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Charles Fisher Grist
d.Abt Mar 1877 Bath, Somerset, England
Family tree▼ (edit)
m. 27 Aug 1797
(edit)
m. 23 May 1824
(edit)
m. 25 Jul 1842
Facts and Events
[edit] Charles Fisher Grist[edit] Birth dateThere is some uncertainty about the birth date of Charles Fisher Grist. There is no uncertainty about who his parents were, Charles Grist, cordwainer, of Bradford on Avon and Mary Fisher his wife. Most children of Charles and Mary had the middle name Fisher, as did several of their grandchildren. There is a record of the baptism of Charles in Bradford on Avon 28 April 1810, fourteen years before his marriage, so obviously he was born sometime before 1808.[3] In the 1841 census he claims to be 40[4] implying his birth was between 1801 and 1805. His parents fist child Elizabeth was born in 1798 and another son, William was born in June 1803, it is not clear if Charles Fisher was the oldest son or if William was. Later census records confuse this matter further, in 1851 he claims to be 37,[5] making William the oldest son and implying Charles was 10 when he married. In 1861 he claims to be 50,[6] which could be explained by the fact he had a wife of 35, so he lied. By 1871 he was back near the first date as he claimed to be 72.[7] Fitting his date in with his siblings and knowing he was not the oldest son as he did not inherit the Mill, 1804 seems a good estimate of birth year. [edit] Early LifeNot much is recorded of his early life, he presumably lived with his parents in Lock Street, Bradford on Avon. His mother had brought some wealth to the family as she inherited Greenland Middle Mill in about 1820. Greenland Middle Mill was occupied by a Thomas Spackman between 1821 and 1854. In 1834 ownership of the mill was described in rate books as by ‘John Fisher’s representatives’.[3] The Electoral Register of 1832 gives Charles Grist (of Regents Street) owning the freehold to a Greenland house. In 1837 both he and William Grist (of Greenland) are listed as freehold owners of a mill occupied by Thomas Spackman. In 1850 &1856 Charles Grist (of St Margarets Street) is given as the only Grist freehold name for Greenland Mill.[3] It is unclear if the Charles Grist mentioned in these documents is Charles Fisher Grist or his father, other evidence below points to it being the father. As three sons of Charles and Mary, and some grandchildren, were to become millwrights,wheelwrights and later engineers it is reasonable to assume that they were apprentices at Greenland Middle Mill, though there is no documentary evidence for this. [edit] Marriage
His wife Louisa died in 1841, just before the census. Charles is listed as Publican with the seven children, also living with them are his wifes parents, James and Elizabeth Minty, both 60 years old. There is an Anne Amor listed as Innkeeper. [4] It seems that Charles now had people to care for his children and run the Inn which gave him time to find a replacement wife. 
There were apparently four more children who were either stillborn or infant deaths. Research continues. In 1851 the youngest daughter from his first marriage was living with him and his new wife, the rest of the family seemed to be abandoned to live with grandparents or make their own way in the world. Sometime in the 1860's Elizabeth may have admitted to Wiltshire Lunatic Asylum in Devizes. There are several census records that seem to show she was there about 25 years until she died. The problem with this theory is the ages of inmates with the name Elizabeth Grist do not fit and there were at least 3 other people with that name living nearby. There is no definitive date for her death, in 1881 her father was living in the house where Charles and Elizabeth used to live and there is no record found so far for any of the family in 1881. Later Charles seems to have abandoned this family as well, the youngest child was found when he married in Cardiff, Wales some years later. It was also thought that Charles lived with one of his married daughters, Matilda, in Bath before he died. [edit] Business and WorkAt the time he was living in Limpley Stoke the family mills in Bradford were owned by Charles Grist of St. Margarets Road in Bradford, which must be his father, the other owner was listed as William the brother of Charles which implies William was the oldest son. Charles did of course learn a trade as he was a Millwright, the equivalent of a good IT training in the 20th century, though he was not listed as such in the 1830 Bradford-on-Avon Commercial Directory. Charles was listed in the Bradford-on-Avon Commercial Directory 1842 as a millwright and engineer from Frome Road and as Publican of the Three Horseshoes Inn, Frome Road. Also listed are John and Job Wastfield, John was based in Frome Road as well as Charles so they may have worked together or been partners, using outbuilding of the Inn as workshop. None of these three were listed in the 1848 Bradford-on-Avon Commercial Directory. As publican of the Three Horseshoes Inn as well as being a Millwright Charles should have been quite well off. After his second marriage he returned to his trade of Millwright, perhaps hoping the large mill in Limpley Stoke would give him work. The mill had once been the property of Henry Fisher, a relative of his mother. The company that owned the mill, Saunders, Fanner & Company of Bradford on Avon went bankrupt the same year, then it was destroyed by fire before being rebuilt as the Avon Rubber Company after Charles died.[Freshford website] Charles might have regretted that his brother William had inherited the mill and lived in the house there, but William ended up a pauper in the Union Workhouse, Westwood with Iford, between Bradford and Lymply Stoke after his wife died, he died there in 1882. Charles was still working in 1871, still a Millwright but now in Bath, where he was lodging at 12 Kingsmead Terrace.[7]
[edit] ConclusionCharles died About March 1877 in Bath,[13] probably working up to the end, he was lodging with John Rice and his family, also in the household was Thomas Rice with his wife Matilda from Bradford on Avon. Extensive research has concluded that this Matilda is not his daughter. He seems to have died alone with no contact with his family. Thomas Fisher Grist left the area soon after his mothers death, he became a machine maker in Wigton, Cumberland, he married and had two sons, one died within a year the other founded a Grist dynasty in the North East of England, up until the end of the 20th century almost every Grist there is descended from him. Charles Fisher Grist started a new family group in South Wales. Emily stayed in Bradford on Avon, perhaps the only one of his children that did. John Henry built a new life for himself in Australia. The other children are an ongoing research project. References
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