The Barritts of the Fenlands - Page 16
Rachel Barrett, daughter of George and Martha
Rachel was born in 1861 on Feltwell Fen, but was not baptised until 16th June, 1867. There was a double baptism that day at the Brandon Creek Primitive Methodist Chapel - Rachel and her brother Samuel who had been born in 1863.
Her mother died when she was about 14 years old and Rachel went to Nottingham and by 1881 was a housemaid at 10, Balmoral Road. This was the home of Gregory Porter, a retired schoolmaster who had been born at Southery and may account for Rachel having gone to Nottingham.
Rachel's three cousins, Banyard, John and Thomas Barritt had travelled south to London in search of work, but Rachel was the first to go to Nottingham. Within a short time five of Rachel's close relatives followed her to the Nottingham area. They were her brother Samuel, nieces Martha, Matilda and Elizabeth and nephews, William Herbert and Arthur. Rachel had obviously given them a good report about Nottingham.
On Christmas Eve 1883, Rachel married George Ducker Sowter, a cotton warper, at the George Street Baptist Chapel in Nottingham, where the witnesses were her brother Samuel and Gregory Porter, mentioned above. This marriage would have taken place in the morning as up till 1885 there was a noon deadline for marriages. In 1885 the deadline was extended to 3pm and in 1934 further extended to 6pm, but the tradition of morning marriages led to the feast after the ceremony being termed the "Wedding Breakfast".
George and Rachel lived at 1, Manning Grove in the St.Ann's district of Nottingham and this was their home for the rest of their lives. They had no children and not a lot is known about Rachel after her marriage. She did not communicate very often with her relatives back in Ely or Littleport and her other sister Mary Ann frequently asked her son, who lived at Long Eaton near Nottingham, if he had any news of Rachel which he invariably did not have.
Rachel and George did attend the funeral of her brother Samuel at Shardlow on 28th November 1930. She died 30th June, 1939 at 1, Manning Grove, aged 78 and was buried in Carlton Cemetery, Gedling, grave C474A, four days later.
George Ducker Sowter was born 20th January, 1861 at Wymeswold in Leicestershire, the son of John Sowter, a farmer. He and his brother William Ducker Sowter both went into the lace business in Nottingham, George renting premises in the large Oldknow's factory in Alfred Street North near his home. George is listed as a lace manufacturer (machine holder or warper) at Oldknow's factory in Nottingham directories from 1893 to 1916 and in 1920 at Heathcoat Street near the centre of Nottingham. His brother William. lived at Lowdham and was a machine holder at Gamble's factory, Newdigate Street, Nottingham.
In an attempt to find out more about G.D. Sowter, I visited the Local Studies room in Nottingham Central Library and looked up the name in the card index system. There I found a cutting from the Nottingham Guardian of 26th August, 1935, which recorded the death of Mr. William D. Sowter of Groton, Connecticut, USA. It said Mr. Sowter had lived in the USA for 28 years and had, for a number of years conducted a lace manufacturing business at Manchester, Connecticut. It also said he had two sons, three grandchildren and his brother Mr. G.D. Sowter still lived in Nottingham.
I then wrote a speculative letter to the Mayor of Groton hoping that one of the grandchildren might still live in the area and be known to the Mayor. Months later, having forgotten about my letter to the Mayor, I received a letter from Mrs. Vera E Connor of Quaker Hill, Connecticut, who was one of the three grandchildren. It so happened that the Mayor of Groton went to school with Vera Sowter, managed to trace her and forwarded my letter.
Since Vera's first letter to me of January, 1992, we have corresponded with each other as both she and her son are interested in family history. She has sent me copies of a number of items relevant to her grandfather and details of family members.
William D. Sowter, his wife and their two sons visited America in 1912 and returned in April 1913. Two years later in the Spring of 1915 the family again went to America and this time stayed there. They travelled to New York from Liverpool on the Cunard R.M.S. Mauretania, then on to Manchester, Connecticut, where they settled to live. William purchased the Windermere Mill in Rockville, renamed it the Stafford Lace Company, became the president and his eldest son George G. Sowter, the secretary of the company. The mill and the company were lost to W.D. Sowter in the 1929 Stock Market crash.
George Ducker Sowter died 18th September, 1944 and was buried in the same grave as his wife in Carlton Cemetery.
© Ron Barritt - March 1995