them, together with this our Warrant or Order, or a true Copy hereof: Whereby they are likewise required in his Majesty’s Name, and by Virtue of the Statutes in such Case made, forthwith to receive the said William Downe Meliar his wife and William his son into their said Parish and provide for them as their own Parishioners. GIVEN under our Hands and Seals the Twenty Second Day of October in the Year of our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and ffifty four.
Signature and Seal of Geo: Chafers and E. Okeden
William Down was not unknown in Charlton Marshall. He had married the widow Mary Fry there on 18th February 1747 (when his parish was given as Tarrant Crawford). Their son William was baptised in the village on 31 May 1748 and their daughter Ann, who had been baptised on 2 July 1749, was buried there 19 Jan 1752. Mary herself was buried in Charlton Marshall on 31 December later that year. William may have had family living in the village too. An Edward Down of Charleton married Mary Riddle in Spetisbury in 1745 and was buried in Charlton Marshall on 14 Jun 1762.
The authorities certainly acted swiftly after William’s remarriage to remove the family from the village. Although Melior had been born in Winterborne Houghton and William the younger actually in Charlton Marshal itself, they took their Place of Settlement from their husband/father.
There follows a list (sourced from GenGuide) of the conditions under which a person gained the right of settlement.
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A new born child took the father’s settlement regardless of the place of birth.
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A parish apprentice from the age of seven who served and lived in the same parish for 40 consecutive days.
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A married trader or person renting a smallholding or farm who had stayed for 12 months, paid parish rates and rented property over £10 per year.
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An unmarried man who had worked for a year in the parish.
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A woman took the settlement of the man she married and a widow who remarried took the husband’s settlement.
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Servants who stayed one year from date of hiring, and left with full wages.
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A person who inherited an estate of land and lived on the estate for more than 40 days.
Melior and William had several children born in Holdenhurst:
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John born 1756, died 1757
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Betty born 1758
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Mary born 1762
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Anne born 1764
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Twins George and John born 1869
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Milyer born 1771, mar. William Ayles 31 May 1789, died after 1806.
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Hannah born 1774
No burial record has been found for Melior. A William Down was buried in Christchurch on 24th January 1802 but no age at death was given.