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Jane Sotcher

Born: 1815
Died: 1885

Author: Linda Martin

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BACKGROUND

Jane was born in the coastal village of Selsey, West Sussex, in 1815. Her parents were James Sotcher (1784-1864), who was also born in Selsey, and Louisa Jane Broadbridge (1787-1847) from Chichester.

Jane’s parents
James was a carpenter and the son of John Sotcher and Elizabeth Pullinger. Louisa Jane’s parents were Joseph and Jane Broadbridge. She was baptised in Rumboldswhyke, to the southeast of Chichester city centre.

James and Louisa were married at St Pancras Church, Chichester on 18 April 1808, and settled in Selsey. In the parish baptism records I found ten children born to the couple. Jane was their fourth child, baptised in Selsey on 18 June 1815.

• Joseph (1809-1815)
• Emily (1810-1839)
• James (1812-1882)
• Jane (1815-1885)
• Louisa (1817-1885)
• William (1819-1837)
• Edward (1822-1881)
• Susan (1824-1826)
• Ann (1826-1905)
• Harriet (1831-1854)

Sadly, a burial record was found for Joseph (the first born) for 6 Jan 1815, when he would have been five. Louisa would have been several months pregnant then, as Joseph’s sister Jane was born a few months later. The burial entry shows he died of Rubella and Scarlatina. Another death was found for Jane’s sister Susan in January 1826. She was buried on 2 January 1826 at 19 months old. In 1837 we find the death of William, aged 17, and in 1839 the death of Emily, aged 29.

JANE’S STORY

Jane’s first record since her baptism was in the 1841 Census. Here, the family is found living on Selsey Street, north
of the village.

• James, aged 55, Carpenter
• Louisa, aged 50
• James, aged 25, Fisherman
• Jane aged 25, No Occupation
• Edward, aged 15, Carpenter
• Harriet, aged 10
• Isabella, aged 3. (The illegitimate daughter of Jane’s sister Louisa

It should be noted that in the 1841 Census the ages of adults – defined as people aged 15 and over – were generally rounded down to the nearest multiple of five. The actual ages of children under 15 were recorded exactly, but this protocol was NOT strictly adhered to by Census recorders!

On 18 January 1847, Jane’s mother Louisa died of Jaundice (not certified). James was present and registered her death.

In 1851 the family can be found on Selsey High Street:

• James aged 65, Carpenter, and now a Widower
• James, aged 38, Fisherman
• Jane, aged 5, Dressmaker.

Tragedy hits the family

On 14 September 1854, Jane’s niece Emily Morris died aged two. Emily was the daughter of Jane’s sister Harriet and died of a bowel complaint. Her grandfather or her uncle, James Sotcher, was present at the death. Then, just a month later, on 16 October 1854, Jane’s sister Harriet died during childbirth. Jane was present at her death.

I cannot find a birth or death record for a child, so I assume it was a still birth. Was this a full-term pregnancy or did Harriet go into premature labour due to losing her daughter Emily? A terrible experience for Jane. Was this the start of her mental decline?

Jane’s Mental Health
We do not know how Jane coped after the traumatic deaths in 1854 and the other family deaths. I am unable to find any more records for her until 31 January 1861 when she was admitted to Sussex Asylum, Wivelsfield. I assume she stayed living with her father and her brother James until then.

Jane’s admission page entry, quite hard to read.

The main points are as follows:

• Admitted 31 Jan 1861
• Jane Sotcher, aged 46, from Selsey
• Form of Mental Disorder: ‘Mania’
• Supposed Cause of Insanity: ‘Religious Excitement’
• Bodily Condition and Name of Disease, if any: ‘Delicate’
• Duration of Existing Attack: 1 week
• Number of Previous Attacks: First.

Jane sadly spends the rest of her life in the Asylum where she can be found in Census records for 1861, 1871, and 1881. This may show that Jane was quite well cared for as she entered the Asylum in a “Delicate” state but lived for a long time there.

Jane’s Death

On 25 Feb 1885, Jane died of Jaundice due to “impacted gall stone”, a similar death to her mother’s. She was 70 years old. This was after 24 years of living in the asylum. On 28 February, Jane was buried in a pauper’s grave within the grounds. Like thousands of people buried with her, Jane was buried without her name – just a simple
numbered marker that is no longer there today.

At the time of Jane’s death, her parents and all but two of her siblings had died. The siblings who survived were Louisa, living in West Wittering, and Ann, who lived in Littlehampton.

We don’t know who was named as Jane’s next of kin when she was admitted, but we may find this information from Sussex County Asylum records in future. The most likely people are Jane’s father, James Snr. and perhaps her brother, James Jnr., who were living together when she was admitted.

Both died before Jane, so presumably the asylum got no response when they tried to notify them of Jane’s death – and so she was buried as pauper in the asylum cemetery. Presumably the same fate – no known Next of Kin – awaited most, if not all, of the patients who were held in the asylum for many years before their death.

Even if Jane’s family members had been alive and received notice of her death, the outcome may have been the same. This is because they might not have had the financial ability to retrieve her body from Haywards Heath and transport it to where her family members were buried in Selsey, about 45 miles away.

Jane’s Burial Register entry

Jane was not forgotten. There is a notice in the newspaper of her death:

Mid Sussex Times.

