Memorial Plaque in St Georges Church
© Picture Michael Russell FIPD Jan 2008
|
Ancestry & Education From his university record (1) we know that he was the son of John PALMER a Gentleman of Bristol City. Tracing his family with any degree of accuracy however has been difficult as John Palmer is a common name and records for the Bristol area have still (Jan 2014) to be properly transcribed. From the above Plaque in St Georges Church Fordington however we know that he had a spinster sister Elizabeth that pre-deceased him. Her burial record confirms that she also came from Bristol. From his wife's will (transcribed below) we also know that he had a younger brother Thomas living in Bristol and two other sisters, Mary PALMER who married Tobias BAYLIS at Christ Church in Bristol on 20th Aug 1791(2) and Sarah PALMER who married a Bookseller Thomas SMART in Bristol in 15th December 1793.(3) The only Will that I have discovered which might relate to his father was for a John PALMER of Bristol, a Bookseller by trade, whose Will was dated 3rd Oct 1765 and proved at London on 8th Jan 1766. This Will left 3 tenements in Wine St, Bristol and the rest of his estate to his wife Elizabeth in trust for his children (unnamed) who all appear to have been quite young. This looks quite promising as his daughter Sarah married a bookseller (which given his early death might well have been her fathers business). If this is correct the Rev John Palmer was only about 16 when his father died and it would appear that he went to university not long after his fathers death. His University record (1) however only shows that he matriculated at St Alban Hall in Oxford on 14th March 1780 when his age was given as being 30. This is later than most graduates but in line with his age at death making him born about 1749/50. The University record also states that he was awarded a Bachelor of Canon Law (BCL) degree in 1795, again quite late in his career and this concurs with his entry on the wall plaque in St Georges Church Fordington where he has been recorded as having this degree. Whilst there are quite a few graduates of Oxford and Cambridge called John Palmer not many were born around 1750 and no others that I could trace with a BCL Degree so I am fairly confident that we have the right man. 
We know from his memorial plaque in St George's Church that he faithfully served as curate of Bremhill in Wiltshire for 22 years before his appointment as Vicar of St Georges Church in Fordington . This is reinforced in his Will (transcribed below) where he describes himself as being 'late of Bremhill in the County of Wiltshire but now of Fordington'. Very little exists about him in official church records, they simply confirm that he was curate at Bremhill on 21st July 1789 and appointed vicar of Fordington
on 13th March 1799. If he served at Bremhill for 22 years as curate his appointment must have been around 1777, some 3 years before he matriculated at St Alban Hall.
In fact I think his ordination as a priest and attendance at University was much earlier as there is an entry for a John Palmer being ordained in the Chapel Palace in Wells on 24th Sep 1768 when he would have been aged 19. This record refers to him being at Wadham College Oxford and under qualifications it has 'SLC'. This simply means that he was a Student of Civil Law at the University and this is a course of study he could well have taken before studying for his BCL. His university career therefore probably started around the time of his ordination and most graduates would also have obtained a BA and even an MA degree before studying Canon Law which might account for the longevity of his academic career. Another reason might stem from the fact that the vicar of Bremhill the Rev Matthew Frampton died in 1782 when John was 33 years old and he seems to have been passed over in favour of a new vicar the Rev Nathaniel Hume who remained in office there until his own death in 1804. Whilst John was undoubtably much loved within the parish the appointment of a replacement vicar probably brought it home to him that he needed to impress his Bishop if he was ever going to be put forward for advancement, and I think this made him plough on with his academic study into Canon law. John Palmer married by licence on 13th Oct 1797, at the age of 48 whilst he was still a curate at Bremhill. He married at Market Lavington in Wiltshire to Elizabeth the daughter of Richard LEGGa Gentleman of Market Lavington by his wife Jane. Elizabeth had 4 siblings that I know of Jane LEGG (1748-1816), Mary LEGG (1750-1830), Rev Joseph LEGG (1754-1833) and John LEGG the naturalist (1755-1802). I have not been able to trace any children from John and Elizabeth's marriage and I think this may have been because Elizabeth was already 39 years old when she married. We know from Hutchin's History of Dorset that John Palmer's appointment as Vicar of Fordington on 13th March 1799 occurred as a result of the death of the previous incumbent Rev. Edward MARSHALL. John Palmer faithfully served the parish for 30 years until his death aged 80 on 5th May 1829. He was buried in St Georges churchyard on the 11th leaving his widow Elizabeth well provided for. Nothing else is known about Elizabeth's married life until the announcement in the Hampshire Telegraph and Sussex Chronicle on the 23rd Nov 1829 regarding her death. It states that Elizabeth the relict of the Rev. John PALMER late vicar of Fordington near Dorchester died at Market Lavington, in Wiltshire on Friday 20th Nov 1829. This actually appears to be the date she was buried. I have located and transcribed her will below which was proved at London on 25 February 1830 and shows that she had a brother the Rev Joseph LEGG (1754-1833) who was curate of Maddington in Wiltshire, and a spinster sister Mary LEGG. Elizabeth's Will also leaves her executors £100 for the erection of 'a handsome monument to herself her brother John and sisters Jane and Mary. The National Burial Index confirms that Elizabeth Palmer was buried at Market Lavington on 20th Nov 1829. Her sister Mary Legg in fact wrote her Will on 1st June 1804 naming Elizabeth and her sister Jane as joint executors but Jane died and was buried at Market Lavington on 20th Nov 1816 and Mary joined her on 7th Jan 1831 her will being proved at London on 21st Feb 1831. Finally her brother John LEGG (1755-1802) was a naturalist and was buried at Market Lavington on 10th April 1802. 
 ©Pictures kindly taken by the curator of Market Lavington Museum Rog Frost in January 2014
JANE died November 29th? 1816, Aged 68 years MARY died December 29th 1830, Aged 80? years Also to the Memory of ELIZABETH PALMER. sister of the above and Widow of the late JOHN PALMER, Clerk Vicar of Fordington, Dorset who died November 13th 1829, Aged 71 years. by whose direction as a testimony of respect/ to her beloved relatives this Monument is erected OUR REDEEMER LIVETH" The picture left is of the flagstone grave of her brother John LEGG the naturalist who died in 1802. Interred with him is his three sisters Jane and Mary LEGG (both spinsters) and Rev. John Palmers wife Elizabeth. It rests inside the church in the floor near the entrance and is walked over by all the people who arrive at the church. It states :- JOHN LEGG Son of RICHARD and JANE LEGG late Resident in this Town who departed this life the 3rd of April 1802. Also JANE Sister of the above JOHN LEGG who departed this life the 11th? of November 1816? Also to the Memory of ELIZABETH PALMER Daughter of the late RICHARD and JANE LEGG ----November 15th 1829 |