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William Witt, by grandson James Martin, c.1910
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James Martin (1831- )
wrote the following about his grandfather William
Witt (1776-1856) in the family bible
- transcribed by Verity Baylis, a great-granddaughter of James
Martin |
"My
Great Grandfather, a DeWitt, came over from Holland with William III
and settled in the Isle of Wight where my grandfather William Witt was
born. He fought under Lord Howe off Cape St. Vincent and was
presented with the Freedom of the City of London where he commenced
business as a Wine Merchant in Skinner Street, Bishopsgate
Within. The De was dropped when going into business. Lord
Howe was created an Earl after the battle which was fought in
June. My father married Mary, I believe the eldest daughter of
William Witt. He was educated at a Military College, I think
Addiscombe, at the expense of his uncle, Lieut.Colonel Francis Pitney
Martin, his uncle dying, he left the College and went into business
after selling out a reversionary interest on a large estate in
Wiltshire. My Uncle William died in Tasmania a few years hence
aged 91. A sister of his, a clergyman's Widow died there aged
84. My grandfather died at Winchmore Hill near London at
about 85 or 86 after three days illness"
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James Martin's Uncle William Witt died on 19 Aug 1902, aged
88. If James wrote the above account 'a few years hence', then it
was probably written around 1905 to 1910, by which time James would
have been nearly 80 himself.
Much of James Martin's account corresponds exactly with previous
research findings (i.e. before the bible surfaced), and surely provides
confirmation of such previous research, and vice versa. It is
also obvious that some of James Martin's account is nonsense!
This is hardly surprising, as James was only 7 when his family departed
England for a new life in Australia (1838). Most, if not all, of
his knowledge of his grandfather's life would have been second-hand,
and such stories have a habit of getting mixed up along the way.
My observations are -
- "My Great Grandfather, a DeWitt, came over
from Holland with William III..." This is
impossible. William III arrived from Holland in 1689, whereas
James Martin's great-grandfather William Witt was not born until
1749. If any Witt ancestor arrived with William III, it may have
been James Martin's great-great-great-grandfather John Witt, who
married Sarah Neighbour on 3 May 1693 at Freshwater, Isle of
Wight. John Witt may have originally been John DeWitt
- if he really did arrive from Holland with William of Orange!
- "... and settled in the Isle of Wight where
my grandfather William Witt was born." James Martin's
grandfather William Witt was born 7 Oct 1776 at Newport, Isle of Wight,
so this bit rings true.
- "He fought under Lord Howe off Cape St
Vincent..." This is nonsense, as Lord Howe was NOT at the
Battle of Cape St Vincent (1797), though some sort of naval career did
seem a possibility. And, despite my initial scepticism, it turns
out that William Witt DID serve in the Royal Navy before settling in
London. See David Witt's account
of William Witt's time in The Royal Navy.
- "...and was presented with the Freedom of
the City of London..." Unlikely, but true! See final
section of David Witt's account
of William Witt's time in The Royal Navy.
- "... where he commenced business as a Wine
Merchant in Skinner Street, Bishopsgate Within." This is
undoubtedly true. William Witt was a wine cooper/merchant at
Skinner Street from 1814 (possibly earlier) to 1840.
- "The De was dropped when going into business."
Not by James Martin's grandfather William Witt, it wasn't. If we
were ever DeWitts, the De had been dropped over a hundred years before.
- "Lord Howe was created
an Earl after the battle which was fought in June."
Rubbish. Lord Howe was already an Earl, and the Battle
of Cape St Vincent was on 14th FEBRUARY (1797). However,
Lord Howe had led an important victory over the French on the
'Glorious' 1st JUNE 1794, capturing (among others) the French ship
'La Juste'. This was one of the ships upon which William Witt
later served, although there is no evidence (yet) that he was involved
in it's capture. Maybe James Martin got his wires a bit
crossed here?
- "My
father married Mary, I believe the eldest daughter of William Witt." Mary was actually the 4th eldest
daughter of William Witt.
- "He
[James Martin senior] was educated at a Military College, I think
Addiscombe, at the expense of his uncle, Lieut.Colonel Francis Pitney
Martin, his uncle dying, he left the College and went into business
after selling out a reversionary interest on a large estate in Wiltshire." There must be some truth here,
although Verity Baylis wrote - "It was in fact
Francis Pitney Martin's brother George who was a Colonel in the Hon.
East India Army, Madras, and Francis was a merchant in Frederick's
Place, Old Jewry [London]."
- "My
Uncle William [Witt] died in Tasmania a few years hence aged 91." Uncle William Witt died 19 Aug 1902,
actually aged 88.
- "A
sister of his, a clergyman's Widow died there aged 84." This must be James Martin's aunt
Hannah WITT (wife of John SMITHIES, a Wesleyan Missionary), who died at
Emu Bay, Tasmania, on 9 Jun 1889, aged 81 .
- "My
grandfather died at Winchmore Hill near London at about 85 or 86 after
three days illness."
Accurate, apart from the age. His grandfather actually died at
Winchmore Hill aged 79, after (according to The Times newspaper) "... a
short but painful illness".
Other miscellaneous transcripts
Page last updated: 15th February 2004, e-mail: martin@hagger.org