JANE’S FAMILY

Jane’s father

James lived a long life. He died on 18 Nov 1864, aged 81, and was buried on 21 November.

Mid Sussex Times

Jane’s Siblings.

Joseph

Joseph died as an infant in 1815, as previously mentioned.

Emily

Emily married Edward Farrow on 29 May 1832. In September 1839 the family emigrated to Australia on a barque called ‘John’, sailing in steerage class. Sadly, Emily died en route, aged about 29. She and her baby son Alfred Morley were buried at sea: Emily on 6 November and Alfred on 15 November.

There was another burial record at sea for Edward, Emily’s husband on 7 November. However, there are extensive Ancestry family trees, along with photographs of Edward and the remaining three children in Australia.

There is also a diary by Diane Cummings that recorded the John’s journey. The ship left Gravesend on 11 September 1839 and arrived in Australia on 11 February 1840. There is no mention of Edward’s death in the diary.

James

James was a fisherman who lived in Selsey and never married. In 1861, aged about 49, he was living with his father, James Snr., age about 77, and his nephew William Morris, son of Harriet.

In 1871 James was the head of the household, working as a fisherman. His niece Lavinia Morris was his housekeeper. In 1881 we find him in the Westhampnett Union Workhouse, recorded as being a former fisherman. On 19 February 1882 James died, aged 70, and was buried in Selsey. His will and probate show he had personal effects of £77. 14s. 8d. He left this to his single sister Ann, whom he listed as his next of kin. Maybe he was in the workhouse due to ill health or unable to cope at home.

Louisa

Louisa had an illegitimate child named Isabella Terry Sotcher, who was found living with her grandfather and Jane in the 1841 Census. In September 1841 Louisa married George Terry. I assume he was the father of Isabella as she carried the name Terry. The couple went on to have more children, settling in West Wittering which is a coastal village to the west of Selsey.

George was a carrier. He transported passengers or goods on a horse-drawn cart from place to place. Louisa’s death was recorded in 1897.

William

William died in May 1837, aged 17. This was just before the start of general registration in September 1837, so I could not find the cause of death.

Edward

Edward married Harriet Burchell in April 1855 and the couple resided in Littlehampton. Edward was a carpenter and joiner and Harriet was a lodging housekeeper. Edward died in 1881 and I found no record of the couple having children.

Susan

Susan died in infancy, aged 19 months. This was before there were death certificates.

Ann

Ann remained single. In 1861 she was working as a cook for Graham Robertson, a retired East India merchant at 21 Cleveland Street, Paddington, London.

In 1871, aged about 45, we find her at Thames Cottage, Shepperton. Here she was working as a cook for Charles Henderson, a widower, and his children. I cannot find any record of her in 1881. Electoral rolls for Sussex 1889-1895 record Ann as a lodging housekeeper at 32 South Terrace, Littlehampton, which had views to the sea. This is confirmed in the 1891 Census return.

The 1901 Census describes Ann, aged 74, working as a domestic cook, so perhaps the lodging housekeeper job had become too much. She was living in West Wittering and working for James Barber, a Naval pensioner, and his wife.

Ann died in 1905, and she was buried on 8 July in West Wittering.

Harriet

As previously mentioned, Harriet died in childbirth, aged 23.

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THE BLUE PLAQUE AND THE MOUSETRAP

Jane Sotcher’s paternal grandmother, Elizabeth Pullinger, was the sister of William Pullinger. William’s son Colin Pullinger invented the humane mousetrap in the 1860s. The factory was on the High Street in Sesley, now the home of the Town Hall, and a Blue Plaque was unveiled there for Colin Pullinger in July 2002.

The 1861 Census shows William Edward Morris working in the factory as a mouse trap maker, aged 11. William was the son of Emily’s sister, Harriet.

SELSEY

Also known as Selsey Bill, Selsey is situated on the Manhood peninsula, 8 miles south of Chicester. This was originally known as Seal Island, named after the visiting seals in Saxon times.

The cemetery is outside the village in Church Norton, where the main church once stood. In 1866 the main part of the church was moved, stone by stone, to its present position in the High Street.

The chancel remained and was renamed St Wilfrid’s Chapel. This is in respect to St Wilfrid, who is believed to have brought Christianity to Sussex in the mid 600s. A cathedral was built in Church Norton but was lost due to sea erosion. In 1075 the seat of the bishop of Chichester moved from Selsey to Chichester, where the new cathedral was built, remaining central in Chichester to this day.

Both of Jane’s parents are buried here, along with five of her siblings and her niece Emily.

St Wilfrid’s Chapel, Church Norton.

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AUTHOR’S THOUGHTS

Sussex Asylum was only two years’ old when Jane was admitted in 1861, and she resided there for many years until she died at the age of 70. Although it was often overcrowded, her care must have been the best it could be at the time – as she survived there for 24 years, despite being described as ‘Delicate’ on admission.

It’s not known who put Jane’s death announcement in the newspaper, but it is good to know she wasn’t forgotten. I don’t know if Jane had any family visits. It was a long journey from Selsey to the asylum at Haywards Heath, and I believe that visiting times were restricted to Wednesday afternoons, so it would have been difficult for them to maintain contact.

Jane was witness to many deaths in the family which in turn must have tortured her mind and is the possible reason for what was considered ‘Mania’, caused by ‘Religious Excitement’.

RIP Jane.