Ambrose Blackham was born in Tipton, Staffordshire, in 1752, the son of Joseph and Mary Blackham. He was baptised on 3rd December at St Martin’s Church, Tipton.

Ambrose was from a nail-making family and between 1752 and 1777 he moved to Duffield, Derbyshire, working as a nailer.

Banns of marriage were read at St Alkmund’s Church in Duffield, on Sunday 9th, 16th and 23rd March 1777 between Ambrose Blackham and Martha Cheetham ‘both of this parish’. They were married on 26th March at St Alkmund’s Church. Martha was from Duffield, the daughter of Samuel and Mary Cheetham.

After their marriage, Ambrose and Martha lived in Duffield where their first child Joseph was baptised on Christmas Day 1777. Their second son Edward was born in 1779, followed by Ambrose in 1781.

By 1784 Ambrose and Martha had moved to Belper where they were to have eight more children. All of these children were baptised at St Peter’s Church, Belper:

Thomas on 12th September 1784
Martha on 23rd December 1787
John on 20th December 1789
Mary on 1st April 1792
Sarah on 21st August 1794
Matthew on 25th December 1796
William on 7th February 1799
Millicent on 11th August 1803

There is a record for the marriage of Silence Blackham in Belper in 1802 who appears to have been born in Belper between 1775 and 1777. Silence may have been the daughter of Ambrose and Martha but no baptism record has been found, which would show who her parents were.

A document An assessment for the relief of the Poor of the township of Belper from 1802 records that Ambrose was renting a ‘house and nail shop’ and two pieces of land. The sum given to Ambrose as poor relief was 1s. 3d. relating to the house and nail shop, and 9½d. for the land. Three years later, things had not improved for the family.

On 6th December 1805, a Removal Order was issued ‘to the Church-wardens and Overseers of the Poor’ of Belper and Tipton instructing them to ‘remove and convey...Ambrose Blackham, Martha his wife, and Martha, John, Mary, Sarah, Matthew, William and Milicent their children from and out of your said township of Belper to the said Township of Tipton and therein deliver unto the Church-wardens and Overseers of the Poor there...who are hereby required to receive and provide for them according to the Law’. The children were aged between 3 and 19. The order did not apply to the older children who would have been able to care for themselves.

With seven children to support it is likely that Ambrose had sought relief from the Overseers of the Poor at Belper. To ensure that he ‘belonged’ to Belper township, and that they were to assume responsibility for providing poor relief to him, the Belper parish authorities made a Settlement Examination. This was done by the Overseer of the Poor and a Justice of the Peace to determine whether Ambrose had a legitimate right to residency in Belper. They concluded that he had ‘intruded’ into the township of Belper and that his place of settlement was the parish where he was born. The Removal Order was issued for Ambrose, Martha, and their children under 21 years of age. The record of the actual Examination made which resulted in the Settlement Order being issued has not survived.

The poor were allowed to enter any parish in search of work provided they had a Settlement Certificate signed by the church wardens and overseers of their place of settlement, and two magistrates, guaranteeing to receive them back if they became ‘chargeable’. We don’t know if Ambrose had a Settlement Certificate when he moved to Derbyshire, but the outcome would have been the same.

The move to Tipton would have been quite an upheaval for the family. The children had probably never been to Tipton before, and were leaving behind their friends and older brothers. Martha came from Duffield and may also have never visited Tipton.

Although Ambrose would not have been allowed to return to Belper, his children were all born in Duffield, Belper, or Heage and so were entitled to return to the parish of their birth when they became 21 or were able to show that they could support themselves. Their son John returned by the time he was 18, marrying in Duffield on 26th March 1807.

Ambrose died in August 1810 and was buried in the churchyard of St Martin’s Church on 2nd September. He was 58 years old.

With her husband dead, Martha returned to Derbyshire, together with her remaining children who were dependant on her. Martha was born in Duffield so had a right to return there, and Belper parish would have been obliged to provide poor relief if needed.

Martha Blackham died in March/April 1830 aged 75. She was buried in the churchyard of St Peter’s Church, Belper.

Ambrose and Martha Blackham were my great-great-great-great-great-grandparents.